Chapter 1. This World is Not the Same
It seems that in this world, some extraordinary differences exist. Emiya Shirou has likely noticed this as well.
Amidst the stagnant, sweltering air, Shirou reached out and caught a dazzling, radiant jewel flying toward him from the side.
"Eat this. It's a bit subtle, but it should shield you from the radiation for about ten minutes—at least enough to avoid any lasting after-effects. Shirou, hurry up! You're the only one left!"
To his right, a girl in red explained with a seriousness and speed that brought "High-Speed Divine Words" to mind.
The red clothes she wore were, of course, not her old set. She had bought a larger size; however, a certain area had not increased in size at all.
Ordinarily, this would be a point of contention in a sisterly spat.
"This isn't one of the sub-species gems I gave you... Tohsaka, you're really going all out here."
"What are you talking about? Is now the time to be picky about which gems we use?"
The girl named Tohsaka Rin shot back with a matter-of-fact question. Shirou responded with an ambiguous, wry smile, even as more memories began to surface.
The place where Shirou and the others currently stood was a massive power station.
Once, a certain human had reached the end of a journey to stop a runaway reactor core, signed a contract with the Counter Force, and saved the lives of well over a hundred people. The déjà vu of those fragmented memories from that person's life overlapped with the architectural corridors before his eyes.
That was a story from a long time ago.
The Holy Grail War: a ritual where seven Masters and seven Servants—Heroic Spirits summoned from history or the future—clash in a battle for the right to use the Holy Grail, which can grant any wish.
Emiya Shirou, living in the small city of Fuyuki, was forced to participate in that ritual. He emerged victorious, and then—he destroyed the Holy Grail.
Past history isn't the focus here. The focus is this: Shirou and a Heroic Spirit named EMIYA once had a fight because their ideals clashed.
That Spirit failed to stop Shirou's path, and Shirou didn't know how he was faring now. However, back then, besides giving Shirou a sense of resolve, some of that man's memories had flowed into Shirou's mind.
Facing the fork in the road ahead, Shirou asserted, "Go left. Trust me."
Rin, along with several other figures who had been by Shirou's side for a long time, followed in perfect synchronization as they turned the corner.
"Speaking of which, having me use the network to find information on the power plant from Archer's lifetime... were you trying to kill me? We only pinned down the exact location so recently, and then an accident happens the moment we arrive—what is that all about? Shouldn't the normal timeline be ten years after the Fifth Holy Grail War? Just how unlucky are we!"
As she ran, she became indignant all on her own.
A moment later, Rin calmed herself down and added, as if nothing had happened:
"Honestly... you definitely have to let me spoil myself once this is over."
Shirou paused for a few seconds before showing a faint smile. "I promise."
They passed through metal corridors, railings, and warning signs, finally arriving at a vast chamber.
Behind the door ahead was the runaway core of this power station. From this point on, the memories of the Heroic Spirit who became a Guardian overlapped perfectly with the current scene.
The blonde girl to the left asked:
"Could it be resolved if I used my Noble Phantasm to blow it away?"
"No, that wouldn't handle the radiation. I think the hazardous materials would just explode and be scattered everywhere..."
'Your solution is too violent, Saber.'
Too violent, too reckless, too heedless of consequences—a triple rejection.
Even though Shirou wasn't wrong at all, Saber's face visibly tightened, and she refused to meet Shirou's eyes.
The presence of intense heat washed over them.
If Shirou were alone, even if he had made it this far, he would be completely helpless. The temperature of the core was still rising, the meltdown approaching critical mass with no intention of stopping.
And so... Shirou turned his gaze toward the "younger sister" figure of the group.
"—Sakura, using Imaginary Number Space, is it feasible to cast this entire facility into it as a whole?"
The girl with ribbon-tied hair that held a purple sheen remained silent for a few seconds before answering, "It is possible. But please give me a little time, Senpai."
Black ribbons flickered through the shadows like stalking sharks. This was merely the preparation for the Great Magecraft. The girl with dark purple hair moved immediately, first scattering catalysts, then constructing a ten-verse Great Magecraft.
Only a moment remained.
"Shirou, I feel like that core is about to give way..."
Wiping away cold sweat, Rin repeatedly warned Shirou by sensing the environmental changes through magecraft. Yet, she never once considered running away.
Saber held her sword hilt high, poised and ready, her entire body surging with magical energy. She acted as a shield at the front.
Shirou also opened the palm of one hand. Azure magical light began to emanate from his palm.
Shirou was completely incapable of such powerful methods as exiling a core into an alien dimension.
"Trace on."
At most, Shirou could only do something far less "sophisticated"... for example, delaying the time it takes to reach the limit by draining physical energy.
The True Name of a Noble Phantasm was released. With a forceful swing of a frozen demonic sword, an ultimate frost submerged the area ahead, including the core.
"...Binden, Verdicken, Gesamtheit werden fehlen. (Bind, thicken, the whole shall be lost.)"
The cold wind carried the final verse of the chant from behind his ear, and in coordination, everything ahead vanished into the shadows.
A curtain of pure black lasted for a full minute. When the veil was lifted, the interior was empty, leaving only a 500-square-meter giant "skylight." The surrounding area, along with the core, had vanished without a trace.
"I suppose that counts as finished."
Rin exhaled, hands on her hips as she surveyed the empty space, summarizing the situation for everyone.
