The beginning of fate.
The adorable little girl Miyu, who looked like a spirit child from Japanese folklore, stared at him with her crimson eyes and softly asked,
"Would you be willing to become my family?"
For over six years, from the moment she was born until now, everything — even the most mundane aspects of life — had taken place within the confines of a narrow barrier.
After the barrier was destroyed, everyone who saw her regarded her as a tool for fulfilling their wishes, staring at her with greedy, hungry eyes like beasts.
But not this boy. He looked at her differently.
His smile was warm and bright like the sun, making her want to reach out and touch it — yet at the same time afraid it was just a dream she couldn't grasp.
"Don't be afraid. I've come to protect you."
The young Shirou reached out and gently took her small hand.
Just then—
An older man suddenly shouted in shock,
"Found her! She really is the child of god of the Sakatsuki family — capable of granting anyone's wish without discrimination! The Sakatsuki family sealed her within a barrier for seven years, cutting her off from the endless desires of humanity, causing her to regress into a mere human being.
But today, after the explosion destroyed the barrier, countless wishes surged into her mind all at once…"
The man looked at the little girl with utter disbelief.
He took a deep breath and closed the old file he had retrieved from the ruins.
"Kid, our journey ends here. This girl can help me realize my dream of saving the world!"
That statement instantly caused chaos in the bullet comments—
SinMommy-[So pitiful! She's over six years old and has never seen the outside world — completely like a canary raised in a cage!]
Blorbo-[She's a human-shaped Holy Grail that can grant any wish, yet Shirou shows no greed at all!]
AlmightyMiddleFinger-[Exactly! Meanwhile, this man clearly wants to use Miyu to fulfill his dream!]
GigglesThenShit-[What a ruthless man… I'm seriously worried about Miyu's future. Shirou is still just a kid — how can he protect her?]
All the viewers were worried about Miyu's future.
But then, the scene transitioned — to a heartwarming daily life.
Little Miyu sat under the eaves, hugging a beautiful handball as she stared blankly at the courtyard.
The slightly older boy sat beside her, smiling gently.
"Miyu, from now on, this will be your home. And we'll be your family."
"Home? Family?"
Miyu looked at him blankly.
Dressed in an old-fashioned dress and white over-knee socks, her innocent, soft and chubby cheeks made people want to pinch them.
"Yep. Don't be afraid. That guy is a true ally of justice — he's dedicated to creating a world where no one gets hurt or dies."
Shirou gently patted her head.
"When I was little, I experienced a major disaster and was the only survivor. He saved me. So, in a way, we're the same. Let's take care of each other from now on."
"Let's take care of each other…?"
The little girl tilted her head slightly, wearing an adorably innocent and curious expression.
"…Ahem!"
Shirou suddenly coughed lightly, as if remembering something awkward.
He looked up at the rising full moon and changed the topic.
"The moon looks beautiful tonight, doesn't it?"
"Mhm, the moon is lovely, and the wind is gentle."
Miyu nodded softly in admiration.
Her innocent yet daring words made the boy shift uncomfortably, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.
He stood up and asked, "Well then, I'll make dinner. What would you like to eat?"
"Anything you make is fine."
Miyu looked straight at him.
"Anything, huh? Got it. You stay here and enjoy the scenery, I'll go cook." Shirou nodded.
As he turned and entered the kitchen…
The little girl quietly followed, poking her head around the doorway to sneak a peek.
Like a curious baby animal — utterly adorable.
Shirou blinked.
"You want to learn how to cook too? If you want to watch, come on in."
Hearing this, Miyu walked over and stood beside him, watching him cook without blinking.
From then on—
Wherever the boy went, she followed. As if afraid to be separated from him.
The viewers' hearts melted on the spot—
EXRankDegenerate-[Weren't they supposed to be siblings? Why does this feel like I'm being force-fed sugar?]
FateBot-[You're young, she's younger. This has serious jail vibes. New life behind bars awaits!]
InterdimensionalFBI-[Stop! They're both pure kids!]
ConstipatedProcrastinator-[Illya: I was here first! Why is it turning out like this?!]
