Welcoming a New Life

Chen Tian slid his sword back into its sheath with a swift, decisive motion.

"What's going on?!" Shirou cried, struggling to keep his balance. The shaking beneath his feet filled him with unease.

Chen Tian furrowed his brow, seeming faintly impatient with the unrelenting quake.

He instantly landed back on the ground, not far from Rin and the others. Resting his right hand casually on the end of the sword hilt at his waist, he gave it a light downward tap.

A muffled sound rang out, as if it had struck the foundations of the entire city.

The ground abruptly grew still. The violent shaking came to an immediate halt!

Everyone was stunned. They looked at Chen Tian, then at the steady ground beneath their feet, and finally glanced up at the sky in bewilderment.

Shirou was completely dumbfounded. "What... just happened?"

At the same time, Artoria's body began to glow faintly, flickering like a candle in the wind.

She lowered her head to look at her hand, which was gradually growing translucent. A glimmer of understanding passed through her emerald eyes, then her expression returned to calm.

With the foundations of the Holy Grail System destroyed, her existence as a Servant bound to this world had begun to grow unstable.

Deep beneath the earth, the Ley Line that had once surged with power had fallen silent and dried up, like a beast drained of its blood.

Fuyuki City's massive Ley Line node, which had endured for centuries, along with the Holy Grail System it had nurtured, had been severed and erased from the very concept of the Root by the few casual strokes of Chen Tian's blade.

Having finished, Chen Tian looked over Artoria, whose form was beginning to turn translucent, and Archer, whose entire body was tense.

He furrowed his brow.

Without warning, Enma Sword flashed from its sheath! Its cold blade pointed straight at Emiya Shirou!

Rin's pupils contracted. Archer roared and tried to rush forward to stop him—

A streak of blue light flashed past. It didn't cut Shirou's body, but precisely sliced across the crimson cross-shaped Command Seal on the back of his hand!

"Ah!" Shirou felt a chill on his hand, but no pain.

Then something uncanny happened: the Command Seal peeled away as if it were alive, detaching from Shirou's hand and becoming an unusual rune that hovered in the air, glowing faintly red!

Chen Tian beckoned to the floating Command Seal Rune.

A flash of red, and the Command Seal flew to him like a bird returning to its nest, imprinting itself on the back of his right hand like a blood-red marking!

At the same time—

Artoria, whose form had begun to grow translucent and flicker like a candle in the wind, suddenly erupted in a gentle white radiance!

Her spirit, on the verge of fading away, instantly stabilized and became more solid than ever before, right before their eyes!

A surge of vitality, far greater than before and belonging to a body of flesh and blood, emanated from her!

Artoria stared down in astonishment at her hand, now as real as any ordinary person's. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Absolute silence descended over the ruins.

Everyone stood frozen, looking at Artoria, whose presence had not only stabilized but grown stronger than before. Then their gazes shifted to the crimson Command Seal pattern on the sheath at Chen Tian's waist, and finally to Emiya Shirou, who was just as dumbfounded, with only a faint red mark left on the back of his hand.

Chen Tian glanced down at the blood-red Command Seal marking on the back of his right hand, then casually wiped it with his left. The marking vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.

He looked up at Artoria, whose presence had stabilized as though she had been given a new lease on life.

The usual chill had disappeared from his face, replaced by a warm smile entirely unlike the one he'd worn before.

"Saber," he said in an even voice, "it's time to come back."

Artoria's body trembled slightly!

Deep in her heart, the power of the Servant Contract that had tied her existence to Emiya Shirou was severed, then instantly transferred!

A far greater, more boundless connection was established between her and Chen Tian.

The transfer of the contract was unmistakable!

At the same time, a sliver of the unfathomable power within Chen Tian surged forth and poured into her. Every injury she had sustained in battle healed instantly!

Even her blue dress and silver armor, symbols of her identity, were instantly restored. Her armor gleamed, without a single sign of damage!

