Chapter 543

[Editor's note: This chapter breaks our content rules, so it has been condensed into a summary of its story events.]

Musashi catches an enormous bluefin tuna, much to Shirou’s disbelief, and he turns it into a delicious meal. She, Shirou, and Ritsuka spend a week together on a deserted beach, with Musashi hunting monsters in the nearby forest while Ritsuka helps Shirou. Ritsuka asks him to teach her magic, but he refuses, saying she will meet better teachers. Instead, he challenges her to become a capable mage and prove him wrong. When Shirou finally opens a path between worlds, he and Musashi return Ritsuka home before departing. She treasures their time together and resolves not to give up easily.

Ritsuka wakes in her room to find Mash checking on her. Remembering that the Shirou she met long ago was older than the sixteen-year-old Shirou she encountered in Uruk, she takes this as evidence that he survives the Seventh Singularity. She holds on to Merlin’s assurance that continuing her journey will eventually lead to another reunion.

Meanwhile, Shirou rests with Tiamat at the bottom of the abyss beneath the underworld. He comforts her as she sleeps, reflecting on her immense loneliness and the pain of being rejected by the children she loves. He believes that someone who has suffered and tried so hard deserves kindness, and decides to offer her that support himself.

When Tiamat wakes, she is relieved to find Shirou beside her and happily takes a turn caring for him. Then she begins to cry, explaining that the lives she created have all left her behind. She asks whether her wish to keep loving them and remain close to them was wrong. Shirou gently tells her that he does not think it was, and she gratefully acknowledges his kindness.