IBHJ 1085

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

A low apologetic voice rang in her ears as the girl opened her eyes to see a face full of guilt, streaming with tears.

Her body was numbingly cold. Everywhere she looked, she saw gaping wounds, torn flesh, and flowing blood.

The girl apologized through her tears, but her wet, red eyes held a grim determination as she repeatedly plunged a rainbow-colored sword into Ramoi's body.

Who am I? Where am I? Why am I being stabbed, yet feel no pain or hatred?

Then the memories returned.

Her name was Ramoi. She was no adventurer or priest, just an ordinary girl from a small village. Her days were simple, but fulfilling.

If there was one unusual event in her life, it was the day she went to Zaun, the vampire capital, to buy supplies.

Terror had gripped the city. An angel-like monster attacked, and everyone panicked, including Ramoi. She ran, but couldn't escape. Then, a silver-haired swordswoman, who looked like a princess, saved her.

Perhaps it was then, witnessing such bravery, that admiration first bloomed in her heart. She wanted to be as courageous as that swordswoman, to offer a helping hand to the weak, to rescue those in despair.

Perhaps that admiration was the root of all the disasters to come. The swordswoman was an avatar of the White Titan, who went berserk during the battle, taking many lives. The swordswoman, devastated by this, fled and disappeared.

Ramoi returned to her village, expecting to continue her normal life. But then she found the swordswoman in a cave nearby.

Hesitantly, she entered. Hesitantly, she approached. Hesitantly, she spoke: "Um... Miss Altera?"

That was the beginning of everything.

"Um, Miss Altera, I'm coming in."

"Don't come in! Leave this place!" the swordswoman shouted.

Altera was afraid and wanted to be alone. But the loneliness and pain on her face were impossible for Ramoi to ignore. This was the woman who had saved her, the woman she admired.

So Ramoi left the food she had brought and quietly retreated, but she continued to visit. After a month, she and the swordswoman had grown closer.

But Altera could never remember her name.

"Why do you keep coming here?" Altera asked. "If it's to repay your debt, you can stop. Don't come anymore. If you stay too close to me, something terrible will happen."

"Actually," Ramoi replied, "You remind me of myself when I was young. That loneliness, that hollow feeling nothing seems to fill. It's strange, but I feel peaceful when I talk to you."

This wasn't entirely true. Ramoi simply couldn't ignore the sadness in Altera's eyes. Her face clearly showed she longed for attention and comfort. So how could she walk away from that?

Ramoi wanted Altera to be the gallant, gentle woman she had first met, but Altera continued to push her away.

Still, Ramoi didn't give up. But then, the next day, a human scholar named Archimedes appeared.

He took Altera away and offered Ramoi a piece of advice: "When interacting with others, it's best to cover your eye with cloth or gauze to avoid trouble."

Ramoi ignored him. Her eye had been exposed for a long time with no problems. Her days had been peaceful.

After Altera left, Ramoi's third eye began to change, and she developed new abilities.

She was happy, not because of her new abilities, but because she could now help others like Altera. She could become the person she admired.

And so she did. But her actions drew the attention of old-era priests, who brought disaster to her village.

Ramoi escaped, but the priests pursued her. Desperate to survive, she killed them.

Her white clothes were stained red with blood. She screamed in anguish by the riverbank.

She had admired Miss Altera. Altera had saved her. Ramoi, so weak then, wanted to be like Altera, pure and clean. But now her hands were covered in blood, and she had caused the village's destruction.

It was a mistake to admire Altera. She shouldn't have. She should have just stayed an ordinary villager.

—"I can let you return to the past," a voice said. "I can let you start over."

Ramoi listened. She followed the voice to a forest and was swallowed by a giant tree monster. Then, she remembered nothing.

Now, looking at the tearful white-haired girl before her, Ramoi whispered, "Miss Altera?"

Altera's head snapped up. Her red eyes widened, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "Ramoi?"

It's me.

Before Ramoi could say the words, she felt something shift inside her. A vine erupted from her back and pierced Altera's stomach. Blood spilled onto the ground.

It all came back to Ramoi. She remembered everything. The voice that lured her into the forest. The invader that used her body to do terrible things. All those deaths, all that suffering—it had been her hands, but not her will.

She looked at Altera. The girl she had admired. And once again, Ramoi's hands were covered in blood and her life was slipping away, just like all the others.

"I'm sorry, Ramoi—I'm sorry—" Altera gasped, clutching her stomach as blood seeped between her fingers. She cut the vines behind Ramoi with one swift stroke. Then, she raised her rainbow sword high above her head and swung it down with all her might.

Light exploded in a blinding flash. Rainbow colors engulfed Ramoi's body, but she felt no pain. She was already dead, her consciousness fading like morning mist.