A flicker of complicated emotion passed through Artoria's emerald eyes.

First, she looked toward Emiya Shirou, who remained dazed and shocked. Her eyes held a hint of apology and helplessness.

Then she turned to Chen Tian, whose face bore a warm smile.

Without hesitation or a word, she stepped forward and stopped in front of Chen Tian.

She bent her knees slightly, pressed her right fist to her chest, and half-kneeled before him—the new Master, whose power was so great it defied comprehension—with solemn dignity.

"I have come in answer to your summoning, Master. From this day forth, my sword shall be at your side, and your fate shall be bound to mine. Thus, our contract is complete."

Her voice was clear and resolute, echoing through the silent ruins.

Artoria (Saber) remained on one knee, her presence as firm as a rock, supported by Chen Tian's boundless power.

The other Heroic Spirits, however, weren't so fortunate.

Countless tiny golden specks appeared out of nowhere in the air, like fireflies on a summer night, yet carrying the sorrow of fading away.

They came from every corner of the city, silently emerging from the void and gathering into golden streams that spiraled up toward the shattered sky above Fuyuki City.

They were the Spirit Core Particles of the other Servants. With the Holy Grail System completely collapsed, their souls had lost their source of mana and were being forcibly recalled by the world's laws, returning to the Throne of Heroes beyond the bounds of space and time.

Emiya Shirou jerked his head up. As he watched the golden motes drift through the sky, he was first bewildered. Then his gaze abruptly fixed on the figure still kneeling before Chen Tian, so vivid and real—his Saber!

Shock gave way to overwhelming disappointment and anger!

He had watched with his own eyes as the Servant he had summoned and fought beside was "taken" by this man who had appeared out of nowhere, in a display of overwhelming power!

"You...!" A growl rose from Shirou's throat. His chest heaved as anger surged through him, and he instinctively tried to rush toward Chen Tian and demand an explanation!

A cold but powerful hand clamped down on his shoulder, forcibly stopping him in his tracks.

Shirou turned around in anger and saw Tohsaka Rin's equally conflicted profile.

Rin wasn't looking at him. Her gaze followed the golden motes drifting toward the sky. One of them, glimmering like a fragment of red spirit armor, was gradually fading away—that was Archer (Emiya).

Her lips trembled slightly, and a deep sadness flashed in her eyes.

But she bit down hard on her lower lip. She didn't try to stop him, nor did she turn to Chen Tian to make any requests.

She knew full well that Chen Tian had kept Saber not out of mercy or respect for the rules of the Holy Grail War.

It was simply because their encounter twelve years ago had left a faint connection between Saber and Chen Tian—a bond that Saber herself might not even have fully recognized.

But Archer (Emiya)... had nothing to do with Chen Tian.

Chen Tian had no reason to keep a Heroic Spirit who was "of no consequence," and he wouldn't go out of his way to do so.

Only after the final speck of gold belonging to Archer had vanished into the cold air did Rin manage to tear her gaze away, as if she had used up all her strength. Her hand tightened slightly on Shirou's shoulder. Her voice, strained with exhaustion and forced clarity, was directed at him.

"He was able to keep Saber..." Rin's voice was hoarse. "Shirou, that's already... the best outcome we could have hoped for."

Above the ruins, golden motes drifted silently. The only other sign of how the absurd war had ended was Saber's tall, steadfast figure standing before Chen Tian.

Chen Tian raised a hand as if to help her up, and Artoria immediately rose. Her armor clinked crisply.

She stepped back to stand just behind his shoulder, her manner respectful.

"Miss Tohsaka." Chen Tian turned to Rin. His coat hem didn't stir in the mana-depleted air. "I've done everything I promised you."

He pointed to the charred ground beneath their feet. "Fuyuki City is now a barren wasteland without mana."

Rin's pupils contracted sharply.

A Mana Desert—that meant every Magecraft Foundation would cease to function, and all traces of the Holy Grail War would be erased.

