Before the Guardian—his soul and flesh locked in contradiction—Steve chose not to use magic for manipulation, but to reset the coordinates of order using language, logic, and truth.
"You must have many questions," he said calmly, voice echoing through the empty temple with a settling power. "Allow me to answer them one by one."
He explained simply: He was not from of this era, but someone from a parallel world—A.D. 2077. Then, to the young Archer, "You are in a special state right now—a Guardian, 'Heroic Spirit EMIYA,' whose contract with the Counter Force has ended, but your body is still 'Shirou Takamachi,' a child untouched by tragedy."
"Through a special magical artifact, I have temporarily sent you back into your former body."
"...Possessing my own past self?" Red Archer's voice was self-mocking in a childish way—a terrifying joy, watching himself in this pure and naive state.
"No. It's so you can witness new possibilities," corrected Steve. "I did this to prevent the worst outcome to the Fourth Holy Grail War. For that, I need your power—not as a destructive Guardian, but the potential to save others that you, as Shirou, uniquely possess."
After a pause, he made Archer an offer he could not refuse. "In exchange, I guarantee your body's safety from any disaster. He will have a complete family, live happily under his parents' care; not a hero who bears all and gains nothing, but an ordinary person. Isn't this the deep-seated wish you held—saving your powerless self in a sea of fire?"
Steve's words were like a surgeon's scalpel, piercing the layers to reach the core of the young Archer's soul. His body trembled and his gray eyes flickered—shaken. Happiness? Peace? Such words were more alien, more incomprehensible, than any Noble Phantasm to EMIYA.
"…Don't joke." He ground the words out, voice trembling. "How on earth—how could that be possible?"
Steve smiled faintly. "There may be many things impossible for me, but this—such a small thing—is not among them. Come with me, I'll show you myself."
Turning, he led the young Red Archer and quiet Ken through the temple corridors and down into a cave below Ryuudou. There, Archer watched as the evil stain and vengeful shadow polluting the Grail were utterly and effortlessly purified by Steve.
For a moment, the young Archer felt as though his entire existence was meaningless. Steve, seeing his disarray, pressed on—pulling Ken close, he said gently, "I don't act so nobly; I have my own wishes. First, to be born with a true body, to remain here and live as a 'human.' Second…" He stroked Ken's head. "I want to summon the Greek god Asclepius and, with his magical tools and the Grail's power, resurrect this child's murdered family."
The warm wish—"save that family"—glowed in the cold, hollow heart of Archer. He looked up, searching Steve's face for hypocrisy, calculation—for any sign of a hidden agenda. He saw only calm kindness, and compassion for the child.
So that's it... This man, possessing overwhelming power, still harbored that very same—no, purer—desire to save others. He didn't choose to sacrifice the few for the many but to change the roots of tragedy.
Heavy silence hung for a long moment. At last, the boyish Red Archer looked up. The confusion and struggle were gone from his gray eyes, replaced by a subtle but clear recognition.
"…Tch. Meddlesome guy," he muttered, still pretentiously harsh, but a new fragility softened his manner. "I won't agree with your nonsense. But… looking at that dumb face, maybe there's nothing wrong with living a boring, happy life. Besides, resurrection sounds like fantasy."
"I'll stay and watch you try to keep that smug promise. Call me Caster. Or Archer—I'm still half-baked, but I can be useful. Until that brat's wish comes true… my sword is yours."
Steve smiled softly. "Archer, maybe you've misunderstood—just because you help me doesn't mean you'll get to fight the other Heroic Spirits."
The still-rattled Archer was caught off-guard. Not fight? Then why call an Archer—for a mascot?
"I summoned you not for your experience in battle, as great as that is, but for your unique, breakthrough projection magecraft."
Without further prelude, Steve revealed the grand blueprint to overturn the Grail War—a plan he'd conceived long before reincarnating, possible only now.
Steve skillfully packaged his deep understanding of TYPE-MOON lore as information from a "Parallel World," handy for Archer to accept.
"In a parallel world I observed, the Holy Grail War unfolded entirely differently. I saw a possibility: everyone achieving happiness without bloodshed or loss. The key to this miracle, Archer, lies in your hands."
