"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness."
A tattered soul dragged its weary steps across an endless snowy plains about to reach its end.
"Is this the end…is this my final resting ground."
He pondered as he look back at his journey, which seemed to have gone on for far too long.
This man, who had once abandoned his former ideal of becoming a"hero of justice" and instead chose "the happiness of those close to him", for which, he had burned both his body and soul for this cause, he has finally reached the end of his journey.
"Ah…what a journey it has been, like chasing after the clouded moon….a journey in the pitch black night."
He closed his eyes, as his lingering soul began to descend, sinking into an endless void, as if plunging into an ocean of nothingness.
The man, Shirou Emiya, his journey seemed to have reached its conclusion.
….
Heavy rain poured from the sky.
The ice cold water cleansed the world.
Shirou Emiya suddenly open his eyes.
A solid wood ceiling came into view, the warm feeling of blanket and bedding wrapped around his body. An itching sensation came from his wound covered body, as if his injuries were healing at a superhuman speed.
This was an unfamiliar scene, unlike any place in his memories, it was a cabin that he had never seen before.
Bright moonlight streamed into the room from a side window, illuminating the young boy's face, and his crimson red hair.
"Where…am I."
He recalled what happened.
…..
He clearly died, and yet, when he opened his eyes, he was alive and kicking again, only his body had regress to that of a child.
When he first woke up, he found himself imprisoned in a cell.
The people around him seemed to be from an organization known as the [Evilus], who were involved in human trafficking around the world .
Seizing an opportunity, he snatch a weapon from a man watching over him and decisively killed him.
Although his body has regressed to that of a child, and both his mana and the physical strength that came from his years of training disappeared. His combat skills,battle awareness, and most importantly, his strong determination still remained deeply engraved in his soul.
Afterward, he tried to escape, but was still caught by someone who was unbelievably powerful, far exceeding human limits.
While giving Shirou a beat down, the man bragged about how he was a Lv3 High Class Adventurer and how a damn brat like him should learn his place.
But due to an internal argument, this guy didn't kill him immediately.
"Damnit, this little bastard, how dare he killed one of my mens, I'm going to chop him into pieces and feed him to the monsters!"
"Wait a minute, this brat has no God's blessing(Falna) but he still managed to kill a Lv1 adventurers. Such talent, it will be a waste if we just kill him..."
These guys seemed to be arguing over the fate of the boy, but soon enough, they will have to worry no more.
A sharp gust of wind blasted in.
A woman, wielding a katana, masked and hooded, storm into the hideout, slaughtering the members of Evilus. In front of her, the members of Evilus appeared as if they were as powerless as child, and that guy who keep on boasting about how he was a Lv3 high class adventurer got his head cut off before he could even react.
The swordswoman fought her way though the Evilus hideout, despite being injured by some of their traps, she swiftly dealt with all her enemies until, finally , she came to a stop in front of the unconscious boy. After hesitating for a while, she ultimately carried the severely wounded boy on her back.
...
"I guess she saved me." Back to the present, Shirou looked at his skinny arm and childlike body, his body felt very weak, more importantly, he can't feel an ounce of mana within him, nor can he sense the existence of his mana circuit, this mean he had lost his most powerful ability, his projection magecraft.
Slowly, he tried to propped himself up but immediately lay back down again.
An intense pain course through his body, he struggled to lift up his blanket and saw his bandaged up body, it seems like he has received proper treatment when he was unconscious.
His left arm was most definitely broken and he can also feel several of his ribs has fractured as well, along with many other minor injuries all across his body.
"My injuries should have been much worse than this….and yet…. hiss..."
The feeling in his left arm, a mix of pain and itching, made him gasp, based on past experience he could tell, his bone was healing at an unusually fast pace.
"Ah, you're awake, that's wonderful!"
As the sound of the door open, a beautiful young girl walked into the room.
"Who are you and where am I...?"
"Ah, be careful when you get up, although your legs weren't seriously injured, you still need to take care. Although we treated you with an elixir, injuries as severe as yours don't heal that quickly."
The young girl was holding a wooden bucket filled with warm water, she had light gray hair along with matching eye color, her soft voice carried an ethereal quality that didn't quite match her appearance.
She wore something akin to a maid or shop attendant's outfit, giving a comforting smile to the young boy lying on the bed.
"Syr, Syr Flova is my name, you can called me Syr if you like. What's your name?"
Was she the one who saved him... no, they should be different people. Shirou recalled the feeling that the swordswoman who rescued him give off, and concluded that they should be two different people, however the young girl in front of him was most likely the person who treated his injuries.
"My name is Shirou, Shirou Emiya."
"Emiya? That sounds like a name from the far east. Shirou-kun, is it okay for me to call you that?"
"Ah, uh, sure, no problem."
Shirou Emiya's current appearance was at most a twelve or thirteen years old child, so Syr's affectionate and cute way of addressing him didn't seem unfitting, though it did somewhat embarrassed him to be called that by a girl of similar age as his past self.
"You've been unconscious for an entire day, I was super worried."
"A day…huh?"
Shirou was not surprised by this, his only thoughts was "I survived ." and wondering how the swordswoman who saved him was doing right now.
Syr soaked a towel in warm water and gently wiped Shirou's face, her soft gray eyes gazed into Shirou's as she explained his current situation.
Shirou didn't avoid her gaze, the gentle and loving smile of the young girl before him reminded him of someone, his former kohei named "Sakura".
"An ordinary girl" or "the girl next door" such term might best describe her, she gave off an aura that make other felt at ease.
"This is the tavern where I work, I found you and another elf girl collapsed in the back alley, so I brought both of you back."
"Is she alright?" Shirou asked hurriedly.
"Ah, she was even more seriously injured than you." Syr replied.
"She still hasn't woken up yet...Shirou-kun, do you know her?"
"No, she was the one who rescued me." The young boy answered.
Syr nodded, "I see...than does Shirou-kun remember where you live?"
Shirou remain quiet for a moment, "It's probably at a far away land…no, I don't have a home anymore."
Syr fell silent.
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Original Author Note:The Shirou in this story is the one from the Miyu's verse, a Shirou who lived in a world on the brink of destruction, who traveled the world and was properly mentored by Kiritsugu, learning archery, swordsmanship, close combat, and gun mastery.
A Shirou who on his journey to save the world, found the solution, the child of god Miyu, adopting her as his little sister, but ultimately, betraying his own ideal of becoming a hero of justice, rejecting the idea of sacrificing his sister to save the world. Single-handedly ending the holy grail war in a single night, fought until his last breath, giving it his all, until his wish for his sister to find a world where she won't have to suffer no longer, a world where she'll meet kind people, a world where she can find friend to laugh with, and most importantly a world where she can find true happiness, was granted.
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TN:It wasn't until I started translating this novel did I discover that this line "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness."came from the Bible 2 Timothy 4:7-8 and this line"like chasing after the clouded moon….a journey in the pitch black night" came Fate/kaleid liner Prima Illya 3rei! Ch 30.
Sometimes I like it when the author gives images so I can better enjoy the story in my head so here are some that I found.
Link to image of
Syr and Ryuu
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/98405903
Serious Ryuu
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/112277356
Masked Hooded Ryuu although it of terrible quality
https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/Ryuu_Lion/Image_Gallery?file=Ryuu_Lion_Anime_17.png
Here a better quality one but not hooded
https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/Ryuu_Lion/Image_Gallery?file=Ryuu_Lion_Anime_15.png