While playing the game, Shinji occasionally glanced at the scenes on the phantom screen. If everything went as expected, the next development would be that Shirou would be saved by a passing blonde, red-eyed boy.
"This looks interesting~ Can I join in?"
"Stay out of this, kid," Shinji replied instinctively, then turned around slowly, only to see Young Gil, bending over with his hands on his knees, intently watching the game screen. Shinji remained silent for a long time, expressionless.
To save a small, broken world, Gaia was really pushing it.
"What's wrong, big brother?" Young Gil asked with an innocent smile, one that did not sway Shinji's heart in the slightest, proving his preferences were normal.
Shinji silently handed his game controller to Young Gil, stood up, and sat behind them, opening a bag of chips and eating without saying a word.
"Hmm?" Young Gil sounded confused, puzzled by Shinji's behavior, but before he could ask, the other Gilgamesh, now impatient, interrupted.
"Why are you dawdling? Making the king wait is a grave crime!"
"Well, I'm also a king..." Young Gil scratched his head and laughed awkwardly, but still took Shinji's place and began a straightforward game match.
"Shinji, guiding others is not really a friend's duty," Gilgamesh suddenly said while focusing on the game.
"Is that so, King with only one friend?" Shinji shrugged, unfazed by the possibility of angering Gilgamesh. Surprisingly, Gilgamesh did not react with anger or rebuttal.
Seeing Gilgamesh fall silent, Shinji assumed he was thinking about that one green-haired friend who made him give up on making new friends.
"Isn't it nice? Guiding a friend towards a brighter future..." Young Gil chimed in, not caring about Gilgamesh's feelings. Despite their similar personalities, there were clear differences.
"I must say, even with different personalities, your minds are surprisingly alike. Do I look like the kind of person who would do that?" Shinji said, resting his cheek on one hand. He looked at the small screen again, speaking in a flat tone. "That guy doesn't need any guidance. He'll walk his destined path to the end. That's the nature of my friend, Emiya Shirou."
"Is that so?" Young Gil smiled, ignoring Shinji's previous mockery. "But as far as I know, there's someone similar to that big brother who chose a different path in another world."
"That's a different person," Shinji dismissed. "Different experiences and environments shape individuals uniquely, even if they share the same name. That's the nature of humans."
Before Young Gil could respond, Shinji continued, "As individuals, our personalities, behavior, and beliefs are shaped by our environment and experiences, not by ourselves. This might be what's called fate. Even you two must admit, if you were born in a different era, you wouldn't have the same personalities."
Both remained silent, as they couldn't argue against that logic. Shinji, too, said no more, watching the screen where Shirou sat in front of his house, lost in thought.
After a long silence filled only with the sounds of the game, Shinji suddenly asked, "Gilgamesh, what is true good?"
"All the king's actions are good!"
"I knew it... I shouldn't have asked you," Shinji sighed, shaking his head. He looked at Shirou on the screen and said softly, "By universal standards, my friend is a paragon of good. But in this twisted world, he's labeled a hypocrite. The line between genuine and false good is as blurry as between selflessness and selfishness. In this world where no one can define it clearly, is calling him a hypocrite truly fair? In the realm of goodness, which is more important: good intentions, good actions, or good outcomes? To me, the first two outweigh the last. Even if my friend's actions bring him self-satisfaction due to his past, his intentions and deeds still make him good."
"Big brother, if you were in my era, I might have invited you to be my tutor," Young Gil laughed.
"Don't joke around. My lessons are expensive, costing at least a couple of cute goddesses annually," Shinji responded, waving a hand dismissively.
Gilgamesh suddenly laughed, "That sounds unreliable! Too cheap for a tutor!"
Young Gil shook his head, "True, the beauty of goddesses is just a human fantasy. Real goddesses are quite troublesome, far worse than human girls."
"Just train them properly," Shinji suggested.
Both Gils paused, then burst into laughter simultaneously.
Unperturbed by their laughter, Shinji noticed something odd on the screen. Instead of the expected rescuer, it was Angelica who came to Shirou's aid!
"Stop laughing!" Shinji shouted, focusing intently on the unfolding scene.
...
Time unknowingly reached dusk. The weather remained cold, and Shirou was still the only member of the parallel world tour group in this world. The others were still en route.
"Achoo!" Shirou sneezed, shivering from the cold after crouching by the door all afternoon. He realized that no one was likely to come home.
Should he break into someone else's empty house? Shirou was indecisive. After nearly five minutes of hesitation, he fainted from hunger and cold, illustrating the futility of indecision.
