"Ok, let's see. Now that they are there, I have to go back to Miki... I wonder if that young girl can hold on much longer with that golden guy... well, I can always go back and help her. How sad, though. Those girls seemed nice enough. I guess I'll free them once everything is settled."
Father Time started walking away, when suddenly he heard a weird noise behind him.
"What now?"
He turned around and was surprised to see a glowing slash appear in midair. Then it got bigger and bigger until it looked like a portal, and from its light two figures emerged.
"What in tarnation-"
"Hooray! It worked! I told you Salty! It only took us... what, a billion slashes?"
"100 billion. If whoever created the Guinness World Records book exists here, I'll force him to add us there. Now I don't want to hear you talk for the next 10 minutes at least. I thought the last thing I would hear would be your annoying voice."
"Hey!"
"How did you escape?"
Before the Caster could even react, he felt the sharpness of the tip of Excalibur Morgan pressing right against his throat.
"We cut through your dimension-reality bullshit."
"Oh, I see. I underestimated you. Not many people have the resolve necessary to do that. Even that guy you're going with, I doubt he could have done it."
"He probably would have found another way. He is the King of Shortcuts. Compared to him, we can't even be considered Heroic Spirits. However, we don't give up. Never. That's our strength. That's how we can beat even monsters like him or you."
"Yeah, exactly what she said!"
"A monster? Now that's really hurtful, you know..."
"Come to think of it, Salty, shouldn't we have come back to... like... a million years into the future?"
"Well, no, time wasn't moving in the place I sent you, so effectively, you were there for exactly zero seconds, even though to you you were probably stuck for what seemed like an eternity."
"You got that right, so perhaps I should take my time killing you."
"Hey, hey, wait! I thought you were joking when you kept repeating that while we were training!"
"What made you think I was joking?!"
"Well... you can't do it!"
"I am sure I can. Have you forgotten how I ruled Britain for decades? Wanna know how I did it? It wasn't by sparing people who opposed me, I'll tell you that."
"Please, spare him!"
"Yeah, spare me!"
"Quiet you! Why do you insist on sparing him?"
"Because he doesn't seem like a bad guy!"
"Does anyone seem like a bad guy to you?"
"Oh, Cortès definitely looked evil."
"Yeah, ok, but that's Cortès!"
"Think, Salty, think! He could have trapped us in a place with really no time at all, where he couldn't even move or think, instead, he left us conscious! Plus he said he wanted to protect someone, Miki, correct? See? No bad guy wants to protect someone like this! Just give him a chance to explain himself. After our training, he poses no threat anyway. We can kill him whenever we want."
"What a horrifying comment! I'm pretty sure she's called Nero... as in... the Emperor? Well, Empress, I guess. She seemed nicer than what I expected... but... seems like she has a cruel side too!"
"... when did I become so easily swayable? Very well, you old man, explain yourself."
"Oh, thank you! I am indeed trying to protect Miki... and to protect others from her."
"?"
"She's a Traveler-class Servant who's the representation of the Ant Walkers of Hiroshima. She was a little girl who lost her parents when the nuclear bomb hit her city and she later died due to the radiation. She can manifest other people like her and they slowly spread the radiation all around them. They convert mana and other substances into radiation, and the more she stays alive, the more that happens and the wider the radiation spreads."
"Good lord."
"Oh, Heavens! That's horrible!"
"The Snow Queen and I have been trying to keep her powers in check, but they are bound to her existence. To completely stop her we'd have to... you know..."
"So what should we do?"
"We have to reach her as soon as possible before it's too late."
Meanwhile...
"Although I want you to resist, I don't understand why you won't just give in, mongrel. You are clearly outmatched and I'll soon overpower you."
Gilgamesh concluded as he looked at the Snow Queen facing him, while she was panting, a clear sign of fatigue.
"I already told you... time and time again... to not declare your victory... until I've actually lost."
"I must say I'm growing weary of your insolence, woman. You have already shown me the full extent of your magic, Caster."
"Yeah, that might be true. But you haven't accounted for one thing... I'm not a Caster, I'm a Rider."
