Chapter 10: The Choice Reward Given to Shirou
"I don't want that!" In the world of Attack on Titan, Eren Yeager watched the scene with tears streaming down his face. Recalling his own helplessness when he witnessed his mother being devoured, his heart ached for the girl killed by Gilgamesh.
What had she done wrong?
She only wanted to live!
Yet, all anyone could do was sigh in powerlessness.
Gilgamesh was strong!
This was undeniable.
Moreover, his actions at this moment were not without justification.
Sakura, having slaughtered countless ordinary people, had already fallen into darkness.
An angel turned demon was no longer innocent.
Eliminating evil was beyond reproach.
But what no one expected was that the arrogant Gilgamesh would soon be humbled.
In an instant, his ankle was seized.
In the blink of an eye, his form was devoured by Sakura.
The shadow enveloping the city grew even more oppressive.
The condescending mockery from earlier now seemed like a joke.
And Sakura had eliminated Gilgamesh far more effortlessly than the featured protagonist, Shirou Emiya.
Indeed!
Gilgamesh was strong!
But in the face of the Black Holy Grail, his life was like a candle flickering in the wind.
Devoured, silently extinguished.
He became the perfect foil to highlight another's strength.
"Gulp!"
Sakura swallowed with satisfaction.
The shadow behind her continued to expand.
Afterwards, the shadow grew even more rampant.
On February 8th, she led the Servants corrupted by the black mud to hunt down the remaining forces.
"In this route, Shirou never had the chance to encounter Archer."
"He never obtained Unlimited Blade Works, never experienced that mystery firsthand."
"If he wanted to save the one who gave his life meaning, he would have to pay a price."
Later, Shirou, now aware of everything, arrived at Sakura's bedside, sword in hand.
He raised the short blade symbolizing his own dream but could not bring himself to strike.
The conflict between dream and reality reduced the boy to silent, choked sobs. Tears streamed from his eyes, soaking the bedsheets.
"In the end, the boy completely abandoned his ideals."
"For the sake of that one remaining fragment of daily happiness, he walked a path diametrically opposed to his dream."
At this moment, all who watched felt not only admiration but also melancholy.
Ideals and reality are always in conflict.
This holds true for everyone.
In the castle of dreams alone, the pursuit often comes at the cost of loss.
Some people stop at nothing to achieve their dreams.
But more often, people lose their way and compromise, yielding bit by bit to the memories around them.
"This is human nature... the greatest flaw of humankind." In the world of Berserk, Griffith, newly transformed into an angel, shook his head slowly at the scene. "His dream was within reach, yet he gave up."
"Kehahaha, how dull... and here I thought I was witnessing an interesting spectacle." In the depths of the cosmic prison, Belial shook his head, convinced that showing weakness was the beginning of failure.
On the other hand, there were those who believed Shirou's goodness was worthy of praise.
But no matter what others said, the one most impacted was Shirou himself.
Watching the footage, his heart grew heavy.
The scales of justice within him began to recalibrate.
...
He was like a lamb, wavering at the center of the balance.
Indeed... he had grown accustomed to Sakura's presence.
So much so that he took her existence for granted.
Yet, the reality that clashed with his dreams...
He continued to watch.
Watching the heroic version of himself in the edit.
Shirou forcibly unraveled the Shroud of Martin and projected the Nine Lives Blades, defeating Berserker.
Cooperating with Rider, he defeated Saber, who had stood by his side from beginning to end.
He plunged the Azoth sword, symbolizing betrayal, into the knight girl's heart.
Focusing his life force, he projected the Jeweled Sword, deemed impossible to create in the Type-Moon world, and gave it to Rin.
In the final battle, he fought Kirei Kotomine to save the girl, reaching the end of his life.
When the drifting winter passed, and the days of cherry blossom flurries arrived, the scene returned to the cold and empty Emiya residence.
The door slowly creaked open.
A graceful girl in a pink-purple dress sat beneath the cherry blossom tree in the Emiya yard, looking up at the sky.
She was waiting... waiting for the hero who would never return.
"How absurd, the life of the man known as Shirou Emiya."
In the bounded field of Unlimited Blade Works, Emiya sat quietly on the hill of swords.
Shaking his head, he commented on the end that belonged to him, or perhaps his past self.
But compared to the Shirou Emiyas of other routes, Emiya himself could be considered tormented.
In his worldline, he had raised the affection of all three heroines halfway, but none to the fullest.
And when he reflected on his life as Shirou Emiya, he could never forget his moonlit encounter with the knight girl.
Nor could he forget that vivid, brilliant red before he fell into the endless cycle.
Yet, it was Sakura, who had always been by his side, whom he failed to remember consistently.
...
The video eventually faded to black.
On the screen, a line of text appeared clearly:
"Top 10, Hero of Justice, Shirou Emiya... concludes here!"
As the words faded, a melancholic melody began to play—the music symbolizing the end of the Sakura chapter.
[Haru ga Yuku]
The final lyric seemed to echo the beginning of [Hana no Uta].
—Those dreamlike days have passed
"Sakura's Dream"
In the end, all of this was as transient and illusory as cherry blossoms.
As the somber closing melody ended, the story, with all its twists and turns, had transformed from an earnest youth's tale to one that left viewers heartbroken.
"Sakura ga Saku"
Yet the one who promised to view the blossoms with her never kept that promise.
The entire world fell into silence.
Until the edit spoke again.
"TOP 10 Anime Male Protagonists, Tenth Place, Shirou Emiya, concluded."
"Successfully ranked, eligibility for reward obtained."
"Please submit one of your abilities to receive a reward!"
"Choose three of the following five options to exchange."
As the words fell, five option boxes simultaneously appeared in the video, each corresponding to a different reward...
"..."