A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

After bidding farewell to Bennett, Xuanhao returned to the heights of Snowfield City again.

He stood in mid-air and looked down at the entire city, then closed his eyes and felt the calls from different places in time and space.

What gave him a headache was that there were so many summoning messages from different time and space that he couldn't tell the specific time.

He can only make intuitive inferences based on the distance of time and try to go to a closer time and space.

At a certain moment, he seemed to have caught something, and then his figure disappeared into this space.

············

——Eight years ago——

Tell a story about a man.

The story of a man who is more idealistic than anyone else, and therefore more desperate than anyone else.

That man's dream was innocent.

I hope that everyone in this world can be happy, I have always prayed for this in my heart.

All teenagers have once embraced such ideals, but after realizing the cruelty of life, they became disappointed and abandoned their childish ideals.

No matter what kind of happiness comes at the cost of a certain sacrifice, every child will gradually understand this common sense as they grow up.

But that man was different.

Maybe it's because he's dumber than anyone else. Maybe he was broken somewhere. Or maybe he is the kind of person who can be called a saint, carrying a destiny that ordinary people cannot understand. Realize that all lives in this world will be weighed on the two scales of sacrifice and redemption...

Understand that you must never leave any side of the tray empty...

From that day on, he determined his ambition to be a weigher.

If you want to reduce the lamentations in this world more and more effectively, there is no other way to choose.

In order to save the pallet on the side with even one more person, the other side of the pallet with even one less person must be overturned.

This is an act in which the minority must be killed in order to allow the majority to survive.

Therefore, the more he worked to save people, the more he became good at killing people.

The man's hands were covered with layers of blood, but he never backed away.

Regardless of whether the means are correct or not, regardless of whether the purpose is correct or not, just to make the balance more fair and unbiased, this is the only task imposed on myself.

Life does not distinguish between high or low, old or young, it is just a quantitative unit.

This man saves people without distinction, and kills without distinction at the same time.

But by the time he woke up it was too late.

Treating all people fairly and respecting their lives is the same as not loving anyone.

If this iron rule could be remembered earlier, maybe he could still be saved.

If he freezes his young heart, makes it necrotic, and turns himself completely into a ruthless measuring machine, he might just live a life of indifference, constantly choosing between the living and the dead. That way there should be no worries.

However, he is not such a person.

The joyful smiles of others will fill his chest, and the sounds of others crying will hit his heart.

He will feel angry when he sees others unable to appeal their grievances. When he sees someone crying lonely tears, he can't help but reach out to wipe them away.

While pursuing ideals that transcend this world - however, he is also a person who is too humane.

This contradiction brought countless punishments to that man.

There is also friendship and romance.

Even if one life that is so loved and loved is placed on the balance at the same time as countless other lives that are unknown to each other——

He will never abandon his principles.

It is precisely because we love this person that we should treat her as the same as other lives, respect her equally, and give up equally.

He always loses important people in the blink of an eye as soon as he meets them.

Now this man is suffering the greatest punishment.

The windows were filled with snow blown by the cold wind. A freezing night in the frozen forest.

In an ancient castle built on frozen soil, a small room was surrounded by the heat of a slowly burning furnace.

In that warm room, the man held a new little life in his arms.

The body that seemed a bit illusory when held in one's hand did not even have the expected weight.

Just like the first snow picked up by the hand, it will break into pieces with just a slight shake. This subtle touch is so delicate that it even makes people feel a little dangerous.

Even though it was very weak, he still tried his best to keep breathing while sleeping. With the slow breathing, the small mouth was vibrating gently. Her little chest was also beating weakly, which was already her best effort.

"She seems to be sleeping peacefully."

The mother leaned on the bed and kept watching the way he held the baby with a smile.

It seemed that she had not yet recovered from the haggardness after childbirth. Her face was not very good and she had lost some blood, but her noble appearance like gems was not damaged at all.

Because the look of happiness on her face completely covered up the haggard look caused by fatigue, her gentle eyes and smile shone brightly.

"Even if you are a nurse you are familiar with, this child will cry non-stop. This is the first time that you are being held so obediently. - She must know. Knowing that you are a very gentle person makes her feel at ease. "

"..."

The man had nothing to say, he just glanced blankly back and forth at the baby in his hand and the mother on the bed.

I have never seen Irisviel smile so beautifully.

She was originally a woman who had no chance of happiness. No one has ever thought of giving her happiness. She is not a creation of God, but an artifact created by human hands... For a woman born as a Homunculus, this is a natural treatment.

Irisviel never expected it either. She was created as a doll and raised as a doll. Maybe she couldn't even understand the meaning of the word happiness before.

But now - she was smiling brightly.

"It's great to have this baby."

Irisviel.\\nVon.\\nEinzbern said quietly and lovingly while looking at the sleeping baby.

"From now on, this child will live as a replica of a human being. It may be painful, and it may resent the mother who gave birth to him who is not a real human being. Even so, I am still very happy. I feel that this child is particularly cute and I feel very proud. .”

Although there is nothing special about his appearance, just like an ordinary cute little baby, but——

The body that had been enchanted several times while inside her mother's body had been replaced by tissue that was even more detached from human beings than her mother's. It can be said that it is a body crystallized by magic that has been used for a limited purpose since birth. That is the true identity of Irisviel’s beloved daughter.

Despite such a cruel birth, Irisviel still said "it's good to be born", affirming herself for giving birth to a child, affirming her newborn daughter, cherishing life, and smiling and being proud of it.

That kind of strength, that kind of noble soul, there is no doubt that this is a quality that only belongs to "mother".

