BANG!
"!"
The moment the gunshot echoed in her ears, the environment around Homura Akemi flickered and warped, transitioning into a familiar landscape.
"Archer?"
Homura stood in a daze, her eyes fixed on nothingness. Miyu, standing beside her, looked up with a questioning expression.
'...'
Homura snapped back to reality, her gaze darting from left to right as a storm of realization swept through her mind.
Recalling the way Subaru Natsuki had faced his death with such calm, unnerving certainty... she found it difficult to maintain her usual composure.
"Miyu... didn't the information we were granted at the start mention that there was one Master we should avoid killing at all costs?"
"Hmm? Yes. It was a faint, hazy warning buried within the transfer of knowledge. Why do you ask? Did something happen?"
"No... I think I finally understand what that warning meant."
Even as a master of her own [Time Rewind], Homura had just witnessed a secret of a different caliber.
The Master known as Subaru Natsuki... he was the core of that mysterious intelligence.
If he died, time itself would be forced to loop back to a previous point.
"Archer... it looks like Caster hasn't continued her pursuit."
Miyu noticed Homura's hesitation and looked back over her shoulder. The path behind them was clear.
"She won't be coming. If everything proceeds as it did before... we're about to be intercepted by the Lancer group."
"?"
Miyu blinked, unable to process the absolute certainty in Homura's voice.
She had sensed that something was slightly "Off" about the magical girl ever since they had stopped running.
"It might sound impossible, but just a moment ago..."
"Time performed a rewind, didn't it?"
A familiar voice cut through Homura's explanation.
Subaru Natsuki rounded the corner, carrying Kid Goku in his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He walked straight toward the two girls.
"You really do retain your memories of the events before the return."
"Heh. I'm not exactly a fan of dying, but in that moment, it was the only way to fix the mess we were in."
"I figured you weren't going to volunteer your secrets, so I had to take the initiative."
"So you deliberately provoked my intent to kill... essentially forcing me to pull the trigger so that time would reset."
Realizing she had been played by the teenager, Homura felt a flicker of annoyance, but it was quickly overshadowed by her analytical mind.
"???"
"What are you two talking about?"
Miyu and Goku exchanged a look of utter confusion. They were completely disconnected from the conversation.
"The outcome is good, isn't it? The town is intact, and no one has had to die."
"The future where Goku transforms into a monster has been erased."
Homura remained silent as she listened to Subaru's relieved tone.
She had never imagined she would encounter another anomaly with the power to "Return to the Past."
"I think I have a decent idea of what your wish involves..."
"If we can secure the Dragon Balls, it should be possible to change the fate of Madoka Kaname before she ever has to transcend her humanity."
"After all, you just want to stop her from making that contract with Kyubey, don't you?"
Homura's pupils dilated. She stared at the boy as if he were a ghost.
How did he know about Madoka? How did he even know the name of the Incubator?
But there was one phrase that caught her attention more than anything else.
'Become a God?'
'Madoka?'
"Just how much do you actually know?!"
The cold, defensive edge returned to Homura's voice. She didn't like being an open book.
This time, she didn't grab Miyu's hand to run.
Against someone with Son Goku's capabilities... she knew there was no escape.
After seeing the horrifying physical capacity of the boy in the previous iteration, Homura had been forced to accept the reality of their power gap.
"Hey, take it easy. I'm not your enemy."
"I'm just saying that if we're both in this for the right reasons, we might as well form an alliance."
"And how do you expect that to work? Even if we win together, your Servant would eventually use his overwhelming strength to suppress us and take the wish for himself."
Homura pointed a finger at Kid Goku, her voice devoid of trust.
"Me?"
Goku tilted his head, wondering why the scary lady was pointing at him again.
"No... you're misunderstanding the situation."
"When I say an alliance, I mean it. I'm not trying to play any games. To be honest, the wishes Goku and I have might not even require the Dragon Balls at all."
"Look, let me explain how this works."
Subaru sighed, realizing his earlier phrasing had been ambiguous. He prepared to deliver his pitch.
"First of all, have you ever wondered why this war features pairs of Masters and Servants? If you only get one wish for seven orbs, what happens to the second person?"
Subaru's question made Miyu and Homura pause.
In their calculations, the end of the war was inevitably a bloodbath between allies.
After all, a Master and a Servant were rarely of the same mind.
Conflict breeded struggle, and struggle led to betrayal. Even the closest of partners would eventually have to face the cold reality of the "Single Prize."
Unless one side was willing to step back... but for a Servant, the risk of their Master's absolute authority through Command Spells was too high.
Most Servants would likely prioritize neutralizing their Master the moment the goal was in sight.
"You two probably haven't read the Dragon Ball manga, but let me tell you, the author isn't that stingy with the rules."
"In reality, depending on the creator of the spheres, the number of wishes you get can vary."
"Do you understand what that implies?"
The revelation hit Homura and Miyu like a thunderclap.
The Dragon Balls, which they had assumed were a single-use miracle, might be capable of more.
"I've suspected from the beginning that whoever gathered the seven orbs in this war would grant the Master and the Servant each their own individual wish."
"It's the most logical way to prevent the whole thing from being a disaster for the winner. Unless we're dealing with an evil God, most creators wouldn't be that cruel."
"And an evil God wouldn't be able to manufacture something this pure."
Understanding Subaru's logic, the two girls began to process the possibility.
If his theory were correct, then an alliance wasn't just viable; it was the most efficient way to survive the threats of the other factions.
"Of course, this is just my theory. I can't guarantee there will be two wishes. The choice of whether or not to trust me is yours."
Subaru spread his arms, leaving the decision to them.
'...'
'...'
Miyu and Homura looked at each other. They didn't offer an immediate answer.
Yoshikage Kira stood at the counter of a local sandwich shop, picking out his lunch for the day. He glanced at the spiritual form of his Servant lurking in his shadow.
"Saber. Did something unusual happen?"
"You returned quite suddenly."
Itachi Uchiha remained silent for a long moment before answering.
"Something... exceptional has occurred."
Time had performed a reset.
Itachi had been pulled back to a point before the death of Yoshikage Kira.
He didn't know exactly how Kira had died in the previous timeline, but he had no intention of allowing such a lapse in security to occur again.
"It feels as though time returned to its previous state... though I don't believe [Bites the Dust] was the trigger."
"Do you have any insight into this?"
Kira picked up a tuna sandwich and spoke in a low, hushed voice.
"No. I only know that you were eliminated by another Heroic Spirit. The details are a blank."
Itachi recalled the final moment: the sensation of [Killer Queen] detaching from his existence.
His memories of the previous iteration were fragmented, ending exactly at that point of death. Whatever happened after he was hit by the Great Ape was a mystery to him.
"Is that so? It seems fate is still smiling upon me. I was evidently rescued by some other master of time."
"Hmph. Hahahahaha."
Kira walked out of the shop, his mood soaring with the realization that he had been given a second chance.
Since he was already "Dead" in the previous loop, he was determined to make this iteration a complete success.
But then, a cold sensation washed over him. He reached into his pocket and his expression instantly twisted into one of pure, unbridled horror.
He let out a strangled, desperate cry.
"How is this possible!!"
"My... my Dragon Ball..."
"It's GONE?!!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]