The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 408 An Accident? Or Fate?

Ilya knew it from the beginning.

Her ability to maintain her own identity is entirely due to Kiritsugu's [character design].

She had been holding Kiritsugu's hand tightly to stop the black mud, which was like a vast ocean, from engulfing her.

The materialization of the soul is not invincible.

Lin Sheng said this very seriously at the time.

"Do you understand, Ilya? Even if completing [Soul Materialization] means you won't die, it doesn't mean you can't be changed."

Gilgamesh is a clear example—no matter how much one denies it, his personality underwent a significant transformation after being fleshed out by the black mud.

“For an individual like you who has already unified the body, mind, and soul, once this kind of pollution occurs, it is very likely that it cannot be completely reversed.”

[Physical] Even if a limb is lost, it can still be repaired and restored.

But if the soul loses a part, what can be used to repair it?
“Especially now that you have undoubtedly ‘broken down’ to some extent, Ilya. In fact, if the contamination of the black mud is comprehensive, this change is likely irreversible.”

Yes, if Ilya could leverage the "inertia of history," perhaps no amount of mud would be able to influence her judgment and choices.

But she is different now.

But Irisviel, whom she faced, was different.

The Holy Grail, now transformed from Black Alice, contains sins and desires that far exceed what can be described in numbers.

How could she persuade that pure and hopeless obsession, and how could she accommodate that boundless and distorted love?
Letting go might have been a mistake—fragmented thoughts flashed through Ilya's mind.

What was the reason that I suddenly made this unexpected move?
Ilya pondered painfully.

Unfortunately, those thoughts, now shattered by pain, can no longer be pieced back together.

Is this child truly nestled into his mother's arms?

Just as Kiritsugu astutely judged, the situation was beyond redemption.

Ilya's tolerance stemming from her mother's pain, even if understandable, might actually be a bad thing.

Now, all she can feel is despair.

Or perhaps, it is merely a concept called "Ilya," attached to a choice called "Fate."

Someone chose [Ilya];
Someone chose [Emiya Kiritsugu];
Someone chose [Irisviel];
That's it.

Memories, were they really memories?

Is all of this still just a nightmare?
The wind and snow froze outside the window, and Ilya waited alone on the distant snowfield in that eternal sworn brotherhood castle.

Everything was so hopeless.

Despair at being killed by Kiritsugu, despair at having your heart ripped out, despair at having your eyes pierced.

Opening the Holy Grail brings despair, closing the Holy Grail brings despair, separation from the world brings despair.

The mother named Irisviel has experienced so much despair, and now they are trying to tell Ilya all of it.

The mother is confiding in her child—

She misses her very much.

The unbearable despair was like a blizzard outside the window, with the north wind howling, trying to drag a future or the past to Ilya's side.

What do changes of a few years or a few months matter in the face of this?

It was as if she had truly returned to being that child, waiting for Kiritsugu and Irisviel to return from their victory.

Ilya could only hold the increasingly cold embrace even tighter.

Like a sick child seeking protection from its mother, she clung tightly to Irisviel:

"Mom, Ilya had a nightmare. She dreamt that she turned into a big cup."

……

Upon hearing this, Irisviel trembled uncontrollably.

The mother already knew what was going to happen.

Irisviel opened her eyes and looked around amidst the whistling wind in her ears.

Perhaps it was the cold that made my mind a little foggy.

Irisviel felt herself hardening and growing cold, as if she had melted and solidified into something heavy.

My heart seems to have stopped beating.

The blood vessels felt as if they were filled with molten lead, trying to stop something.

But what exactly should we prevent from happening?

The inexplicable cold made Irisviel feel more acutely aware of her surroundings, but it also froze her thoughts.

Many blurry images quickly vanished before my eyes.

Moreover, it could be that the projector was too old, or that the film was covered in mold.

All that can be seen in 【Irisviel】 is large swaths of black shadows.

It would be great if we could wipe away all that dirt.

Thinking this, Irisviel pressed her eyes close to the lens, trying to see something through that "hole".

So the little figure that slid into the cup looked out at the house prepared for himself, his daughter, and his husband.

“Ilya…” Alice murmured to herself.

An unbelievable despair, a surge of resentment at being betrayed, suddenly welled up inside me.

Beneath those curtains used for concealment lies a scene composed only of resentment, despair, and sorrow.

Within that castle besieged by a blizzard, like an exhibit trapped inside a snow globe—a masterpiece called "Einzbern" was born.

It started with Justessa, and then the dolls were printed using this "Winter Saintess" as a mold.

Those “fate” composed of broken, abandoned, and torn lives, of the consumption and abandonment of dolls.

They have continued to tell the story in this way.

Irisviel understands.

This must be both the starting point and the end point of all conflicts.

Everything she has experienced and witnessed is contained in this cup.

