Chapter 7: Fem-Shirou (Final)

In the heart of an infinite expanse of ice and snow, a lone figure found himself surrounded by an unending landscape of frozen beauty. The oppressive darkness of the night hung heavy, shrouding the land in an obsidian veil. Overhead, thick clouds obscured the vast majority of the sky, permitting only the faintest glimmers of moonlight to filter through. Amidst this desolate stillness, an array of countless swords, each with its distinct shape and form, stood embedded in the pristine, snowy ground. The subdued glow of the moonlight caught the cold metal, turning each blade into a luminous sentinel in the frozen realm. Their presence echoed a silent story, a testament to battles waged in this desolate land. The man stood at the center of this eerie tableau, an enigmatic silhouette against the stark whiteness. His breath crystallized in the frigid air, forming ephemeral clouds that dissipated into the frozen night. "Reality Marble?..." Shido whispered to himself, his words carried away by the chilly wind that swept through the desolate landscape. His surroundings seemed to defy logic, a frozen realm untouched by the rules of the mundane world. "...Is that her angel?" As the words hung in the icy air, a haunting voice emerged, carried by the cold wind. "Do you see now, Master..." The voice, laden with an eerie resonance, echoed through the snow-covered expanse. "This place is the reflection of my heart..." His head turned instinctively toward the source, and atop a distant hill, he saw her— "The reflection of my very soul..." A figure stood there, a girl with hair as white as the snow beneath her feet. Her once-vibrant purple magical girl outfit had metamorphosed into a dark ensemble, traced with ominous red lines that cascaded from her shoulders down to her waist. (Is that Shiou? Why does she look so...different and older?) The once-12-year-old-looking girl had undergone a transformation, her body now bearing the marks of time. Her form had matured, evolving beyond the youthful appearance Shido had known. Not yet to be called an adult, but enough to be called a teenage girl. As the girl descended from the hill, her eyes, once filled with innocence, now held a weight of experiences beyond her apparent age. "Shir—" Her name barely escaped Shido's lips before she spoke, "Master, you said you want to see the real me... Then that's what I am offering to you. Do you understand?" Shido's breath formed visible clouds in the cold air as he took cautious steps toward her. Yet, it was barely three steps before a sword emerged out of nowhere, cutting his way between them. Out of confusion yet a little fury, he clenched his fist. "What do you want me to understand?" Shido stood amid the frozen landscape, torn between the familiarity of the girl before him and the enigma she had become. "Is that how your heart is supposed to be? Are you saying you're cold-hearted? Don't be a hypocrite. Are you trying to say you've suffered so much in the past? I am already aware..." "It's simple, Master," The girl descended gracefully from the hill, her steps leaving a faint trace on the untouched snow, "I want you to understand that there is no saving for an already dying soul. My story has already finished long ago." "Don't give me that shit..." His body trembled, blood dripping from between his clenched fingers. "Are you doing that to erase your sins? Believing it would satisfy the people who sacrificed their lives for you." "There is no one that would sacrifice their lives for someone like me—" "There are!" Shido's voice echoed, cutting through the cold wind, "You're trying not to be selfish just to end up as one, you're trying to ears your past faults just to end up making new ones. You think you changed the path but you're just slowing your pace..." The girl remained silent, her expression revealing nothing. "Don't disrespect the offering lives of the people who once loved you before like that. The last thing you can do for them is to accept what has happened. "Shut up..." "..." A haunting silence settled between them before the girl calmly asserted, "You truly don't realize what I have done, don't you?" "..." "Killing the person you fell in love with at first sight for the sake of saving her from the darkness. Losing the person who gave you her full trust because you were late to get there in time. To end up realizing that the girl you were ready to sacrifice everything for has already fallen into the darkness, and the only way for you to save her is to end her life." She took