(Shirou's pov)

I set the bounded field, which was easier than I thought. I'm certain of its effect too. I didn't make it too big as I didn't need half of the forest for my training, and the bigger the area of effect, the harder it was to set it, and as a novice in this art, I went for efficiency. I bet, though, that any magus that knows what they are doing will notice him, but that's the best I can do for now. Beggars can't be choosers, as they say.

Now that I'm ready and alone, time to test some things out. I knew what to do, so I imagined a gun's hammer being fired and said the famous phrase.

"Trace... on!"

Magic circuits started appearing on both of my arms, starting from my shoulders and coming down to my hands at a fast pace. As they made their way down, mana started forming outside in a lighting-like shape as energy gathered inside my palms.

The whole process brought me an immense amount of pain. It was as if I was trying to forcefully open something. It felt like something was burning inside my body, but I didn't stop. I gritted my teeth and continued. I instinctively knew that it was something I needed to go through.

I grabbed the energy in my palms, and it started transforming into two blades, one in each hand.

The process took some time until it the blades fully formed. One black and one white. The twin blades that don't need an introduction, are Kanshou and Bakuya.

I struggled to stand and hold them as bolts of lightning made from mana were still surrounding me and were frequently flickering.

"Grgh... gghhh..."

Can't... think... Need to... focus...

Even though my consciousness was slipping, in my mind was still only one thing at the moment, and that was to maintain my projections as long as I could. Once again, it was an instinct like I didn't want to let go of these swords, which was stupid, I am aware of it, but that's why I did regardless.

---

Some time and a lot of pain later, my projection disappeared into particles.

"Ha... ha..." I breathed heavily.

It was more taxing than I anticipated. I didn't expect that I would need to open my magic circuits for the first time. Thanks to my 'new life bonus, ' I thought it was already sorted out, but it seems I was mistaken.

To be honest, I feel kind of embarrassed for not taking it into account. I'll need to be more careful in the future.

That, however, creates one problem. I feel like dying, and my body feels numb, and from what I know, it will be like this for at least the few next days.

Now I need to find a stick to help me walk home. I just want to sleep, and that's what I did after I went back to my room.

(3rd's pov)

A lonely man was standing in a deserted place full of weapons placed on the ground. It wasn't anything unusual. He was already accustomed to this place.

Looking up, he could see the sky full of cracks. Usually, someone would be concerned about that, but the man wasn't. Opposite, in fact. He was feeling relief.

This world was ending, but it only meant that his mission was done.

Before this world would perish, he needed to do one more thing. Before he found Kanshou and Bakuya, the married twin swords. He really liked them, but at the same time, they reminded him that he would never be like them.

These swords will always be together. Throw away one, and the other will return. He, on the other hand, always will be alone. That's his fate. His fate was sealed a long time ago.

He has tried forming relationships before, but even if he felt the connection, even if he wanted nothing more than to protect that one person, he was always forced to leave.

His hands will never be able to hold anything.

Right now, though, it wasn't his concern. He didn't have much time left anyways.

The man left on a search once more. Once again, he wanted to find something but this time, he had an idea of what he was searching for.

A bow.

He saw many bows even though he rarely used any of them. The reason for that was that he had a bow of his own. A reliable partner, if you will.

Unlike before, it didn't take a long time to find this weapon.

It was a matte black western-style straight bow.

Unlike Kanshou and Bakuya, this bow was very similar to the man. One of their many similarities was their name, or rather the lack of it. Both of them were nameless.

The man found some rock to sit on and started waiting for the end once more.

(Shirou's pov)

A few days have passed since my 'training'. It's hard to call it one, though, since all I did was use projection one time, and that's it. Opening magic circuits was very painful, and it took some time for me to recover. I'm still not 100%, but I'll live.

Even though I have Avalon, it seems that it doesn't heal me this time. I suspect that it can only heal my body, and as magic circuits are part of my soul, it couldn't heal it.

There's also a possibility that Avalon just heals non-physical injuries slower. It had problems with Gae Bolg's curse, but it's hard to say since its curse is incredibly strong. Also, Saber wasn't near Shirou at the moment, so Avalon wasn't working at even half capacity.

There's also yet another possibility that because of the place where magic circuits reside, it just doesn't register it as an injury. Using them can cause pain, but it doesn't cause damage. If it did, it would be terrifying.

Unfortunately, my knowledge seems lacking, but I will know in a few days either way. Either I'll get better, or Avalon doesn't heal non-physical wounds, and I can only hope for the second option to be true.

In the case I won't heal, I have another way to get better. Archer used this method on Shirou one time, but it would be difficult to do it alone but not impossible. Annoying, though... maybe.

Not having anything better to do and feeling 'better', I decided to go around the city to see what it had to offer.

I went to a few locations sighting buildings, shops, and more that were familiar but at the same time foreign.

I saw Bridge at the riverside, visited Verde, the biggest shopping centre in town, took a look around a cemetery, went to the park, and as I was ready to return home for today, I noticed a coffee shop that was giving me a strange feeling.

I read its name out loud as I was looking at its name shown with big letters above the entrance.

"Ah-nen-erbe..."

It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. Also, I think it's a German name, and I don't like it. Not for because of an infamous gut with a funny mustache but because of someone else. Another German man that is synonymous with trouble.

Against my better judgment, I decided to go inside. Mostly because of the pleasant aroma coming from there. Also, my curiosity was part of the problem.

Opening the door caused a bell to ring, and hearing another customer, a waiter, welcomed me.

"Welcome! How can I help you?"

...

How!!?

---

END

Discord server: https://discord.gg/HB2DweuG4J