章 84: C84
People were sharing their tales, but few were willing to listen to the stories of others. No one offered a shoulder to lean on, no one was interested in hearing their troubles. The harsh reality had smothered their sorrows, their pain, their hopelessness, and locked it away deep in their hearts, like a cloud of forgotten dust.
Rage, envy, wrath... all the malevolent emotions lingered on. Words became sharp instruments of harm, capable of causing injury even from those with gentle hearts. Good friends could turn into strangers, just as it had happened to Shirou before. But now, he was no longer shrouded in confusion.
The road to freedom had already been laid out, and all that was left was to traverse it. The views along the way were mere fleeting moments, and the people defeated by reality were just passersby in life. However, he was determined to listen to their stories, to their sorrows, with the utmost sincerity.
People were determined to build a brighter future with their own two hands, without relying on gods, immortals, or anything beyond the ordinary. All that was missing was a calm, attentive listener who would take the time to hear their worries.
Shirou confronted the ominous Black Grail, his head tilted back as he gazed at the black mud descending like a waterfall. His reflection was mirrored in the murky water, displaying his twelve-year-old form. However, despite his youthful appearance, his face exuded a sense of maturity, especially in his eyes, which seemed far too mature for a child.
"Splash"
The torrent of black mud flowed towards Shirou, yet as it reached him, it divided and surged to both sides, as if repelled by his presence.
He said, "Please don't do this. I have acknowledged and accepted you, why are you not willing to do the same for me?"
-- You are unable to endure the evil of this world.
"I'm not here to endure it, but to cease denying the truth about myself," declared Shirou. "I acknowledge both you and myself because I, too, possess evil within me. However, I acknowledge both my flaws and virtues. And with that, I will strive toward freedom. My friends, I have taken the first step and I invite you to join me. Let us walk the path towards freedom together, towards a future wider than the sky!"
-- Take heed. Our evil can consume you at any moment.
The waves of mud surged and flowed into the mud behind Shirou.
-- Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill! --
-- Go to die, go to die, go to die! --
The echoes of malevolent thoughts resounded in Shirou's ears, yet he smiled and proclaimed, "I will not allow my heart to be clouded any longer, for it is the most valuable thing to me."
"As long as you do not deny yourself, do not reject evil, and do not forsake us, the blessings of evil will always be with you."
"Who are you?" Shirou asked.
"The evil of this world, your evil self."
The massive mud engulfed his form, compacting and converging until it merged with the mud behind him.
The immeasurable, heavy curse swiftly shattered Emiya's Saint Graph, transforming it into fragments of pure magical energy, which were then devoured by the mud.
And so, the fate of Emiya the Heroic Spirit vanished from Shirou's being.
The fate of Fujimaru Shirou was born.
The sky's breach ceased to emit mud, as the mud had become evil for Shirou.
The hole gradually vanished, and the black mist that shrouded the sky started to dissipate slowly.
A crystal-clear magical crystal materialized before Shirou.
This was the essence of the Grail, a highly concentrated magical energy.
It held the key to accessing the Root and to a certain extent, the power to grant wishes.
Shirou only needed to extract some of his own magical energy and infuse it into the crystal to activate it, thus granting a portion of his wishes.
Reversing the limits of life and death and bringing back the innocent people affected by this war should be achievable.
However, this crystal was not yet complete.
Saber, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, Caster, Berserker... The summoned Servants' Saint Graphs were all contained within this crystal. But the Grail ceremony lacked one soul, one Saint Graph.
Archer, Gilgamesh.
In reality, Shirou could fill this crystal with mud to achieve the Grail's effect. But once done, the crystal would be tainted by mud, becoming the essence of the Black Grail, and the granted wishes would come with evil and curses.
So--
"You're finally here, Archer," Shirou said as he watched the golden king descend from the sky and land on the lamppost in front of him.
"Hmph," Gilgamesh snorted haughtily, showing his contempt.
"Not bad for a mongrel," Gilgamesh said with a sinister smile, malice almost bursting from his body. "You've come this far, but in the end, the one you'll face to complete the Grail is this king!"
