Early morning.
Light filtered through the gaps in the cloth serving as a curtain, faintly illuminating the dim room.
Even that little light was enough to stir someone awake. Shirou Amamiya rubbed his eyes and slowly came to.
"Hmm... Is it morning already?"
He muttered under his breath.
His head was still somewhat foggy, but his body had already fully awakened out of habit.
Though he had been a little slower to wake than usual today.
Shirou Amamiya pulled back the blanket and was about to get up when he suddenly noticed the sensation of something touching him. He turned his gaze to the side.
A woman was sleeping soundly beside him.
Her flowing aqua-colored hair spilled across the bed, while her fair arms and long, slender dragon tail were wrapped around his body like snakes.
With a sweet expression on her sleeping face, Tiamat was using Shirou as a body pillow.
Warm breath escaped her slightly parted lips and brushed against Shirou's neck, sending a pleasant tingle through him.
Her long eyelashes cast faint shadows over her eyelids. Combined with her peaceful, serene expression, she looked just like a sleeping princess from a fairy tale.
"Seriously... Could you spare a little thought for how I feel?"
Shirou couldn't help but sigh.
The softness and fragrance unique to a goddess, combined with the voluptuous body she possessed as the "Mother of All," made her lethally alluring to any man.
Her ample curves pressed against Shirou's side, their softness and weight enough to nearly overwhelm his reason as they conveyed all sorts of wonderful sensations that were difficult to describe aloud.
Although they were already husband and wife, Shirou and Tiamat had yet to cross the final line between man and woman.
For Tiamat, who knew nothing about relations between men and women, simply being able to fall asleep every night while looking at Shirou's face was already the greatest happiness imaginable.
When she accepted his proposal, she had said:
"I want to experience all my 'firsts as a girl' together with Shirou..."
Holding hands for the first time, their first kiss, their first hug, their first date, their first argument followed by making up...
And, of course, their first union.
Here in this empty abyss, they had nearly infinite time.
So there was no need to rush something like that, right?
Mm.
To fulfill Tiamat's wish, Shirou began a sweet newlywed life with her in the Abyss.
The room they were using now, the bed beneath them, and even the cycle of day and night outside had all been created through divine authority.
Tiamat was the Mother of Origins, the goddess who gave birth to the gods and humanity. She was also a goddess of planetary civilization, so something like this was well within her capabilities.
With Tiamat's authority and Shirou's assistance, they quickly built a tiny world belonging only to the two of them within the otherwise empty Abyss.
Even so, the current situation presented Shirou with a small trial of its own.
Tia really doesn't care about how I feel at all. She only cares about enjoying herself...
In that case, I'll fight back too.
With that thought, Shirou wrapped his arms around Tiamat in return and decided to go back to sleep for a while.
"Mm... Shirou...? Are you still sleeping...? It's already morning... You need to get up... Haaah... Hm? Why is Shirou's face right in front of me...?"
His attempt to keep sleeping didn't last.
Just as he was about to drift off again, Tiamat woke up.
Since Shirou happened to have his arms around her, their eyes met perfectly.
For some reason, he suddenly felt embarrassed. Didn't this make it look as though he'd taken advantage of her while she was asleep?
"Shirou... you..."
Tiamat gazed at the boy with her pure, innocent eyes, making a cold sweat break out across his skin.
"Gulp..."
Shirou swallowed, only to see the Goddess of Creation smile with heartfelt delight.
"Shirou, you're so needy. Did you want a hug? Mm, of course you can~"
Looking delighted, Tiamat hugged Shirou even tighter.
"This is a reward for good boy Shirou. Squeeeze~~~~~~ Mm, Shirou? What's wrong? Your face is completely pale. You look like you can't breathe... Ah!"
Tiamat possessed an A+++ level Monstrous Strength Skill surpassing even the Giant of the End, Surtr. Shirou's body was helplessly battered like a tiny boat caught in the raging waves of creation.
He could feel his ribs screaming in protest. Every last bit of air was crushed from his lungs, and stars began dancing before his eyes.
So this is the weight of being doted on by a goddess...