The girl who was originally just a doll became a woman who gained love, and then became a mother, gaining unwavering power. That is "happiness" that cannot be violated by anything.

The mother and son in the bedroom, protected by the warmth of the stove, now seem to be isolated from any despair and misfortune.

But – men understand. The world that I despised might as well be similar to the snowstorm outside the window.

"Alice, I-"

As soon as he said this, the man suddenly felt like he was being stabbed by a knife in his heart. The knife is the child's peaceful sleeping face and the mother's dazzlingly bright smile.

"I will drag you to death one day."

In response to this forced declaration, Irisviel nodded with her usual calm expression.

"I know. Of course. That was Einzbern's long-cherished wish. That's what I was born for."

That is the future that has been determined.

Six years later, the man will take his wife to death. As the only necessity to save the world, Irisviel will become a sacrifice to his ideals.

That was a self-evident fact that the two had discussed countless times.

The man shed tears and cursed himself countless times, but every time Irisviel always forgave him and encouraged him.

"It is precisely because I know your ideals and have the same prayer in my heart that I am what I am now. It is you who have guided me. It is you who have taught me to no longer live like a doll."

Born for the same ideal, and died for the same ideal. Only in this way can you become the other half of this man. This is the way of love for this woman, Irisviel. It is precisely because of women like her that men can feel each other's tolerance.

"You don't need to mourn me. Because I have become a part of you. So, you just have to endure the pain of losing a part of your body."

"…So, what to do with that child?"

The baby, which should have been as light as a feather, felt such an unbearable weight in his hands that the man's feet were shaking.

This child does not yet have any understanding or realization of the ideals he holds.

Neither can I judge my father's way of life, nor can I forgive him. She doesn't have that power yet.

But even with such a pure and flawless life, his ideals remained unmoved.

There is no humble distinction between any life, no distinction between old and young, it is just a quantitative unit——

"I...I am not qualified to hold this child."

The almost crazy love for the child almost overwhelmed him, and the man tried his best to squeeze out these words.

A tear fell on the bulging pink face of the baby in her arms.

The man was sobbing silently and finally knelt down.

In order to cover up the ruthlessness of this world, we have to be even more ruthless... Even so, God still inflicts the greatest punishment on this man who has the one he loves.

I love you more than anyone else in this world.

Even if it means destroying the entire world, I still want to protect it.

But, men understand. If the justice he firmly believed in required the sacrifice of this pure life - what decision would he, Emiya Kiritsugu, this man make.

Afraid that that day would come sooner or later, afraid of the one in ten thousand possibility, Kiritsugu cried.

The warmth in his wrist made him feel stuffy inside.

Irisviel stood up from the bed and gently placed her hand on the shoulder of her crying husband.

"Don't forget, a world where no one has to cry is the ideal you have always dreamed of, right? In eight years... your battle will be over. You and I will realize our ideal. The Holy Grail will definitely save us. your."

His wife knew all his troubles and completely bore Kiritsugu's tears.

"After that day, please hug our child-Illyasviel again. Stand tall and act as an ordinary father."

--three years ago--

According to occult science, there is a "force" at the apex of dimensionalism outside this world.

As the origin coordinate of everything that happens. That is the long-cherished wish of all magicians, the "Vortex of the Origin"...the seat of God that records everything in this world from the beginning to the end of all things, and creates this world.

Attempts to reach that "root" started two hundred years ago, and some people actually put it into practice.

Einzbern, Matou, Tohsaka. These three families were the first to start, trying to find the "Holy Grail" that appears in multiple legends. Hoping to summon the Holy Grail that can grant any wish, the magicians from the three families provided each other with secret spells, and finally the Holy Grail, known as the "Cauldron of Omnipotence," reappeared.

...However, as soon as it became clear that the Holy Grail could only grant one person's wish, the cooperative relationship began to turn into a bloody struggle of killing each other.

This is the beginning of the "Holy Grail War".

From then on, in a cycle of sixty years, the Holy Grail will appear again in the far east place "Fuyuki" where it was once summoned. The Holy Grail will then select seven magicians who have the authority to control the Holy Grail, and give these magicians a part of the huge magic power, giving them the ability to summon heroic spirits called "Servants". Let these seven people fight to the death to determine who is more qualified to possess the Holy Grail.

——This is what Kotomine Kirei received in brief.

"The pattern that appears on your right hand is called the 'Command Spell'. As proof of being selected by the Holy Grail, it is the stigmata given to you for being able to command Servants."

The person who kept explaining in a smooth and clear voice was named Tokiomi Tosaka.

This is a beautiful villa built on a beautiful hill in Minami Itori. Three men are sitting in the social conversation room. Kirei and Tokiomi, the other one is the priest who introduced them to each other and presided over the meeting - Kotomine Rimasa... Kirei's biological father.

As a friend of his father who is nearly eighty years old, this somewhat strange Japanese named Tohsaka is too young. He looks about the same age as Kirei, but he has a particularly stable temperament and a dignified appearance, which makes him look very majestic. After asking, I found out that he was also a famous man in Japan, and it was said that this villa was his villa. But the most surprising thing is that as soon as they met, he announced that he was a "magician".

The word magician itself is nothing special. Kirei and his father both belong to the priesthood, but their duties as father and son are fundamentally different from ordinary "priests".

The "Holy Church" to which Kirei and the others belong is responsible for labeling miracles and mysteries outside of doctrine as heretics, expelling them and burying them in darkness. In other words, it is from the standpoint of outlawing magic and other sacrilegious practices.