At that moment, a blonde girl in a white top and black skirt coincidentally passed by the Emiya residence. Seeing Shirou, covered in snow and barely conscious, Angelica paused.
She stared at him coldly, contemplating something. After a few seconds of silence, she moved.
She didn't deliver a finishing blow! Instead, she muttered, "Let's have curry tonight," and walked away.
But five seconds later, Angelica returned, now in her phantasm summon form! With swift, practiced movements, she bound and carried Shirou on her shoulder.
For the second time, without any orders, she brought back "Emiya Shirou." The first was the defeated Shirou post-Holy Grail War; this time, it was the starving, freezing Shirou from the parallel world.
...
In the Enzhuas Workshop at the crater's center, the interior was warm despite the dusk outside, thanks to displacement magic.
Julian Enzhuas, with short black hair, blue eyes, black-framed glasses, and a slim figure, stared silently through reflective lenses at Angelica bringing in Shirou.
Julian's first thought was that Shirou had escaped, but seeing his condition, he realized something was off. This Shirou seemed in much better shape than the one who had exhausted his life force using a Heroic Spirit's power.
"What's going on?" Julian asked.
"Don't know. He probably got caught in a world rift when we returned," Angelica replied flatly. Julian understood a lot from this. In that other world, Miyu had still crossed paths with Emiya Shirou.
That much was certain.
"Damn it!" Julian cursed, hitting the wall hard, his hand seemingly numb to pain. Furious, he turned away without another word.
Assuming silence meant to lock Shirou up like before, Angelica put Shirou in a solitary cell, providing food, water, cold medicine, blankets, and necessities.
As for why there were no pajamas, Angelica didn't consider them essential. Why? Because she didn't need them herself.
...
In the warm cell, Shirou woke up feeling much better after a nap. Seeing an unfamiliar ceiling, he tried to move but found his hands cuffed with magically reinforced restraints!
Seeing the dark, cramped cell, Shirou thought he might have been captured by the enemy. Unable to break free or use projection, he decided to stay put, gather intel, and wait for Saber and the others to rescue Miyu.
"This doesn't seem poisoned..." Shirou judged the food, already cold, by his cooking experience.
Gathering intel was crucial, but he couldn't do that on an empty stomach. Knowing this, Shirou ate the enemy's food to strengthen himself.
Using the enemy's resources against them was something Shinji had once said, and Shirou agreed.
"Not bad for tempura," Shirou remarked.
While Shirou accepted enemy food to strengthen himself, the Shirou in the cell opposite, who once defeated six enemies, ignored his dinner, delivered by Angelica, because he had just learned his sister was recaptured.
Why couldn't he escape this fate? He couldn't understand and silently lamented, his heart aching with sorrow.
Angelica glanced at the crying Shirou and left, locking the door behind her.
...
"What's your goal?!" Shirou shouted when he sensed someone at his cell door after eating, drinking the medicine, and hydrating.
"Where's Miyu?!"
Entering the cell, Angelica replied coldly, "Unlike you, Miyu is a precious tool, preparing for the final ceremony."
"Calling her a tool and then saying she's precious! You people...!" Shirou clenched his fists in anger, but he stayed calm enough to ask, "What's this ceremony? What do you want Miyu to do?!"
"None of your concern," Angelica said, gathering Shirou's dishes and leaving without a second glance.
...
After Angelica left, Shirou clenched his fists, despising his enemies. No matter the reason, using such a kind and innocent girl was unforgivable.
"You... don't sound like an Enzhuas. Do you know Miyu?" a weak male voice came from the cell opposite Shirou's.
"Who are you? Do you know where Miyu is? I'm here to save her! Please, if you have any information, tell me!" Shirou responded loudly.
The voice, belonging to the Shirou across from him, spoke tearfully, "I'm... Miyu's brother."
Hearing the weak, distant voice, Shirou remembered Miyu mentioning a brother who resembled him.
"Miyu told me about her brother. But why are you here? Did they capture you too?"
"I failed to save Miyu. I waged war against the Enzhuas to rescue her and got her out of this world, but she ended up back here. Despite my efforts, I couldn't escape this fate... Damn it!"
"Wait, slow down! What is Enzhuas? Is it this place? A mage family?"
The crying Shirou pleaded, "Please, save Miyu, no matter what!"
"Don't worry! I won't stand by and do nothing! Miyu is a good kid; I'll definitely save her!"
In the gap between worlds, Shinji silently raged at the screen. How could they not recognize each other?!
"Ha ha ha... both sides are so amusing..." Young Gil laughed heartily.
Slurping his instant noodles, Shinji watched intently, finding the development intriguing.