Stranger

January 13, 1998. Sunny:

Today is the first day of the Holy Grail War's opening, and the second day since I met my Heroic Spirit. The Heroic Spirit I unexpectedly summoned is a man clad in red armor, who always refers to himself as a king who is forever unmatched in defeat.

But in my opinion, he's just a guy with no merits other than his appearance. Can he cook? He blew up the kitchen! Lost a game, so he smashed my game console and blamed it on my console! He's always picky about ordinary clothes, constantly saying my clothes are too vulgar and ugly! Damn it, if they're ugly, then don't wear them! Those belonged to my father!

Although we've only met for two days, it hasn't stopped my "killing intent" towards this Heroic Spirit. If I could, I'd really like to send him back to the Throne of Heroes myself! Although that's impossible...

But I have to admit, even though he often does things that make me furious, he's... really strong. If it weren't for my being too much of a half-baked Master, I think... he'd probably be the strongest Servant this generation?

He's domineering, arrogant, and looks down on weaklings like us. But... he's also surprisingly considerate, even though his mouth always makes me want to slap him repeatedly.

Today, according to his wishes, we're going out to scout the terrain and the surrounding safety, to ensure we won't be ambushed or attacked by other Servants. Although I told him that Servants should be doing this, not Masters, this bastard said, "Even the Emperor goes out to inspect! Does a mere commoner want peace?!" Just like that, he dragged me out of my warm bed.

The moment I left my warm covers, the cold air and chill continuously stimulated my skin. I shivered from the cold.

While cursing this Servant's arrogance and lack of self-awareness as a Servant, I quickly got dressed and ran into the washroom.

After I finished washing up, I came out intending to tell my Servant we could depart, only to find...

That bastard had already gotten impatient and left without me!

"If that's the case, why didn't you wake me up!! You damn Servant!!!!" My furious roar made the entire villa tremble. After venting my anger for a while, I burrowed back into my warm covers, cursing that damned Servant to die quickly, and drifted back to sleep...

When I woke up again, I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window. I found that the morning sun outside had turned into the crescent moon of night. I yawned, casually picked up a piece of clothing and draped it over myself, then walked out of the bedroom into the living room. The first thing that caught my eye was...

A continuous stream of people, lively clamor, and noisy hawking.

Walking through this long-unseen modern city, Xia looked around excitedly. The international metropolis from the depths of his memory slowly surfaced in his mind. His past self, his mother, his sister. And the man who had not yet betrayed his mother.

The family always went out together like this. His sister would always cling to him, asking him to accompany her everywhere. If he refused, she would stare at him with teary, big eyes, looking wronged, until he relented and agreed, after which she would stop crying and smile. While he took his sister around to play, his mother and father would always smile and watch their backs as they followed behind them. At that time... he was happy.

His sister's cuteness, his mother's gentleness, and his father's loving kindness. These were all things he wanted to enjoy forever...

His sister, his mother, his father. These were the most important people he vowed to protect forever at that time...

But a nightmare shattered their family's happiness, and also imprinted a bloody red mark on his young heart.

That was...

"Tsk!" Annoyed, Xia pushed back the black hair covering his eyes. His eagle-like gaze swept around, and he found that his interest in shopping had been completely ruined by his thoughts. Xia shook his head helplessly and continued walking forward with his hands in his pockets.

He walked aimlessly down the street, ignoring everything, as if the bustling street scene around him had nothing to do with him. Today marked the third "year" since Xia left Artoria's side. He wondered if Artoria still remembered him...

Snowflakes falling from the sky slowly landed in Xia's palm. Xia stood in the center of the crowd, quietly gazing at the pure white snowflake in his hand. In a moment of mental trance, Xia seemed to have returned to the Fairy Forest when he and Artoria were still living together...

At that time, it was also snowing pure white snowflakes. In the treehouse of the World Tree, Artoria, snuggled in Xia's embrace for warmth, opened her eyes wide and curiously watched the white angels descending from the sky outside the window.