A powerful ghust of icy air circled around the Snow Queen, blocking Gilgamesh's view. Once the storm settled, the Snow Queen was on a sleigh carried by two white horses, as ice swans and decorations adorned her mount. All around in the air, snowflakes started forming, getting bigger and bigger.
"Many can survive the harshest of winters, but only because its suffering is diluted by time. Do you think you can survive the great winter condensed in a single second?"
"I accept your challenge."
Gilgamesh summoned a gate in front of himself and extracted a flaming sword.
"Bring it."
"With pleasure."
With a swift movement of her arms, the Snow Queen charged forward as Gilgamesh readied his blow.
In a split moment before the two opposing forces collided...
Someone stopped them.
"Wait guys! That's enough!"
Nero shouted as she stood right in front of the Snow Queen's sleigh.
"You heard her. We have other things to do right now."
Salter said, looking at Gilgamesh.
"You think you can just order me to stop like this?"
The King of Heroes asked defiantly as he sent a dozen weapons towards his enemy, while making sure not to hit his allies. Just after doing this, he blinked.
When he opened his eyes again, all his golden weapons laid on the ground and Salter was right in front of him, her weapon slightly raised toward him.
"I said stop. If you insist, the next time you'll blink, you'll have my sword pointed at your throat."
Instead of getting even more pissed, Gilgamesh's mind judged that this behaviour meant that something was going on that was bad enough to warrant an investigation. Therefore, he used his future sight to see what was going on (or rather, what was going to happen).
Once he saw that, he turned around.
"I understand, let's go."
In less than a minute, they were in the woods.
"I'm having an uneasy feeling. Anyone else is having a sense of discomfort all around?"
"It's Miki's presence. The more mana is present in her area, the more it gets converted into radiation. And all this fighting released a lot of mana."
"We have to find her quickly, otherwise-"
"Guys, there's someone there!"
Nero rushed forward, as suddenly a look of horror coloured her face.
"Oh gods, that's Mordry, and that must be Miki! Quick, we have to hel-"
A firm hand on her shoulder stopped her dead on her tracks.
"If you get any nearer, you'll end up like her."
"Goldy?"
"She's suffering from radiation sickness. That young girl is the cause. Also, with the amount of mana she has absorbed, her Saint Graph has become unstable. If nothing is done, she'll become a living bomb and recreate a nuclear explosion."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Oh God, Miki!"
"We can't let her die like this!"
"No way! We have to do something."
"No, there's no need. Mordred can handle this."
"What do you mean, moron? She's lying there half dead-"
Mordred spat out blood from her mouth through a cough as she slowly raised herself from the ground.
"I wasn't dead, you fake father. I was just taking a nap with Miki, right girl?"
"Mor... dred... it hurts... so much..."
"I know, but you have to be strong... I heard your explanation, King of Heroes... Miki, what you need to do right now is force all the energy you have inside your tummy outside, ok?"
"It's too late... her core is too unstable... her fate is sealed." Gilgamesh thought, being able to tell just by glance alone. Normally, death of someone he didn't even know didn't affect him at all, however, for some reason, he always felt a very deep-rooted, unusual and ever-present pain whenever he saw a child in pain.
But this time, an even weirder and unusual feeling plagued him. Helplessness. As his mind rushed for solutions, he had soon realised that there were none. Despite his immense power, he couldn't stop that young girl from dying. It was a strange feeling. Something he had rarely experienced. One of those dark, mysterious things he had felt when his friend died.
"I... I can't do it..."
"Sure you can, you're a strong girl, aren't you?"
"No... I'm not strong at all... I can't open jars by myself, and Auntie always has to sleep close to me because I'm always cold and afraid of the dark... I'm scared... I want Mommy and Daddy..."
"Mommy and Daddy are not here right now, Miki, but you have to do what I told you, otherwise... otherwise, you'll never see them again!"
"Mordred... they are dead. My parents died. I'll never see them again. I know it. I know it... but I miss them. I miss them every day. And yet... right now... I don't want to die... because I'm scared... not of dying... but... I fear... that once I get into Heaven... Mommy and Daddy will have abandoned me... and they will leave me behind again."
