IBHJ 1092

Like Shirou, Artoria couldn't sleep. She stood at her window, watching the blood moon cast its red light on her face.

Her and Shirou's paths had only crossed for a moment - they should have stayed separate. Without Crimson Moon manipulating things from the shadows, their lives wouldn't have tangled together like this. She wouldn't have turned into someone so unsure of herself.

"I've only held him back." She touched the cold window. "Crimson Moon, without you, Shirou and I might have found different paths."

A sad smile crossed her face. Nothing could change the past now.

This guilt, this regret - they had taken root in her heart.

"Maybe I should do what Arcueid said and help him." She watched the moon's reflection. "But there's nothing to do while Scathach stays at the Nordic connection point."

She sighed quietly.

...

"We can't change what's already happened." Morrigan stretched out on the windowsill, her eyes on the blood moon. "Why did I make that stupid drug back then? If I'd done things normally, Shirou would have been mine." She turned to look at Hinako. "Don't you think so?"

"I don't know why you're still hung up on that man. It's been fifteen hundred years. Move on." Hinako shook her head.

"Then why are you still thinking about the Hegemon-King of Western Chu? Gao Changgong seems nice."

Hinako's eyes turned sharp. "If you're going there, this conversation is over."

"You started it, but now you're getting mad?" Morrigan pouted. She leaned back against the window frame. "My feelings for Shirou are just like yours for the Hegemon-King... That's why I hate what I did back then. I wish I could start over."

"Stop dreaming. You can't change the past. Unless you want to end up like Manaka Sajyou and summon a Beast." Hinako's voice softened. "And don't forget - there are Beast hunters everywhere now. They already took down Koyanskaya. I don't want that happening to you."

Morrigan lowered her head. "I know... I'm just talking."

Seeing Morrigan's shoulders slump, Hinako set her book aside. After a moment's pause, she spoke. "...I'll stay with you."

"What?"

"I said, I'll stay with you."

"You're so sweet, Hinako." Morrigan's smile returned. "Though now that I think about it, I'm your only friend so that's a given. You have no one else to hang out with, poor thing."

Hinako shot her an irritated look.

Suddenly, Morrigan spotted Arcueid walking past their room. "Arcueid!"

"Huh?" Arcueid jumped, then slumped. "Oh, it's just you, Morrigan."

"You seem down. What's wrong?" Morrigan tilted her head. This wasn't like the usually energetic Arcueid at all.

"I'm not sure..." Arcueid pressed a hand to her chest. "It feels tight here. I think I might be sick."

"Sick?" Morrigan frowned. "Can True Ancestors even get sick?"

"No— I—"

Before she could finish, Arcueid doubled over like she'd been struck. She gasped for air as sweat poured down her face.

A brilliant white light burst from her body, bright as a star about to explode.

"Arcueid, what's happening?" Morrigan scrambled forward.

"Don't know..." Arcueid clutched her chest harder, her words coming between ragged breaths. "My heart... it hurts so much..."

"This has to be a curse!"

Before Morrigan could move, Hinako cried out. "Morrigan, you're—"

Morrigan turned. Hinako was pointing at her, eyes wide.

Looking down, Morrigan froze. The same white light that surrounded Arcueid now covered her body, blazing like a star ready to burst.

"No—it can't be—"

Horror spread across Morrigan's face. "This is bad!"

She whipped around to Hinako. "Quick, warn Shirou about—"

But Morrigan's body dissolved into nothing, like mist in sunlight.

"It hurts..." Arcueid's voice broke. Then she too vanished, leaving no trace behind.

Hinako stood frozen, staring at the empty space where her friend had been. What just happened?

...

"Shirou-niisan!" Illya burst into his room.

Empty. Just an open window with the wind rushing through.

Shirou was gone.

Her scream rang out through the inn, but worse news followed. Shirou wasn't the only one missing.

Morrigan had vanished. Arcueid too. And Artoria.

"Mother disappeared right in front of me." Mordred's fingers curled into fists. "Is something wrong with this connection point?"

"There's no danger in this connection point."

"Then where did they go?" Mordred spun toward the voice, demanding answers. She saw it was Gaia and stepped forward. "You must know - you're the Counter Force!"

Gaia said, "I do know. But first, there's something more urgent everyone needs to hear."

The group exchanged glances. "What is it?"

"The Council has been breached."

The words fell like stones into silence. Ayaka broke it first, her brows knitting together. "How? Did one of the A-Team somehow break in without us knowing?"

"No." Gaia shook her head. "The Council and Chaldea were breached simultaneously. Chaldea's members are now scattered across different connection points. And those of us already in connection points can't return to reality."

"Both Chaldea and the Council were breached, and we're trapped here?" Everyone stared at Gaia in disbelief.

She nodded.

"Could this be the Lord of Salvation's doing?"

"No. He remains sealed in the [Root]."

"Then how..."

Ayaka noticed Altera's distant look. "Altera? Did you think of something?"

"Earlier, Velber mentioned their Council chairman was dealing with a dangerous connection point." Altera's eyes narrowed. "They said if it wasn't handled right, it could overturn both the Council and reality itself. After what Lady Gaia just told us... I think the chairman must have failed."

"Which connection point?" Gaia's voice sharpened.

"I believe it was... Britain."

...

Shirou opened his eyes with a groan. His head throbbed.

What happened?

He sat up, every muscle aching, then went still.

Something was wrong. His eyes darted around the room. A strange room - walls lined with cracks, cold wind seeping through. Above, a massive hole gaped in the ceiling.

A thatched cottage? How did I get here?

The last thing he remembered was standing in his room, watching the blood moon. Then that white light had engulfed him. It felt like his soul was being ripped apart before everything went dark.

Now he was here. In this broken-down cottage.

Is this another of Mordred's tricks? Or did someone else do this?

A damp, rotting smell caught his attention. He turned to see a pile of grass in the corner. Mud walls. Scattered stones. Weeds pushing through cracks.

Something about this place nagged at his memory.

He pressed his palm against the bed to stand, then stopped. Lifted his hand. Flexed his fingers.

"This isn't a Servant's body. This is... flesh and blood?"

Had his damaged Saint Graph finally broken while he watched the moon? Was this where Mordred had hidden his real body all this time?

But something else was wrong.

"My hands..." He stared at his palms. They were small, pale, smooth - not the rough, callused hands he remembered.

He knelt by a puddle and froze.

A young boy stared back at him from the water. Black hair neatly framing his face, bright eyes burning like fire. He wore a white shirt with red trim and white pants, though they were shredded as if something had torn through them.

"This can't be..." His hand trembled as he touched his reflection.

It wasn't the ruined clothes that shocked him. It was the face.

There was no mistake. The boy in the puddle was him.

His twelve-year-old self.

"This is impossible!" He pressed his hands to his face. "This is my real body, not a Servant body. It shouldn't be able to reverse aging! Did Gilgamesh feed me some youth potion when I wasn't looking?"

Something else was wrong. Eternal King's record was gone. He couldn't feel the Formless Vortex in his heart. And the black mud that always lurked in his shadow was also gone!

"What's going on?"

"Oh, you're finally awake."

A soft voice made him turn. A girl stood in the doorway, wearing a brown dress trimmed with silver scales. She looked about fourteen, with dark hair framing her face and gentle blue eyes that reminded him of clear water.

Shirou stared at her. The elegant way she carried herself seemed strange in this shabby room. But what caught his attention was her face - it mirrored his own so closely they could pass for twins.

But this wasn't what made him blank out. The real reason was...

"Guinevere?"

He was shocked because this girl was none other than Guinevere!