"Would you like to hear a story, Iri?" Arthur asked, looking at her calmly, as if the two of them were not surrounded by the darkness inside the Holy Grail.
"A story?"
"Yes."
He nodded lightly.
"The Third Holy Grail War took place in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, here in Fuyuki."
Iri remained silent, listening attentively.
"To start over from nothing, free from the humiliation they suffered after their defeat in the Second Holy Grail War, the Einzberns devised a plan for absolute victory in the next conflict."
Her expression faltered when she heard the name of her family.
"By making full use of the sixty years following the second war, comparing possibilities and considering every variable, they managed to narrow their potential choices down to two Heroic Spirits."
Arthur lifted his gaze to the surrounding darkness as he continued.
"In the Third War, instead of summoning a Berserker, they attempted to summon the Zoroastrian god Angra Mainyu as an Avenger."
He let out a soft sigh.
"And they succeeded. However, he was exceptionally weak and was defeated very early in the conflict."
"The Lesser Holy Grail was destroyed during the battles before a winner could be decided."
"As a result, the ritual completely lost its purpose and ended in failure."
Arthur then pointed to the black mud undulating around them.
"But Avenger Angra Mainyu was absorbed, and the Greater Holy Grail was corrupted."
He concluded in a low voice:
"That is the origin of this black mud."
Iri stood frozen.
"How could that happen...?"
Her voice trembled.
"Grandfather never told me anything like that..."
She stared at the darkness around her as if seeing it for the first time.
That which she had always believed to be an omnipotent machine capable of granting any wish.
That which her family revered.
That for which so many had died.
It was corrupted.
Her fingers trembled.
Iri lowered her gaze to her own hands, lips parted, unable to find words.
From the depths of that place, she felt an overwhelming malice.
A cruel intent.
Something that seemed to mock everything.
If everything had gone according to plan...
She likely would have been consumed by all the evil of this world, corrupted, and transformed into a spirit of vengeance.
Losing all sense of herself.
"It's alright, Iri."
Arthur spoke gently and placed a hand on her head.
The simple gesture made her tremble.
"Do you remember what I said?"
He smiled.
"I need to bring my future wife back home."
"Eh?"
Iri, who had still been grieving the cruel injustice of fate, was left completely stunned by that unexpected and absurdly unconventional comfort.
For a moment, she could not decide whether to laugh or cry.
Her lips trembled.
"Pfft—"
She ended up laughing.
A genuine laugh escaped before she could stop it.
Wiping away with the back of her hand the tears that had once been sorrowful and now mixed with sincere tears, Iri complained:
"How can you comfort someone like that?"
"I'm only being honest."
Arthur laughed as well.
"So?"
He crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly.
"How about we talk while we wait for my other self to heroically come rescue you?"
Iri smiled warmly.
"I would love that."
---
Ryuudou Temple
Night had fully fallen.
The sky was drowned in darkness, and only the distant lights of Fuyuki City traced the horizon.
Arthur and Kiritsugu were also fully prepared.
Even amid the darkness, the golden Holy Grail into which Iri's body had transformed continued to shine brilliantly, radiating an almost sacred presence.
After a moment of silence, Kiritsugu glanced at Arthur.
Arthur responded only with a slight nod.
Without saying a word, Kiritsugu pulled a flare gun from his pocket.
He raised it to the sky and fired.
Eleven bright flares shot upward through the night, glowing blue and red before bursting into light above Fuyuki.
Almost at the same time, the remaining Masters and Servants saw the signal and understood that the time had come.
Shortly after sending the call, Kiritsugu departed as planned.
His destination was to settle everything with Kirei Kotomine.
Beside Arthur, Artoria wore a thoughtful expression.
Her gaze was distant.
"What's bothering you, Artie?" Arthur asked.
She took several seconds before replying.
"To be honest... I did not want to have to fight you."
Arthur let out a small amused snort.
"I'll really be upset if you hold back against me."
"But—"
She tried to continue, but he interrupted her.
"Artie."
Arthur looked directly at her.
"As good as you are at keeping a poker face, you cannot hide your thoughts that well."
She remained silent.
"I knew, from the very first moment we met, that somehow... you already knew me."
Artoria looked away.
"Was it that obvious?" she asked.
"No."
Arthur shook his head.
"But your actions... and the way you seemed to know me so well... led me to believe it."
He then softened his tone.
"Besides, the sadness I saw in your eyes from time to time makes me think that we fought..."
His voice grew lower.
"...and that I ended up dying, right?"
Artoria stared at him for several moments.
Then she let out a light, bitter laugh.
"You're far too perceptive, you know that?"
"Well..."
Arthur heard a distant explosion that made the ground tremble.
"Judging by the sound of destruction, I suppose Goldie is already fighting Rider now."
He then looked back at her.
"So, how about you tell me more about this adventure we had together?"
Artoria took a deep breath.
"It will be a long story."
Arthur smiled.
"We have time."
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and began to speak.
"If that is what you want... it happened in a Singularity..."
---xXx---
"I see..." Arthur said while looking at the night sky.
He was sitting on the ground in a relaxed posture, while Artoria—despite resisting at first and muttering complaints under her breath—had ended up sitting on his lap, wrapped within his arms around her waist.
The position was far too intimate by her standards.
And that was exactly why Arthur seemed to be enjoying it so much.
"That explains a lot... but leaves me with even more questions." He continued, lowering his gaze to look at her.
"To be honest..." Artoria said after a brief silence, meeting his eyes. "The only reason I was summoned... was to see you again."
Arthur blinked once and then smiled.
"That's cute, you know?"
Before he could laugh further, he felt her fingers mercilessly pinching his cheek.
"Do not say that." she replied, trying to sound serious, though a smile escaped at the corners of her lips.
"My Artie doesn't want to be called cute?" Arthur teased, while his hands slowly moved up her body, drawing an involuntary shiver from her.
She let out a soft laugh and, instead of moving away, merely pressed herself even closer against him.
While they talked like that, as if the war around them did not exist, Arthur discreetly activated his clairvoyance and sent his consciousness beyond that place, observing the battlefields spread across Fuyuki.
His eyes narrowed for a moment.
"...It seems Goldie defeated Iskandar and is already coming this way," Arthur said casually.
Artoria fell silent for a moment upon hearing that.
"And what about Kiritsugu?" she asked next.
"He is fighting that priest," Arthur replied.
The lightness in his tone vanished for an instant.
(End of Chapter)