Red Tears

A huge red sun hung high in the sky, its warm light shining down over the grasslands and mountains.

Fluffy white clouds drifted around the sun, and a comfortable breeze blew across the deep blue sky.

A clear little stream flowed through this beautiful grassland, winding off to who knew where.

Beside the stream grew countless beautiful flowers. Bathed in sunlight, they looked so delicate and vibrant.

Just then, two or three little white rabbits came hopping over. They played and frolicked by the stream. A little while later... two or three beautiful butterflies joined them.

The beautiful butterflies fluttered their dazzling wings, dancing up and down as if they could set the whole blue sky in motion.

Crack.

The Servants and Masters who had been brought into this world by the golden light stood there in a daze, staring at the scene before them.

The blue sky, the clear stream, the fresh air, the green grass, the beautiful garden.

A quiet, comfortable, peaceful world, calm and free of hostility, with no evil in sight.

"...The ideal land, cut off from everything else. Avalon, is it...?" As Kiritsugu looked at the scene before him and felt the peace and serenity of this world, even his usually cold expression gradually softened.

Alice's curious eyes widened as she carefully took in her surroundings. This place... was a paradise she had never seen before, not since she had been created as an artificial Holy Grail.

The Heroic Spirits present paid no heed to the fact that they were still enemies. They all closed their eyes, savoring this rare moment of peace.

The air here was so refreshing to breathe, the world so clean to behold. This sense of peace and security was so inviting~

Horses galloped happily across the grassland~

Birds sang joyfully in the treetops~

Little animals frolicked in this world~

Happiness. Such happiness.

Joy. Such joy.

Anyone who came here and saw this scenery would surely say, "How beautiful... I wish I could stay here forever."

This was an ideal land that did not exist in "reality."

This was the ultimate paradise, removed from the suffering of the mortal world.

This was...

"This place... is where my heart is imprisoned, where my soul is bound, where I can never be free. Its name is Eternal Avalon!" A sorrowful voice rang out from behind the Heroic Spirits. Who could be so blind as to say something so jarring amid such breathtaking scenery?!

Thinking this, the Heroic Spirits all turned around.

"Huh?!" The moment they looked back, the Heroic Spirits gaped in astonishment as if they had seen a ghost.

What was that sight before them?!

Nearly a hundred volcanoes roared and spewed lava! Their blazing red flames were burning up the entire sky~!

Black smoke blotted out the sun! The sky held no light, no hope!

Rivers made entirely of blood flowed before them, reeking of blood~

Corpses lay piled like mountains. The land was broken and desolate, stinking of rot and blood.

This was hell!

This was a land of despair, cut off from the world!

This was a forsaken place, loathed by all!

Black, muddy earth. Blood-red rivers!

It stood in stark contrast to the paradise behind them!

The paradise-like world was surrounded by this entire hellish realm. It lay at the very center of that world, the only pure land in a place made of bloodshed and malice.

Heaven and hell were separated by no more than half a step, yet that half-step was an absolute barrier no one could cross.

The Heroic Spirits stood at the edge of that paradise, just half a step away, unable to advance another inch.

"Each inch of earth, each step, a world; each glimmer of light, each glance, passes by." A quiet chant drew everyone's gaze.

Then... a flash of blood-red light streaked before them!

"Kill them all!"

The sunlight was just as warm, and the sky was just as blue.

A flock of chattering little birds fussed outside the wooden window of a cabin.

Inside the cabin...

The fresh scent of wood drifted through the air. A golden-haired girl lay fast asleep on the wooden bed...

Beside her, a black-haired boy in roughspun clothes quietly kept watch. Looking at the sleeping girl, he wore a fond smile.

Outside the cabin stretched a vast forest.

The forest seemed almost endless... Anyone who entered it was sure to lose their way and wander there forever.

This was a sacred place where humans were forbidden to enter.

This was a sacred place only the kindhearted and honest could enter.

This was... the "Fairy Forest."

"Mm..." The girl on the bed let out a soft murmur.

Hearing her, the boy quickly straightened up and tiptoed to her side. When she had murmured a few times and fallen soundly asleep again, he finally let out a quiet sigh of relief...

"Tweet-tweet, chirp-chirp~" The birds, seeing this, began chirping noisily, as if teasing the boy for being so cautious.

The boy looked toward the sound. When he saw the little birds chattering away by the window, he scratched his head awkwardly and gave them a shy smile...

"Shhh~~~~" The boy put a finger to his lips and softly shushed the birds, telling them to keep their voices down so they wouldn't wake the girl, who was finally sleeping soundly.

"Tweet~~~~" Seeing this, the birds imitated him, sticking out a feather and softly shushing.

"Pfft!" The birds copied him so perfectly that the boy nearly burst out laughing! Luckily, his reflexes were quicker than his thoughts, and he clapped a hand over his mouth in time.

The boy glared at the little birds by the window, then turned away, ignoring the lot of them as they rolled around clutching their bellies. He looked quietly at the girl lying on the bed. Her captivating face and the charm that had ensnared him so deeply were unchanged.

She was still just as resolute and stubborn, just as strong and lonely.

That smile, like salvation, always left me staring foolishly without realizing it.

My soul.

The meaning of my existence.

My light...

But...

Why...

Why, even though you're lying right here, can I still not feel your presence?!

Everything about you is still here. Nothing about you has changed..!

"Artoria..." His muffled voice held a hint of sorrow and resentment.

He reached out, wanting to touch once more the face he had dreamed of night after night.

Crackle~ Just as the boy's hand was about to touch the girl's face, an electric arc suddenly sprang up and knocked his entire hand away!

Zap~~

The boy stared blankly at the sparks still dancing over his hand, then turned back to the golden-haired girl lying quietly on the wooden bed.