That was Shirou's final thought before his consciousness began to fade.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Tiamat apologized tearfully to Shirou, who had narrowly escaped with his life.
"It was Mother's fault. I'll reflect on what I did. Please don't be angry, and please don't hate me... Hm...?"
"This is your punishment, Tia. Take it properly."
Shirou launched his counterattack against the willful Goddess of Creation.
Their lips touched in a light kiss, lingering together for only a moment before quickly separating.
Tiamat's eyes widened at the sudden surprise attack, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.
Although she had grown accustomed to physical contact, the Goddess of Creation was still extremely sensitive when it came to kissing.
After all, hugging was an affectionate gesture between a mother and child, but kissing on the lips was an act of love shared between lovers and spouses.
Despite having lived for countless ages as Goddess Tiamat, the Mother of Life had never experienced such intimacy with a man before. To her, it was an entirely new kind of happiness.
"..."
After a while, Tiamat's embarrassment gradually faded. Then she puffed out her cheeks in a huff.
"Shirou, you're teasing me again. That's so unfair... This is payback. Mwah♡"
"Mm."
Shirou was so absorbed in enjoying Tiamat's adorable reaction that he accidentally let his guard down.
The person lying beside him immediately seized that momentary opening and struck back.
Unlike Shirou's fleeting peck, Tiamat pressed her lips firmly against his for several seconds, leaving behind a sweet, numbing sensation.
"Hehehe... Shirou is embarrassed. I suppose a mature 'grown-up kiss' like that is still too early for you?"
What was supposed to be mature about that?
All she'd done was press their lips together for a few seconds.
Shirou scoffed inwardly.
He had an incredible wealth of experience with women, yet she was treating him like a child.
Apparently, he needed to show Tia what a real "grown-up kiss" was.
Shirou decided to raise the intensity a little.
His palm settled against Tiamat's slender waist, allowing him to feel those astonishing curves and the warmth of her body.
His fingers tightened slightly as he pulled her more firmly into his arms.
"Shirou...?"
Tiamat let out a puzzled sound, but her mouth was soon sealed.
This time, Shirou didn't stop after a brief taste like before...
Five minutes later, the Goddess of Creation seemed to have lost all her strength and lay limply against Shirou's chest.
Her eyes were unfocused, and her lips still glistened with moisture.
Even while lying down, her prominent curves rose and fell heavily, while her soft, rounded thighs trembled faintly.
In the end...
It was another half hour before the newlyweds finally left their bed.
...
Shirou left the cottage where he lived with Goddess Tiamat and headed to a nearby area to practice his swordsmanship and Magecraft.
After marrying Tiamat, Shirou had changed back from a Divine Spirit into a human.
He had poured the "Divinity of the End" he had gathered and completed into the "Sea of Life," which was equivalent to Goddess Tiamat's true body.
Just as fresh water, Apsu, and salt water, Tiamat, had created the gods in Mesopotamian creation mythology, Shirou and Tiamat had entered into a permanent union on the level of divinity.
That endless darkness, both the "Sea of Origins" and the "Sea of the End," had now become shared property belonging to Shirou and Tiamat as husband and wife, and Shirou was able to draw upon it as well.
Having returned to a human body, Shirou also resumed his old daily routine.
Back in Uruk, he had trained every morning whenever he had the time. Now that he had settled down in the Abyss, there was naturally no reason to stop.
"Trace On."
Shirou gripped the long sword he had drawn from the void.
He was in exceptional condition this morning.
There was no doubt about it. His body was in better shape than ever before.
Right now, he felt as though he could handle any technique...!
Clearing his mind and focusing completely, he swung his blade at the straw dummy in front of him.
The straw dummy parted as smoothly as tofu, leaving behind a flawless cut.
Without question, it was the finest slash Shirou had ever produced.
He could feel the perfection in that strike. The force, angle, speed, and timing had all come together in perfect harmony.
It was a realm achievable only after countless rounds of tempering and training, proof of a perfect unity between sword and man, and between man and the world around him.
It was a shame Tiamat was inside preparing breakfast. Otherwise, he really would have liked her to see him looking his coolest.