a deep breath, the cold air condensing her words, "She was crying, she ended up killing her sister, and she believed the only end to her story was to die. I saw it in her eyes; she wanted me to save her without taking her life somehow. But because I wanted to act as a hero because I didn't have the guts to risk the whole world for her sake." She stopped, pointing at a certain sword at the side, and Shido followed to where her finger was pointed, "It's the same sword I used to take her life, without MERCY." The sword stood as a silent witness to the weight of her past actions. "I didn't stop my sins here. I wanted to do one thing right in my whole meaningless life. I still had to destroy the broken Holy Grail by sacrificing my already broken body and mind. But..." She clenched her teeth, and a solitary tear managed to escape her eye, "I was afraid. After all, that I have done, I still... pathetically desired to live. And for my sake, she also sacrificed her life for me..." A giggle escaped her mouth, a wry smile wore her face as she gazed at the frozen ground, "She saved my soul, my body was already gone, and with everyone important to me being gone, it was supposed to be my end but..." She raised her head, her eyes meeting his, and Shido returned the gaze with a sulky face. "As I opened my eyes, I met his own, the very one that was supposed to be my enemy. I was confused, why would he save me? Given the new body I was in, a higher-tier doll, it was nearly impossible to find something like that without some incredible effort. I asked him, and he looked me in the eyes and smiled." "(I want to see if you will end up borrowing the same experience, the same hollow, suffering eyes as him, and I think I was right) He laughed, That was the sole reason why he saved me, to see me suffer more." The girl closed her eyes, perhaps seeking a moment of solace in the symphony of the winds whispering around her. The stillness hung in the air, a brief pause before she resumed her tale. "After that, I didn't have anything more than trying to continue my old life before all this chaos. Going to school, helping my classmates and neighbors, fixing electronic devices for free for anyone who asked, Trying to spend time with the sole remaining ones that I considered close to me. But, in the end, I had to leave her too—for her safety. Mages from all around the world were after me. Whether for my reality marble or to use me as a mere laboratory rat." Her eyes opened, revealing a glimmer of vulnerability beneath the stoic exterior. "I killed and killed and killed, to the point I started to take the lives of innocent people by mistake. But I didn't feel any guilt; I had already convinced myself that it didn't matter. Even the people close to my heart lost their lives because of me, so what's the difference?" The whole time Shido remained just a listener, Giving her the chance to empty her heart. "I became a puppet, a weapon used by unseen hands to further their agendas. And in the midst of it all, I lost sight of who I was. I lost the ability to distinguish between friend and foe, between innocence and guilt." The gusts of wind subsided, and an air of quiet intensity settled as she locked eyes with Shido. "Now you know what I am and what I've become. Do you still think the same about me?" Without hesitation, "Yes," he answered, and In an instant, a razor-sharp blade sliced through the air, grazing just an inch from his head. Crimson droplets trickled down from a shallow cut on his cheek, yet he stood unfazed. He neither flinched nor blinked, maintaining an unyielding gaze on her. "You piss me off..." A barrage of blades materialized from thin air, each held in her hands. Pointed her sword directly at Shido. The metallic blade shimmered ominously as she declared her intent—to kill him and prove to him that his perception of her was wrong. "Y-You..." In a fit of denial and frustration, she lunged at him with a powerful swing. The snow beneath them scattered in a chaotic dance, momentarily obscuring their vision with a blizzard of white. "As I thought..." As the fog of snow settled, Shirou's sword came to an abrupt halt, poised just before it could cut Shido's neck. "You said you ended up killing innocent people by mistake, you said you lost the ability to distinguish friend and foe, between innocence and guilt," Shido spoke, his words a calm counterpoint to the tempest around them. "I know you can't kill me because you consider me something close to at least a friend. Simply put, you can't because you're not