The red-and-black figure wandered endlessly through the ruins that Fuyuki City had become.
Not far away, two other red-and-black figures with similar appearances watched in silence.
"So, this is the truth of the Holy Grail War that you wanted to see. Well? Any thoughts?"
One of them sat atop a massive boulder, casually playing with a strangely shaped sword.
Compared to the other man, who wore the same outfit but remained standing, the red markings covering his body were far more pronounced. Large portions of his skin had turned dark as well.
His face in particular was almost half a different color.
"...I have no special thoughts. Those are all things that happened in the past."
After a brief silence, the standing figure replied.
Compared to the seated one, he looked noticeably cleaner and more orderly.
There were no red markings on his body, let alone any changes in skin color.
He was also taller.
About a head taller, perhaps.
The standing figure was Shirou.
The one sitting on the rock and idly playing with the strange sword was Emiya Kuro.
"You can watch yourself 'die' with that much composure. I suppose that is exactly what I should expect from you."
Seeing how calm Shirou remained, Emiya Kuro shrugged.
It was he who had dragged Shirou here after his Origin had run wild.
The moment Shirou came into contact with the fragments of Spirit Origins left behind by the other two, his memories had already returned.
Bringing him here was simply meant to give him time to process everything.
After all, someone had already demonstrated what happened when you tried to shove everything into a person's head at once.
That person had only recently been hit head-on by the Holy Grail and was still wandering around this cursed place.
"So I can still tell the difference. Even though a large portion of my memories here were blurred, I still remember what happened afterward."
Faced with Emiya Kuro's provocation, Shirou remained remarkably composed.
His response was calm.
The man had helped him before.
No matter how irritated he might feel internally, he could not very well show it.
Especially now that he had more or less figured out who Emiya Kuro really was.
That made it even less likely that he would lose his temper.
He certainly was not planning to follow in Archer's footsteps...
Probably.
At least not right now.
"The things that happened afterward, huh... She did help you alot."
For once, Emiya Kuro did not argue back.
Instead, he tilted his head upward and gazed at the black hole hanging high in the sky.
"Yes. I know. It is a debt I can never repay in this lifetime."
Shirou nodded.
The person Emiya Kuro was referring to was Illya.
Without her help, the current him would likely not exist.
What would remain instead would be the figure on the screen—
A soul whose fate had frozen on that night, doomed to wander endlessly.
During his battle with Saber, when he was thrown into the black mud, he had connected to another Heroic Spirit Emiya through Archer's arm.
Through that connection, he obtained part of Black Archer's Spirit Origin and power.
It should have been impossible.
Yet somehow he succeeded.
The power he acquired suppressed the corruption of the black mud, creating a delicate balance that allowed him to continue fighting.
Perhaps that was what people called a miracle.
But miracles and magic always come with a price.
After obtaining the power of two Emiya Shirous who had become Counter Guardians, his consciousness remained behind after death in a state similar to that of a ghost.
That was why, despite having supposedly perished together with the Holy Grail, he continued wandering here.
As for what Illya had done—
Through the portion of Shirou that remained connected to the Holy Grail, she pulled him away from this place.
Originally, she had only wanted to save him from wandering forever.
However, an unexpected accident occurred along the way.
As a result, he arrived here.
He arrived on this land.
The continent of Terra.
As for the exact mechanism behind it...
Shirou had never figured it out.
He was never a magus dedicated to research.
He was a spellcaster, someone who used magecraft.
His understanding of magical theory had always been fairly superficial.
The Holy Grail's remaining magical energy reconstructed his body.
During the journey between worlds, parts of Shirou's Spirit Origin separated as his body was rebuilt.
That was why Archer and Nameless had arrived in Terra before he did.
Combined with a small, unconscious wish of Illya's, some of Shirou's memories were sealed deep within him.
For a time, this caused him to question his dream of becoming an ally of justice.
Yet the inexplicable memories of other versions of Emiya Shirou that appeared within his consciousness eventually helped him remember.
And once he remembered, he chose to pick that ideal up again.
As for the portion that originally belonged solely to Shirou himself...
It had been assimilated by the Holy Grail's remaining magical energy.
