Return or a New Beginning? / BB and Hawaii?

The only certainty is that this world is completely different from the Gudako and Shirou live in. What kind of future awaits Afeng and Tsuke?

But that's another story...

Chapter 389 Return or Beginning?

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the sky seemed to be ablaze with fiery golden clouds, which swirled and rolled wildly in the wind. The mountains, backlit by the sun, became black silhouettes, making everything in the sky even more beautiful and splendid.

The world that follows will be rebuilt under Princess Kiyohime's supervision. Soon, the town's shopping streets will reopen, encouraging traveling merchants to come here, and prosperity will continue. With the fox dancer and ninja Kengyō overseeing things, at least she won't go berserk in strange places.

Afeng and Tian-Zhu had their own plans, but as long as the siblings could be together, that was better than anything else.

Although Shirou also wanted to take Afeng and Tsuke with him, it was destined to be impossible. He and the children lived in different worlds and each had their own place to belong, so he could only say goodbye with a heavy heart.

After saying goodbye to the children and leaving the village, it was finally time to depart. Before Shirou, Gudako began to glow, a sign that her soul was about to return to Chaldea.

"Gudako-chan! Goodbye~!" Illya waved.

"Awoo!" The Great White Bear behind him also raised its paw.

"Goodbye, Illya-chan, Mr. Kuma. After that, did you go back to Shirou-senpai's world with him?" Gudako asked.

"Yes! But after that, I also want to go to Chaldea to see if Mom is there!" Illya replied with a smile.

"You're welcome anytime! Let's play together again then!" Gudako agreed with a smile. She already wanted to see what it would be like to have three identical girls forming Team Illya.

"Um, Shirou-senpai... um..." Gudako suddenly stopped, looking at Shirou as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What?" Shirou asked the girl, looking at her in confusion.

"... No, everything's definitely alright now! After we get back, Mash and I would like to visit your house, senpai." Gudako shook her head and said to Shirou with a smile.

"Oh, you're welcome anytime. You've worked really hard this time, so I'll cook you something delicious to reward you." Shirou readily agreed.

"Yes! Mash and I are both looking forward to it!" Gudako replied with a smile.

Blue vortexes spun rapidly, and white lightning flashed between worlds. Gudako went first, leaving this world.

"Gudako-senpai! You've finally woken up." Mash walked over happily and took the girl's hands.

"Ah, Mash, I'm back." Gudako greeted the girl with short pink hair and glasses with a friendly smile. Although it was just a dream, it felt to her like a long and thrilling journey.

Suddenly transported to the Warring States period, she faced terrifying Heroic Spirit Swordmaster, was constantly being chased and fled, and then went to fight demons who slaughtered armies and villages. During this time, she also had to take care of children and even had her stomach pierced once. She truly lived each moment as if racing against time. In that world, sometimes she even felt that every second was incredibly long.

But now she was suddenly back in Chaldea, the place where she and her companions worked together to save Human Order and survive. Everything that had happened before seemed unreal, like a dream.

"Speaking of which, I saw Shirou-senpai over there. Can we find out about him here too!?" Gudako suddenly remembered something and looked at Da Vinci eagerly.

"..." Da Vinci was silent for a while, then shook his head at Gudako.

Gudako lowered her head in disappointment and said, "How could this be...? Neither Shirou-senpai's world nor Rin-san's world can be detected anymore..."

"What's wrong with Shirou-senpai?" Mash, who was standing next to him, asked, frowning.

"So you still haven't made contact with your world, senpai?" Gudako asked, puzzled.

Da Vinci shook his head and sighed, "Chaldea has been fully restored now, and all its functions are complete. Even so, we still couldn't find the coordinates left by Shirou's world. Perhaps it's because it's in a different cosmic dimension than us. Even if Chaldea wanted to do something, it wouldn't be possible. Ah... this is truly frustrating."

Holmes, with his pipe dangling from his lips, chimed in, "There's nothing we can do about it. Since there are two different future worlds, they're no longer on the same cosmic dimension. The reason they were able to meet is simply because two ever-extending lines accidentally intersected. After that point of intersection, they can never meet again."

"It's alright! If we're meant to be, we'll definitely meet again! Besides, Shirou is very strong, so don't worry about these things. Go back to your room and rest." Da Vinci clapped his hands with a smile, urging the two of them on.

"Hmm." Gudako nodded.