In this story, no one died, and no one was sacrificed. There was no need for tragedy or drama. This was a world where miracles were permitted to exist.
The former King of Britain—Saber, who stood side-by-side with Shirou as always—looked at Shirou and smiled. Shirou returned the smile, celebrating with her: "Mission accomplished."
At that same moment, the sensation of something leaning against his back gave Shirou a start.
That girl, possessing near-infinite magical energy, would not run out of mana, but the physical stamina consumed by magecraft was a different matter.
After catching her breath, Sakura tidied her disheveled hair and then suddenly pushed away from her support, looking up.
"Sakura, thank you for your hard work. It's thanks to you that we were able to stop the core's lethality."
Sakura shook her head, gently moving Shirou's supporting hand and carefully setting it aside.
"No, this is just... atonement."
Sakura withdrew her hand with a wry smile, only to feel the sensation of her hand being grasped.
The girl felt the embrace in close proximity with a start.
"Yeah, maybe. But I hope you won't make that expression anymore, Sakura. I should say, I hope you can truly smile. I won't give up on facing things with you, and I won't give up on saving more people, but my desire for you to move forward in peace is by no means a lie."
It was hard to imagine that just because of this, she could feel a happiness so profound it felt like her heart was melting.
Sakura couldn't remember what kind of expression she had been making just now, but if that was all her Senpai desired, his wish had been realized long ago.
In a situation where they were practically pressed together like this, how could she possibly succeed in reproducing that expression?
As for the "ahem" coughing sister and the restless Saber—those dual piercing glares that only Sakura could see because Shirou's back was turned—she could simply ignore them. They didn't affect her happiness in this moment at all.
"Let's go back. Illya is still waiting for us."
Sakura smiled from the bottom of her heart and nodded.
Beside her, Rider—who had remained in spirit form the entire time because her abilities were of no use here—manifested her body and silently looked away.
Naturally—no "tentacles" of the Counter Force seeking to claim a certain red-headed youth appeared at all.
There was no blue orb of light, and naturally, no contract to make one a Guardian. The same event did not happen at the same location, and of course, it never would again.
There was indeed a difference here. For example, the path taken had already diverged from that of the red Heroic Spirit.
This was not the only special path. However, it was one piece of the world's kaleidoscope that had never been shown or seen.
All of this took place three years ago.
.
.
.
"What did you just say?"
Three years later, a "False Holy Grail War" was held in Snowfield.
The Snowfield Police Department.
Located in the center of Snowfield, it was a place that did everything in its power to protect residents and maintain order.
Nominally, it was also one of the masterminds behind the Snowfield Fake Holy Grail War. The faction of Caster, Alexandre Dumas.
This faction's policy was to assemble twenty-eight resilient humans to fight Servants using special Noble Phantasms created by Caster—even though the person who proposed this idea had never seen it achieved before, they remained convinced of it, and the department continued to operate in an orderly fashion.
A young member in a black uniform and a large hat—John—asked with a look of disbelief. Before him was a member of the Observation Team who had suddenly visited the Chief's office today.
The Observation Team consisted of non-combat members, yet they were part of the department. They were also subordinates of the Chief.
Although John was a combatant, there was supposed to be no hierarchy between them. Yet for some reason, whenever they encountered the twenty-eight "combatants," the observers always seemed a bit intimidated.
"Yes, our observations are accurate—"
The member bit his lip and restated the Observation Team's findings.
It should be reiterated that the Observation Team was an experimental group arranged by the Chief.
Their duty was to use magically enhanced camera drones to hover and observe the appearance of "Command Spells," essentially scouting the locations of Masters.
Originally, this was just an experimental move with low expectations. Theoretically, this group shouldn't have had any chance to shine and would have spent the entire Fake Holy Grail War in quiet, uneventful safety. However, as of today, that view was about to change.
"...I understand. I will inform the Chief immediately," John said, exhaling deeply with a serious and polite tone. As he turned to "relay" the member's intel...
"I'm right here. What is it?"
A steady, seasoned voice preempted him from the corner of the hallway. After giving John time to react, a tall man appeared, looking energetic despite his aging face and grey-streaked hair.
The Command Spell on the inside of his glove, symbolizing him as Caster's Master, was completely covered by black leather.
John gave a reassuring pat to the shoulder of the observer, whose throat was dry from repetition, and straightened up to answer:
"Yes, Chief! The Observation Team spotted a young male figure with marks on his hand today. The image was captured by Unit 03 of the high-altitude drones stationed over the Group 6 airport. This should be the first Master we've discovered before the start of the Holy Grail War!"
Simultaneously, the observer handed over a set of photos. They were images of an airplane cabin walkway, captured by a drone at an altitude of three kilometers and magnified multiple times.
The Chief nodded slightly, took the photos, and scrutinized them with calm prudence.
It was a young man who looked as tall as the Chief himself. Despite that, he was much younger. Based on the Chief's years of experience judging people, he estimated the youth to be around twenty-five.
The image was zoomed in, making him easier to identify. But even without that, the messy, flame-red hair would likely have been quite easy to recognize.
On his right hand, there was also a black mark—something that looked like a bruise to an ordinary person, but very much like a Command Spell to a participant of the Holy Grail War.
The young man was smiling relaxedly, appearing to be saying something.
"...Huh??"
Mainly, what almost caused the Chief to mutter "You've got to be kidding me" was that within a clearly intimate distance around the youth, there were the figures of four women...