That fragment became the Emiya Kuro standing before him now.
All of this was something Shirou had gradually pieced together after recovering his memories.
His time on Terra had not been spent idly.
Emperor and Yith had deliberately nurtured and guided him.
Compared to the person he once was, he had grown tremendously.
Still, one thing continued to puzzle him.
By all rights, the Holy Grail should not have been capable of accomplishing any of this.
Yet the fact that he was now standing upon this land was undeniable.
That was what made the situation so strange.
But since it had already happened, continuing to search for an explanation no longer held much meaning.
All he needed to remember were the lessons of the past and the fact that Illya had pulled him out of that wasteland.
It was no exaggeration to say that without Illya, the person he was now would not exist.
As for Emiya Kuro...
Shirou's feelings toward him were complicated.
At first, he had thought Emiya Kuro was an enemy and had constantly remained on guard against him.
Only to discover that he was, in a sense, himself.
That made things rather awkward.
Of course, Emiya Kuro was not purely Emiya Shirou either.
He was a being born from a portion of Shirou's memories combined with the Holy Grail.
That was also why the way he spoke differed so drastically from Shirou's own manner of speaking.
But that was not the important part.
For Shirou, this meeting with Emiya Kuro would likely be their last.
His memories had already returned.
And before that happened, Emiya Kuro had repeatedly taken the burden of the costs and corruption in his place.
That was why his skin had become darkened and covered with red markings.
Those were prices Shirou himself should have paid.
"Do not look at me like that. I do not need your pity."
Noticing the expression in Shirou's eyes, Emiya Kuro shot him a fierce glare before continuing.
"I am simply returning to where I belong. And honestly, I am sick of living here. Following around someone like you, who runs headfirst into danger every other day, is enough to make anyone die of frustration."
Emiya Kuro continued complaining about how exhausting it had been to accompany Shirou as his host.
Every time something went wrong, he had to step in and bail Shirou out.
And afterward, he was still treated with suspicion.
At this point, he wanted nothing more than to leave this place as soon as possible so he would not have to worry about so many things anymore.
At this rate, even twelve lives would not be enough for Shirou to squander.
"...Thank you for everything you have done during this time."
Listening to the complaints, Shirou could only respond with an awkward but polite smile.
There was no denying it.
Emiya Kuro had helped him countless times.
"Honestly, if you really think I have had it rough, then stop recklessly throwing yourself into danger. Is torturing yourself really that fun?"
Looking at Shirou's expression, all the things Emiya Kuro wanted to say ultimately condensed into a single sigh.
"If you were in my position, you would have made the same choices. Your methods might have been different, but the result would have been the same."
Shirou answered calmly.
He was not trying to argue.
It was simply the truth.
Just as he had once said:
Do not ask others to do something you cannot do yourself.
At the time, he had said those words to Rin.
But they applied equally well to Emiya Kuro.
If Emiya Kuro had truly wanted nothing to do with any of this, he could have ignored everything happening to Shirou.
Yet he never did.
Instead, he kept helping him.
The red markings and corrupted skin covering his body were proof enough.
Without Emiya Kuro's intervention, Shirou himself would have taken those costs.
In the end, they were the same person.
Both of them were Emiya Shirou.
Some things did not need to be stated outright.
Understanding was enough.
"..."
Emiya Kuro understood exactly what Shirou meant.
He lowered his gaze from the black hole hanging in the sky and looked directly at him.
"I cannot argue with that. And I know that no matter what I say, I will never change your mind."
"But remember this: from here on out, you will have to walk your path alone."
"There will be no red one."
"No black one."
"No Illya."
"And no me."
"The only thing you will have left is that card containing the power of those two."
It was the first time Shirou had heard Emiya Kuro speak with such seriousness.
The change caught him by surprise.
Still, there was truth in those words.
Along the way, he had received help from many people.
Especially the ones Emiya Kuro had just mentioned.
However, there was one thing he had gotten wrong.
"That is not entirely true. I still have everyone at Penguin Logistics and Rhodes Island."
Emiya Kuro blinked in surprise.
Then he laughed.