With a soft rustling sound, several Servant arrived at the door. There was a Japanese samurai wielding a long sword, an Oni Tribe girl with two horns on her forehead, a red-haired ninja boy, and Kiyohime, who was peeking out from the doorway, quietly observing. There was also the fox Miko maiden, who was blocked outside the door, flicking her three tails and curiously peering into the room.

"Gudako is back? I heard you ran into Miyamoto Musashi?"

"Welcome back, my lord. May I ask what happened to my mother after that... no, Miss Kato..."

"Since so many people are here, let's have a banquet! Have the cat maids in the kitchen prepare some snacks to go with the drinks, and we can all drink together!" Shuten-doji suggested.

Da Vinci stepped forward and said to the Servant, "Alright, alright, stop blocking the door. Gudako is exhausted. Let's talk after she's rested. Make way."

Gudako waved her hand with a smile and said, "It won't make a difference if it's just a little while longer. Musashi is an exceptionally talented swordsman, and he even dueled Kojiro there!"

"Wow, the outcome is really intriguing. No, if I could, I'd like to experience the wonders of Niten Ichi-ryū firsthand myself," said Sasaki Kojiro, resting his chin on his hand.

Gudako turned to the ninja boy again, "Kotaro! Miss Kato is alright now. Shirou-senpai repaired her body, and she's decided to stay in Shimousa to help the people there rebuild their homes."

"Really? That's great." Kotaro agreed with a sigh of relief, covering his eyes, but the slight upturn of his lips still betrayed his happiness for his girlfriend.

"Yes, Princess is very welcoming to Miss Kato, and..." Gudako involuntarily turned to look at Kiyohime, who was peeking out.

At this moment, Kiyohime blushed and said, "If we're going to sleep, I can warm the bed for you, using my flames."

"Eh?! I knew it! I'd better go rest now Mash!" Gudako quickly changed her mind.

"Okay! I'll make the bed for you, senior!" Mash nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, on the country path as the sun was setting, only Shirou, the silver-haired little girl, and the purple-haired girl floating in the air remained.

"What a pity, the Holy Grail was damaged after being swallowed by the serpent. Otherwise, I could have a physical body that allows me to live in the human world, just like Saber and the others," Illya said.

BB then comforted the girl, saying, "It's okay, it's okay! Even if we don't have the Holy Grail, we can make one ourselves!"

"Eh? Sakura... no, BB-chan, do you really have such an amazing ability?"

BB lowered his hands, shook his head, and said helplessly, "No, it wasn't impossible when I had the authority of the mooncell. But now, I'm just an individual separated from the moon."

"Is that so..." Illya also lowered her head in disappointment.

"But..." BB suddenly jumped up, pointing excitedly at Shirou and Shirou, "But!!! Even if BB isn't here, there's still Shirou-senpai!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Shirou retorted, thinking to himself, "This kid just loves to act."

"Hehe~!" BB lightly tapped its little head and stuck out its tongue.

"No! No! When did Shirou become so amazing? In the years I was gone, he's grown into such an incredible person!" Illya exclaimed in surprise. Even for gods, it's not something just anyone can do, let alone create a physical body out of thin air. There are all sorts of strict requirements involved.

"Well, I wasn't the amazing one, but so many things really happened." Shirou looked at the petite girl. Her life was so tragic. Her mother was destined to die, and her father, Kiritsugu, couldn't be by her side. Instead, he, as her adopted son, enjoyed Kiritsugu's care and received a large fortune and the Emiya family mansion left by Kiritsugu.

If Kiritsugu hadn't implanted the scabbard into his own body to save him, perhaps Kiritsugu wouldn't have aged so rapidly and his magical power wouldn't have declined so drastically. Maybe he could have found a way to enter the Einzbern castle and return to Illya's side.

He actually owed the girl a great deal.

So... Shirou smiled gently but firmly and said, "But, Illya, as long as I'm here, I promise I'll make you happy!"

"... Wh! What...!" Illya blushed and didn't dare to look Shirou in the eye. She turned around, cupped her face in her hands, and asked in confusion, "What's going on? As an android, I shouldn't have a fever, right?"

"Illya? What's wrong?" Shirou asked, puzzled.

Illya jumped around, glaring at Shirou and shouting in a sweet voice, "Hey! That's enough! If that's how it is, Shirou, you better take responsibility! I'll definitely stay with you for the rest of my life! As long as the magic is still there and hasn't disappeared, I'll stay by your side forever!"

