Ten days later, Acheron finally walked out of Heroic Spirit Emiya's sea of memories and regained consciousness.
Crackle!
Before even opening her eyes, the sound of flames burning wood popped into her ears, the smell of rich roasted meat drifted to her nose, and the most amazing thing was, Acheron felt herself lying in a warm and broad embrace.
'This must be a dream. My five senses had long since disappeared, let alone a warm embrace that ever belonged to me in this world. This must be a beautiful dream I haven't had for hundreds or even thousands of years!'
But just as Acheron turned over, planning to find a more comfortable position to continue dreaming, the roasted meat smell pressed close to her nose.
She opened her mouth instinctively and bit down. The charred, crisp taste of roasted meat spread through her mouth, moving her so much she almost cried.
"Even taste feels this real, sure enough, it's a dream!" Acheron muttered to herself.
There was excitement in her words, but even more loneliness. For her as she was now, having the five senses of a normal human being was far too much of a luxury.
"Whether it's a dream or not, why don't you open your eyes and see for yourself?"
A deep, magnetic voice sounded by her ear, startling Acheron so badly she shot upright. Caught off guard, Heroic Spirit Emiya's nose took the full hit. The pain nearly knocked him unconscious on the spot.
"You bastard! Who the hell are you, and why were you holding me!"
"You..." Seeing Acheron play the villain first, Emiya almost burst out swearing.
Clutching his chest, forcing himself through more than a dozen deep breaths, Emiya finally calmed down and briefly told Acheron everything that had happened over the past ten days.
Acheron had forcibly drawn on the power of the Nihility Path.
Although in the end she hadn't swung her star-destroying strike, she had still been corroded too heavily by Nihility.
By the time Emiya carried her back to the underground shelter, she had already been half a step into the grave.
Fortunately, Emiya's body was extremely special, and with the help of the distant scabbard of Avalon, he had fed her a mouthful of blood every three hours.
This forcibly cut off her connection to Nihility and dragged her back from the gates of hell.
"System? Is that the name of a Path or an Aeon? How have I never heard of it?" Acheron already believed most of Emiya's words, after all, her current body with full senses was proof enough.
Carefully sensing herself, Acheron discovered that Emiya's blood not only blocked Nihility's corrosion, but was slowly repairing her body and soul.
"You should have seen part of my memories through my blood. I'm not from this universe, so I don't understand your system of powers."
Emiya said this while starting to draw on the ground. With words and illustrations, he described in complete detail everything since the moment the system snatched him away from Alaya.
During his explanation, Emiya didn't mix in the slightest bit of personal emotion. He wanted Acheron to understand the events as they were, without bias, only that way could she make the most accurate judgment.
The amount of information was too huge for Acheron to process at once. Emiya didn't rush her; he quietly picked up the meat skewer by his side and began to eat.
Emiya bit in little by little, chewing each bite carefully before swallowing slowly.
'This should be the last meal of my life.' Facing death for real, Emiya found he wasn't as calm as he had imagined. But he was sure of one thing, if it ended here, he wouldn't regret it.
At last, Acheron finished her storm of thoughts and raised her head to carefully look at Emiya.
"To be safe, I'll ask one more time. By your account, all the abilities you displayed, were they all given to you by the system?"
"That's not entirely accurate."
Emiya crossed his arms and thought for a moment before continuing, "Most of those abilities were originally mine. The system only provided me with mana. But the fact that its replicas could even surpass the originals, that part bothers me."
Saying this, Emiya tossed the system's reward, the Guardian Decree Blade, over to Acheron.
The moment she held it, Acheron was utterly certain this was the genuine article. If there was anything suspicious, it was only that it was far too pristine, as if it had just been freshly forged.
"This blade is indeed the Guardian Decree Blade, Ming." Acheron's face turned extremely grave.
Her eyes locked on Emiya's, unblinking, as she asked, "Why would you reveal such secrets to me? What do you want from me in return?"
"The reason is simple. Right now, the system's energy is depleted. I want you to take this chance to kill me."
"Your reward will be the Guardian Decree Blade, as well as my blood and scabbard, you should already have felt their effects yourself."
Seeing the matter finally reach the main point, Emiya clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh. But in the end, his belief as a partner of justice still overcame his personal desires. He revealed the system's true goal.
What was fished out of the Quantum Sea was only the beginning. Next, the system would have Emiya seize Stellaron Cores, Herrscher Cores, and even kill Aeons, ultimately using them to create a personal Avalon just for Emiya.
As a Heroic Spirit with no past or future, Emiya had struggled free from Alaya's endless slaughter. Now he wanted to find a true vision of his own, a place where he truly belonged.
"Acheron, you should know even better than I do how destructive those objects are." Emiya grabbed Acheron's shoulders, agitation in his voice.
"That world promised by the system, whether it's a true Avalon or a disaster that dooms the world, I can't be sure."
"I don't want to bring destruction to the world for the sake of my own dream. So do it now, kill me while you still can!"
Smack!
Acheron said nothing. She tore herself free of Emiya's grip and instead gave him a huge slap. Then, while he was still stunned, she straddled him and started raining down blows across his face, each slap cracking like thunder.
"Enough! What the hell has gotten into you!" Emiya finally lost his temper. He seized Acheron's shoulders and slammed his forehead hard into hers.
"Emiya, answer me, are you really so eager to end it all with death?" Acheron wiped away her nosebleed and questioned him sternly.
"I want to live!" Emiya roared hoarsely.
"After finally laying down the belief of being a partner of justice, after finally gaining a new life, I want to see the vast world! I want to find the meaning of my own existence!"
"Then let me ask again. If, in the very end, you discover it was all a lie, will you give in and go along with the system?"
"I will fight with everything I have to cut down the system!"
"That's enough, Emiya. Live on."
Acheron slowly raised a hand to stroke Emiya's cheek. The memory fragments she had seen in dreams flashed before her eyes, until the sword-covered wasteland completely overlapped with Izumo and Takamagahara in their final moment before annihilation.
Two hearts, equally without a home, began leaning on each other from that moment forward, moving ahead together.
"I will stay by your side and witness your every action. If I find your path straying, then I will be the one to cut you down."
"Miss this chance and you'll never kill me again!" Emiya clenched his fists tight, gritting his teeth as he shouted, "I'll only give you this one chance. After this, I will live on, no one will ever kill me again!"
"I believe in you, Emiya. You must believe in me too." Acheron pressed her forehead against his and said softly.
"They say the world will inevitably face its end. Until then, no one knows if their choices are right or wrong. But we can face it together, hand in hand."
Time seemed to freeze in that moment. Emiya's tense body loosened, his trembling slowly ceased, and the light returned to his eyes.
"Tsk. I didn't think a cold and aloof woman like you could say such cheesy words."
"Bastard! You want to die? I'll grant your wish right now!"
The mood Acheron had carefully built was instantly shattered by Emiya's remark.
Her pale face flushed red, and she raised her small fists to hit him again, but this time, there was no strength in it. It was more like the pouting of a sulking girl.
"Hahaha! Acheron, let's reintroduce ourselves!" Emiya grabbed Acheron's hand and placed it on his chest, declaring loudly, "My name is Emiya. Please take care of me from now on!"
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