IBHJ Chapter 855

"Isn't that Mr. Shirou?" Gray asked in surprise.

Despite the different hair color, both Artoria and Gray recognized him immediately.

That man. The man holding the dagger was Shirou!

But why was he down there?

Everyone turned to look at him, confusion clouding their faces.

"That's—" Shirou stared at the woman and the man below, his heart pounding.

There was no mistaking it.

That—

That was a scene from his strange dream!

Without hesitation, he dove towards the man and woman on the ground.

Suddenly, a dragon head erupted from the swirling darkness, spewing a torrent of magical fire at him.

"Shirou, watch out!" Artoria shouted, her eyes wide with alarm.

But the dragon's breath was too fast. Before her warning could even register, he was engulfed in flames.

Yet, the fire seemed to pass through him like a virtual projection, leaving him unharmed. He burst out the other side, continuing his descent towards the ground.

Artoria, seeing he was safe, let out a relieved sigh. She quickly followed after him.

Shirou raced towards the ground, his eyes locked onto the man below.

In that moment, the man opened his mouth, and the calm, emotionless words reached Shirou's ears, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Sorry, I killed your sister."

Just like in his dream!

...

"I'm sorry. I killed your sister."

The man, gripping the bloodstained dagger, stared blankly at the girl who had collapsed before him. "But I will save this world. I will save it. The victor of this Holy Grail War will be me!"

He turned and walked towards the Dark Vortex.

"Even if you killed my sister, you can't win!" the distraught girl cried out. "Both the Sword of Rapture and the Sword of Promised Victory have failed, and your Servant is gone. There is no victor in this war. You're just a Master, you can't possibly win!"

"I can't win? I don't believe that."

The man's serious and determined expression stunned the girl into silence.

He turned away, looking up at the destructive vortex spewing monstrous dragon heads, and took a resolute step forward.

A young man who had come to this city to study, only to be dragged into this war. Now, he was taking a step to shoulder the burden of the world.

Hundreds of dragon heads, with thousands of malicious eyes, locked onto the man and unleashed a devastating torrent of annihilation.

"All the elements are in place. Gilgamesh's grand summoning circle, the life essence of Heracles and Arthur, my two Command Spells, and the nexus of Japan's leylines..."

Facing annihilation, the man slowly raised his hand, gritting his teeth. "Heart and mind, memory and will, breath of life... At the risk of my entire life's luck, I beg you, manifest in this ruined world, the strongest Heroic Spirit—Saver!"

As the destructive force loomed, the two Command Spells on the back of his hand glowed crimson. Golden particles flowed from the grand summoning circle, converging on the Command Spells.

In that moment, the man's Command Spells connected with the Enlightened One who had transcended, but left a record within the wheel of existence.

A massive golden hand gently enveloped the man's crumbling body and soul.

Surrounded by a warm sea of golden spirit particles, the man looked up at the sublime figure bathed in that golden light and smiled weakly. "I did it... Did you see that, Gilgamesh? I... I succeeded...!"

In this world teetering on the brink of destruction, the man had summoned the mightiest of Servants, known as "Saver."

Even this colossal beast sensed danger in the presence of such power. Its dragon heads clustered together, combining their countless breaths into a single, star-shattering blast aimed at the Servant.

But the world-ending attack could not even scratch Saver.

"Grrrooooaaaar————!!" The Beast of Revelation roared in defiance.

Saver looked at the beast with cold eyes, then gently moved his fingers. A blinding light radiated from his back, focusing into his fingertips before being slowly released.

In an instant, an unimaginable force, rivaling the very act of creation, erupted from his fingers and obliterated the Beast of Revelation.

The world was bathed in Saver's brilliant light, piercing the black miasma that had enveloped the sky. But soon, the darkness returned, the terrifying Dark Vortex swirling ominously overhead, radiating an aura of dread.

Still, the Beast of Revelation, the harbinger of apocalypse, was no more.

Saver glanced at the swirling vortex above, slowly closed his eyes, and began to fade away.

It was only natural.

The apocalyptic beast had been vanquished, and so the sublime figure known as Saver would also depart.

But—

"W-With a Command Spell, I order you—"

The man, his body and soul already crumbling after sacrificing everything to summon Saver, slowly raised his trembling hand.

The last Command Spell on his hand began to fade.

Gritting his teeth, the man defied the odds and used a Command Spell on Saver, a gesture of desperation and audacity. "W-With a Command Spell, I order you, S-Saver, to save this world!"

Perhaps surprised or bewildered by the man's foolish use of a Command Spell on the exalted Saver, the transcendent being paused his departure. For the first time, he lowered his head and gazed at the impertinent man with cold, indifferent eyes.

"You are Saver, aren't you...why won't you save the world?" the man shouted.

"All phenomena arise from conditions, and all conditions are impermanent. To cling to the fleeting is to invite suffering. This world, this darkness, all are manifestations of impermanence. Their arising and passing are but natural occurrences." Saver calmly stated.

"I don't understand."

Saver glanced at the Dark Vortex in the sky, his gaze indifferent. "Resisting the inevitable only prolongs the illusion of permanence. True liberation lies in recognizing the empty nature of all phenomena. Clinging to the transient world is like grasping at shadows. Let go of attachments, and you shall find release from suffering."

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't want to know. If you, the so-called Saver, won't save this world, fine. Then I will bear it all myself. I...I will do it on my own!" The man gritted his teeth and stood up, his voice filled with determination.

Saver said, "All beings must inevitably decay. You too will sink into the suffering cycle of rebirth, unable to be liberated. Yet the seed of enlightenment already resides within you, and our karmic connection has been formed. Very well, I shall persist in meditation until you reach Nirvana."

Saver, who had decided to leave, chose instead to remain in this world, meditating until the man achieved enlightenment.

As for why?

Perhaps this was simply his truth.

Saver slowly raised his hand, revealing a massive ring that encompassed the entire planet.

Then, Saver raised his hand higher.

"Wait! Hold on—"

The man's eyes widened as he saw Saver about to act. He shouted to the woman on the ground, "Take cover, Ayaka!"

But it was too late.

Saver unleashed his immense power.

"Amita Amitabha!"

In that instant, everything was purified.

Saver used his power to cut out the history of the world's ruin, casting it away. At the same time, he erased all of the man's memories and knowledge, giving him a fresh start.

He set the starting point for the man's new life at the age of six.

However, history is continuous. With even a slight change, it would lead to a different reality.

Saver's power was strong enough to alter reality itself. Thus, the reality in which the man restarted was different from the one he had previously known.

After resetting the man's reality, Saver kept his promise, meditating at a temple near the man in each of his lifetimes, awaiting his Nirvana. But the man never achieved enlightenment. Instead, he failed time and again, lost in the endless cycle of resets.

Until—

......

"Huff...huff...!"

Shirou stared at the scene of the Enlightened One trying to reset the world. He leaned against the wall, clutching his head, sweat dripping down his face.

"Shirou..." Artoria stood beside him, worry reflected in her gaze.

"I'm fine... I-I just remembered some things." he forced a smile, but the sweat made it look strained.

She didn't know how to comfort him within this bubble of memories where she, too, had witnessed his past.

Summoning Saver, destroying the Beast of Revelation, shouldering everything, trapped in a cycle of resets...

It was all too complex, too much for even her to comprehend.

If she couldn't understand it, how could she console him?

She felt a pang of helplessness.