He outlined the "Peace Speedrun Plan." At its heart lay the reproduction of the legendary Second Magician Zelretch's masterpiece: the Jeweled Sword.
"With this, endless mana could instantly fill the Grail vessel, allowing every Master's wish to come true—ending the meaningless conflict forever."
Young Archer stopped breathing. The Second Magic?
"…Fairy tales. How could anyone but the Jewel King himself recreate that? No ordinary magus could—"
"Ordinarily, no. But this Grail War has miraculously gathered every component needed," Steve replied. "First, we have 'eyewitness testimony.' The Einzbern homunculi's cores should still retain memories of the war's origin. The current lesser Grail, Irisviel von Einzbern, might possess such 'images'—her soul deep with the memory of the first Zelretch Sword."
"Second, we have the 'blueprint.' The Tohsaka family's goal was to reach the Root by mimicking the Second Magic. Tohsaka Tokiomi should have the detailed plans inherited by the family—blueprints to the Jeweled Sword!"
"Finally, most importantly, we have…the executor: a Heroic Spirit capable of turning 'image' and 'blueprint' into material reality, duplicating material, forging even history and destiny—a true miracle worker. That is you, Archer."
The logic loop closed:
Irisviel's memory + Tokiomi's blueprint + Archer's projection magecraft = Resurrection of the Jeweled Sword.
Unbelievable, but every step fit perfectly—a theoretical possibility. Archer was speechless, his practical mind looping through the plan, each pass deepening his shock.
"Damn..." he breathed. "It's... it's actually possible..."
"Of course," said Steve, painting the rosy outcome and addressing each likely objection.
For the Saber camp, Irisviel's dearest wish was to become a true human with her husband and daughter. The Grail could grant this, using the Third Magic: materialization of the soul.
As for Emiya Kiritsugu… Archer, "tell him how the ideal of 'saving the many by sacrificing the few' ultimately led only to warped consequences, that the man who killed his wife and lost his daughter might choose a happier life after seeing a failure of that reality in you—the real future. Emiya Shirou's place on the Throne may even contain the memory, just like a world where his adopted sister becomes a magical girl."
Archer's body shook. His foster father—could he, too, be happy?
Saber's wish—tricky due to quantum record fixation—at least could allow her a second life as a normal girl, with time to think and let go.
For the Lancer and Archer camps, Kayneth and Tokiomi both sought the root—"easy," said Steve: the Grail would open a stable path for either, and they would never return. Diarmuid and Gilgamesh would hardly object; give Tokiomi the hope of the Sword, and he would hand over the blueprint and cooperate fully.
What of the King of Heroes? Without the Grail's muddy taint, and with permission to enjoy the flesh for a time, he'd hardly bother with wholesale destruction—"So long as he's allowed the pleasure of the human body, he'll not destroy mankind."
Rider's party: Waver wishes to prove himself, Iskandar wants flesh—both easily satisfied.
Assassin camp: Kirei won't act until provoked; Hassan of the Hundred Faces want fusion, and the Grail can grant that.
Finally, the crucial point: "Berserker's camp—Kariya wishes to save Sakura; for that, the Grail is unnecessary." Steve's eyes sharpened. "When we're done talking, Archer, your first task will be to raid the Matou worm storehouse and rescue that child."
As for Lancelot's longing for redemption—"A chance for words and real contact."
When Steve finished, young Archer looked at him very differently. Everyone is saved; every tragedy averted; an ending where no one had to cry. It was the prophecy Emiya had spent his life seeking, even cynically calling it impossible.
At that moment, Archer straightened, sight alight with the fire of a "dream" that had died countless times but would never be fully extinguished.
"Hey, Caster…" His voice shook with excitement. "Are you…serious? About making a happy ending…for everyone?"
"I never make empty promises," replied Steve.
"…Madman." Red Archer spat the word, but despite himself, a complex smile tugged his lips—wry, relieved, even fanatical. "What a…madman! But—ah—why does this madness make blood boil!"
Clang!
As he focused, two short swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, were projected in front of him and embedded in the floor.
"Fine, Caster! I'm in—I'll see how you, a time traveler, can use my hands to work a miracle that even Heroes failed to achieve!"
…