She is now inside the Holy Grail.

……

Why are you crying, Mom?

My daughter's voice sounded indistinctly in my ear.

"Mom, Ilya had a nightmare. She dreamt that she turned into a big cup."

His daughter seemed to be hugging him tightly, and he was holding her tightly in return.

Irisviel brought the little figure to her eyes and looked into its eyes.

Those ruby-like eyes are now filled with pain and struggle—but beneath that, there is also an infinite trust.

We must save Ilya from her suffering.

"Don't do this..." another faint voice echoed in Irisviel's mind.

But how can a mother remain indifferent to her child's pain?

And so, the black mud that surged into Ilya's body controlled her to speak like a child:
"Seven huge solid objects entered Ilya's body, and Ilya was about to crack."

"Although I'm scared, it seems like Ilya can't escape."

"Oh, right, Mom, at that moment Ilya heard Lady Justisa's voice, and there was a really big black hole on her head..."

It happened again and again.

Irisviel had no choice but to do this.

Based on the events described in the "Compilation Items," control Ilya to reenact the events that have played out countless times in the past.

What else could she do?

If she didn't use the power of the [Compilation Matters], her daughter would be dead by now!
Irisviel hugged her daughter's shoulders tightly.

She wept as if it were pre-written.

As if it were written, his tear-stained cheeks rubbed against Ilya's silvery-white hair.

I am about to embark on this same hopeless path again.

This road seems to never end.

As long as Irisviel decides to use such opportunities to achieve fulfillment, it will happen again and again.

"It's okay, it's okay..."

Irisviel swore that this would be the last time.

She would never let Ilya fall into the trap of fate again.

Heaven's Feel, The Third Magic—

Only by completing it, only by making a wish upon it, can one find salvation.

Countless Irisviels and countless Illyas sang together beside this pitiful mother, pleading with her to obtain the Holy Grail.

"It's fine--"

Irisviel now only has love for her daughter in her heart; she needs nothing else but Ilya.

She was about to open her eyes.

She was about to agree to all of Kiritsugu's conditions.

“Ilya, you can definitely break free from the shackles of fate. Because I will accomplish everything, your father will accomplish everything, he will achieve—”

However, my eyes, which were open, were almost shattered by the action that was rushing towards me.

……

Kiritsugu used his [Local Time Control] with all his might.

He bestowed eternity upon himself, upon Ilya, and upon everything around him.

Time slowed down, approaching a state of eternal stillness.

But that's still not enough; stagnation alone won't help.

What he needs is to turn back time.

He retraced his steps to the moment Ilya left him, then pulled his daughter back from the abyss.

Even that's not enough.

That Irisviel, her power must have tainted Illya, and in that case, her daughter's soul might also be corrupted.

Yes, [historical inertia]. "Kiritsugu, the power of [historical inertia] is absolute."

The words ZC-01 once said echoed in my ears.

Yes, this is the only thing I can do, this is what I must do.

Although there are some risks involved, as long as I temporarily separate the two timelines...

Separate the timeline between herself and Ilya in the castle, and the timeline she has now been tainted by Irisviel.

Kiritsugu felt as if his whole body was being torn apart.

When a universe is about to split, a world will be copied in pairs.

Even if it's just for a moment, he has to do it.

This will transform the world Irisviel created into two.

He wants to move every substance in this world so that it appears simultaneously in two places at two different times.

The possibility of realizing it is as slim as an electron in a cell suddenly gaining "consciousness" and then driving the cell to undergo "mitosis" out of thin air.

Fortunately, Kiritsugu now has an eternity to realize it.

In fact, a strange power surged from his heart, making him realize that he was destined to achieve it.

So when Irisviel opened her eyes, she saw—

Her own husband, Ilya's father.

With a pained, struggling expression, he raised the gun in his hand at Ilya.

……

Fate played a cruel joke, a fatal one.

If Irisviel and Kiritsugu, one possesses an unshakable evil, or the other possesses an unwavering sense of justice.

The outcome will be either Irisviel's success or Kiritsugu Emiya's success.

But in one person's resoluteness now lies a touch of tenderness, while in the other's unwavering resolve lies a touch of fear.

then--

Those two "historical inertia" that were halfway through have now found an opportunity to come together.

What will succeed may be the success of "historical inertia".

The moment Kiritsugu saw Irisviel open her eyes, all he felt was despair.

He will not fire the gun.

If he were to actually fire, then this historical momentum, symbolizing the "end of World War IV," would immediately etch the deaths of Illya and Alice onto the cornerstone of fate.

The support of another timeline allowed Kiritsugu to briefly resist this momentum.

This time, he won't make a painful choice.

All he wanted was a chance to save Ilya.

He is now capable of trying to save the two people on that boat.

