Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

Iskandar: "This disgusting thing came out of the Holy Grail?"

Zhang Jiao: "The Holy Grail is such a repulsive object."

Sola-ui: "Kayneth, is this what you were fighting for? Just this?"

Kayneth: "Sola-ui, I don't know what's happening here either..."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Einzbern, what is going on? How did the Holy Grail turn into this?"

Irisviel: "I don't know either."

Irisviel who had always believed the Einzbern's knowledge of the Grail was supreme looked equally confused as she stared at the horrifying black liquid spilling out.

Artoria: "Irisviel..."

Artoria's voice trembled as she watched the scene unfold. She understood that the Irisviel in the video had perished.

Irisviel: "Saber, this is my fate. Please, don't feel sadness for me."

[The scene shifted.]

[Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly found himself standing at the seaside of a distant, warm country.]

["Where is this?"]

[Kiritsugu's voice was filled with confusion as he surveyed the unfamiliar scenery.]

["I knew you would come."]

[A voice spoke from behind, and Kiritsugu turned to find Irisviel standing there.]

["You believed you could reach this place."]

[Kiritsugu: "Irisviel…"]

['Irisviel': "This is the place where your wish can be fulfilled. The inside of the Holy Grail you've been seeking."]

["What?"]

[Kiritsugu, disoriented, suddenly realized black liquid was floating around him. He looked up, and the sky was split by a gaping void leaking bloody magical energy.]

['Irisviel': "That is the Holy Grail. Though it has not yet fully taken form, the vessel is already filled. All that remains is for you to make your wish."]

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "That is the Greater Holy Grail?"

Kayneth: "Wait, does this mean Emiya Kiritsugu has obtained the right to make a wish?"

Kayneth: "Does this mean Emiya Kiritsugu won? Is it possible that Saber killed Gilgamesh, and Kiritsugu emerged victorious?"

Gilgamesh: "Hmph. Absolutely impossible."

Gilgamesh: "The real issue lies with this Holy Grail itself."

The First Emperor: "Indeed, the black liquid we saw earlier didn't seem like something pure."

Artoria: "No… this Irisviel is a fake!"

"Irisviel was silent, but her troubled expression betrayed her agreement."

Kiritsugu: "Yes, this is not Irisviel."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "If this isn't Irisviel, then who is it?"

Kayneth: "It doesn't sound like some lifeless homunculus or automated entity. Whatever it is, it clearly has independent thought."

Waver: "What are you suggesting? That something else is residing inside the Holy Grail?"

Chihiro: "Let's just keep watching."

['Irisviel' continued, stepping closer to Kiritsugu with a sweet yet unnerving tone.]

["So please, quickly give it a form."]

[She embraced him suddenly, whispering, "Kiritsugu, only you are worthy of defining its shape."]

["What are you?"]

[Kiritsugu's tone remained cold, his sharp gaze locked on the figure before him. This behavior was utterly unlike the real Irisviel.]

['Irisviel': "I am Irisviel."]

[She smiled faintly, adding, "You already know how to save the world. Let me inherit your methods, your principles. Let me fulfill your wish."]

["What nonsense are you talking about?"]

[Kiritsugu's expression did not waver. He was unshaken by her attempts at manipulation.]

['Irisviel': "Hmph. There's no other way, is there? Perhaps it's best to let your heart guide you instead."]

[Her lips curled into a smirk, as though amused by his resistance.]

Waver: "It's trying so hard to force Kiritsugu into making a wish. Why?"

Kayneth: "The answer is obvious."

Kayneth: "Didn't it say before that only by making a wish can it 'descend into the outside world'? This isn't about granting wishes, it's about freeing itself."

Kayneth: "That thing wants Emiya Kiritsugu to act as the bridge so it can escape the Holy Grail."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "That would explain why it dragged him into this space before the war was even resolved. To it, the final victor doesn't matter in the slightest."

[The scene shifted again. Kiritsugu now found himself standing in a modest hotel room.]

["Where am I now?"]

[Before he could make sense of his surroundings, an old television turned on in front of him.]

