I was summoned to another world, because she was hungry!?

'Where did I go wrong?'

Atop the hill, he dozed off while gazing aimlessly at the cog-filled sky of his mind. The countless swords, both mundane and fantastical, that surround him somehow bring him a sense of peace.

It was dark. Unreasonably enormous, interlocking gears in the sky of his reality marble blocked all but the tiniest slivers of light. To put it bluntly, it darkened his world even further.

The heavy fog and black smoky wisps from the iron forgings contributed to the gloomy atmosphere.

His spirit appeared to be trapped in a state of perpetual twilight.

'I wonder when I started to despise these ideals of mine?'

He was naturally reflective and spent most of his time thinking about life. It had become a pattern, a habit he couldn't shake, a byproduct of his momentary insanity after he tried his ill-conceived plan.

But he had no remorse whatsoever. Even if things had turned out differently, he would never have let another Shirou Emiya make the same mistakes he had.

He'd already seen everything it had to give, and since he, too, had once been a person with the same name, desires, past, and god-forsaken ideals...

For him, there was no reason to think that the presence of "Shirou Emiya" would result in a different outcome.

But he was wrong!

Even though he knew what would happen to him, this Shirou Emiya never gave up on his desire of becoming the "hero of justice," or perhaps he believes that this alternate reality version of himself can do what he could not. Among the several timeframes he had worked with, this was an unusual occurrence.

There was no reason to let someone else go through what he had been through.

'Maybe I could have done that too!'

Memories were a difficult thing to grasp, especially for someone who had practically existed for what a normal human being would consider an eternity. The length of time he'd been alive was already beyond anyone's ability to guess.

He could recall certain events from when he was still mortal, which he would most likely never forget even if he lost his mind, body, and soul.

Kiritsugu's smile, his death, parts of his childhood summoning Saber and parts of the grail war, receiving the holy shroud that he now wears, the moment he forged his contract...

'I truly am hopeless!'

He had foolishly followed his ideals, believing that the contract with Alaya that he forged would allow him to continue following it after his passing.

He smiled as he was taken in by the world and his spirit was realised as a Counter Guardian.

He lost that smile as he had become burdened, disillusioned, and crushed by said ideals for every life he took to 'save humanity'.

He killed and killed, killed and killed, killed and killed.

It didn't matter who or what it was. For as long as they were involved, they had to be killed. Regardless of age, gender, or race, he would kill them to save humanity from destroying itself.

He had probably killed more than any weapon and any hero of legend that sat on the throne of heroes. He had perhaps murdered more than any serial killer, mass murderer, and dictator that ever existed in any given world.

He was forced to kill until his polite and gentle words were replaced with snark and vitriol.

He was forced to kill until his view was jaded with cynicism.

He was forced to kill until he could only blame the idiotic ideals that had brought him to this fate in the first place.

He was forced to kill until the only hope he had left was to rely on an idiotic plan that would never work no matter how badly he wished it to.

It was stupid. He felt stupid just thinking back on it.

Stupid for coming up with it, stupid for going through with it, stupid for even believing it had a chance of working, and stupid because it actually allowed him to realize one thing.

'It wasn't wrong… I wasn't wrong…'

After everything had come to pass and come to an end, the insane plan he had thought up and acted on had led him to that one answer.

That even though his ideals were unreasonable…

That even though his ideals were impossible…

That even though his ideals made him distorted beyond repair…

That no matter where his ideals had taken him, no matter what had become of him from following it…

They weren't wrong.

He wasn't wrong in believing in them.

He wasn't wrong in pursuing them.

'Even if it's like this… even as a counter guardian…'

He was beyond saving. There was no escape from his fate. He would be a Counter Guardian for the rest of eternity, a glorified puppet. He would need to keep killing for the sake of saving until mankind itself stops existing…

If a shitty equally delusional version of him could stay true to his ideals even after seeing the hell he is supposed to face, then he could pull that too right?

'Hero of Justice.'

Those who hold the concept of being a hero of justice will fight for the concepts of benevolence, justice, loyalty, and love in which they believe.

EMIYA knows that he can't be one anymore, not with his new-found mindset, but ironically that doesn't mean that he will give up.

Heroes of justice are those willing to sacrifice anything and everything for the sake of helping or protecting as many people as possible and EMIYA is far too of a lost cause to put others above himself at this point.

That's why he will become a 'Hero of Justice' on his own terms.

{I am the blade of this world.}

The first line came out of his mouth with a touch of intensity, a renewed resolve stirring inside him. Even though the sensation was nice, he sensed an increased intensity of mana in his immediate vicinity.

There's only one explanation for this.

"What are you doing? My dear hero!~"

It was a voice, the one he made the deal with—a call for him to stain his hands and his blades with blood for the sake of humanity.

He grimaced for a moment, but quickly shook his head.

"I am freeing myself from you, to save humanity I first need to save myself first."

{The concept rejects the master.}

He seemed to be disappearing. To him, it felt like the fabric of his existence was tearing at the seams.

Instantaneously, he was bound by a web of magical restraints that drained his power.

"Funny~ How can I let my dear hero leave me, do you really think you can escape me? Just because you changed your ideals."

{And the master rejects the concept.}

He smiled. It was a genuine smile. One he hadn't had in a very long time.

"I am not trying to get away from you; even an eternity wouldn't be long enough for that. However, if I am able to redeem myself, that will make me a different person and our agreement will be nullified."

{Two diverging ideals merging into a single paradox stream.}

The last remnants of strength surged through him. A connection had formed in him with a place that was more of a feeling than a concrete physical location.

Though brief, the connection seemed just perfect; he doubted that even a master magus of his level could ever pinpoint it.

{Never touching,}

{Yet forever crossing.}

He sensed a change, as though a binding force had been broken, and a latent power within him had awakened to his will.

As the "Root's" own unadulterated magical energy began to flow freely from him, the ties that had bound him began to loosen.

Since EMIYA's existence became a paradox and he became a man who was not intended to exist, he had no idea that, in the process of redeeming his old self, he briefly made a connection with the "Root" itself.

{I have seen the end of the world, but I still strive for tomorrow.}

"You! I will not allow that! You are mine for the rest of eternity! I won't allow you to leave like this!"

But it was already too late.

{I have no regrets. This is all I know.}

"You can no longer hold me. Eternity is instantaneous, and an instant is eternal. I have been void of both concepts; goodbye—I quit!"

{My entire being is Unlimited Blade Works.}

Instantly a powerful light devoured him.

*****

For a minute, EMIYA was perplexed; he had assumed that he had been freed, but it appears that he has been summoned once more, though with a twist.

As his gaze wandered around, he realised he was in what appeared to be a cave carved out of stone. He craned his neck and peered around for his summoner, narrowing his eyes slightly when he found the person he assumed to be his master.

Power.

Enormous, soaring, boundless, and unparalleled; The overwhelming force that was beyond any sensation he had ever known This was so strong that it even surpassed the almost infinite magical power of his prior contractor.

What he was addressing was a girl. A little girl with pitch-black hair and a provocative purple frilly outfit.

'A true magic user?' he began to wonder.

"Are you my master?" he questioned in a sophisticated manner.

The girl looked at him intently, her black eyes full of curiosity and need.

"Shirou Emiya! Bring me silence and food! I am hungry."

Did she summon me because she was hungry?

What the fuck is this?