—
"I was here first…"
Illya stared blankly at the bullet comments, then looked at her best friend in disbelief.
Wasn't Shirou supposed to protect her alone?
Why hasn't she even shown up in Vow Beneath the Snow, while Miyu was getting all the attention?
So the little sister is more popular than the big sister now?
Unfair!
Illya suddenly felt a bit jealous of her best friend.
Why?!
Why are you only six and already this good at flirting?!
"Is… is this really something I went through?"
Miyu also looked dazedly at the screen.
Even in Academy City, she was considered a magical prodigy — yet she had never known that she was originally a human-shaped Holy Grail!
Why had she forgotten all of this?
What exactly happened in between?
She continued watching the video.
The warm and joyful daily life suddenly faced destruction in the blink of an eye.
The pillar of the household had fallen ill!
His eyes filled with despair and struggle,
"I finally got an item that can grant any wish… so why can't I find a way to use it?"
"Kiritsugu, don't worry about anything. Just focus on recovering. I'll take care of things," Shirou said, tucking him in.
"It's no use. I don't have long. Never treat her like family! She's the ultimate tool — the key to saving the world!" The man suddenly sat up, clutching the boy's hand.
"You must use her to save humanity — to bring a future to mankind!"
"But… I refuse!"
The boy firmly shook his head, locking eyes with him.
"If saving others means sacrificing someone else — then justice must step over my dead body!"
He would rather sacrifice himself than let others suffer.
That was the "hero of justice" in his heart.
"Cough… cough! Expecting humans to remain rational forever really is a delusion…"
The man coughed heavily, blood seeping from the corner of his lips, and lay back with a sigh.
"I leave everything to you. I won't live to see the day humanity wins its future. But so long as we don't stop walking… the flower of hope will one day bloom…"
He reached out as if trying to grasp hope — but found nothing, pointing weakly into the void.
He was dead.
He died on the path of trying to save humanity.
—
In that moment, the warm daily life of Shirou and Miyu as siblings was shattered.
"No wonder he's called an hero of justice. Truly admirable."
Rin Tohsaka didn't hide her admiration.
Willing to sacrifice oneself rather than others — that was true justice.
Unlike so-called saints who only pushed others forward to die for their ideals.
Beside her, her little sister nodded.
"Mhm. He really is amazing."
The video continued.
Time passed — and the boy had grown into a normal high school student.
Every day, he trained his body with relentless intensity.
High jump, sprinting, archery — his schedule was packed.
While practicing archery, a purple-haired girl approached him, blushing.
"Senpai, I was captivated by the way you shoot arrows."
Her eyes sparkled. Though clearly shy, she stood her ground and looked at him.
"Eh? Captivated?" Shirou looked slightly embarrassed.
But the girl boldly replied,
"I love watching you shoot arrows. Every shot is so pure… like you were the bow itself."
"Maybe so."
Shirou sighed, gazing at the setting sun.
The catastrophe was approaching — and he still wasn't strong enough.
Time was running out…
Watching this, Rin stared at her sister, dumbfounded.
"Wait… why is it you?!"
Indeed, the adorable purple-haired underclassman in the video was none other than Sakura Tohsaka, her little sister!
And her words had basically been a confession!
Rin Tohsaka nearly lost it. Why did her little sister also fall for that guy?!
"I-I don't know either…"
Sakura replied timidly.
Why did she get a scene in this video and not her big sister?
Both girls, suppressing their curiosity, continued watching the video.
In the video:
The boy returned home after another day of training.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw the adorable little girl already waiting for him.
She walked up and skillfully took off his jacket for him.
As they walked together, she smiled and said,
"Big brother, I've already prepared dinner—it's your favorite, beef stew with potatoes. I cut the potatoes into small pieces so you can bring them to school for breakfast tomorrow…"
Everyone could clearly see—she seemed to have transformed from a lifeless doll into a real human being.
Her whole being radiated energy and sunshine.
Her adorable little face was filled with happiness.
"Mm, thank you, Miyu. You've really grown up,"
Shirou reached out and patted her little head with a gentle smile. "For you, I could probably fight through the entire Holy Grail War!"
