Chapter 3: Archer EMIYA's Dream
For Emiya Shirou, it was a difficult night to get through.
He successfully escorted Yotsuya Miko back home, but as he watched her turn and wave at him after being greeted by her family, a realization struck Emiya Shirou—
He had no home in this world.
Setting aside the idea that a place with family or friends constitutes a home, he didn't even have a conventionally acceptable place to stay.
The current Emiya Shirou was, in the truest sense of the word, homeless.
Though when he had just escorted Yotsuya Miko home, her mother, hearing that he had helped her daughter on the road, had actually tried to invite him in as a guest...
But Emiya Shirou ultimately couldn't bring himself to abruptly visit the home of someone he had just met, especially when their family members were present.
The final result was that Emiya Shirou was left standing alone on the streets of this unfamiliar city.
Compared to the cities Emiya Shirou remembered, Tokyo was still bustling with life, even as the time approached late night. It even gave him the illusion that if a Holy Grail War were set here, it probably wouldn't even be possible to hold one.
Emiya Shirou had seen pictures of Tokyo City; while it was large, it was far from being as prosperous as this. Therefore, even if this was a similar parallel world, it was likely over a decade more advanced than his own.
A decade is no small number. Especially in a modern society where technology is advancing every day, the current Emiya Shirou could probably be called an old-fashioned person who can't keep up with the times.
But since he was in this era, he would have opportunities to learn about these things eventually.
As for now...
Emiya Shirou glanced at Yotsuya Miko's residence not far away, but ultimately chose not to wander too far. He didn't consider himself easily lost, but there was no need to drift alone in an unfamiliar city.
People who often sleep on the streets and are homeless in the city know that there is no need to sleep on exposed park benches when you have nowhere to go. Nowadays, Internet cafes are usually open 24 hours and welcome all comers, and many other businesses are open all day and night.
Unfortunately, Emiya Shirou didn't know this, so he found a dead-end corner in a secluded alley. It was at least clean, and even had cardboard left behind by a predecessor.
As for where the person who used to live there went?
Who knows? Maybe they found a better place, or maybe their life stopped short in some unknown corner.
So, even as the era continuously advances, does humanity never truly change?
After letting out a sigh in his heart, Emiya Shirou let out another small sigh and decided to first tidy up this temporary dwelling of his.
That wasn't his immediate concern, after all.
And as for the dwelling not being good enough?
Honestly, Emiya Shirou didn't care about such things. Because no matter how crude this temporary residence was... at the very least, he could finally get a rare good night's sleep without too many worries, couldn't he?
When Miyu wasn't safe, he didn't dare close his eyes for a moment.
All in all, for the current Emiya Shirou, having a place to settle down was already enough.
Lying down on the cardboard, Emiya Shirou, whose mind and body were already exhausted, quickly drifted off to sleep.
"..."
.
.
.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts...
What kind of feeling was that exactly?
Unbearable heat was constantly scorching his skin, and his stomach felt perforated, with corrosive fluids constantly eroding his internal organs. This was absolutely a state in which a human could not survive.
Consciousness blurred, and life continuously drained away, yet 'Emiya Shirou' forcibly supported his broken body with magical power, walking step by step into the deepest part of the nuclear power plant.
Some cowardly people, clinging to life, had long since fled to distant places; some people burdened with responsibility had entered the nuclear power plant with him, but they had already fallen behind him.
But none of it mattered anymore, because the current him was completely unable to shut down the increasingly out-of-control nuclear power plant.
Yet even so, 'Emiya Shirou' would never stop. As long as his body still had sensation, as long as his fingers could still move, he was determined to save everyone.
But would a miracle happen?
A miracle actually happened.
Because a pale blue orb of light inexplicably appeared there, and it conveyed its will to him.
"If offering my life after death is enough to save them... I don't object to that. Or perhaps, being able to save people even after death is something I've longed for."
And then the miracle truly occurred.
The three hundred employees in the nuclear power plant were saved, but 'Emiya Shirou's' body would still suffer a painful death two years later due to radiation damage. But to end the war before him, he still continued to struggle in his own way.
However, in the end, it was not illness that took him, but the very people he desperately tried to save, who personally sent him to the gallows.
This is the story of Archer EMIYA.
However, in Archer EMIYA's eyes, a Counter Guardian was ultimately different from a Heroic Spirit.
If a Heroic Spirit is an existence celebrated by people after achieving great deeds in history, then a so-called Counter Guardian is merely a miserable janitor.
Whenever the collective unconsciousness of humanity, Alaya, perceived an 'evil' that threatened the continuation of humanity, it would relentlessly dispatch a Counter Guardian to eliminate it, even if the source of that 'evil' was humanity itself.
"After death, I became a Counter Guardian, the Counter Force of the spiritual world, fighting against those who disrupt the world's balance.
Following orders, kill, kill, kill, followed by an endless repetition of killing... sacrificing the lives of a few to save a majority hundreds or thousands of times greater.
I wasn't dreaming of a world without conflict.
I merely wished that, in the world I knew, no one would ever cry again."
Archer EMIYA held onto his ideal until, after an unknown number of cycles, he abandoned it.
"And then, I finally realized. The ideal Emiya Shirou held... was nothing more than selfish idealism."
A child he had just saved once was very likely to grow up to become the world's 'evil' the next time, and he would have to kill them without hesitation.
The so-called Counter Guardian of the world is an existence that maintains world peace by erasing those who bring disaster—it cannot save anyone at all.