Kiritsugu only wanted to use the first half of this "historical inertia" to save Illya from the pain of being tainted by the black mud.

“Alice!” he immediately explained that he was not controlled by [Fate], “I was not [Compiled Matters]—!”

But it is already late.

Irisviel's eyes were now filled with terror.

"don't want--!!!"

The woman screamed in terror.

Even now, the "fate" that has befallen her once again has made Black Alice forget the power she still possesses.

It was as if she had suddenly lost all her strength.

Black Alice wailed loudly, instinctively trying to push Kiritsugu away with both hands.

Then, she immediately realized that Ilya was now in her arms.

"There's still a chance! There's still a chance!"

The mother instinctively sought help, anything that might save her daughter.

"Right, the Holy Grail... as long as we can find the Holy Grail..."

In her panic, Irisviel realized that she still had one last chance.

——The Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail must be completed.

It doesn't matter if I die, as long as the ritual can be completed, Ilya will be saved.

Thus, the black mud beneath her feet, following Black Alice's emotions, was propelled forward by the cheers of "historical inertia."

Kiritsugu had no choice but to try to shift another point in time, moving himself to the past to avoid the onslaught of that black ocean.

And as he anxiously awaited the arrival of the next second...

Even though it was only a moment later, Kiritsugu saw that Irene had already moved away from him, embracing Illya.

Seeing Irisviel carrying Illya and running frantically towards the arena behind her—

That mansion where the Holy Grail descended.

He instinctively raised the gun in his hand.

Kiritsugu's eyes were fixed on the figure about to enter the Civic Hall.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!" he roared angrily.

Black Alice does have a pretty good feel to it—

If this were in the past, Kiritsugu Emiya, being a "machine," would have fired without hesitation.

But he can no longer do that.

The Alliance had made promises to him in the past, and even Ilya was not without her defenses.

I have only achieved half of my goal.

Now, the momentum of history is pushing forward, and Ilya cannot remain in a coma indefinitely.

Therefore, he still has a chance, a last chance, to save everything.

no doubt.

At this moment, Kiritsugu truly took the first step in transcending that wish called "world peace," that tragic wish called [Emiya Kiritsugu].

What are you trying to salvage?

Besides one's own desires, there are still things one cannot abandon.

Even if it's impossible, we must do our best to achieve that impossible redemption.

The "heart" of the person named Emiya Kiritsugu begins to fiercely resist "fate" as his "persona" breaks through.

Regardless, the historical inertia of the "Four Wars" regards him as its core.

The origin known as Kiritsugu, along with the spread of that "heart image," disrupts all of time around it, and then pieces it back together.

In any case, he has succeeded once.

He has just successfully split the universe that Alice created, a universe filled only with sorrow and pain, in two.

If only we could do it again...

Kiritsugu now finally understands the true meaning of the [Alliance] plan—

With the help of that medicine, he can definitely use his Kiritsugu to separate that pain away.

……

Just like Weber said, the most important thing is the purpose.

Even though the situation has now reached its most critical point.

Even though the plan had some flaws from the beginning.

But as long as that unwavering desire remains, and as long as the ultimate goal remains unchanged, Kiritsugu still has a chance.

only--

The historical momentum of the "Four Wars" is now cheering.

The historical inertia of the "Five World Wars" is now urging us on.

In just a moment, Black Sakura felt her power being suppressed to the extreme.

The real Holy Grail is about to appear.

Its very existence would mean that the very foundation of Matou Sakura's existence here would be shaken.

This is something that Black Sakura absolutely cannot allow.

Fortunately, she quickly figured out how to prevent this from actually happening.

This is also an opportunity for her.

Furthermore, Black Sakura does not believe that the compilation of the "Fifth War" will be abandoned, and that wish will be fulfilled.

"Since I was able to appear using this 'choice,' he must be here," she muttered coldly to herself.

Black Sakura couldn't believe that the cold-blooded person would allow such a wish, which only cared about a few people, to be fulfilled.

Thus, three strands of [Limit Breaking Power] immediately appeared on the two chasing Archer and Kirei along with the surge of black mud—Black Sakura also discovered the wonderful use of "three".

At that moment, she gave orders to the two people who were being manipulated.

"Assassin, Kotomine Risei. Send Archer and Kirei to the Kaiminkan."

As the command ended, a look of annoyance and resentment appeared on Matou Sakura's face.

It wasn't just because of the depletion of her strength; Black Sakura also remembered the woman's mockery of her just now.

What makes Black Matou Sakura even more jealous and resentful is—

What that woman said was undoubtedly true.

That man named Kiritsugu is now truly willing to risk the entire universe being overturned to save her...

And what about myself?!

Just thinking about this made Black Cherry almost go crazy with jealousy.

"I want to utilize [Editorial Matters]..."

She practically spat out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"No way, such a good thing is impossible."