Chapter 134. The Ending of Everything, Imaginary Number Space, The First Kaguya!
[Endless destructive power spread out, in the sound of wailing as if from the whole world, countless pieces of matter had completely turned into solidified material flying chaotically.]
[Even more energy transformed into a rain of light like fairies flying around, beautiful to the extreme.]
[The melody of despair was almost the final song before the collapse of the real world, the most brilliant firework display, reaching the peak of beauty and radiance in that fleeting moment.]
[Becoming an eternal landscape in the eyes of many people in reality.]
[The ultimate light at the end of the world, far too beautiful, far too dazzling.]
[But...]
[Beneath the deep layer of dark space.]
[Countless remnants of worlds were falling onto the planet, forming a radiant meteor shower.]
[Kaguya, completely unharmed, stood firm on the planet, looking down on all beings from above, her voice carrying sorrow.]
["In the end, I still won, Onii-chan."]
[Behind her.]
["That's right, Kaguya, you won!"]
[Raku Sou stood with his back to her, his head raised, looking at the starry sky.]
[Raising his hand, like when he was a child measuring the distance between stars, but the cracked arm emitted a crisp shattering sound the moment it was lifted, breaking apart in midair.]
[Calmly letting go of the other arm, watching his body disintegrate in the continuous sound of shattering, he let out a soft sigh.]
["It really was an unforgettable journey~!"]
[With a "boom", he turned into countless star-like points of light, drifting far away with the wind…..]
————
Reality.
America, Japan, Britain, France...
Regardless of being male or female, young or old, everyone was silent, dumbfounded as they looked at the lonely figure in the Celestial Curtain.
Although it had been anticipated, did that Holy King truly die like that?
A long while later.
Someone sadly spoke: "So... the Eternal King ended up losing because he was too powerful?"
He lost because his body could no longer withstand his own power.
"No one could stop her in the end."
"Then what exactly was the great wish that Kaguya always mentioned?"
"No, it's not over yet, everyone look at Reincarnation World!"
.....
Fuyuki City in the snow.
["I want to save all of humanity!"]
[The chubby little girl who had lost one of her front teeth spoke with a lisp, hands on her hips, puffing and huffing.]
["Save all of humanity? That really is a grand wish. Then Kaguya-chan must study hard from now on."]
[The young and beautiful woman gently wiped the crumbs from the little girl's mouth after she had finished eating a cake.]
["Hmph, I'm being serious~."]
[The chubby girl puffed her cheeks in anger.]
["Alright, alright~."]
[The weather was freezing cold at this point, the woman immediately picked the little girl up and stepped into the house.]
["Kaguya-chan will definitely become someone extraordinary in the future."]
[Behind the half-body-height wall of the yard.]
[A young man with silver-gray hair stood silently watching the scene.]
[Sensing something, Kaguya's chubby face resting in her mother's arms curiously looked up.]
["Kaguya-chan, what are you looking at?"]
["Over there… there's a handsome big brother watching us… Huh, he disappeared."]
...
"Is it only him alone? Then where's Kaguya?"
"This isn't like Reincarnation World, nor an illusion, has she escaped from reincarnation into a parallel world?"
Reality.
Everyone looked at each other, full of doubt in their hearts.
...….
["Big brother, are you a ghost? Why can't other people see you?"]
[Wearing a cute princess dress, the chubby little girl who had grown a bit older put down her doll and looked toward the silver-haired young man who had just appeared beside her.]
["A ghost?"]
[The silver-haired young man finally spoke, his voice carrying a hint of sorrow: "Maybe."]
[The little girl blinked.]
[This big brother's voice was really nice, why didn't he like talking?]
["Then big brother, what's your name?"]
["Sou."]
["No family name?"]
["Probably not?"]
[The silver-haired young man looked out the window, lost in thought.]
[That's right.]
[What was his family name again?]
[Amakusa? Tohsaka? Or was it Yukinoshita?]
[They all seemed somewhat familiar, but none of them felt quite right.]
[Like something... Miy... Emiya?]
[The young man became hazy.]
[Those were memories from too long ago.]
[How long had it been?]
[Countless cycles of reincarnation endlessly repeating, time had lost its meaning for him, the past was nothing but yellowed pages of an old book lying in a corner.]
