Chapter 1 – The City of Flames

Everywhere I look, flames dominate my sight. A city in ruins and engulfed in fire, the sound of crying and screaming for help. No matter where I turn, that's all there is.

Why is this happening? I don't know.

Why am I here? I don't know.

But one thing is clear, I have to leave this place immediately.

I start moving my legs. It feels heavy, as if I'm wading through mud. But I persist, I must. But why? I don't know. Maybe dying here would be better? I don't know.

At least, I want to know what's happening. This is too sudden.

The cries for help continue. I ignore them all. It's not that I don't want to help them, but I'm terrified.

Blood scattered, body parts strewn about, groans of pain. I dare not even look in their direction.

I'm just an ordinary human, what can I do? Nothing. Saving myself is the priority.

With that thought in mind, I exit the crowded city. My body is covered in wounds, but not severe enough to immobilize me.

Outside the city, I head towards a hill after passing through several trees. Here, I can see the entire city engulfed in flames. It's a horrifying sight.

After gazing at the city for a moment, I realize something.

"Where is this?" My voice sounds hoarse. It's not even my voice.

A new reality hits me. I don't know where this is, I don't know who I am, I don't know why I'm here, and I don't even know what's happening.

The last thing I remember is that I wasn't here. I don't even recognize this city. The buildings here are very different from those in my surroundings.

I'm in my room. Alone in front of the computer. I don't know exactly what I was doing, but it certainly wasn't related to why I ended up here.

My body feels more athletic than I remember. No, I'm not this fit.

My clothes are different too. I don't have these types of clothes even in my wardrobe.

"A dream?"

That was my initial guess, but it's too real to be called a dream.

"Amnesia?"

That's another guess. Maybe I experienced memory loss for a certain period. And during that time, somehow I ended up here.

I'm not sure.

I check my condition once more.

Black hair, just like I remember. Although it feels more unkempt.

All-black clothing, from top to bottom. No additional information to be gathered.

This time I pat down my entire body. Usually, I keep my phone in the right pocket of my pants, so maybe I'll find it.

And indeed, it's there. Retrieving it, I try to turn it on. But it fails, some parts of it are already broken.

As I fiddle with the phone, that's when I realize something.

"It feels familiar."

Yes, my face reflected in the phone's screen feels familiar in my mind. It's like I've seen it somewhere.

[Ding!]

The sudden sound startles me. I look around but find nothing. But shortly after, a clear blue interface appears in front of me.

[Survival Mission Completed!]

[Reward: Universal Card x3]

"What the..."

No, I know. I'm not unfamiliar with this concept. It's just experiencing it in the real world is new and strange.

The system.

Whatever its name is, its function is something like this.

The previous shock and panic instantly turn into excitement.

I still don't know what's happening, but the answers will come eventually.

So I shift my focus to something that suddenly appeared. I click on the received reward section.

[Universal Card]

[A card that can be used for anything. Cannot surpass what physics cannot do. Can do anything that Magecraft can do. The clearer the imagination and understanding of how it works, the stronger and clearer its effect. Single-use.]

This is incredible. I can already imagine how I'll use this card. But for now, it's best to save it for emergencies.

If this system is like what I imagine, then there's one function that might answer my previous question.

"Status."

[Ding!]

---

Name: Kiritsugu Emiya

Age: 29

Condition: Angra Mainyu's curse causes the Host to only have 5 more years of life.

---

There's only a little information there. But this little information raises more questions. I found the answers I was looking for, but a new surprise renders all those answers worthless.

I know Kiritsugu Emiya. The protagonist of Fate/Zero. And I'm currently inhabiting him. I don't know why, I don't even know how.

But one thing is clear, I'm messed up.

"Okay, let's calm down." I take a deep breath before attempting to calm myself.

[Beginner's Reward Obtained!]

[Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.]

[You who have surpassed death, receive what you deserve.]

"What..."

For a moment, my brain stops working.

[Presence Concealment EX]

[Becoming one with the World. Unless you attack, no one can find you.]

"..."

[Mana Burst EX]

[Forming weapons with magical power and enhancing existing weapons.]

Well, there's nothing to be said. Suddenly, I've become OP.

[Clairvoyance EX]

[Seeing everything in the past, present, and future.]

This is even more incredible than Solomon's and Merlin's.

[Ding!]

[Mission Failed!]

[Save Shirou.]

[Punishment: Clairvoyance and Mana Burst removed from rewards. Impossible to regain.]

Perhaps this is what it feels like for a newly upgraded character to suddenly be nerfed.

But isn't it too late for all this? At least I would have tried to save Shirou if I knew there was a mission like this. No, I don't even know where this Shirou is.

This system only appeared when everything couldn't be undone.

I thought this system wasn't that great.

But at least some things are clear now. I know who I am and I know where I am.

It's certain that this is the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Becoming Kiritsugu is surprising, but there's nothing I can do about it.

There are many things to be resolved from now on. One of them is the issue of the curse.

Before ending up in this condition, I was a 20-year-old youth. But now, suddenly, it's said that I'll only live for five more years. It feels sad.

In the story, Kiritsugu didn't succeed in removing this curse. Or did he even try? I don't know. What's certain is that he died five years after the Fuyuki fire incident.