a bad person, but a broken one." "Please stop..." The plea hung in the air, and Shido's response didn't come in words. Instead, he slowly reached to grab Shirou's hand at his neck, pulling it down with a firm grip. His right hand clenched into a fist. "Guh?" He delivered a powerful punch to her stomach, forcing her to her knees. (H-He punched me?) She clutched her stomach in pain; Shido hadn't held back in his punch a bit. The manifested sword shattered into glass fragments, and Shirou raised her head in confusion to meet Shido's eyes. Glancing down at her, Shido's face held a frown. "That was for trying to kill me..." "Ah...HUH...I-I see." A mixture of surprise and comprehension flickered across her face as she processed the unexpected turn of events. But she had to expect such a thing to happen. "Look, I've been through a lot, more or less than you, I don't know."His eyes bore into hers with a determined sincerity. "Life throws us into storms that seem impossible to weather. But you know what I've learned? Even after the fiercest fire consumes a forest, life finds a way to return. The ash becomes the foundation for new growth, and the forest can grow even bigger and stronger than before." He extended both his hand, one open and the other closed. "People, too, are like that forest. We face hardships, lose our way, and sometimes make choices we regret. But it's in those moments of darkness that we have the opportunity to find our strength, to rise from the ashes and become something more." Shido's gaze was steady, his words spoken with a conviction born from his journey. "I don't pretend to understand everything you've been through, but I do know this: life has a way of surprising us, and sometimes, we need to allow ourselves the chance to heal, to grow, and to move forward. Killing yourself, metaphorically or literally, won't solve anything." He paused, allowing his words to resonate in the frozen air between them. "You're not alone in this, and you don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Some people care about you and want to help you find your way back from the darkness. You just need to let them in." Shirou remained on her knees, her gaze fixed on Shido as his words hung in the air. Taking a deep breath, he chanted a word, 'Michael,' and a large key materialized in his right open hand. "I don't have the right to give you options, but I can offer you one." "..." "The key in my right hand has the unique ability to seal abstract concepts, including emotions and memories. With it, you can rid yourself of all the pain you had to endure." Shirou's eyes widened, her trembling hand instinctively reaching towards the key. However, her focus shifted to his other hand, where another closed fist held a second key—much smaller and without any magical abilities, just a plain home key. "The second choice I offer you is a place you can call home. A place where you can heal slowly, find new people to call, perhaps even a family." Shirou's gaze remained locked on the keys, her internal struggle evident in the furrow of her brow. "Of course, you can come up with your options, either to choose to go in your way or even try to take my life like before to prove your point. But unlike before, I will fight with all my might because my life doesn't belong to me alone, but also to all the people I care about." She looked him in the eyes, her lips trembling. Perhaps she wanted to tell him something but hesitated to do so. "hmm?" At that moment, Shido noticed the wind had finally settled, and a new source of light appeared. He raised his head to the sky. The clouds had disappeared, not fully revealing the clear night sky but enough to showcase the beauty of the full moon and its gentle illumination. "The moon is lovely tonight don't you think..." Shirou, after wiping the tears from her eyes, finally began extending her hand. "Yeah..." Part 2: The time was 6 PM. The evening sun's rays spread over the group of buildings in front of Tenguu Station, dying them orange. In the park dyed by the setting sun, Shido and Shirou were the only two that could be seen. From time to time the sound of cars or the cries of crows could be heard from a distance, but it was a peaceful place. "Ohh, this view is amazing!" Since a while ago, Shirou had been leaning over the railings and gazing at the dusk-colored streets of Tenguu City. It wasn't the first time that Shido came here. It was rather the kind of a secret place that he liked. The one who chose this place as the destination was well...probably Kotori. Shido