"So it's... the Self-Imposed Memory Seal." After murmuring those words, his body seemed to give way beneath him, and he dropped to his knees. His eyes were wide as he stared at the girl before him, disbelief and shock written across his dark irises.

"Artoria... you really... you really used your own will and hands to seal away your memories?!" Xia stared in disbelief.

(The Self-Imposed Memory Seal is a forbidden memory magecraft... It trades away one of the caster's emotions or senses forever in exchange for an absolute seal upon their own memories. The more painful the memories, the stronger the prison; the harder one tries to break free, the tighter the chains bind.

Usually, those who use this magecraft on themselves are driven by hatred for someone or something, or by an irreconcilable grievance. They use it to escape the torment and pain of their memories, day after day and night after night. This magecraft dates back to the Age of Myths. It is known as a self-sealing spell that only "fools" would use...)

"Artoria... do you truly hate my existence this much?" Xia's hoarse voice rang through the cabin. There was no answer to his question. At some point, the quiet cabin had become utterly silent.

"I understand...! But please, allow me to live a few days longer. When I offer you the perfect Holy Grail, I will personally kill every version of myself in the 'Points'! Thus I shall atone for my mistakes and my actions!" Xia slowly lowered his head and performed a knight's salute, as if receiving a royal command, then rose to his feet.

"Whatever Artoria wishes, that is what the man named Drac D. Xia shall do. Even if my soul is shattered, I will swear to see it through! Artoria... I have truly received your resolve and determination!" Xia's gaze at the girl sleeping on the bed seemed to pierce through time and space, crossing countless mountains and forests.

It reached the true "Fairy Forest" deep within his memories, to an ancient castle not far from the Life Tree where he and Artoria had once lived.

Artoria wore a royal cloak and a king's crown.

Though her body was small, she walked upright through the great hall of the castle.

"Have you made your decision...?" An old voice rang out in the empty hall. Artoria stood at its center and gave a slight nod. Her tense expression held a hint of resolve and determination.

"That man truly is the most important person in your life. He is also the one you trust most..."

"That man!! He betrayed my trust! He appeared in my life without permission, then disappeared without permission just when I needed him most! I'm sick of being tormented every day by this wretched longing! I never want to lie in bed each day and dream of everything between me and that man again! That nostalgia! That feeling of security!! That feeling of always depending on and relying completely on that man!!" Before the old voice could finish, Artoria suddenly cut it off, bristling like a cat whose tail had been stepped on!

"He... he was an obstacle in the way of my kingly path! A stumbling block to my rule as King of Britannia! An obstacle that must be removed!" No matter how much she denied it, her body told the truth.

Transparent liquid shimmered in her red-rimmed eyes, seeming ready to spill over at any moment, yet her stubbornness kept the tears at bay.

Each time she spoke of how she felt, her heart clenched violently, making her cover her chest without thinking.

"So... so please, let me forget him forever! Erase his existence completely!" Artoria endured the wrenching pain in her heart and the tears welling in her eyes as she loudly pleaded to the empty hall.

"..." The hall fell silent for a brief moment. Then, all at once, a clear, resounding song rang out~ The hall filled with divine light in five colors~!

"Then, in the name of the fairies' melody, I bestow upon the King of Britannia an eternal prison of memory!" The voice rang out again, no longer aged. In its place was a powerful, resonant voice, full of vigor~!

The song grew louder and louder, and the five-colored light shone ever more brilliantly.

Artoria relaxed her entire body, allowing the five-colored light to enter her.

Each beam that entered her emerged again from behind her. The light that went in was divine and five-colored; when it came out, it formed a black ribbon. Look closely at each ribbon, and you would see... that each one contained fragments of Artoria's memories of Xia.

As more and more light entered her, more and more ribbons emerged behind her.

The song, once so resounding, gradually quieted...

Artoria felt her memories of Xia growing ever more indistinct...

First... she forgot his name.

Then his face, voice, feelings, events, memories. Everything began to blur, bit by bit.

Drip~

A crisp sound rang clearly through the hall. A crystal-clear tear slowly rolled from her eye. Then more and more tears flowed down her cheeks, impossible to stop, falling to the stone floor with soft drips.

Artoria's expression, once completely calm, had somehow become one of heartbreak and pain. She clenched her teeth, furrowed her brow, and looked unwilling to keep holding back her tears.

Xia watched it all with a cold, expressionless face...

But... no matter how much Artoria cried, she could not bring back the memories she had lost. No matter how heartbroken she felt, she had only this brief moment left.

Thousands of ribbons, each bearing Artoria's memories of Xia, flew toward the ceiling of the hall. Then a huge steel cage suddenly appeared and trapped them inside.

Clank-clank~~

A grating sound of steel chains rang out. Looking up, they saw eight thick iron chains tightly binding the cage. The dense incantations etched into them made it clear that they were no ordinary chains.

"Three thousand three hundred and thirty-nine 'Threads of Memory.' I grant you eternal imprisonment." As the words echoed through the hall, the enormous cage hovering in the air vanished in an instant. No one knew where it had been taken.

Artoria stared at the steel cage that had disappeared. At some point, the expression of pain and restraint on her face had vanished, replaced by a strange look, as if she had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

She turned and looked around. It seemed she recognized nothing, so she turned and started toward the exit.

Drip~!

Another crisp sound rang out. Artoria felt something wet slowly trickle down her face.

She raised her left hand and gently wiped the liquid from her cheek.

Then she lifted her hand before her eyes and stared at it in confusion...

"Red... tears?"

THE END

Fine, I won't keep taking breaks.

I'll just keep going like this. It's so exhausting~

Next update: next Tuesday.

That's it~!

Please leave comments~ Please recommend~

Gahaha