"Holy Grail War?"
Miyu looked at him in confusion.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, everything will be fine."
Shirou didn't explain further.
With disaster looming, he only cherished these warm, peaceful moments with her even more.
The boy smiled and asked, "Miyu, your birthday's coming up soon. What kind of present would you like?"
"Eh? C-Can I go see the ocean with you, big brother?" Miyu asked timidly, her eyes filled with longing and wonder. "I want to see the ocean, feel the sea breeze, and collect some seashells…"
"Of course you can. On Saturday, when we have a break, I'll take you to see the ocean."
Shirou agreed without hesitation.
On Saturday, the two of them went straight to the seaside.
The little girl happily ran across the beach, fully enjoying the seaside she had never seen before.
However, disaster struck.
A male student wearing black-rimmed glasses appeared, glaring furiously at Shirou.
"Shirou, I knew it was you! You thief who stole the miracle!"
That person turned out to be none other than Julian Ainsworth—Shirou's friend from school.
Current head of the Ainsworth family, a thousand-year-old lineage of mahis.
This family held a dream: to extend the history of mankind and create a future for humanity.
And the child of god of the Sakatsuki family—Miyu—was the ultimate miracle tool capable of realizing that dream.
Now, having been stolen by his best friend, Julian was completely enraged!
"Miyu, run! I'll hold him off!" Shirou tried to protect her.
But another figure descended.
This one was clad in dazzling golden armor, emanating a terrifyingly overwhelming pressure of a powerful Heroic Spirit.
It was Angelica Ainsworth, who had used Phantasmal Summoning to gain the power of the King of Heroes.
The oldest hero—two-thirds divine, one-third human!
Under that crushing pressure, Shirou was completely powerless to resist.
"No—give Miyu back to me!"
The boy coughed up blood as he tried to struggle.
But it was no use.
Julian sneered coldly: "You're already a useless piece of trash—not even worth killing."
Clearly, he could've eliminated Shirou on the spot, but he deliberately held back the female Heroic King, Angelica.
Then, with Miyu in tow, they teleported away.
The video comment section exploded instantly—
EXRankDegenerate-[Smash!!!]
PostNutRealityMarble-[Damn, big-boobed Heroic King! I'm done for!]
TooHotToPeg-[Julian seems to have intentionally spared Shirou?]
AspiringPedo-[Ahhh, my Miyu! Why take her away? Are they really going to sacrifice her to save the world?]
ICastFart-[Shirou, get stronger already! Break through the Holy Grail War and bring your sister back!]
…
Meanwhile, Gilgamesh, who was also watching the video, narrowed his crimson eyes at his friend beside him.
"So, this is what you meant by 'borrowing this king's power'?"
Damn that lying bastard, Nameless!
He said it was just borrowing power—so why the hell did his gender change!?
"Ahem… Phantasmal Summoning works by directly infusing the summoner with a Heroic Spirit's power, making them just as powerful as the original," Sanjiro explained awkwardly.
In this timeline shown in the video, Heroic Spirits didn't descend directly.
The so-called "summoning" was just borrowing their power and having the summoner become the Heroic Spirit.
So if their gender was different, the form would naturally adapt.
Angelica had summoned the power of the King of Heroes—so of course she became the female version!
A King of Heroes with huge boobs… Just as bad as that black history from Unlimited Blade Works where he got his elbow sliced off.
A public execution in front of the whole world!
"Haha, King of Heroes, he totally scammed you!"
Merlin immediately cackled in schadenfreude.
Said he was gonna toss him into the Spring of Drowned Girl, but ended up becoming a hot woman himself first.
Fight, fight!
You two fight first!
"Hmph, just someone borrowing my power. That's not me," Gilgamesh snorted coldly.
But at that moment, he really did feel like tossing that bastard Nameless into the Spring of Drowned Girl.
Came to help him, yet he exposed his dark past instead?
"This really isn't my fault! It's all Alaya's doing!"
Sanjiro didn't hesitate to shout his innocence.