"Hey, Xia, why are snowflakes so beautiful? So pure white?" Although she had seen these descending white angels several times, Artoria was still very curious. Why were they so pure? As if unstained...

Xia lazily opened one eye and glanced at the snowy weather outside.

"What if they're beautiful, what if they're pure white, they can't even compare to a single strand of your hair. Who cares if they're beautiful~" Xia said lazily, tightening his embrace around the person in his arms. To Xia, perhaps nothing in the world could compare to Artoria, not even his own life.

Hmph! The person in his arms was clearly displeased with this answer. She struggled and climbed out of Xia's embrace, glaring at Xia angrily~

"Xia! I'm asking you why the snowflakes outside are so pure and beautiful! Please don't give me a perfunctory answer!" Artoria puffed out her cheeks angrily, looking at Xia with a displeased expression.

Seeing Artoria like this, Xia sighed helplessly. Then he extended his hands and pulled Artoria back into his embrace, holding her tightly no matter how much she struggled.

Artoria struggled for a moment, but feeling Xia's firm grip and realizing he wouldn't let go, she reluctantly gave up struggling.

"Xia is too domineering..." As if in a dream, Artoria murmured, snuggling back into Xia's embrace...

The snowflakes continued to fall outside, and the cold air couldn't be dispelled even by a burning fire. Artoria lay quietly in Xia's embrace, her eyes unfocused as she watched the flickering flames, slowly drifting into dreamland...

Xia looked at Artoria's peaceful sleeping face and couldn't help but smile again...

"Snowflakes are pure white and flawless, so they attract those who are equally pure and flawless. You and I are different... Artoria. From the moment I stood behind you, my hands were destined to wield a butcher's blade. So... I cannot feel the purity and flawlessness of snowflakes. But even so, as long as you can feel it... that would be the greatest joy for me."

The burning fire continued to crackle, and the boy and girl on the wooden bed slept embraced once more.

Whoosh~~~~~~~

A strong gust of cold wind blew towards Xia, who was still lost in his memories, instantly scattering the snowflake in his hand back into the sky. Xia stared in surprise at the snowflake flying away from his hand, instinctively reaching out to try and catch it again.

But the moment the snowflake left Xia's palm, it vanished into the boundless sky. Leaving no trace...

Xia's palm grasped at the empty air, but there was nothing but air flowing through his hand... He slowly retracted his arm, his eyes lost in thought as he looked at his palm again, as if recalling or pondering something. Then, when he looked up again, it was as if he had made up his mind.

He closed his eyes and quietly sensed the auras in the air... some strong, some weak, some sweet, some foul-smelling, some sorrowful, some joyful. But... the aura Xia was looking for was one of noble simplicity.

"Hiss..." After sensing the aura he was looking for, Xia tilted his head back and took a deep breath.

Then, aiming at the sky!

"I'm here!!!!! Knight King! Artoria!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A colossal roar erupted from Xia's mouth, its words soaring into the sky, reaching thousands of meters away~! The deafening sound caused pedestrians by the roadside to cover their ears and scatter! The powerful sonic wave shattered the glass on an entire street!

"Huh?!" At this moment, Saber, dressed in a black suit and following behind Kiritsugu Emiya and Alice, suddenly heard the roar from afar. Taking a step, Saber paused, looking towards the direction of the sound with a look of shock.

The immense roar was clearly audible even to ordinary people, let alone the exceptional magi Kiritsugu Emiya and Alice.

"Who is it?! Why do they know... Saber's true name?!" Alice looked into the distance with a look of bewilderment. Kiritsugu Emiya beside her, upon hearing the roar, immediately had a grim expression. "And they know the hero who will definitely appear in this Holy Grail War. If that's the case... it's likely they not only know Saber's true identity but might have exposed us as well. I hope that guy isn't a Servant! Otherwise..." Kiritsugu said darkly, his mechanical precision-like brain rapidly calculating how to eliminate this person before they could act further!

