Tohsaka Rin found herself remembering—
The Sakura she knew.
The Sakura she failed to save.
The blank eyes.
The mechanical smiles.
The way her little sister looked at her like a stranger.
All of it… made sense now.
And the moment Rin looked around this basement—
the damp walls, the rotting stench, the crawling shadows—
She knew exactly why Sakura had changed so much.
This was the reason.
This darkness.
This man.
Her hands trembled with fury.
They had traveled back ten years—to the very moment Sakura was adopted into the Matou household.
And staring up at the decrepit old worm-mage above them, Rin's killing intent surged like a blade.
Izumi, however, acted faster.
The magic circle beneath him pulsed once—
and the skies over Fuyuki instantly cleared.
Clouds vanished.
Stars shone like polished gemstones.
Then—
Countless magic arrays ignited high above the atmosphere, one after another, forming a celestial network.
A beam of pure starlight descended from the heavens, striking directly above the Matou estate.
A divine judgment.
A merciless annihilation.
Matou Zouken jolted, terror twisting across his shriveled face.
"W—wait—!"
He didn't finish.
The starlight swallowed him whole.
The basement crumbled.
The walls shattered.
Every single insect—the twisted familiars he created—was burned into dust.
In the end, nothing remained.
No house.
No family line.
Not even ashes.
Except for Izumi and those standing near him, the Matou estate had been erased from existence.
Sakura Matou saw everything.
The boy who fell from the stars—
was now bathing her in the same light that had destroyed her nightmare.
In her tiny heart, something warm burst open.
Something she thought she had lost forever.
Hope.
A shining figure took root in her mind—
one surrounded by gentle, brilliant starlight.
And, naturally… the explosion of magic hadn't gone unnoticed.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Elsewhere — Tohsaka Household
On his balcony, Tokiomi Tohsaka stared toward the Matou estate, his face pale.
"What… overwhelming power…
What happened over there!?"
This was no magecraft known to mankind.
Even the Church, responsible for concealing supernatural activity, was panicking.
A burst of light bright enough to be seen across the city?
What were they supposed to say?
Alien invasion?
Meteor strike?
A localized divine miracle?
For once, they had no excuses prepared.
Izumi, meanwhile, couldn't care less.
"Not my problem," he muttered lightly.
Then he turned to Rin.
"Looks like we went to the wrong place.
So… what now?
The Holy Grail War's supposed to start soon, right?"
Rin pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I can't believe this… Let's talk later.
First, we need to get out of here! The authorities will be here any second!"
She lifted Sakura into her arms and leapt out of the crater.
Behind them—the Matou family had been reduced to nothing but an enormous pit.
Rin didn't feel even a shred of guilt.
If anything, I wish Izumi had done it sooner.
A monster like Matou Zouken—
death was too kind.
Izumi simply shrugged and followed with Le Fay.
The group slipped through the confused crowds, running until they reached a quiet park far from the commotion.
There, Rin finally stopped and knelt down with Sakura still clutched to her chest.
"Sakura… Are you okay?
Did that old man hurt you?"
The little girl shook her head.
The expression in her eyes was complicated.
This older girl claimed to be her sister—
But her sister was supposed to be the same age as her.
Someone this tall, this grown…
How could she possibly be Rin?
Izumi crouched down in front of Sakura and gently placed his hand on her head.
"You're safe now."
"Let me check you over.
We need to make sure that old bug didn't plant anything inside you."
Warmth spread from his palm, flowing through her body like sunlight.
Sakura had never felt something like this.
Not from her parents.
Not from the Matou family.
Not from anyone.
Her cheeks flushed as she stared up at Izumi's face—
And then immediately buried her head in embarrassment.
Izumi chuckled.
"Oh?
She likes me already? Interesting."
Le Fay watched from the side, expression stiff.
Izumi-sama… did you go from being a lover of cute girls to a lover of… even younger girls?
Terrifying…!
Izumi, oblivious to her thoughts, finished the diagnostic scan.
"Everything's clean.
No worms, no seals, no implants.
That old bug didn't get the chance to do anything before I vaporized him."
Rin let out a long, shaky breath.
"Good.
He deserved far worse for what he did."
"If Izumi hadn't acted so fast, I swear, I would've turned into a muscle demon and pounded him into the ground!"
Sakura looked up timidly.
Then, softly:
"Are you… really Rin?"
Her sister.
Her sister who should be her age.
Her sister who had abandoned her.
Rin froze.
She didn't know how to answer.
Izumi spoke instead.
"She is Tohsaka Rin—just from ten years in the future."
"A lot has happened.
We'll explain it when the time's right."
"But for now, let's find a place to stay."
Sakura's eyes widened.
She looked at Rin again—
the twin-tails, the expressions, the aura.
It really was her.
She believed it instantly—
because Izumi said so.
And because the older girl still carried the same traits the Sakura of this era remembered with bittersweet familiarity.
The only thing Sakura didn't do was call her "sister."
She still carried the sting of abandonment in her heart.
Rin was blissfully unaware.
"So! Where do we go now?" Izumi asked.
Rin puffed up confidently.
"Obviously—my house."
"I want to see my parents too!"
And with that declaration, they began walking toward the Tohsaka mansion—
a family reunion ten years overdue.