[He had gradually sunk into the deepest abyss, escaping that false reincarnation and stepping into the Imaginary Number Space – a place where the concept of time and space does not exist – becoming a lonely soul silently observing the world from the outside.]
[As if sensing the sorrow in the young man, the chubby little girl "huff huff" stood up and patted his knee.]
["Onii-chan!"]
[The young man lowered his head.]
[The plump little girl placed her hands on her hips, head held high: "I'll give you my family name, from now on you'll be Shinomiya Sou."]
["You really want to give it to me?"]
[The little girl hugged her doll tightly, a bit reluctant, but in the end still nodded: "Yeah, my name is Kaguya, Shinomiya Kaguya."]
["Umu, thank you."]
[Hearing the thank you, the little girl beamed, showing her missing tooth.]
["Hehe, Onii-chan, let me tell you, mom praised me today, she said that I'll definitely become a great person in the future."]
["My ideal is to save all of humanity."]
["Save humanity, huh?"]
[The young man nodded seriously: "That is a very noble ideal."]
[He seemed to have once saved humanity.]
[In memories worn down by time over the years, there were seemingly many scenes of destroying demon queens who tried to annihilate the world.]
[He didn't feel like he was the only one who could do such things.]
["Right, hehe."]
[Very quickly, the chubby little girl drooped: "But Oko called me stupid, and they won't let me call them Onii-chan, and they said my mom is a bitch."]
["Onii-chan, what does bitch mean?"]
[The little girl looked up at him.]
[The young man was silent.]
[For a long time.]
[He didn't brush it off, but seriously said: "That's a very vulgar word. Next time something like that happens, I'll teach you… uh, never mind, use this…"]
[The young man looked around, picked up a laundry pole: "I'll teach you spear technique, next time something like that happens, you'll teach them how to speak properly."]
["Is that okay? Mom told me I need to focus on my studies."]
["It's alright, Kaguya is a smart kid, you need to know how to protect yourself."]
["Remember, humans are beasts!"]
["They are wolves!"]
["What's necessary is to tame them."]
["Alright, I'll teach you spear technique first, then I'll teach you some games boys like to play, using a stick and a carrot to control them."]
[The young man joked: "If you want to save humanity, doing it all by yourself will be very tiring."]
["I'm not afraid of being tired. Then, can I call you Onii-chan?"]
["Yes, Kaguya!"]
.....
So it was you, you're the culprit!
Everyone stared in astonishment.
....
["Spear technique must be stable from the lower body, to learn spear you must learn to thrust first."]
["I'll teach you the stance technique, every day you'll practice thrusting for an hour, and hold the stance for half an hour."]
[The young man swung a rattan stick to adjust the radish-headed girl's posture: "Be serious, you're the one who wants to save all of humanity."]
["One hour of spear practice a day, half an hour of stance."]
[The chubby little girl pouted: "But, Sou, it's really tiring."]
[Clearly at first she insisted on calling him Onii-chan, but after getting close it turned into just Sou.]
[The young man was slightly helpless.]
[After all, she was just a five- or six-year-old child.]
[But still…]
[Why exactly?]
[Why did he, who had long become indifferent with the passing of time, care so much for this chubby little girl?]
[Suddenly.]
[Click.]
[It seemed like someone opened the door. Before even entering, a bright and cheerful voice rang out.]
["Kaguya-chan, your most beloved big sister Haruno is here~!"]
[The chubby little girl immediately jumped up, her plump face full of excitement and joy.]
["It's Haruno nee-chan!"]
["Haruno nee-chan is here!"]
["Sou, let me tell you, when mommy's not home, Haruno nee-chan always plays with me, I love Haruno nee-chan the mostest mostest ever~"]
["...Sou?"]
[At that moment.]
["Ta-da-da! Haruno-chan sparkling appearance!"]
[A lively girl walked in, hands hidden behind her back as she spun around in the house, finally hugging the chubby little girl.]
["Kaguya-chan, who were you just talking to?"]
["Ehehe, Haruno nee-chan can't see, it's Onii-chan the ghost~"]
["A ghost?"]
[The bright face of the girl turned expressionless.]
[A magus, huh?]
...
"Haruno? That's you? With that unseemly personality of yours."