But in the face of the king's hatred, Shirou simply smiled and asked, "Can you stop calling me a mongrel? I don't like that nickname."
Gilgamesh's brow furrowed in surprise at his attitude, which was not what he expected. The flame he saw in Shirou was not what he had imagined it would be.
When he first saw Shirou's flame, it was like a pile of waste, a patchy and stinky flame. He had expected Shirou's awakened flame to be a blazing fire of wrath and revenge, consuming all karma. But instead, it was different.
Gilgamesh couldn't believe what he was seeing. The flame he saw in Shirou was pure, fragrant, and overflowing with zeal, making him want to collect and bless it. This was simply inconceivable!
From the moment of their birth, individuals are constantly tainted by the impurities of desire, deceit, and envy. The pure flame of life becomes obscured by the accumulation of this garbage, and its mottled stench spreads throughout their existence until the end of their days. Ultimately, all of the tarnish is stripped away, revealing the original purity, before the flame is finally extinguished. This is the cycle of life.
However, the person standing before him was completely different. This person was in possession of a flame that was the exact opposite of what was natural to him, a flame that was mottled and foul-smelling, yet burned with defiance of all rules. Though this person had a tarnished flame in his childhood, he had grown to reveal a pure flame.
What exactly is this? Is this what he have been striving for?
"Gilgamesh, you... are weak," Shirou said.
"What?" Gilgamesh was taken aback, and his expression quickly turned to anger. "What did you say? You're calling me a weakling? You mongrel! Do you have the guts to repeat those words?"
Shirou remained unperturbed, "No matter how many times I say it, nothing will change. Your rage blinds you, rendering you just as vulnerable as the rest of us. The journey of life consists of four stages - innocent childhood, passionate adolescence, complicated young adulthood, and unwavering old age. You, like all of us, will eventually face the harsh realities of life and feel anger and helplessness."
Gilgamesh's cold gaze was filled with killing intent as he glared at Shirou. "You dare to lecture me, the king, on how to be human?"
"I am no teacher, and you are certainly not a child. I have despised you until now and would have taken your life if I could. The Grail's completion demands your death. However, the kindness you've shown me cannot be ignored. If I fail to repay it, I wouldn't be true to myself." Shirou stretched out his hand, a smile on his face. "Just this once, I'll be your Enkidu."
"Boom!"
Like a spark, it fueled the already raging Gilgamesh. He glowered viciously at Shirou, his body exuding an intense aura, "You dare claim to be him, you mongrel?"
The killing intent in Gilgamesh's gaze was palpable, and an array of 128 Noble Phantasms materialized around him, all aimed directly at Shirou.
Despite the ominous atmosphere, Shirou remained calm, his expression emotionless but his heart brimming with a gentle warmth. Behind him, the earth rumbled as eight black arms emerged.
"You cannot defeat me, for we are both weak."
...
Hokkaido
"... Currently, the fire in the Miyama district of Fuyuki City has been brought under control. However, residents are advised to stay indoors. The citizens of Miyama need not fear, the military has arrived on the scene. You see, that is the transport aircraft of the Self-Defense Force,"
The TV camera shifted its focus to the transport aircraft in the sky, but before the reporter could utter a word, a dazzling golden light flashed. With a deafening boom, a brilliant beam of light struck the aircraft, causing it to explode in a fiery blast.
The camera crew was momentarily stunned, before quickly regaining composure and turning the camera to face the opposite direction.
The reporter, now sweating profusely, spoke into the microphone, "That was just a scene from the latest film by Director Kitano, 'Flowers of War.' Now, let us take a look at what is happening in the city..."
Fujimaru Chiyo gazed blankly at the TV, then down at the large stuffed bear in her embrace.
'How could this be happening?' she thought.
She had abandoned her own child in Fuyuki City.
She had actually thought of a stuffed bear as her own child.
Tears streamed down her face as she realized how she had failed so completely as a mother.
The Suggestion had been lifted.
...
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