An eerie mist enshrouds him. His pain given form. Not as a flame, but as a cold dark, briny mist which seemed to have seeped out of the dark abyss itself.

Despite him so deserving to feel wrath, spite, vengeance, all he felt at this moment... was self-loathing... Where unbridled wrath, and anger against injustice should've sprouted, whereas the need for revenge should've grown, what came out was three words.

"I give up..."

True, he was angry at everyone within his immediate vicinity, but the feeling that overshadowed it was the helplessness, the self hate born from a feeling of incompetence. Just as Shirou promised to save as many people and to one day free that one thief in the proper way, he too inwardly promised to protect the three friends he had abd all they held dear.

Instead this happened. People he cared for were put to danger, both people from his world were forced to place their reputations on the line to protect him from the malice directed towards him and Raphtalia... Sure Raphtalia is being freed, but then what? In a country like this, she could only go so far before becoming a slave once more.

"I'm sorry... I give up. I'm sorry for being a terrible shield hero. Even with all this power I acquired, I couldn't even save you... Raphtalia... I put you into danger... Tohsaka... I couldn't help you save the world... Emiya." he thought to himself as he clutched his shield so hard that he would've cut his fingers on it's edge if it weren't for his absurd defense.

A soothing, cold voice then called out, saying "Sink... Sink... Sink... Sink into despair... Sink into sorrow... Sink and sleep..." like a siren to Odysseus as he was tied to his ship's mast.

Naofumi then saw himself slowly being engulfed by the darkness. He tried to throw the shield away from himself, to get away from the burden of heroes and the reality he faced only for it to come back to him. He then said "It's no use..."

"The only way out is to stop caring altogether... There is only... one way. To stop shouldering the world's problems... To stop being a hero... To just... Give up."

The shield's gem then turned into a dark blue as a salty mist enveloped it. Wrath can come in many forms, a fiery inferno that comes in and burns all that opposes it, a frozen blizzard of vengeance, a powerful explosion that decimates indiscriminately, but the emptiness that comes after it is not realized, the feeling of sheer helplessness afterwards is a drowning ocean with which one can become crushed by it's pressure.

[Curse series requirement: Met]

Suddenly, instead of Raphtalia thanking Motoyasu as he had hoped, she then slapped him, shocking him and his accomplices.

"I never wanted to be freed!"

"H-huh?!"

"You heard me! I was perfectly happy under Lord Naofumi and I did everything in my own volition!"

"But that shouldn't be... You shouldn't be fighting his battles for him! He's just putting you in danger!"

"Can't you see? He isn't someone who can't fight battles by himself! That's why I am here! We work as a team. He defends and I attack! Not only that, but he along helped me when no one else would! He fed me, took care of me, helped me face my past! He even gave me, a slave of all things, hope for a better future!"

"But that just can't be! He's just not that kind of guy!"

"Really? Then how bout this question instead, do you have the compassion to raise a dirty, sick, useless demihuman back to health, while giving her a new chance at life?! Do you?!"

"O-of course I have..."

"Then why haven't you? Why do you have a two faced monster on your side then?!"

Myne heard this, twitched and then swung her hand at Raphtalia shouting out, "Silence you damn demihuman!" only for her hand to be caught by a familiar staff.

Myne then looked in the direction of the one stopping her with angered disgust only to freeze in place as she saw him look at her with a frown shaking his head.

She then says "I-I-I am sorry your grace!"

He then says, "God forgives all... Now tell me dear child, why have you done such an act? Why must you cheat in such a trial in the face of God?"

Malty then scoffed silently, saying "I-I do not know what you mean, your grace."

The Pope frowned and then held out his hands, before saying "While I condone the evil of the shield hero, one does not do evil to defeat evil. To do so would be the height of hypocrisy."

As the pope continued to chastise them, Raphtalia then looked on at Naofumi with concern and walked towards him.

"Um... Lord... Naofumi?"

Naofumi then replies with "Please... Just leave me alone... Go with someone more competent than this loser...and don't call me lord... I'm sick of that title... Please... I'm tired already." to Raphtalia with a shaky voice sounding like he was just about to cry.

"Lo- I mean- Naofumi..."