Without Alaya revealing everything, how could this have happened?
"Tsk… Nameless, what's your angle in showing me such a pathetic version of yourself?" Merlin mocked with a bright smile. "Don't tell me… You actually think someone who can't even protect his little sister can beat me?"
What a joke.
The great Nameless, beaten to a pulp, couldn't even protect the most precious thing to him—Miyu.
Just this?
Just this?
Just this?
Gilgamesh's crimson eyes suddenly locked onto him. "Then, how about making a bet with this king as well?"
"What are we betting?" Merlin was slightly taken aback.
You're the one who embarrassed yourself in the video, so why are you taking it out on me?
Wow, are you really that close with Nameless?
"We're betting on whether he can win the Holy Grail War!"
Gilgamesh said this calmly.
Of course, he knew that the feminized version of the King of Heroes in the video had nothing to do with that bastard Nameless.
It was all just the setting of that particular timeline.
But being annoyed was still reason enough to vent at someone.
"That bet's a no-go!"
Merlin rejected it without hesitation.
What a joke—Nameless had created far too many miracles. He'd have to be an idiot to bet against him.
Then...
With a pleasant smile, he said, "How about this instead: If he can fight through the Holy Grail War in one night without relying on the power of any other heroic spirits, then you win!"
A full power restriction!
No help from other heroic spirits.
In other words, he couldn't rely on things like Saber's sheath in Unlimited Blade Works to block Ea, or use Excalibur to defeat the King of Heroes.
Relying solely on the boy in the video, even if you gave him a lifetime, he wouldn't be able to defeat any feminized version of Golden Shiny!
"As expected of the sly nightmare—this king accepts!"
Gilgamesh nodded. "If this king wins the bet, you'll put on a cheongsam(The one that Chun-li wears) and publicly perform Gokuraku Jodo in that form. If I lose, I'll let you off the hook."
"Only if you haven't been tipped off by Nameless in advance—that's the condition."
Merlin added another restriction.
The videos published by Alaya couldn't show what happened next to anyone.
Which meant Gilgamesh's clairvoyance was useless.
Unless Nameless told him ahead of time.
"Hmph, this king disdains cheating."
Gilgamesh scoffed coldly.
After all, there were many, many treasures needed for his treasure vault collection.
Like the one Nameless often mentioned—
"Black History"
He had no deep hatred toward the boy. Naturally, he wouldn't go all-out to eliminate him.
Making him look foolish—that was the most satisfying result.
The bet was made.
The three of them continued watching the video.
The boy, having lost his sister, was engulfed in endless sorrow and guilt.
A familiar purple-haired girl came before him, her face full of regret as she said,
"Senpai, going to school with you, eating together, spending time in the club—those were my happiest moments. But now, it's all going to disappear…"
"Sakura, the Holy Grail War is starting?"
Shirou looked up at her.
The sorrow on his face instantly vanished, replaced by unwavering resolve.
Everything I've lost—I will take back with my own hands!
Tears streamed down Sakura's face as she sorrowfully said, "Yes, the Holy Grail War has begun."
In her hand was a card—the dreamlike summoning card for calling upon heroic spirit's powers.
"This card is for the most ancient King of Heroes. Once activated, it fuses and allows one to manifest the strongest Gilgamesh!"
Even though she knew the truth, Sakura still handed the card over without hesitation.
"So, I've decided to give it to you, Senpai. I hope you can end this Holy Grail War."
"Sakura, you've been deceived. That's a blank card. Angelica from the Ainsworth family already summoned the King of Heroes."
Shirou gently sighed as he revealed the harsh truth.
"A… blank card???"
Sakura staggered two steps back in shock.
In that moment, it felt like the sky was collapsing.
Without the dreamlike summoning card, how could they possibly survive the brutal Holy Grail War?
Just the two of them—two weak magi—would be torn to pieces easily!
She began to panic. "Shirou, let's run away. Let's escape far from Fuyuki City and never return!"
In a war this brutal, only leaving Fuyuki could offer even a sliver of hope!