Emiya Shirou vaguely experienced everything Archer EMIYA went through in his dream. He subconsciously wanted to deny it but found that in the dream, he could do nothing, as he was merely an observer.
But even in this state of mental blurriness, he still believed that this perspective was wrong.
He might indeed be a person who abandoned the title of a Hero of Justice, but he never thought that maintaining justice and the desire to save others was a wrong action.
If even that counted as wrong, then nothing in this world would be right.
He insisted on refuting Archer EMIYA's perspective. He felt his voice seemed capable of reaching the other person, but he ultimately failed to do so.
Because he woke up.
Warm, clear sunlight streamed down from the opposite corner of the wall, perfectly illuminating half of Emiya Shirou's head and startling him awake from his dream.
Emiya Shirou hastily sat up, returning to the shade. Although he had rested all night, his body and Magic Circuits were still faintly aching, but he didn't have time to worry about that.
"What was all that just now? Was it really just a dream?
No... since my body has been, in a way, swapped with Archer EMIYA's, it's not entirely impossible for me to see his memories."
Emiya Shirou raised his arm and looked at the still-visible marks on it—this was the sign that he was undergoing assimilation with Archer EMIYA.
However, after stopping the use of the Class Card, this assimilation would also cease. His body might gradually adapt to this overlapping state and recover to a certain level.
"So, were those guys... really all parts of Emiya Shirou?"
After having another dream like this, Emiya Shirou recalled that during his unconsciousness before coming to this world, he had also seen many memories from other Emiya Shirous.
He could understand the theory of parallel worlds—they were essentially all Emiya Shirou, but they encountered different things and made different choices, ultimately leading to different outcomes.
Emiya Shirou, however, currently didn't understand why he could dream of their memories, just as he didn't understand why he came to this world.
"Worrying about this doesn't have much meaning right now. And judging by the time... the promised meeting must be approaching, right?"
Emiya Shirou looked up at the sun, which was nearly at its zenith, and chose to stand up and stretch his stiff body.
Various parts of his body were transmitting different levels of unbearable soreness, but Emiya Shirou knew this was a good sign, indicating that his body was gradually recovering. He just needed to maintain his regimen of not using his Magic Circuits and absorbing sufficient nutrition.
After ensuring his muscles and bones were thoroughly stretched, Emiya Shirou went to Yotsuya Miko's house and happened to meet her just as she was leaving for their appointment.
He should be grateful that today was Sunday; otherwise, Yotsuya Miko wouldn't have had the time to come out and find him, and Emiya Shirou would have had to wait until four in the afternoon, the usual dismissal time, at the school gate.
"Over here, over here, Emiya-kun, I'm coming."
Yotsuya Miko waved at Emiya Shirou, who was standing a short distance away, and ran over. The two successfully met up.
In fact, it was Emiya Shirou who had initiated their discussion for today.
For him, whether he wanted to return to his original world or simply establish himself in this one, trying to figure out the truth about the evil spirits was the fastest and most convenient approach.
This is because the evil spirits are the only unique phenomenon Emiya Shirou currently knows about in this world. If there truly are people who work as exorcists, figuring out the location of powerful evil spirits would be the quickest way to find them.
It didn't matter if he didn't know yet whether they were friendly or not; after all, risk and success always go hand-in-hand.
"So... Yotsuya-san, are the things you mentioned still everywhere, even now?" Emiya asked as the two walked side-by-side down the street.
Mindful of Yotsuya Miko's warning last night that the evil spirits would attack if they realized she could see them, Emiya deliberately avoided using their name.
"Yes, that's right."
Yotsuya Miko nodded slightly, cautiously glancing around, and quietly replied, "Behind that uncle over there, under that car, and in that alley over there—they're all present.
I've noticed that during the daytime, the especially huge ones and most of the others appear less frequently, but they don't seem to be afraid of the sun."
Not afraid of the sun at all—were these really the evil spirits Emiya imagined?
Or, to put it more directly, were these things truly evil spirits?
Emiya tried looking in the directions Yotsuya Miko mentioned, and predictably, he still couldn't detect any abnormality in those places.
So, how exactly do the exorcists of this world detect these evil spirits? Is it purely through natural Yin-Yang Eyes?
"Observing these weak individuals here doesn't have much meaning. If we could find some powerful ones, perhaps we could run into the professionals..."
"Grrrruumph..."
Strange, what was that sound?
Yotsuya Miko followed the source of the noise and fixed her gaze on Emiya Shirou's stomach.
"Emiya-kun, did you... not eat breakfast?"
Emiya fell silent.
It wasn't just breakfast; he hadn't eaten dinner yesterday, either.
Even though part of his body had been swapped and assimilated, was eating still an unavoidable necessity?
"Normally I cook for myself at home, but I don't have the necessary conditions for cooking here, so I... just forgot for a moment," Emiya attempted to explain.
He didn't really want to gain sympathy by revealing his homelessness in such a pitiful way. If it was just about making a living, Emiya was not without options.
"I see. Emiya-kun, are you actually very good at cooking?"
"Well, I wouldn't say very good; I'm just reasonably confident in it."
"In that case, how about this? I'll treat you to a meal, and then you can cook for me so I can have a taste."
Yotsuya Miko was not foolish; she could see that Emiya was currently down on his luck, so she felt this was an opportune time to try and gain favor with this powerful exorcist.
"Is that alright?"
"It's just treating you to some food. Good friends do this all the time."