Altera's sword fell. Rainbow light filled Ramoi's dimming vision. Through the prismatic glow, she saw Altera crying, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Was Altera crying for her? For a stranger who had only cared for her out of gratitude for a single month?

"You seem so brave, Miss Altera," Ramoi said, "but you have such a kind heart."

She reached out and brushed the tears from Altera's face. As Altera looked up at her, Ramoi smiled, even as the rainbow light grew brighter around them.

It was the same genuine smile she'd given Altera that day in the cave.

"Thank you, Miss Altera."

Her body dissolved, but her soul surged towards the light. Death was terrifying, but she still smiled.

She saw something.

What did she see? Did she become like Altera? Did everything return to the past, with everyone in the village alive again?

"Thank you for remembering my name," Ramoi whispered, and then she disappeared like a fading dream.

Altera lifted her face, tears glimmering on her cheeks. "And thank you for being willing to come close to me."

She pressed her hand against her bleeding stomach and walked to the control panel, gripping her sword Star of Tears.

As she faced the manual controls, her voice grew firm. "This is the end, Velber. You, me, everything connected to the Umbral Star—it all stops here."

She brought her sword down hard on the control panel's switch.

[System: Critical damage detected. AI systems compromised. Initiate self-destruct sequence?]

"Initiate—"

[System: Self-destruct sequence activated. Countdown: 5—]

Altera's legs gave out. She slumped to the floor as blood seeped from her wound.

She looked at her bloodied hand. A soft smile crossed her face as her shoulders relaxed, finally at peace. Like a bird finally escaping its cage.

"I'm not a Vanguard anymore." She smiled, but then her voice wavered. "I'm sorry, Ayaka. You deserve a better Servant." She took a shaky breath. "Goodbye, my Hun people. Goodbye, Artoria. Goodbye, Deceiver King. Goodbye, Earth. At least now... I won't hurt anyone anymore."

Memories washed over her—all the faces, all the moments. She hadn't been alone after all. They had given her so much.

This is what I wanted all along. My salvation.

Her fingers curled against the floor. But I don't want to go. I want to meet more people. I want to stay with them...

Tears splashed onto the metal floor.

But she knew it was too late.

"Goodbye."

[System: 3, 2, 1—Thank you for your outstanding contribution to the Umbral Star, Extinction Civilization-Altera. You are free now.]

The explosion rocked through space. The Velber erupted as waves of energy burst from the bottom of Uranus.

The outer shell of Uranus cracked. Its shell, fortified by its siblings' authorities, split apart.

Shirou braced himself, his eyes wide. "This... this is—"

"Altera self-destructed," Gaia said.

He went quiet.

"She's given us our chance, even if this isn't what we wanted." Gaia's voice hardened. "We can't waste her sacrifice. Ort, I'm counting on you!"

"Understood."

Ort's pillars of blue light pierced through Uranus's breaking surface.

Although Uranus was incredibly powerful, Velber's self-destruction had completely destroyed its foundation. Now being torn apart by Ort, it had no power to fight back.

"Ga—ia!"

Uranus's cry rang through the massive tree.

"You've lost." Gaia's shoulders tensed. "Human emotions have changed you more than I thought. We'll settle our grudge—Earth's and Uranus's grudge—when we return. For now, get out of our way!"

Ga—ia!

Uranus's voice faded into silence. The flames from Velber's destruction rose up toward the giant tree.

Gaia grabbed Shirou's arm. "Run! Even your soul won't survive if Velber's destruction reaches us!"

"I know!"

Shirou tried to move, but his legs gave out. His body felt heavy, refusing to respond.

"Ort, help him. He's too exhausted."

"No. I only help you."

"Ort, is your body—"

A blur of movement cut off Gaia's words. Arcueid burst into the room.

"Shirou!"

"Here!" He reached out his hand.

Arcueid spotted him on the ground and ran to his side, pulling him to his feet.

"Why are you here?" He gripped her hand.

"I had to find you." Her eyes were wide with concern. "When Velber exploded, Mooncell absorbed most of the blast, but it still shattered my moon. I thought—I thought you might be dead."

"We need to move. The flames are coming." He pushed himself up.

"Right." She slipped one arm behind his neck, the other under his legs, and lifted him off the ground.

"What—put me down!" His face flushed. "This is embarrassing!"

"No time to argue!"

Arcueid sprang forward, carrying him as she raced toward the exit in a streak of light.

Gaia turned to Ort. "Time to leave."

"Yes." Ort followed them out.

The flames rose from below, consuming everything—Altera and Velber, the Eye of Gandhara, Uranus's giant tree. They erased all trace of the battles fought here, the bonds formed, and all their suffering.