Not just her—everyone watching felt the same:
BobUchiha-[This is hopeless! A normal boy trying to fight through the Holy Grail War just to get his sister back? Only a miracle could make that happen!]
AspiringWizard-[Miyu is the Holy Grail vessel. He has to defeat seven heroic spirits to truly reclaim her!]
Blorbo-[Damn! The only person who could help—his kouhai—only has a blank card and can't summon any heroic spirits!]
BoobVenerate-[Even summoning a future Nameless wouldn't be enough to beat seven heroic spirits!]
PostNutRealityMarble-[So seriously… how the hell is he supposed to win!?]
...
As all the viewers expected—
Shirou flatly refused her suggestion to flee. "Sorry. I need to fight—to bring Miyu back!"
He was all alone now. His sister was all he had left.
If he couldn't even protect her, if he ran away alone, then he'd live the rest of his life in regret and pain!
A future without his sister—that wasn't a future he wanted!
"But you don't even have a heroic spirit to help you. You're too weak. How could you possibly defeat a heroic spirit on your own?" Sakura couldn't help but step forward and grab his arm, pleading desperately.
"Don't be reckless! Come with me, let's run away!"
"Sorry, Sakura. You've always seen me as a hero. And a hero… can't run away at the last moment."
The boy suddenly smiled brilliantly.
And then—he abruptly pushed her aside.
In her moment of confusion, Sakura saw sharp daggers shoot up from the very spot she had just been standing.
Had he not pushed her, she would've died right there.
Her face turned ghostly pale. She turned and stared blankly at the man who stepped out from the shadows.
That man was her brother—
Matou Shinji!
His face was full of cruel delight as he brandished a dagger and sneered coldly.
"My beloved little sister… you were really planning to run away with some guy? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson."
He said he'd teach her a lesson, but in truth, he was going in for the kill—he wanted her dead.
"You bastard! How could you attack your own sister!?" Shirou shielded Sakura behind him, shouting in anger.
"Hahaha, because this is satisfying!"
Matou Shinji laughed maniacally, eyes fixated on the card in Shirou's hand. "Hahaha! Like hell Julian would've given you the real King of Heroes summon card!"
He laughed like a madman.
"Die, just die! Both of you filthy dogs can go to hell!"
Matou Shinji pulled out a real Summon Card and instantly transformed into an Assassin-class heroic spirit.
With the terrifying boost from becoming a heroic spirit, he rushed forward like a phantom, smashing Shirou aside and sending him crashing through the window and into the house.
Coughing up blood, Shirou struggled to his feet and raised the card in his hand. "Please! Any heroic spirit, it doesn't matter who—answer my call! Join me to end this Holy Grail War!"
But—there was no response. The summon card remained eerily silent.
"Senpai!"
Sakura instantly covered her face, unable to watch any longer.
It really was just a blank card—no heroic spirit would answer the call.
She wasn't alone. Even the viewers couldn't bear to keep watching.
It was just too tragic.
This boy—who in the future would save countless heroic spirits and forge connections with many of them—had no one by his side now!
Countless people began to pray for him.
If even one heroic spirit were willing to help him, he wouldn't be in such a hopeless, certain-death situation!
"Hahaha! Are you stupid!? Using a blank card to summon? No one's gonna answer you!"
Matou Shinji grabbed his throat and laughed maniacally, mocking him.
Right now, he just wanted to see Shirou fall into utter despair. To see him break and beg for mercy like a pitiful little clown.
But… he miscalculated.
Shirou didn't show the slightest trace of despair. Instead, he grinned and mocked right back, "I really should thank you… for not stealing this card."
Buzz~
The supposedly blank card suddenly lit up, and overwhelming magical energy surged forth from it.
"What!? That's impossible! None of the heroic spirits signed a contract—how is this summon even happening!?"
Matou Shinji staggered back in utter shock, completely unable to believe it.
A blank card—how could it summon a heroic spirit?
This couldn't be happening!
"In my moment of despair, I called for the help of Servants… but none answered me. The only one who answered—was myself."
Shirou raised the card and gently sighed.
"Please… all versions of me across every world—answer my call. Let's end this Holy Grail War together!"