"That's it! Activate your abilities in this world, then just run away!" BB said, waving his hands and offering his advice.

"But this world is still missing something. We have Musashi, we have Kojiro, oh right! If only we had called Tamamo Cat over back then! BB-chan is such a genius!" The purple-haired girl clapped her hands in sudden realization and exclaimed in delight.

"No, no, they'll definitely fight!" Shirou said, stopping the purple-haired girl.

"Let's stop joking here! At times like this, I have to be grateful that I have this power." Shirou looked at his palm and muttered to himself.

His eyes flashed with white light, and then a dazzling light emerged from every pore of his skin. This light was a miracle, the beginning of all creation, appearing out of thin air in Shirou's hand. The enormous energy finally gathered into a mysterious halo, the fluctuations within it exactly the same as the Holy Grail.

The light entered the girl's abdomen, granting her immense power and completely transforming her Spirit Origin body.

"Then let's leave here too." Shirou extended his palm to the girl, inviting Illya to go to Chaldea.

"Hmm." Illya chuckled and placed her small hand in the man's.

"Oh~! BB-chan, lead the way!" The purple-haired girl was the first to run into the light portal that had opened.

The moment Shirou entered the white portal, he felt time stand still. While his body had walked alongside Illya, his soul was summoned to another place. There, on a platform, beneath a small tree, stood a beautiful young woman.

"Alaya ..." Shirou looked at the girl and said in a deep voice.

It turned out that Alaya was already waiting there on the other side of the portal to return.

"You used the power of the gods to rebuild Illya's physical body, but as a price, the white god has also taken notice of Illya at this moment. Because Illya has borrowed the power of the gods, it's as if she has made a pact with them. You are now in a situation where you absolutely must win."

Chaldea side, Gudako briefly recounted her experience to Da Vinci before bidding him farewell and returning to her room to rest. Just as she stepped out of the command center, a mysterious man with messy silver-gray hair and a hat was leaning against the wall, coolly watching them.

"Koma-jutsu~! You're back too!" Gudako greeted her with a smile.

"What are you talking about? I've been in Chaldea the whole time. And... Gudako, go back to your room, don't sleep yet, look at the things on your desk." Komadori lowered his hat and said.

"Huh? Is there something?" Gudako asked, puzzled.

Wearing a hat, Komajue smiled mysteriously, flicked his cloak, creating a gust of wind, and turned to leave.

"Huh? What's going on?" Gudako, puzzled.

"Senpai, let's go back to our room first," Mash suggested.

"Okay! Let's do it this way!" Gudako nodded in agreement, then took Mash's hand and skipped happily into the room.

Watching Gudako and Mash leave, their figures gradually shrinking in size.

Da Vinci, acting as the acting administrator of Chaldea, sighed softly.

Chapter 390 BB and Hawaii?

"Since you're so troubled, why don't you explain the situation to them?" Holmes asked, looking at the woman beside him.

Da Vinci said with a wry smile, "The White God has realized his mistake and wants to restore everything to its original state. He spared Chaldea and even helped us return to normalcy, but what Shirou did will be undone."

"But Chaldea is safe, isn't it?" Holmes said calmly.

"You're as annoying as ever. You, hmm! No matter whether God or Shirou wins, Chaldea won't have any problems. That's why I'm troubled. When it comes to God, even a perfect genius can't think of a good solution." Da Vinci said helplessly, cupping his face in his hands.

"If I knew that Shirou Emiya was reincarnated into another world, and the white god were facing a crisis where only one could exist, and that both sides had their own sense of justice, then who could say which side was the right choice? Gudako and Mash already have enough to bear, how could I let those two children make any choices?" Da Vinci shook his head and said.

At this very moment, Shirou is on his way back through the portal, his soul being transported to another dimension by Alaya.

This is a small, floating island with a bare, ancient black tree growing on it. It has a platform about the size of a school playground, surrounded by a hollow, gray landscape. It seems that beyond this platform lies a bottomless abyss.

Under that big tree stood a little girl holding an umbrella. Sensing Shirou's approach, she spun the umbrella around. As the umbrella spun, the tree grew larger, tender leaves sprouted from its branches, and flower buds slowly unfurled, revealing vibrant pale pink cherry blossoms that instantly blanketed the center of the platform.

She revealed long, silvery-white hair and pure, clear red eyes, like a little Princess living in a snow-covered castle from a fairy tale. However, she was wearing a red kimono embroidered with cherry blossoms, and her face was that of Illya, whom Shirou had just been holding hands with.