glanced at Shirou, who stood beside him. Her form had reverted to the size he was accustomed to, her hair now adorned with its usual light pink hues. Yet, her Astral dress persisted, a unique blend of her magical girl uniform, though not in its dark Inverse form. (Seems she was able to return to the normal state without requiring my sealing. Could it be she didn't fully transform into her Inverse Form...) A faint blush colored Shido's cheeks as he recalled the form Shirou had assumed during her Inverse state. He couldn't help but wonder if his theory was correct – if her full Inverse Form would result in her becoming an adult. While she was already beautiful, the idea of her as a grown woman stirred his imagination "What's wrong? Your face is red, Master." "...It's the sunset." Saying this, he looked down. "Really?" Shirou leaned toward Shido, and, as if looking upwards, peered at him. "——" "As I thought, it's red, isn't it? Is it some kind of disease?" At a distance where he could feel her breath, Shido said. "N... then that's not..." While averting his eyes—inside Shidou's head, the word "Kiss" swirled around. His eyes moved towards Tohka's soft lips. "Nu?" "—!" Shirou hadn't said anything, but he felt like she had seen through his foul thoughts, and he again averted his eyes and moved back. "I am impressed, Master. It's like you have a switch where you can change between the cool guy with a deep mindset and the typical virgin high school—" "W-What!" "Pfff." Shirou couldn't help but giggle at Shido's flustered reaction. Yesterday, and today, the melancholic and fake smile expression on her face had faded quite a bit. Exhaling a small breath from his nose, he pulled forward one step to face Shirou. "You have them, right?" "Yeah..." Slowly raising her right hand, and opening it, there was a pair of keys there—Shido's home keys. Shido twisted his neck, and Shirou had a wry smile with an air of self-scorn. "Thanks—today was an extremely, extremely meaningful day." "I see—" Shido's lips cracked into a smile as he exhaled. However, as if replying to Shido's expression, Shirou furrowed her brows as a dry smile surfaced. "Sorry... about everything I caused you." "I will forgive you, but for one condition..." Tilting her head to one side, Shirou waited for his condition. "I want you to act with your honest heart. If you're sad, don't hide it; if you're happy, don't hide it; if you're angry, don't hide it, and so on. Be yourself and not anyone else." Shirou pursed her lips and lapsed into silence. "You know...You remind me of someone..." Shido's gaze shifted, and for a moment, a flicker of curiosity appeared in his eyes. "You're a big idiot" (Ouch...) "Easy to tease, which I will enjoy doing from now on." (Is that bad?) "You have that charm of perfection—" (Oh, that's a good impression) "—but still a big idiot." (...Whatever, I am used to being called an idiot anyway.) "Did i tell you you're completely an idiot?" Shido's eyebrows twitched, "Okay, okay, I get it. I'm a big idiot. Are you satisfied now?" Shirou tilted her head, her eyes narrowing in mock contemplation. "Not completely, but it's a good start." Shido sighed, realizing he might have opened the door to endless teasing. "Great. Just what I needed, Another Kurumi" Just as the warm atmosphere settled between Shido and Shirou, a familiar voice echoed through Shido's earpiece. "Shido, where did you suddenly disappear to? All your signals just vanished. What happened?" "Oh, Kotori." Shido scratched his head, glancing at Shirou. "Well, it's a long story, hahaha," he let out an awkward laugh. Kotori huffed on the other end, "I'm sure it is. But later is fine, but right now, Shirou's emotional levels are off the charts. I don't know how you did it, but now might be the perfect chance to seal her power." Shido glanced at Shirou, whose expression had shifted from playful teasing to a more contemplative one. "I understand." With a click, the earpiece went silent, leaving both him and Shirou locked in a gaze. "What's the matter, Master?" Shido's expression became more serious, "Shirou..." "Y-Yes?" Shirou was caught off guard, and the atmosphere between them suddenly became more intense. "Do you trust me?" Shirou's eyes widened, surprised by the unexpected question. Shido's gaze bore into hers. "I...," she began, her voice faltering momentarily. "I'm not sure what you're asking, but..." Shido nodded, encouraging her to continue. "...Yes, I trust you, Master" A small smile played on Shido's lips, "Good" As the words escaped his lips, he