"...Hm?"
Shirou frowned slightly.
He walked over to examine the straw dummy he had cut and discovered something surprising.
He was certain he'd only swung his sword once...
So why had the straw dummy been cut into nine pieces? It was almost as though a single slash had struck eight times at once...
He hadn't used a technique like Nine Lives just now. He really had only swung his sword once, right?
Despite the bizarre phenomenon, Shirou's enthusiasm didn't diminish in the slightest. If anything, it only grew stronger.
In the sort of phenomenal condition that might come only once in a century, Shirou began swinging his sword with unprecedented momentum.
The straw dummies he projected were cut apart one after another. He felt almost no resistance from them at all, his blade passing through as smoothly as if he were cutting empty air.
Hey, hey... What in the world is going on...?
Could it be because Tiamat and I were fooling around this morning...?
Shirou continued swinging his sword.
Yet strange physical phenomena kept occurring. A single slash would reduce a straw dummy to pieces, while the overlapping arcs of his ultra-high-speed consecutive strikes would blast another away so completely that it seemed to vanish.
"Sigh... The Way of the Sword really is profound. I still have a long road ahead of me."
Shirou, who had unknowingly reached the very pinnacle of swordsmanship, sighed with such thoughts.
He decided to end his practice and go back to help Tiamat prepare breakfast.
Tiamat had never cooked before, so Shirou had effectively become her cooking teacher.
At first, all she could make was dark cuisine that looked like some kind of tribute to Laḫmu. By now, however, she could prepare genuinely delicious food all on her own.
Shirou's guidance had certainly played a major part, but she probably had a natural talent for it as well. After all, she was the Ultimate Mother.
When he returned home, Tiamat came to greet him and helped him change into a fresh, clean set of clothes.
Just like with cooking, she had been completely flustered when she first started. Now, however, she was looking more and more like a proper newlywed wife.
"Thanks, Tia."
"Mm, breakfast is ready. Come and eat."
Shirou sat down at the dining table and enjoyed the delicious breakfast Tiamat had prepared.
"A honeymoon...?"
Shirou paused with his chopsticks in hand.
Tiamat nodded.
"Mm. When you're newlyweds, you go on a honeymoon. Mother wants to go on a honeymoon with Shirou too~"
The corner of Shirou's mouth twitched.
"Just asking, but who told you that?"
"The Greater Grail," Tiamat replied.
Damn you, Solomon. Stop filling Mother's head with unnecessary knowledge...!
Tiamat tilted her head and silently studied Shirou's reaction.
"Is it not okay? A honeymoon."
"It's not that we can't, but..."
Tiamat was the Beast of Calamity, one of the Seven Evils of Humanity.
As long as she remained in this Abyss, there wasn't much of a problem. But if she returned to the surface, there was no telling what might happen.
Gilgamesh had once said that Mother had been exiled because there was no place for her on the surface once its ecosystem had already been established.
Put simply, the mere manifestation of Tiamat on the surface would have an enormous impact on the planet's ecosystem.
It wouldn't simply mean returning the world to the environment of the Age of Gods. It would be something far more primordial, from an era even more distant than the Age of Gods.
Even the gods of Mesopotamia had been unable to endure the effects Mother's presence brought with it, which was why they had risen against her.
"I think our life together right now is already pretty good. We don't absolutely have to travel, do we? Is there something you're unhappy with?"
Tiamat calmly shook her head.
"Mother has no complaints."
Although she claimed to have no complaints, her expression was remarkably firm.
"Mother has no complaints, but Shirou is too pitiful."
"...I am?"
"Mm. Shirou is still young. You shouldn't stay shut indoors all day."
In the end, her desire to go on a honeymoon wasn't simply for her own sake. More than anything, she was thinking about her beloved Shirou.
Only when something concerned Shirou would she become this insistent.
"I understand, but Tia, it'll be dangerous if you return to the surface."
"I thought of a way."
Tiamat looked slightly pleased with herself as she began explaining her idea to Shirou.
Simply put, she would create a separate body, then send it to the surface as a Servant contracted to Shirou.
