Darkness. Endless darkness.
Emiya found himself submerged in an infinite expanse of black.
He had no idea where he was, nor what existed around him.
The impenetrable darkness rendered him blind to everything.
I suppose... I'm already dead.
Emiya let out a bitter laugh. He knew very well the state his body had been in—utterly spent, wounded beyond any hope of recovery. No healer alive could have saved him from that.
Besides, Emiya had fought fully expecting to die. The gap between him and Kokushibō had been insurmountable; victory without sacrifice had never been an option.
Though a hint of regret lingered, he felt no true remorse for his fate.
But despite all his pondering, Emiya still had no clue where exactly he was.
If this was the afterlife, surely a guide should have appeared by now.
He had long since lost any sense of how much time he'd spent trapped in this endless void. Time itself felt meaningless here.
If he stayed here any longer, Emiya worried his mind might genuinely break.
Thankfully, whoever or whatever created this space didn't intend to leave Emiya stranded forever.
A sphere glowing with gentle blue light suddenly appeared before him.
I'm...not blind?
That was Emiya's first coherent thought at the sight of the glowing orb.
By all rights, he should have been blind—both eyes sliced through by Kokushibō's blade.
My right arm...it's back?!
His second thought followed swiftly, as the blue orb's gentle glow allowed him to glimpse his physical condition.
Yet something was different: intricate golden patterns now lined his arm like delicate veins, stretching from his fingertips upward toward his chest—like lacquered seams repairing a broken porcelain vase.
Though Emiya couldn't see how far these golden seams reached, he sensed their presence deeply.
Only now did he realize he was lying upon a solid surface, entirely devoid of physical sensation. He could see his hands move but felt nothing.
"What's happening to me?"
"You've essentially died three times now," replied a mechanical, steady voice emanating from within the blue sphere.
The orb can talk?!
Emiya's fourth thought revealed itself immediately. If not for his involvement in the Holy Grail War, Emiya would've certainly excelled at dry sarcasm.
"Three times?"
He suddenly recalled several occasions where he'd sustained seemingly fatal injuries, yet awakened fully healed by the next day.
Including his recent battle with Kokushibō, that indeed made three times.
"Were you the one who saved me?"
"Yes, and no," the steady mechanical voice responded cryptically.
Before Emiya could press further, golden light flared abruptly from within his abdomen.
"You possess a powerful Noble Phantasm sealed inside your body. It has a limited healing capability, but it lay dormant until I activated it through certain means."
Emiya nodded vaguely, only half-understanding the explanation.
"So…what's my current condition, exactly?"
If that Noble Phantasm truly had healing powers, surely he shouldn't still be lying here immobile.
"Its healing power is limited. Your injuries this time far exceeded its natural recovery threshold—especially your severed right arm. Had I not amplified its output through artificial means, your arm would've been lost permanently."
"Now, after partially healing you, it has returned to dormancy. Unless you obtain magical energy from its original owner, it will remain inactive."
After hearing the orb's explanation, Emiya finally understood. His body had merely been partially restored, leaving him incapacitated.
"How long until I fully recover?"
"With your body's natural healing rate—at minimum a few years, or at most several decades. You'll remain bedridden for quite a long time."
Emiya suspected this orb was exaggerating just to corner him into something, but without proof—and considering it had apparently saved his life multiple times—he had little choice but to trust it.
Still, taking years to heal would certainly be fatal once Muzan's demons inevitably found him again.
With his body currently immobilized, Emiya had no chance at survival.
Thus, he found himself forced down another path.
"How can I obtain magical energy from the original owner of that Noble Phantasm?"
"I can supply its original owner's magical energy—but only if you agree to a contract."
Ah, so thats what the orb wanted, Emiya thought with mild cynicism.
"A contract? May I read it first?"
This wasn't an urgent life-or-death scenario like saving the population near a collapsing nuclear plant. He had the luxury of time to carefully examine what terms he'd be accepting.
Normally, Alaya's Counter Force demanded service after death, but this contract was slightly unusual.
"What does becoming an 'Anchor' mean?" Emiya asked, puzzled.
"Do you recall the pitch-black door you used to enter that other world?"
"Another world?" Emiya repeated. "Wasn't it just the Taishō era of the past?"
"Did you encounter any mages there?"
The orb's pointed question gave Emiya pause. Historically, mages should have been even more abundant in the past. Yet despite numerous horrific demon attacks, he'd heard nothing about mages or Magecraft there.
Even the demons mistook his Projection Magecraft for some obscure Blood Demon Art, utterly unaware of true magic.
Demons like those should have been irresistible research subjects for mages—yet they ran rampant, unchecked. If such creatures truly appeared in Emiya's own world, mages would have quickly captured them for experimentation.
"That place isn't our past, but rather an entirely separate world. Your presence became the bridge allowing us to reach it."
"Then…why me?" Emiya asked, voice tight with suspicion.
"Because right now, only you can pass through that door into other worlds."