Fate: How About a New Savior?

Inside the magical workshop.

Sakura sat on the lowest step at the entrance, gazing at the workshop she knew better than anywhere else. The glow of the magic stones lit her eyes like ripples on a shimmering lake.

She sensed a familiar presence beside her as Saber materialized and sat down next to her.

"Sorry, Saber," Sakura said.

"What for? You don't owe me anything." Mordred grinned, cheerful as ever.

"I might not be able to see this through with you," Sakura said softly.

Even though she had turned down her father's offer earlier, no one understood better than she did just how formidable the King of Magecraft was.

Her Magecraft was built upon the foundation of modern systems, modeled after Morgan's methods. She wasn't proficient in Primordial Runes, and overall, her Magecraft was at a disadvantage.

"That's not like you, Master!" Mordred said, a bit surprised. "You didn't even flinch earlier, even when things got really complicated."

"It's different now. And... I actually understand what my father meant," Sakura replied, her mood still heavy.

Mordred raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you refuse?"

"Because we made a promise to fight to the very end," Sakura said. "I don't want to betray the comrades I've stood beside."

"Not wanting to betray, huh..." Mordred never imagined someone would say that to her.

She was the rebellious knight—the one who had betrayed her king and her country.

And in the end, had destroyed herself.

Yet Sakura said she wouldn't betray someone like Mordred.

"So, Master," Mordred asked, curiosity piqued, "what exactly is your wish? What are you hoping for that's worth risking your life in this war? I don't think I've ever asked since I was summoned."

"…It's just a small wish," Sakura mumbled, burying her face in her knees.

She was obviously embarrassed—Mordred could tell. She laughed and gave Sakura a playful pat on the back.

"Come on, spill it. Even if you tell me you want to be the most popular woman in the world, I promise I won't laugh."

"I'm not into that kind of thing," Sakura muttered in protest.

Mordred nodded eagerly. "Yeah, yeah, I didn't think you were that type anyway! So what's the real answer? I know you're great at cooking, you're nice, you're strong... but that's about all I know."

"You sure you won't get mad?" Sakura looked up at her, a bit hesitant.

"Huh?" Mordred blinked in confusion. "Unless it's some evil plan to destroy the world or something, I don't care."

Sakura lifted her head slightly and sighed, almost inaudibly. "I just... want my mother to live."

"…What?" Mordred froze. "You mean... your mother?"

"Mm." Sakura nodded.

Mordred's expression twisted into one of disbelief. She stood up and began pacing across the workshop.

"You... really like your mother?"

Of course, she meant the kind of love a child feels toward a parent.

Once, long ago, Mordred had felt something like that too. But as time passed, all that remained in her memory of Morgan was a face twisted by madness and obsession.

To Mordred, Morgan had become the very definition of someone not to be trusted.

"Is that weird?" Sakura asked.

"Weird... I wouldn't say that," Mordred muttered, scratching her head.

Because the Morgan who stood before her now—the one who raised and taught Sakura—was so clearly different from the one Mordred had known.

The only thing they shared was that same cold, proud, and distant aura.

Mordred knew she was Morgan. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't truly see her as the mother she remembered.

"But my Master really is a strange one," Mordred finally said. "In that sense, she's a bit like Mother."

"Well, it can't be helped..." Sakura didn't argue.

No matter what others said, to her, Morgan was the mother she respected, loved, and trusted more than anyone.

"But to join the Holy Grail War just for that... honestly, it feels like a bit of a waste," Mordred said. "Maybe being in a Servant's form is actually more convenient for her."

"Maybe." Sakura didn't confirm or deny it.

Mordred wasn't trying to convince Sakura, and Sakura didn't expect Mordred to understand.

"Saber, your wish..." Sakura asked again. "What is it?"

Over the past few days, she had dreamed twice of Saber's past—memories of the Battle of Camlann and the Sword in the Stone. But that alone wasn't enough to fully grasp Saber's true desire.

"I want to return to the past," Saber said, clenching her fist. "I want to try pulling out the Sword of Selection myself."

Sakura blinked. "You mean... the first sword King Arthur drew?"

"Yeah."

"Not 'pull it out'—you just want to try?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"I want to prove Father was wrong," Mordred said, a fierce look on her face. "I was qualified to be king."

"...I see. So what if you do pull it out?" Sakura asked.

"If I pull it out..." Mordred hesitated. She hadn't considered what would come after.

"Britannia's already gone. No matter what you do, you can't change that—it's etched into the framework of humanity," Sakura said quietly. "Or... are you saying Saber doesn't want to save Britannia?"

"What do you mean?" Mordred asked.

"My mother once told me that the fall of Britannia is a fixed point on the quantum record track. It marked the complete disappearance of the Age of Gods from the surface world." Sakura looked into her eyes. "Even if Saber had done nothing, Britannia's destruction was inevitable."

Mordred was so stunned she could barely speak. She forced the words out:

"You're saying everything I did—right or wrong—was meaningless? That I didn't destroy Britannia? That I didn't kill Father? That even if I had done nothing, someone else would've destroyed Britannia and Camelot?!"

"I... don't really know," Sakura said, shaking her head in discomfort. "But my father once told me his friend said, 'We shouldn't choose our path based on our sins. We should carry our sins along the path we choose.'"

"What the hell... That's way too abstract," Mordred muttered, suddenly feeling drained.

She had only come to check on her Master and offer a few words of comfort—and instead learned things she hadn't known.

"I think I said too much. You came to cheer me up, Saber, and I ended up dragging you into all this negativity." Sakura hugged herself lightly and spoke in a soft voice.

"It's fine. This isn't your fault. You just told me what I didn't know."

Saber dropped into a chair with a sigh.

Her determination to keep fighting hadn't wavered—but before the next battle, there was one more talk she needed to have with "Mother."