"Please... You don't have to suffer because of me... Take Shirou and Rin and leave me... Since the first I met everyone... I have always been the clueless one... Every time something came up... I was always a liability... I've been useless in my original life and only became ever so slightly more useful here... So please... Leave this trash be... Y-you deserve better... I'm tired of this world... I give up..."

Within his perceived ocean of sorrow, Naofumi felt a warm hand hold on to him.

"Naofumi... That's not true." Raphtalia said.

He then felt a warm, loving embrace wrap around him, slowly yet noticeably dispelling the fog surrounding him.

"You have always been there for me. You took me in when no one else would, never forced anything on me that wasn't to my own gain. You defended me from countless dangers. You helped me conquer a part of my past I never would have alone. You have done more good in my eyes than the other three. If the world can't accept you as their hero, then please, PLEASE  know that you are MY hero and will always be. Besides, didn't I tell you already?"

"Huh?"

"I am and forever will be your sword. Here and forevermore."

The fog then lifted to show Raphtalia smiling at him.

"R-raphtalia... I..."

"It's alright now... Naofumi... I am still here." she said with a tender smile.

Then the pope went beside her, still standing and said "Rejoice boy... You get to keep your companion. You have won." with an impassive smile on his face. He nodded and then left alongside the king and everyone else.

While everyone has already left, Naofumi and Raphtalia stayed as she caressed his hair while he peacefully slept on her lap.

Meanwhile, Shirou awoke with Rin beside him as Ren and Itsuki sat down on their own. Shirou then had a stare down with Itsuki while Ren and Rin were smiling at each other as if to say "Good match."

Itsuki then gritted his teeth before forcing himself to say "Don't worry, I won't try to recruit him... for now. Having said that... Come on... You still have to apologize."

"To who?" Shirou then replied, his stern, almost angry gaze still not breaking eye contact with Itsuki.

"Follow me" was the response he received from Itsuki as the bow hero stood up and walked into the hallway area.

Shirou, confused, decided to follow. Itsuki then led him to the dungeon and said "...Apologize to the man you'll make me leave behind in the dungeon."

Shirou nodded and complied, much to Itsuki's surprise, not because he regretted his decision, it's something else.

Shirou then called out to the darkness within the cell and said "Hello?" The thief from weeks past then showed his face up, now quite scraggly on the chin, and said "Oh hey Sir False Hero and Bow hero. Glad to see you both here. Honestly, I thought my dear family would be the first to visit, not you lot. So, what is your business with me here?"

Shirou then proceeded to bow deeply, saying "I'm sorry."

The man then looked at him in confusion and said "Eh?! W-what for?!"

Shirou then stood up and explained the whole fiasco yesterday night to which the man merely said "Ah, don't worry about it. I completely understand your point. As long as my little boy and wife are fine, I have nothing to fret."

The man then chuckled and said "All is well... Besides, the fact you would stick up for a scoundrel like me, is already more than enough for me." to Itsuki making the bow hero grit his teeth.

"However, the false hero is right to lock me up. I became so desperate to prove to my family that I could be a good father that I ended up doing the opposite. As painful as it is for me to have to wait to meet my son and wife later on, I can at least take solace in the fact that my sins have been more or less absolved."

Itsuki seemed to be even more depressed than he already was only for the blonde prisoner to flash him a toothy grin, saying "Bah, don't worry Bow hero. If can survive long on my own in the streets, I'm sure this place is nothing to Archibald Arriyah." as he pointed at himself with his thumb. He then smiles while looking down. "Besides, maybe the silence can give me time to reflect on my life."

Shirou's eyes then narrowed as he then said "Could you repeat your last name please?" to which Archibald then said "Arriyah, why? What about it?"

Itsuki then left, saying "I have... seen all I have to see! I'll give you two your alone time..." before rubbing his face on his sleeve.

Shirou then narrowed his eyes as he said "By any chance... do you know about Kuro Arriyah?"

The man then left from his calm, sitting position, and ran to the bars, holding them with a smile on his face. He was slightly crying as he said "My boy?! What about him?! Is he okay? Is he eating right? Tell me! Is my dear Sola taking care of him?"

Shirou then made a solemn expression muttering out "I see... My suspicions were right."

