One miracle was called a coincidence. Two miracles were nothing more than the product of human intelligence or ingenuity.

  But three miracles? A man who could summon a miracle every time he willed it... he was the very definition of hope itself.

  The King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon would call such a man an ally, if only she ever had any control over her fate.

  No matter how much she fought against the tide, even abandoning her sense of chivalry to match the strength of beings beyond that which could be called Heroic Spirits, all that awaited her in the end was despair.

  Yet even a heartless vessel like herself had glimpsed a sliver of hope.

  Her master, the one she fought with in Holy Grail War, Emiya Shirou right now fought against the King of Heroes. But she couldn't help.

  Swords after swords cshed.

  It was a csh of miracles that could make Gods sit back down and watch as mere spectators.

  Gilgamesh had activated his most powerful Noble Phantasm, Ea, to obliterate that wretched imitation sword wielded by the foolish mongrel who dared to stand against him.

  But each time those swords met, it was Emiya Shirou who walked away unscathed. He finally conjured the most powerful sword he knew, the one wielded by his partner.

  A golden bde raised high above the sky in the desote nd. He prayed upon the holy sword.

  ─ 'EXCALIBUR!'

  ─ 'Enuma Elish!'

  The entire area shook. Even space was distorted when the golden and dark beam cshed with each other. A catastrophic explosion happened where it cshed.

  Such power.

  Even as a spirit, the King of Heroes wouldn't go unscathed. This st attack proved that Emiya Shirou had reached the level that humans weren't allowed to tread on. A mere imitation could hold its own against the might of the greatest Noble Phantasm ever created by this world.

  "I refuse to acknowledge you, Faker!"

  But even so, Emiya Shirou was an imitator at the core. His prowess had long passed human limits. Yet he couldn't defeat the strongest Heroic Spirit.

  Cracks appeared in his body. His healthy skin burned as red as his hair, bck particles slowly made their way out of those cracks.

  This would be the st of the young man's struggle, Gilgamesh knew this.

  The golden King raised his hand.

  Hundreds of magic weapons appeared around him as he pointed at his foe.

  "Farewell, magus who lived for ideals. Be proud of yourself, faker, since I have judged you worthy enough to send you off with all of my treasures."

  Excalibur disappeared from the boy's hands and more crack started to form on his skin. It seemed he had run out of time before Gilgamesh did. He just stared at his executioner, waiting for his fate while whispering one final message to his lover before death.

  "Saber..."

  Gilgamesh also noticed his absence of prana. Thus he let out a wide smirk before prociming his victory. "Your ending will not be your usual simple self-destruction!"

  As if a punishment by God itself, the gate of Babylon was used. Each weapon aimed to kill, piercing the heart of the fool. Blood spttered from each wound as his eyes widened.

  Now red as blood like his hair, his eyes rolled back as he slumped to his knees.

  "Shirou!"

  And Saber let out a cry in response. She saw her lover dying, she couldn't save him. So close, yet so far, her sword trembled. If she still possessed everything, things could be different... but no!

  She actually felt it now. Despair cwed on her heart after knowing someone she truly cherished had fallen.

  A small drop of water trailed down her cheek, followed by another droplet.

  For the first time since she pulled that sword, Saber wept.

  Inch by inch, she moved. Her body froze at seeing such tragedy, her mind told her to fight but what else can she do?

  Emiya Shirou, the human magus whom had walked with her in this war had surpassed his limit. In front of her very own eyes, the only miracle that she had hoped for finally faded away. He died right before her.

  Right there and then, Saber had lost any more hope that she ever had.

  ***

  Then at that moment...

  "Owaaahhh!" A baby's cry rang through the cold winter air.

  Despite the soundproof walls and doors of the hospital, the infant's voice resonated throughout the whole building. The nurses shivered a bit at the unexpected scream, they heard. None of them expected such volume to come from a newly born child.

  Another nurse ran into the ward after hearing the cry, just behind her came two people. One was a bck haired middle-aged man with narrow eyes and a sharp nose, while the other was an intelligent-looking white-haired man wearing a doctor's outfit.

  "Whoah, what a lively kid. I don't know if Masaki will give birth to a twin." The bck haired man commented after looking at the new born infants that were sleeping peacefully.

  "Don't shout in the infant room. You're being loud as usual. That is just normal." The doctor shook his head. The crying baby finally stopped, letting the silence return to the room.

  Two babies lie side by side. One of them had orange-hair while the other had a darker side, nearing auburn. Their names had already been decided by the husband who stood beside the doctor. They were twins, so their names must fit each other.

  "Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Shirou..." Kurosaki Isshin, said father grinned widely as he patted his old friend's back. "A good name, right?"