raised his right arm to the sky. "Zafkiel" A ticking sound echoed throughout the air, and a golden clock rose from the ground. On a gigantic keyboard that was several times taller than Shido, an ancient rifle and pistol each served as the hands of a clock. The hands moved in sync with the passage of time. The same golden clock took its shape inside Shido's left eye, and two handguns flew from the clock, landing gracefully in his hands. "Tenth Bullet: Yud," He chanted as he pointed one of the pistols toward the Roman numeral 10. The clock in his left eye started to run in the opposite direction. At the same moment, a shadow seeped out from the "X" on the gigantic clock and was sucked into the muzzle of Shido's pistol. He pointed the enhanced firearm toward Shirou, who didn't show any sign of moving to defend or resist his action. The gunshot sound emerged through the wind, and the bullet hit the little girl directly in the forehead. "..." There was no blood, no sign of physical harm anywhere on her body. Silence arched between the two as Shirou's head lowered toward the ground. She was breathing, and there was no apparent damage, but she remained motionless for a few seconds. "I see..." After what seemed like half a minute, Shirou's lips echoed a word, and she slowly raised her head toward Shido. The gigantic golden clock behind his back disappeared, as did the two guns in his hands. "Spirit is different from the servants I am familiar with. They both share superior strength to humans, but their duties and origin are different. I am a spirit, not a servant..." "I shared some of my knowledge and memories with you. I hope that would be enough to justify what I am about to ask you to do..." Shirou furrowed her brow, "For the sake of the safety of humanity and spirits at the same time, you risked your life and took that lore..." "Well..." Shido's shoulders shuddered slightly. "Anyone would be willing to do the same; I'm not that special." "Maybe, but I doubt that many would not give up halfway. And I doubt there is anyone except you who would succeed and save everyone as you did. The perfect happy ending that can't be obtained only in superhero comics." Shido reached for the back of his neck, scratching it, as he tried to avoid eye contact, hiding his flushed cheeks. "I think I have to give up something on my own for you to fully complete your duty, for the safety of the people around you." "Huh?" He was so focused on hiding his embarrassment that he didn't realize Shido had shortened the distance between them, hugging him by the neck to pull him closer to her face. She tiptoed and kissed Shido. "...!?" It was so sudden that Shido opened his eyes wide and was at a loss. However, Shirou silently hugged Shido's body, with no intention of parting lips. "Mm..." "...mm" As the two kissed, Shido felt something warm flow into his body. At the same time, the Astral Dress Shirou was wearing disintegrated into light particles and melted into the air. "Wah... ah!" She must have noticed this point, as Shirou finally let go of Shido's lips. "Oh, it must be—yes, from the shared memories. It's the method to seal a Spirit's power" As Shirou was lost in deep thought, carelessly naked, Shido averted his gaze with a red face, quickly taking off his jacket and offering it to her to cover her body. "Oh, being a gentleman already?" She accepted the offered jacket with a caressing smile. "Just hide your body for now, and leave your teasing for later." "So, I am allowed to tease you?" "Akh..." As he sighed in disbelief, a new voice emerged between the two. "Oh, my? That was quick progress, Shirou-Chan~" "...?" "Akh... It's you again..." Floating between the two, the sound didn't belong to a human but seemed close to a magical being. Shirou's magical wand, "Ruby." "So that's how this world works huh? My student is a spirit? That's new, but the fact you can seal our power like that, I have to say, that's impressive." "Ah... Y-Yeah," Shido stammered, trying to process the unexpected situation. "But you know the consequences of having the energy of a magical girl inside you, right?" The wand got close to Shido's face, its voice sending shivers down his spine. Though the magical wand didn't have a face, he could somehow sense a creepy expression on its surface. "You became the magical girl!!" As the wand's proclamation echoed, Shido's body began to shift and transform. "W-What!!" His blue hair grew rapidly, and his entire body shape changed until he suddenly turned into a girl. "Wh-what's happening?!" Shido