"Are you transforming into a human again?" Shirou asked, frowning as he looked at the little girl's face.

Alaya tiptoed and twirled gracefully in a dance-like motion, seemingly displaying her beauty. She smiled sweetly and said, "Isn't this good? I am now completely mimicking a human state, possessing the same body, mind, and soul as humans. Therefore, I can understand human thoughts."

"No, even in this state, you are still the Counter Force, the collective subconscious of humanity, a mechanism solely for the continuation of humanity as a whole. As long as you are an individual human being, you cannot reach a true consensus with you." Shirou shook his head.

"But... as for me now, I can do everything that humans can do."

This time, Alaya teleported instantly in front of Shirou, leaning directly into Shirou arms. She no longer looked like a girl, but a beautiful young woman of sixteen or seventeen. Her appearance sometimes resembled Rin and Sakura, sometimes she was a graceful lady with an oriental charm, and sometimes she leaned towards a Western beauty. Her hairstyle also changed from twin tails to long straight hair, and the color also changed. The temperament she exuded was ever-changing.

Alaya's voice, full of feminine charm and gentleness, yet also possessing a captivating magnetism, is like heavenly music, its beautiful sound lingering in the ears.

Alaya transformed once again into a woman around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, transitioning from a teenage girl to a mature woman exuding charm. Her slender waist and full bust radiated feminine allure. Yet, her clothes remained the size of a child's, their shoulders bare, barely covering her body.

Shirou seemed to see the shadows of dozens of familiar girls in her, retaining the best aspects of each, and finally transforming her from a stunning beauty into a bewitching woman who could bring ruin to a country. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call her the most beautiful combination of humankind.

"What's wrong with that? As long as it allows all of humanity to continue, isn't everything else 'just'? Even among tens of thousands of Heroic Servant, you are the one I get along with best. If it were with someone like you who possesses the Creative Power, we might have created an extraordinary guardian." Alaya stretched out her slender white arms from behind and embraced Shirou, whispering in his ear.

"Can you please stop? Aren't you going too far?" Shirou said, turning his head away from the girl.

"What's wrong? Don't you like girls like this? Or do you prefer cute boys?" Alaya looked at her in surprise, just as she was about to transform.

"Stop! What exactly do you want to say! Speak clearly, or I'm leaving!" Shirou stretched out his palm, stopping the other party. If he only possessed the power of a Heroic Servant, he indeed did not have mastered such a profound technique as parallel world travel. But as long as he used the power of the God of Creation, he could freely manipulate anything that existed.

"No, I'm just here to congratulate you on overcoming your inner conflict and learning how to use this power for yourself. As long as it doesn't harm the human community, both Gaia and I will allow you to do it. You are free to use your powers," Alaya said.

"I never intended to replace the white god, nor did I ever think of using that ability for myself. That's not an ability I can wield well." Shirou shook his head.

"This is a primal human desire, and it's also a right you can have. Why refuse it? You've already started using this ability for yourself, so why are you denying it now?" Alaya asked, puzzled.

"I... I've already used this ability on myself?" Shirou raised his head in surprise.

"You created the Grail energy for the Lesser Grail, gave her a physical body, and kept her by your side, didn't you?" The perfect woman, an incarnation of Alaya, said with a sly smile, covering her mouth.

"That's because I wanted Illya to be happy, ah... yes." Shirou realized that this was his true thought. Alaya was right; he brought Illya into his world primarily for his own sake, as a way of making amends and offering redemption.

"Sure, as long as you defeat the white god and take his place, you will gain our approval and become a human with divine power, serving as the guardian of humanity and the Earth. If you have no desires at all, then you're exactly the same as the white god, and I won't approve of you then," Alaya said.

"But... I won't use it unless it's to save others, for their happiness," Shirou said thoughtfully.

"Just remember, you are always right! This isn't about taking away, but about putting power on the side of justice. Good people should be rewarded; the more you give, the more you should receive—that's only fair. It's also perfectly acceptable for you to pursue your own desires more fully."

"..."

"Go back, Shirou. Reunite with your family and comrades. The next time we meet will be when we have gathered the keys to defeat the White God." Alaya gently nudged Shirou, sending his soul back to his body.

Shirou was summoned out through the portal of light. When he woke up again, he was lying down, but the place where his head was resting was surprisingly soft and had a floral scent.