  Ishida Ryuken let out a sigh, his usual stoic face faltering for a second as his hands made contact with his forehead.

  Hopefully none of them would become as boisterous as this man here.

  ***

  "Come on, Shirou! Don't be like that!" A nine year-old boy whined to his older brother who kept turning away from him. "Let's py!"

  The boy was Kurosaki Ichigo, he inherited most of his father's looks aside from that fiery hair color of his mother.

  "I have to help mom with her grocery, Ichigo. Just go py outside," Another boy with auburn hair replied.

  "Eeh?" The young Ichigo let out a compint, "But you said you would py with me!"

  "Shirou, we need to go before the sun is too hot!"

  "Maybe ter. Mom has called already. Py with Karin and Yuzu for now."

  Hearing the call of their mother, the older twin quickly bolted downstairs where Masaki was standing with a basket in her arms. Before he ran, Shirou spared a gnce at his younger sibling, not forgetting to wave at him while trying to reassure the sulking kid, "Sorry. We'll py ter!"

  Masaki just smiled warmly upon seeing the ruckus upstairs. Both of them never changed, especially Ichigo.

  She still remembered when they were newborns, Ichigo used to cry all the time, waking the family te at night while the other one barely made a sound.

  On the other hand, Shirou's attitude reminded Masaki of her old friend and the st quincy. However, her son was kinder and much more energetic than how Ishida Ryuken always acted around her.

  How nice to have a patient and understandable kid like Shirou.

  "Are you ready? I hope the traffic isn't as crowded as usual today," She asked.

  "Leave it to me!" The auburn-haired boy smiled back, grabbing the basket.

  Both of them went to the market every Sunday morning. They bought everything needed for the week's meals together, especially fish since the Kurosaki family liked to eat sashimi or grilled fish tely.

  "Ichigo won't stop pestering me about getting those candies."

  It had become something like tradition for the brothers. Usually Ichigo would choose the snack and candy that the kids got each month using their weekly pocket money and Shirou would buy them in the market when he was out.

  "Then let's buy it." Masaki chuckled.

  Shirou just shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like he liked sweets that much anyway.

  Rather than eating sweets, he might like creating them more. Having someone eat his handmade cakes and cookies delightedly would make him smile wider.

  "Well, maybe I'll get some bread and strawberry milk too. Ichigo likes to put off everything to the st minute, doesn't he? But he seems okay today." Masaki added.

  "Karin and Yuzu wanted the ice cream." He reminded.

  "Oh! Then I think we better hurry then!" A glimmer lit up in Masaki's eyes, the gleam of battle.

  Moms tended to be more enthusiastic whenever it concerned their children needs. She often became unstoppable, although Masaki tried not to buy too much food like Isshin.

  After shopping, Shirou and Masaki returned by walking.

  He was a bright child, Isshin and Masaki didn't need to worry too much about him because he rarely caused any trouble, unlike the hot-tempered Ichigo who started a fight with delinquents sometimes. For now, Shirou just wanted to spend time with his new family.

  Yes, a new family.

  Both his parents didn't know the scar engraved deep inside the boy's heart, memories worth 18 years before his birth as Emiya Shirou in Fuyuki city, as well as the struggle against Heroic Spirits during Holy Grail War.

  It was not exactly pleasant but the bitter feelings wouldn't resurface again anymore.

  After the horrible nightmare ended, Emiya Shirou could enjoy his childhood without having to do strenuous activities like projection magecraft and sword training daily. He lived happily with his loving family members, including his cute sisters and troublesome brother.

  If only he couldn't see these kinds of strange spirits.

  'They are here again.' He thought, looking at various kinds of spirits walking on the road while Masaki chattered beside him.

  Ghosts... in fact, there were so many wandering spirits everywhere.

  Some of them wore white yukata. Some people walked alone, but some were also in groups.

  Emiya Shirou had lived almost a year without noticing any ghost before he finally saw one. Since then, the number had multiplied like a pgue until he reached 9 years old.

  Fortunately, the ghosts ignored him for now.

  'At least they don't bother us at all.'

  Listening to his mother's cheerful tone was comforting in its own way. His former dad never really talked to him that much, mostly giving him advice about heroism and scolding him whenever he messed up during his training.

  Now he had Masaki, and she gave him a good lecture on life every day.

  They walked alongside the river near their house, the flowing stream bringing fresh air. The light rain that suddenly fell just a few minutes ago was slowing down now and would stop soon. Clouds appeared between the blue sky, obscuring the sunlight for a moment.

  But...

  Today was just another day for him.

  "Let's return home."