"No, no! Don't say that Miki! Your parents would never abandon you. You're their flesh and blood, their little child, there's no way they could forget about you."
"But after so much time... why would they still care? Maybe they have another kid there..."
"Miki, there's only one reason why they still care... because... they're your parents. And parents... parents... care about their children... sometimes... in ways we don't understand... or don't want... but they care about us... their care about their children... because they love them... because they want to nurture them... and protect them... and make them happy... so that one day... they might become like them... and surpass them... in some way... so that they will survive... through them... Miki, your parents are still here... they are inside you, they are behind every action you take, every smile, every tear... so you mustn't cry... because that would make your parents... and me very sad. And we're friends, right? You don't want to make your friend sad, right?"
"No, no I don't, Mordred... Mordred... do my parents... still love me?"
"There's no way they wouldn't love you... parents... always... always... love their kids... somehow... someway... maybe a lot... maybe a little... but they always do..."
"You're a good friend, Mordred."
"That's good to hear, I haven't had much practice until now, hehe *coughs*"
"I've been a bad friend... I have hurt you and made you cry."
"No, absolutely not. I'm fine, seriously. And I'm not crying."
"Will you... cry for me... when I'm gone?"
"You... are not... going anywhere... Miki..."
"Mordred... thank you. I hope you find your Mommy and Daddy one day. I remember now... that my parents really loved me a lot... they said I was their light in the darkest times... I don't think they need a light in Heaven, but maybe... maybe even Heaven gets a little dark sometimes. And then they'll have me. I really hope they still love me. I still love them a lot. Do you love your parents, Mordred?"
"It's... it's... been a long time..."
"Are they here?"
"Yes... yes they are..."
"Then you must find them... and tell them you love them very much... and I'm sure that they'll say that they love you too... because they're your parents and parents love their kids, right? Will you do that for me? Will you promise your friend?"
"I do... I promise I'll do it, Miki."
"Thank you, Mordred. Thanks to everyone who made me feel happy, and loved, and at home."
Miki smiled sweetly as her entire body started glowing.
"What... what are you doing Miki?"
"I can't get this stuff out of me... but I can... at least... move it around my body... I think... it's going to hurt me... but at least... it won't hurt you... I hope..."
"Miki... you're... you're the best girl in the world..."
Mordred leaned down, giving her a kiss on the cheek as half of Miki's face suddenly became wet.
"Hehe, thank you, Mordred... hey, Mordred, I'm scared... despite everything, I'm still afraid... will you please... hold my hand... one last time?"
"Of course, Miki."
"And... can you smile for me... one more time?"
"Sure thing, Miki. Anything... for my... incredible friend."
"Will you hold me if the pain is too much."
"You know I will."
"Do you now any lullaby?"
"I think I remember one my mother used to sing me."
"Can you sing it now?"
"I'm not a great singer, and I don't remember the words, but I can hum it if you want."
"Yes, please."
Mordred started humming a sweet and somber lullaby as she squeezed Miki's hand tightly. Miki's body slowly began glowing more and more, until she almost looked like she was entirely made of light. Then, her body started disintegrating, the radiation inside her splitting her atoms apart.
Miki cried out in pain, and Mordred was quick to hold her against herself, caressing her back and face and hugging her with all her strength.
And, for a moment, as half of her body had already disappeared, Miki seemed like she was no longer in pain. She kissed Mordred on the cheek and looked at the others with a little smile.
"Thank you, everyone. Goodbye."
She said, with one last wave before becoming a swarm of golden particles that moved around the air like a group of fireflies, as everyone looked up as they got higher and higher, until they couldn't be seen anymore.
"It's starting to snow."
Gilgamesh commented drily as a snowflake fell under his eye, melting instantly and becoming a raindrop that ran down his cheek.
Mordred kept looking at the sky, as her tears fell on the snowy ground like a powerful rain. She squinted her eyes and managed to stop crying for a moment, as she finished humming her lullaby. She gripped her own hand as hard as she gold. Inside, one last golden light remained.
She looked at the sky again.
"Goodbye, Miki."