Hiratsuka Shizuka took a sip of beer, sneering: "Never thought Haruno was this cute when she was young."
"Dame, dame~"
Haruno made an ✖ sign with her snow-white fingers, grinning widely: "Haruno-chan is forever seventeen~"
...
["Sou, I'm in first grade now, I'm a grown-up already!"]
[The chubby little girl wore a primary school uniform, hands on hips, prideful to the point of not knowing the sky from the earth.]
...
[Kaguya-chan was now a primary school student, her eyes brimming with tears, hugging tightly onto the young man's leg without saying a word.]
[Only after he asked did she suddenly cry out loud.]
["Sou~~~ that mean Haruno has another little sister now, does that mean she won't want me anymore?"]
...…
["Sou, Haruno nee-chan went to the Middle East, defeated the bad guys and helped a lot of people, super amazing!"]
[Kaguya's eyes sparkled brightly.]
["Sou, do I really have no talent for magecraft? I hate this, I also want to be as capable as Haruno nee-chan."]
...…
["Sou, daddy said we're going to move somewhere else for a while, will you come with me?"]
["Sou, the news said lately there've been a lot of gas explosions in Fuyuki, will mommy be okay?"]
["I'm not allowed to go out? But I already made plans with Yuki-chan… Mm, alright then."]
["Hehe, actually I know, it's the Holy Grail War, right?"]
["I secretly heard mommy talking to some man, they said it can grant any wish."]
["If I get it, I can make my ideal come true… Ah no, my ideal has changed."]
["I want to become a photographer, to capture Haruno nee-chan's heroic appearance while saving humanity~"]
...
Reality.
Sobu High.
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly tensed up.
Izakaya bar.
Haruno, who had been laughing, also stopped. Her gaze was fixed firmly on the girl within the Celestial Curtain.
At this moment, everyone watching the Celestial Curtain had realized it.
This was the Holy Grail War.
And it was the Fourth Holy Grail War — very likely the beginning of everything, that mysterious past.
Shinomiya Residence.
"Okaa-sama was also a Master in the Holy Grail War?"
Kaguya stared blankly at the Celestial Curtain.
In her mind echoed the face that had become increasingly hazy over time.
The maid, Hayasaka Ai, was also quietly looking up at the sky.
"Shimizu-sama was the Master of the previous generation..."
The head of the Shinomiya clan in their world had, because of a fateful encounter, fallen deeply in love with Nayotake Shimizu.
Even when Nayotake Shimizu was diagnosed with congenital heart disease, he was determined—even if he had to offer up his own heart, he would save her at any cost.
Many people were now watching the adorable little Kaguya within the Celestial Curtain.
Watching that brave little girl, who, in order to save a friend kidnapped by a murderer, went alone to Fuyuki.
Watching her use all her wits, pretending to be a lost child to infiltrate that hellish den.
Trying, with her tiny body and still-clumsy spear technique, to save her friend.
Of course…
That was simply impossible.
In the end, it was her mother—Nayotake Shimizu, the Master of the Holy Grail War—who appeared and desperately used the power of her Servant to rescue her daughter.
And then, just at that moment of relief—blood erupted…
...…
[The beautiful woman lay there silently.]
[So silent.]
[As if she were merely asleep.]
[Little Kaguya stood frozen, staring.]
[Only after a long while.]
[As if suddenly realizing something, she slowly raised her hand, reaching weakly into the air above her mother's body, as though trying to grasp something.]
[Useless.]
[Helpless.]
[Mother... was already dead.]
[Little Kaguya quietly watched as people prepared the funeral. Watched that beautiful body be burned into a handful of ashes.]
[Watched the once lively and gentle person—now reduced to a framed photo on the wall.]
[Only now did she truly understand the meaning of death.]
[Her mother would never return. She would never hug her again with a smile, never laugh and say: "Kaguya-chan~ Mommy is only seventeen years old, okay?"]
[From now on she would have to eat alone.]
[Go to school alone.]
[Be alone in this big, empty house…]
[No.]
[Sou.]
[She still had Sou.]
[Where was Sou?]
[Why wasn't Sou here?]
[Sou… where are you?"]
[Sou…]
["Onii-chan!!!"]