He then looks at the man with a stern neutral look and said "There... We couldn't find Sola Arriyah. As for Kuro, Naofumi, the shield hero might've saved him physically but..."

Shirou then flashed back to the boy's empty eyes. The very same eyes that reflected his very own. An empty vessel, a hollow husk, a sword... He then says "Whatever happened to him in those waves left him so mentally scarred that he became something like I had once been, empty. Luckily, we saved him fast enough that he did not mentally lock his memories away at least."

The man then adopted a serious expression and went into deep thought, scratching his head of whitening blonde hair. He then smiled in a very similar fashion to how Kiritsugu Emiya, Shirou's adopted father, once did and said "I see... Well, we can't change the past anymore... Now can we? The best thing we can do is move forward, ain't I right? At least tell me he is eating alright."

Shirou looked at him and then nodded and said "Currently, yeah. The Town's people still treat him as their own and are currently the ones taking care of him."

The guard then went to him and told him "Visiting hours are almost over sir, please leave now." and as Shirou left, Archibald then said "Y'know you remind me a heck of a lot of my son. You have my Sola's red hair and amber eyes. You look like an older Kuro... Maybe that's why you made me think it was him stopping me."

Shirou looked back, smiled and then said "Who knows... maybe you are right... I'm from a different world after all. So there's that chance."

Archibald then smiled and said "One more thing before you leave, if you can, please take Kuro with you in your journey. I know it's a lot to ask but, see, ever since he was a kid, he always wanted to be a hero. This is the least I can give as a father at least."

Shirou's smile grew as he said "He still does and yes, I'll consider it Mr. Arriyah."

Archibald then sighed in relief, saying "At least that aspect didn't change. Goodbye now."

Shirou then left and was later joined by Rin who then asked "If I may ask, what was that all about?" to which Shirou said "Let's go, I'll tell you when we get back to Naofumi and Raphtalia."

They then arrive at the castle walls where they saw Raphtalia handing Naofumi her rendition of the "Everything Burrito" with Naofumi waving at them saying "Yo! How do you both feel?"

Rin then said "Like crap, but that hasn't stopped us before."

They then all looked to the sky, the sun dawning in front of them as rays of hope began forming. Naofumi then said "The world may hate me, but hey, that's life, not everyone has to like me. And in this life, no matter how much you fail, you must always stand up. Whether we are a shield, a sword, a slave, a sorcerer, we all have a part to play."

Raphtalia then pitched in, saying "How life starts matter very little in the grand scheme of things. Life has it's ups and downs. And when you get to rock bottom, rejoice, for life can only get better from there on out."

Shirou then added "I've lived my life with no regrets. Always have, always will. I-no, WE will save as many as we possibly can. And if there are some we can't save, that's okay, the fact we, fragile, limited beings accomplished that much is still very much noteworthy. I have my life, this is the path I chose and will stay in. That dream of Justice... So simple... So beautiful."

Rin then said her piece. "We don't know everything about this world, and we might never will. But that will not stop us from trying to save it. This place is sh**, but even sh** can be THE sh** from a different angle. And as such, it is our job to protect this sh**. Well..."

She then looked at her teammates and smiled. "We have to get back. The king is waiting with our reward." Shirou then added "And this world is awaiting it's heroes."

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Thank you for joining me in this journey. This book wouldn't be completed without y'all encouraging me to do so. Once I start feeling it again, maybe second season to this fanfic would begin. Tell then, see you! P. S. First book that I completed a whole arc that I'm proud of. Yosh!
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Cue ending Op:

Credits to 1st song:
Song: Unravel
Artist: Ling Tosite Sigure
Anime: Tokyo Ghoul

Credits to 2nd song: https://youtu.be/9WrkXuixu90
Song: Prover
Artist: Milet
Anime: Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front-Babylonia
Vocals/Lyrics/Instrumentals/Mix/Video: Mewsic
Image: From the original ED

_________________________________________

Meanwhile, somewhere else, a boy with blue eyes and black hair was currently standing atop a hill with purple-haired female companion.

They were then followed by a black-haired woman with a black kimono. The boy then looked at the woman and happily waved and said "Don't worry Glass, we're gonna help you save your world... Even if it means destroying that other one. It's just like any other singularity, what could go wrong?"