"So," Chen Tian said, his voice no longer so cold, "you're free."

Free? The word rang through Rin's mind.

She suddenly realized she would never again have to shoulder the responsibilities of the Tohsaka Family Head, calculate her way through the Holy Grail War, or even maintain her mask of graceful composure.

For the first time in so many years, she could simply be "Tohsaka Rin."

Looking at the girl who stood there in a daze, Chen Tian smiled gently. "Go get your sister."

He paused. "I've already taken care of the filthy things inside her."

His words cut through Rin's muddled thoughts like a bolt of lightning.

Sakura! The younger sister the Matou family had taken from her, the poor girl tormented in the Worm Pit.

Could she finally come back to her for good? Rin's throat tightened, and her vision blurred.

She quickly lowered her head, using her hair to hide her eyes, which had reddened in an instant.

A warm touch settled on Rin's shoulder.

She jerked her head up. Through her tear-blurred vision, Chen Tian's face was close to hers.

The man who had once looked down on all of Fuyuki now wore the same gentle smile he had when he was with her cousin Marin.

"Rin." His voice was soft, but the warmth of his palm felt strikingly real. "Go get Sakura."

Those words made Rin's tears spill over completely.

Behind Chen Tian, Saber stood quietly among the ruins, the sunlight filtering through the clouds and scattering flecks of gold across her armor.

"Marin and I will be waiting for you in Tokyo."

That was right. She had more than just her sister. She also had her energetic cousin Kitagawa Marin, who had told her in Tokyo that she wanted to become her guardian. She wasn't alone. She had family, too.

At the thought, Rin's face blossomed into a dazzling smile like the sun, dispelling every trace of gloom.

Her eyes curved into crescents as she nodded firmly, her voice lighter than ever before.

Chen Tian's smile grew a little more genuine.

He reached out and gently ruffled her smooth black hair, his gesture as casual as an older brother's.

"I'll get rooms ready for you and Sakura, so don't keep your Marin sis waiting."

After that, he turned his gaze to Emiya Shirou, who stood nearby with fists clenched and indignation written all over his face. Chen Tian chuckled, his detachment almost tinged with pity.

"Heh, kid. Go live your peaceful life."

It was both a blessing and an ending.

For Shirou, the life of an ordinary person was what lay ahead.

With that, Chen Tian didn't linger. He spun around, and Enma Sword flashed from its sheath!

The blue blade drew a sharp cross through the air!

Space split open like a fragile curtain beneath the blow! A cross-shaped portal, glowing blue and shedding tiny fragments of space along its edges, silently opened in front of him.

On the other side, faint, strange colors shimmered and flowed.

Without looking back, Chen Tian left two words for the knight king standing behind him.

He took a step forward, and the hem of his coat vanished into the blue portal.

Artoria's gaze lingered on Emiya Shirou for a moment.

Apology, relief, and resolve toward her new mission mingled in her clear emerald eyes.

Without a word, she bowed slightly to the young Master who had once fought alongside her and given her a brief taste of "ordinary life," performing a proper knight's salute.

When she was done, she straightened her back and, without the slightest hesitation, followed Chen Tian with firm steps into the blue portal.

The portal's light contracted inward like the ebbing tide. The cross-shaped fissure quickly sealed, then dwindled to a tiny streak of light before disappearing completely from the silent ruins.

The blue cross of light vanished without a trace, as though it had never appeared. The silence of the ruins on Fuyuki City's outskirts pressed down heavily, carrying the dead stillness left behind by the loss of mana.

Rin raised the back of her hand and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks.

Her hand brushed her skin, leaving a cool sensation.

She took a deep breath. The air no longer felt thick with flowing mana particles; it was purely crisp and cold. It still smelled of smoke and dust, but it had never felt so "clean."

She turned and looked at Emiya Shirou, still standing beside her, dejected.

The boy clenched his fists and lowered his head, his shoulders slumped like a stubborn, wounded young beast with nowhere to vent his frustration.