"...What do you think?"
Tiamat cautiously watched her husband's reaction.
Shirou looked a little surprised.
Now that he thought about it, maybe Mother was actually really smart?
During the Seventh Singularity, Merlin had hypnotized her at the very beginning because she had not yet fully regained her power.
Even under those circumstances, however, she had managed to send the Greater Grail into the Underworld through a dream and grant life to the remains of Enkidu, the ultimate weapon.
It was a plan that had completely fooled both the Wise King of Uruk and the Sage of Britannia. There was no way someone could come up with a strategy like that without being exceptionally clever.
"We could give it a try..."
"Wonderful!"
Tiamat knocked the dining table flying and threw herself into Shirou's arms.
He really wished she would learn to control her strength a little.
...
A few days later.
"Well? What do you think, Shirou? It's Mom!"
A little girl with her hair tied up stood in front of Shirou and proudly puffed out her flat chest.
"This is a brand-new body. Servant Tiamat, created by 'resetting myself and being reborn.' In this Spirit Origin state, I can go on a honeymoon together with Shirou."
Shirou stared at her in silence.
"..."
"Even though I've taken the body of a child, my fundamental nature as the 'Mother of Origins' hasn't changed. Shirou can keep loving me as your wife while also letting Mother dote on you from now on, okay?"
The little girl Tiamat planted her hands on her hips and rattled on cheerfully.
She had gone from the "Mother of Creation" to the "Daughter of Creation." Not only had her personality become brighter and more outgoing, even her speech had grown noticeably more fluent.
Shirou was certainly happy that Mother had gained more humanity...
But he wasn't brave enough to go on a honeymoon with a little girl who looked about the same age as Illya.
"I-I see... Yeah, I suppose so..."
The little girl Tiamat lowered her head dejectedly.
"I guess I should turn back into an adult after all. I can't be intimate with Shirou in a body like this..."
While keeping the Spirit Origin of the separated Servant body unchanged, Tiamat reverted to her adult form.
Her voluptuous figure, with its generous curves in all the right places, was certainly a feast for the eyes. Yet for some reason, Shirou felt just a little disappointed...
He shook his head and banished the improper thoughts from his mind.
After that, Shirou and Tiamat formally entered into a Master-Servant contract.
They were already parent and child as well as husband and wife. Now another relationship had been added on top of those, Master and Servant.
"Hehe. Shirou took another one of my firsts."
Tiamat smiled happily.
Looking closely, her cheeks were faintly flushed.
"Then let's go. Our honeymoon."
"Mm. Mother is ready."
Shirou and Tiamat held hands.
Uruk. It had been so long. Just thinking about it filled him with nostalgia...
He wondered how much time had passed on the surface since then.
Shirou found himself thinking about everyone.
Was that guy Gilgamesh still working overtime even as a ghost, busy with the postwar reconstruction?
Was Siduri's belly already beginning to show signs of pregnancy? She was carrying Shirou's child inside her... He hoped both mother and child were safe.
As for that Ishtar, surely she wasn't spending every day sleeping on top of piles of gold and treasure... She wasn't some evil dragon from legend waiting for a hero to come slay her.
The Summoning Array beneath Shirou and Tiamat's feet erupted with dazzling light.
"...Hm?"
Shirou's Mystic Eyes automatically analyzed the spell before him and reached a conclusion.
This was the Skill: Independent Manifestation.
They shouldn't need Independent Manifestation just to return to Uruk, right?
Independent Manifestation was an absurdly overpowered Skill that could ignore the timeline and the laws of causality.
Merlin had used that very Skill to travel from Avalon in 2018 to the Seventh Singularity.
So why was Tiamat activating Independent Manifestation?
"Mother?"
"What is it, Shirou?"
"Where are we going?"
He and Tiamat had both been so excited these past two days that they had overlooked the single most important detail.
They had never actually discussed where they were going for their honeymoon.
Tiamat smiled brightly and answered.
"For our honeymoon, Mother wants to go to Shirou's hometown... Fuyuki!"
"...Huh?"
Shirou's vision went black.