Epilogue: The Polar Night Arrives, Entering the Underworld
Restarting in ?????.
The spirit and soul issued commands, but the body that had fallen into the Reverse Side remained unresponsive.
Restart.
The rippling waves issued commands, but beneath the water's surface, there was no echo.
Restart now.
The brain issued a command. Then, a sudden realization struck: his brain was still intact.
From that moment, like realizing one is in a dream, everything began to startle awake.
Consciousness was formally liberated, and Shirou snapped his eyes open. His knees wobbled twice, and he forced himself into a half-standing position.
He made an unarticulated sound of swallowing air, confirmed his vocal abilities were still functional, and narrowed his eyes.
Shirou stood atop a tall building; the door to the rooftop behind him was closed. Below the skyscraper, which felt almost like a vertical plane, the long winds howled. The physical law known as gravity operated normally, correctly making the drop a precipice for a human being.
The wind blew through Shirou's outer coat, guiding his gaze out beyond the building.
Filling Shirou's vision was Snowfield City.
Birds soared through the sky, flying into the distance. The street traffic lights changed periodically.
Streets devoid of a single person.
The city, the most fundamental sphere of human life, had been stripped of its most basic establishing element.
As if they had been in motion just a moment ago, vehicles were frozen in a state of being parked on the road; there was no one in the driver's seats.
An impossible city, streets that should not exist. It was like falling through a collapsing stage, only to find another world lurking within the stage's interior.
A Snowfield City Central Hospital, identical in appearance, sat within Shirou's field of vision. Its distant, whitewashed walls reflected a sunlight that was far too piercing under the sun.
It was currently daytime, with stratocumulus clouds drifting by. Intense sunlight shone down.
"This... cannot be Snowfield City."
In a world devoid of human presence.
Shirou stood on a protruding edge of a city model so vast its end could not be seen, looking down upon a world that had lost its vitality, observing quietly.
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Snowfield City Central Hospital
"Shirou? Shirou! Are you there?"
Saber wandered through the grounds, running at a quick pace across the grass surrounding the hospital building, but aside from a faint echo, the imagined response did not come. Traces of battle could be found in the backyard, but the people who had fought there had disappeared.
It could only be described as vanishing into thin air.
Not only were there no bodies, but not even a scrap of clothing remained. In other words... a disappearance.
Saber stood stiffly on the dirt of the backyard, her fingers twitching slightly, yet she didn't know what actions she could take.
"We deduce that the black mist came from the direction of the hospital. According to this theory, Shirou and the others should have been the first to be engulfed by the mist." Richard stood on the perimeter wall by the gate, likewise frowning. His face, which often wore a smile even during combat, now cast its gaze slightly downward toward Saber.
"...I understand."
Saber responded after a moment of silence, then stepped directly over the upturned earth where obvious battle traces remained, walking quickly toward the interior of the hospital.
"Do you plan to look for him inside the hospital?"
"How will I know unless I try?" Saber turned her head. "Besides, that girl, Tsubaki Kuruoka—I intend to check on her condition as well."
"..."
The excitement of speaking to his idol less than ten minutes ago felt like a lie; Richard's eyebrows slanted upward in a serious expression. He did not dissuade her; instead, he proactively began to walk into the hospital with her.
Richard spoke to the other side: "Ayaka, sorry. I might not have the energy right now to ask for your opinion or exchange information. I should have had you wait outside, but considering the black mist, I need you to follow us. You can't be outside alone."
"It's okay! I'm definitely scared given the current situation, but more than being scared, I'm truly worried... If it were Saber, I'm sure he wouldn't be afraid, but I can understand how worried you are!"
Because of their extraordinarily increased speed, Ayaka had to run at full tilt just to shout her words of understanding to Richard. Yet, she still did not want to cause trouble for the two of them.
"It's not just worry..." Richard thought for a moment before saying, "If the timing weren't so inappropriate, I think the part of my Saint Graph representing 'rage' might manifest outwardly."
Anyone Richard recognized as a dear friend was a true friend. Killing the Lionheart himself mattered little, but to kill a friend of the Lionheart—the Lionheart's heart would not allow him to turn a blind eye. Furthermore, many people seemed to have gathered to save a single girl, yet now, because of a burst of black mist, they had all disappeared.
If it were the Lionheart, so be it. But they, in their nobility, had done nothing wrong.
He finished this sentence calmly and immediately stepped into the hospital.
After that... Saber and Richard froze together in the light of the indoor entrance.
Looking out, it was a world of pitch-black night, but inside, no darkness could be seen.
Ordinary hallway lights. Ordinary crowds of people walking about. They appeared to be talking about their own topics normally. There were people holding IV poles or carrying medicine bags. The only thing men, women, young, and old had in common was that, much like looking at air, they all ignored the two Sabers and Ayaka. Ayaka looked at this spectacle in bewilderment, but Richard had a rough idea; likely, the suggestion the police station's side had applied to them before the battle was to ignore anyone above a certain level of prana.
However... even so, it was very wrong.
Before Saber could act, Richard had already grabbed the arm of a man who was talking to the front desk about his treatment process.
"Magus, help me out. Thanks."
Richard spoke as if talking to himself.
Through some unknown operation, the man began to gasp for breath; subsequently, a cluster of pitch-black spots suddenly manifested on his arm.
"The spirits of these people are not here. What's here are just programs. That's what my friend who knows magecraft said," Richard stated, his face devoid of expression.
Because the black spots were so revolting, Ayaka's skin crawled with goosebumps. "But they're clearly still talking!? The logic is clear, they can distinguish which department they need to go to..."
Richard shook his head apologetically, offering her no specific reply, nor looking again at the hollow-eyed man. He simply said to the King beside him:
"King Arthur, I'll tell you where I heard that girl's hospital room is. Let's go up and see."
To the speed of Heroic Spirits, this took less than three or four seconds. Even while carrying a human who supplied prana, it didn't take more than ten seconds.
Upon reaching the crucial location, the two Sabers stood on high alert, taking turns to push open the door.
What met their eyes... was the fact that in the entire hospital, this ward alone was completely empty.
The second night, revolving around half of the Servants, saw the key figure of the incident missing.
Tsubaki Kuruoka had disappeared.
Just like the others who were about to enter the hospital, she had vanished within this closed, locked room.
The night, black as ink, remained silent. Like the residue of the ink that had shrouded the entire area, it enveloped the two small Heroic Spirits within a hospital that seemed full of people, but was in truth utterly desolate.
The Polar Night has arrived.
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