["A ship with 300 people aboard, and another with 200. Together, the passengers and crew total 500, plus Emiya Kiritsugu."]

[The voice on the television was eerily calm and clinical.]

["Suppose these 501 people are the last humans left on Earth. Both ships have holes in their hulls and will sink without repair. You are the only one capable of fixing them. Which ship will you save?"]

Iskandar: "Huh? What's going on? Another strange question-and-answer game?"

Gilgamesh: "Heh. This is amusing. It seems like there's another show worth watching."

Kayneth: "Isn't this just a variation of the trolley problem?"

Iskandar: "The trolley problem? What's that?"

Waver: "It's a famous moral dilemma introduced by a philosopher named Philippa Foot in 1967. There's no universally correct answer."

Zhang Jiao: "Explain it to me."

Chihiro: "The concept is simple: Imagine a runaway trolley heading toward five people tied to a track. There's a lever you can pull to redirect the trolley onto another track, where only one person is tied. Do you pull the lever, sacrificing one to save five?"

Zhang Jue: "So it's a choice between the lesser of two evils, saving five people at the cost of one or letting all five die to spare the one."

Artoria: "This is… unbearable."

"Artoria's voice quivered at the thought of having to choose between lives. Her desire to save everyone made such dilemmas torturous."

Chihiro: "For someone like Emiya Kiritsugu, the answer is simple."

Kiritsugu: "...That's right. The choice is clear: save the greater number."

Artoria: "Human lives aren't numbers! You can't reduce them to mere calculations of value!"

El-Melloi II: "All things in the world have value. Sacrifice is a necessary reality."

["I'll save the 300."]

[Kiritsugu answered without hesitation.]

["Very well. Now suppose the 200 survivors on the other ship capture you and demand that you repair their vessel. What will you do?"]

[This time, Kiritsugu hesitated. Before he could formulate a response, something outside the window caught his attention.]

[He walked to the curtains and pulled them aside. His pupils shrank in shock.]

[On the horizon, he saw himself standing aboard a ship full of corpses—men, women, and children alike.]

[Behind him, weapons had somehow appeared on the bed, glinting ominously.]

["Kill the 200, right?"]

[The voice mocked him: "Correct. That is the choice Emiya Kiritsugu would make."]

Kayneth: "Kiritsugu, you're truly heartless."

Though Kayneth already considered Kiritsugu ruthless, he found himself stunned by the depths of his pragmatism.

Artoria: "Emiya Kiritsugu, how could you—!"

Kiritsugu: "This is the optimal choice. Any hesitation could cost all 500 lives."

El-Melloi II: "A perfectly rational decision."

Artoria: "..."

Iskandar: "But what's the purpose of these questions? Is this just to torment him?"

El-Melloi II: "No. These questions are meant to uncover the true essence of Emiya Kiritsugu's heart. But there's another purpose hidden here, something we haven't yet seen."

Iskandar: "And what might that be?"

El-Melloi II: "I'm still figuring it out myself."

[The television turned off abruptly. A ringing phone echoed through the room, and Kiritsugu instinctively answered it.]

[It was the same voice.]

["Now the 300 survivors board two new ships. One carries 200 people, while the other carries 100. Both ships are sinking again, and the 100 passengers kidnap you, demanding you repair their vessel first. What will you do?"]

[Kiritsugu hesitated longer this time.]

[Before he could speak, the line disconnected. The scene shifted once more, placing Kiritsugu at the dock of a harbor.]

[Behind him, an explosion rocked the horizon as a ship went up in flames.]

[Kiritsugu stood frozen, his composure cracking as panic set in.]

["Yes, you are correct."]

[The mocking voice returned, its tone filled with amusement.]

Waver: "Wait… so he killed the 100 people again? But what's the point of this question then?"

Waver: "It's like the previous question didn't matter at all! What's the use of saving the 300 if this is what happens next?"

Tohsaka Rin: "This makes no sense. After what happened before, why would the 300 survivors split themselves across different ships again? It's completely illogical."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "The one posing these questions must have a deeper motive."

***

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