Unlike his usual mocking laughter, this one was genuine.
Warm.
Completely sincere.
"I see. I understand now."
"You are right."
"It seems there are quite a lot of people on this land who share the same ideals as Emiya Shirou."
After laughing for quite a while, he finally settled down and continued.
"Then do things your own way."
"Your life belongs to you, after all. It is not really my place to tell you what to do."
For Emiya Shirou, seeing other people happy had always been enough.
That sentiment applied to Emiya Kuro as well.
To him, the Shirou standing before him belonged among those "other people."
Someone whose happiness he wished to see, even if only from afar.
Having inherited that small wish from Illya, and knowing full well what awaited at the end of that ideal, Emiya Kuro had wanted Shirou to stay away from this place.
To stay away from the dream of becoming an ally of justice.
To simply live out the extra life he had been given as an ordinary person.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he had hoped.
Instead, Shirou had only sunk deeper and deeper into it.
But what of it?
Just as Shirou had said, there were many people around him who shared similar ideals.
Shirou was not alone.
And that meant Emiya Kuro could finally leave with peace of mind.
Though "leave" was not quite the right word.
He was merely returning to where he belonged.
The costs and burdens he had taken on Shirou's behalf would be transferred back to Shirou in another form.
However, they would not be permanent.
Given enough time, he would recover.
After that, any future burdens would have to be taken by Shirou himself.
Straightening up, Emiya Kuro flashed a grin and said:
"Just like I told you before.
"Welcome back, Emiya Shirou.
"Welcome back to this hell.
"The ideal of becoming an ally of justice will continue to curse Shirou until the day you die.
"So until then, do your best to keep living."
With those words, Emiya Kuro extended his hand.
"I will."
Shirou grasped the offered hand.
The moment their hands met, Emiya Kuro's body dissolved into a mass of black mud.
It flowed along Shirou's arm.
Wrapping around him.
Covering his entire body.
When he opened his eyes again, brilliant sunlight greeted him.
Then came the heavy scent of disinfectant and the sharp smell of medicinal ointment.
"This feels a little unpleasant... Where am I?"
Lying in bed, Shirou rubbed his head before sitting up and glancing at his left hand.
His body still felt weak, but not so weak that he could not sit up.
The monitoring device attached to his left wrist had been completely destroyed.
Not only were its indicator lights dark, but a little force would probably be enough to crush it completely.
Shirou did not pay it much attention.
Although it had been specially made for him, Kal'tsit could probably provide another one.
What truly caught his attention was the golden card resting in his left hand.
On its surface was the image of a man drawing a longbow.
Simply holding the card was enough for Shirou to understand how to use it.
It felt as though knowledge had been forcibly poured into his mind by the Holy Grail itself.
After examining it for a while, he decided to put it away.
Originally, he intended to place it in a pocket or inside his backpack.
Then he realized the clothes he was wearing had been torn to shreds.
Finding a usable pocket was nearly impossible.
"So the swords destroyed my clothes... And my backpack has holes all over it too."
"Fortunately, it was mostly basic supplies."
Looking at his ruined clothes, his damaged backpack, and even the holes punctured through the hospital bed beneath him, Shirou felt pain just from looking at the damage.
The swords that had once erupted from his body were gone now.
Instead, patches of skin across his torso had become noticeably darker.
According to the other Emiya Shirou, those marks would gradually disappear over time and did not require any special treatment.
Most of the price had already been paid by someone else.
What remained were merely minor side effects.
The sensation of swords bursting out from inside his body, however, remained vividly etched into his memory.
After all, he had already died from it once.
If possible, he had no desire to experience it a third time.
After confirming that there were no serious problems with his condition, Shirou looked around the room.
He saw four members of Penguin Logistics, three people from Rhodes Island, and three members of Reunion.
Ten people in total.
All of them were asleep in hospital beds nearby.
Shirou knew their conditions and had no concerns about their safety.
If anything...
What he wanted most right now was to leave.
Having people witness his past memories was embarrassing enough.
Having them witness the particularly cringeworthy parts of his past was far worse.
His performance during the Holy Grail War had been...
Well.
Those who knew, knew.