The longing I had suppressed for so long was finally poured out in my roar! Then, under the bewildered faces of the roadside pedestrians, I leaped forward! Madly rushing towards the Servant aura I had just detected~!

"Master!" Saber, almost instantly, sensed the aura that was madly charging in their direction. Kiritsugu's sinister face cast a cold glance at Saber, then immediately instructed Alice to partner with Saber and go ahead first. He wouldn't reveal himself unless absolutely necessary! Damn it! If that aura wasn't approaching so ferociously! How could he possibly allow himself to expose his strength so prematurely!

Receiving Kiritsugu's order, Alice nodded slightly, then put her arms around Saber's shoulders. Saber, holding Alice, leaped into the air! A flash of blue light streaked through the air. Saber, clad in a blue knight's dress, holding Alice, also rapidly charged towards the approaching aura.

And at this moment, in a park... a Heroic Spirit holding two guns walked out of the bushes with a bored expression. Simultaneously, a mighty giant, holding a young boy captive in one hand and a horse tether in the other, was also rushing towards this direction, driving a luxurious chariot pulled by a divine bull crackling with electricity.

The auras of the four Heroic Spirits were rapidly closing in on each other.

Whoosh! Saber leaped down from the treetop of a tall tree, casually put Alice down, and immediately turned around! Holding an invisible sword in both hands, she vigilantly watched the person holding two guns opposite her.

"Oh my? I thought the first person to arrive here would surely be some rather reckless Servant, but I didn't expect... it to be such a cute young lady. What luck." The fourth LANCER, chuckling softly, emerged from the shadows, holding two guns.

"LANCER? Was that rude remark you just made?" Saber asked sternly.

"No, it wasn't me. I wouldn't do something so rude, and... I don't even know your name, my dear lady~" LANCER replied, his muscles tensing. Had he realized that the person before him wasn't a pretty little bird, but a fierce beast like a lion?

Clang! The invisible sword pointed directly at LANCER. "Whether it was you or not, if you are an enemy, then let our blades do the talking!" With dashing heroic spirit! Saber finished speaking and, like a gust of wind, instantly swung her invisible sword and charged at LANCER!

"I was ordered by my Master to come and test the strength of various Heroic Spirits. If that's the case... I couldn't ask for more!" As soon as he finished speaking, LANCER stirred up a blue aurora and rapidly charged towards Saber!

"Do you want to die?! LANCER!!" Just as LANCER and Saber were about to clash, a roar came from afar. Then, a flash of golden light streaked through! A magnificent golden spear instantly pierced through the space between them!

"Tch!" LANCER unwillingly retracted his spear and, with a backflip, retreated.

"Who is it?!" Saber, also forced to stop, looked displeasedly towards the approaching figure in the distance. To interfere with heroes in the midst of a duel, how utterly rude!

Whoosh!

A man in red armor leaped out from the foliage. He wore a towering crown, with golden wings symmetrically adorning his shoulder pauldrons. A skull-adorned belt was fastened at his waist, and two golden swords hung at his sides. The edges of his armor were adorned with intricate golden magic patterns, making him appear exceptionally mysterious and magnificent.

With a misstep in mid-air, he instantly landed on the ground as gracefully as smoke.

Crunch... The slowly rising figure exuded an oppressive aura. He slowly turned to face Saber. He reached towards his helmet and gently removed the ornate steel helmet, revealing a handsome face filled with longing beneath it.

"Long time no see, Artoria." His gentle voice was as comforting as finding a home. Looking at the figure, whose image had begun to blur in the depths of his memory, Xia couldn't help but reach out his hand as if to confirm...

Whoosh! A strong gust of wind instantly swept between Saber and Xia! Saber, maintaining her sword-wielding posture, stared vigilantly at Xia.

"Who... are you?!"