exclaimed, bewildered by the sudden and unexpected transformation. In a state of panic, he reached for his earpiece and urgently called, "Kotori!" "Oh my, that quiet situation you're in..." Kotori's response was surprisingly calm. "What are you so calm?" "Well...It's not the first time, right, Shiori-Chan?" "Huh?!!" "Well, It's about dinner time, see you at home, Onee-chan~" Before Shido could grasp what she said, Kotori abruptly cut the line, leaving him in a state of confusion and frustration. "Kotori! KOTORI !" He called out several times, but there was no response. Feeling a sense of desperation, he turned to his last hope—Shirou. However, she, too, seemed to be wearing the same expression of confusion. "Shirou..." His eyes pleaded with her. Shirou looked at him, her expression unchanging. "It's already late. I have to go back and make dinner," she replied casually before swiftly running away, leaving Shido alone in his transformed state. (Shirou refusing to help!! What situation did I put myself in?) "HeeHeeHee~~" The answer came faster than the ask. The wand was already laughing evilly behind him—her. "Another laboratory rat—I mean student...Time for the first lesson to become a magical girl." "N-N..." Tears appeared in the poor girl's eyes. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" That afternoon, the haunting echoes of a girl's terrified scream in the park became the hot topic of the town in the following week. Part 3: The salt-laden wind howled through the rigging as the commercial ship, The Siren's Call, danced on tumultuous waves. The once calm sea transformed into a turbulent maelstrom, each wave a furious attempt to swallow the vessel whole. Rain pelted the ship's deck, and thunderous roars echoed the wrath of nature. The Captain of the ship, his face etched with determination and weathered experience, barked orders to the crew. "Brace yourselves! We need to steer through this! Hold onto anything you can find!" The crew, a mix of seasoned sailors and newcomers, clung to the ship's rails, desperately fighting against the violent lurching of the vessel. The wind howled, drowning out even the captain's voice. Amidst the chaos, the ship's first mate shouted over the tempest. "We're being pulled off course! The storm's got a grip on us!" "Damn it!" The Captain grimaced. "We're losing control. Keep her steady! We can't afford to capsize!" As the crew struggled against the relentless storm, anxious murmurs and shouts merged into a cacophony of panic and determination. "Secure the cargo! We can't lose it all!" "Someone get below deck and check for leaks!" "Is that lightning or something else?" But as the ship battled the tempest, an unexpected phenomenon unfolded. The waters surrounding them seemed to be alive, a force determined to draw them away from their intended path. The ship fought against an invisible current as if the very ocean sought to consume them. Amid the chaos, The Captain's voice cut through, "What in the devil's name is happening? This isn't just a storm!" One of the crew members gripped the wheel with fierce determination, responding, "It's like the ocean itself is dragging us somewhere!" As the ship was pulled farther away from its intended route, the crew's desperation intensified. Suddenly, with a disorienting jolt, the storm ceased. The crew, panting and bewildered, looked around in confusion. The Captain scanned the horizon. "What... Where are we?" Everything changed in an instant. Just a few seconds ago, they were fighting against the unmerciful waves, but right now, they were amidst what seemed to be a desert. The crew fell silent. There was something eerily wrong. The ocean, as far as their eyes could see, was gone. The ship was sitting on solid ground. "Where did the ocean go?" One of the crew members noticed the sand beneath them was wet. "D-Did the whole ocean suddenly evaporate?" "A-Are you for real? We were in the middle of the Atlantic Sea. How is that even possible?" The ocean had vanished. A collective gasp echoed through the crew. Not long after, the silence was cut short by one of the crew members pointing with a trembling finger toward something in the sky. "Look! What's that?" The crew stood in awe, their eyes fixed on the mesmerizing sight. The ocean water was being pulled into the sky, creating what appeared to be a planet of water. A colossal sphere covered half of the day sky, its surface reflecting the sunlight in a breathtaking display. The Captain, his gaze fixed on the immense water sphere, muttered, "By all the gods..."