If I don't do something, then my end will be the same.

[Ding!]

[New Mission Obtained!]

[Kiritsugu's Regret!]

[The only regret Emiya Kiritsugu had after losing all hope and ambition was the existence of his daughter.]

[Mission: Save Illyasviel von Einzbern.]

Upon hearing that this mission is related to Kiritsugu's regret, I can guess what I'll get.

Illyasviel von Einzbern. Held captive in the Einzbern castle.

This is where the problem lies.

First, I don't have the memories possessed by the original Kiritsugu. This means I don't have access to everything Kiritsugu had. Including his magic and equipment.

Second, I don't have access to the Mage's Association. So I lack any crucial information. I may know about the Nasuverse story, but clearly I don't know everything.

Third, I don't know where the Einzbern castle is. All I know is that it's somewhere in Europe.

That's the problem I'm facing right now.

[Side Mission Opened.]

[Save Matou Sakura.]

[Kill Matou Zouken.]

[Kill Gilgamesh.]

[Kill Kotomine Kirei.]

[Remove Angra Mainyu from the Holy Grail.]

Side missions appear. But they're really nonsense.

Removing Angra Mainyu from the Holy Grail is impossible. I don't know how to do it, and I'm not sure if the Universal Card can do it either.

Killing Gilgamesh isn't an option. Neither is Kotomine Kirei, he's definitely under Gilgamesh's protection.

Now all that's left is to save Sakura and kill Zouken.

Both are possible to do together. Based on what I know about Matou Zouken, he keeps his original body somewhere unknown.

If I can find it, then getting rid of him will be easy. Plus, I have Presence Concealment. So I can use all the time I have to slowly start searching for it.

By doing this, I hope to find information about the Einzbern castle. Matou must have this information.

As I plan my next steps, one question arises in my mind. Why am I doing this? I don't know. Because I don't know, that why I'm doing it. I have no direction right now, so I'm just following any guidance I see. That's my current condition.

What if I give up if I encounter a new goal? Yes, without hesitation. If I have a specific goal, then I won't hesitate to abandon everything I'm doing now. Because I have no responsibility to do this.

What's the worst that could happen to me? Death? Besides, I'll still die in five years, so there's not much difference.

After deciding on my direction, I begin to leave my position. I slowly walk out of the city to where the fire hasn't reached.

Then I realize something very important.

"I have no money. Not even an ID card. Actually, I don't have anything except what's on my body right now, which is my clothes." I sigh involuntarily.

I think, before I do all the missions I have, I should first become a thief.

* * *

Presence Concealment is truly amazing. This skill allows me to go undetected even when passing through Bounded Fields. So I can come and go from the Matou residence as if it's my own home.

And the amazing thing is I don't need to buy food anymore. Everything in the Matou residence is also mine.

I've spent two months here. Of course, I only spend my time here during the day.

I found Sakura's whereabouts in the basement. But I can't save her right now. First, because Presence Concealment doesn't allow me to be used with anyone else except myself. Second, Zouken will surely notice if I make my move here.

Hm? What about food? Won't he notice that the food is missing? The answer is no. He doesn't even care. I mean, he never even sets foot in the kitchen. No, that's the wrong word. He only appears in this house when he needs to go to his private room, or just pass through from Basement A to Basement B outside.

The food here is basically only for two people besides the maids and butlers who number no more than ten people. So no one cares about missing food.

Returning to Sakura, her condition is truly pitiful. Basically, she has nothing visible on her face. Empty eyes without any light in her eye.

Seeing a little girl who is only about 6 years old in such a condition leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I want to save her immediately even if it's just to satisfy my own pity, but if I move now, not only will I not help anyone, I might even die on the spot.

So I'm patient.

What about my search? I found the location of Matou Zouken's original body, but I encountered a problem.

There's a barrier around it, and I can't pass through. It's located in another basement, its entrance hidden in a simple garden house.

The size of the barrier is also quite small, only five meters. While the size of this basement is over 100 meters.

So for the past week, I've been preparing what I can use to overcome this problem. The answer is actually quite simple, the Universal Card.

During this time, I've been trying to understand how Hydrogen Bombs work. Yes, my plan is to release a mini Hydrogen bomb in this basement.

The way it works is like this; first I'll leave the card near the barrier with the activation time adjusted to about one minute so I can get out of range, then a new barrier will form with a radius of 20 meters from around the card, then the card will turn into a Hydrogen bomb with a 100 kiloton explosive power, and all that's left is the explosion.

If this can't kill Matou Zouken, then I'll give up. It means there's nothing I can do to fight him.

Now on, I'm waiting for the explosion to occur.

I've prepared everything, so all I need to do is wait.

After the explosion occurs, all I need to do is make sure whether Zouken dies or not. If yes, get Sakura and leave. If not, then give up.

The Universal Card I have only has two uses left, one will be used later to get rid of all the worms remaining in Sakura's body, while the other is just in case something unwanted happens.

Besides, I don't know about Illya's condition. So maybe I should use the remaining card to save her.

Thinking about all the actions I need to take after this, a yellow barrier rises into the sky. A moment later, a muffled explosion reverberates in all directions.

* BAAAAAaaaaaAAAaaaaammmMMMM *