The funeral proceeded with a ritualistic solemnity. Despite it being the funeral for her own father, the young girl displayed no hint of grief or unease on her face, merely staring blankly at the mourners who came to pay their respects.

This was not heartlessness, but fortitude.

Suspended in the void, Lin Luo observed everything below—every gesture, every inner thought of those present. Within this world of memory, he could "see" it all. Thus, he knew precisely what emotions Rin was currently harboring as she conducted the funeral.

Forcing all sorrow deep into her heart, she committed no breach of composure during the service, fully maintaining the dignity of the deceased and the living, upholding the honor of her family. This was a feat many adults could not manage, yet this girl, who hadn't even finished primary school, achieved it. What immense willpower this required.

The surrounding mourners offered no comfort for the girl's strength, not even a flicker of sympathy or pity. In their view, a child raised under such rigorous discipline was expected to endure anything, even an eight-year-old girl... Perhaps this was the curse of being born into a magus family.

Watching the steadfast girl below, Lin Luo’s heart filled with bitterness. But here, there was nothing he could do but watch. Even casting a comforting glance—an action normally effortless—was impossible in this space.

All he could offer the girl’s sorrow was a deep, helpless sigh.

As the coffin was lowered into the earth, and after the requisite prayers were spoken, the mourners departed one by one. In the quiet aftermath, under the persistent rain, only the girl overseeing the funeral and the priest conducting the rites remained.

“You did well. Your debut as the new head of the family was excellent; I’m sure your father would be proud.”

Rin merely nodded in return to the praise, her silence a form of acknowledgment.

By now, the Tohsaka family’s hereditary Magic Crest had been etched onto her left wrist. The transfer of such a Crest places an immense burden on the body; her system had yet to fully adapt to the newly implanted mark, and the pain was still persistent. Yet, not a trace of suffering showed on her face; she had held firm until the very last moment of the ceremony.

Even now, she gritted her teeth to endure. Perhaps the pain had reached a stage of numbness, or perhaps she refused to display weakness before this man she disliked. Maybe it was because the Crest was her father’s sole legacy, or perhaps she understood it contained the condensed essence of the Tohsaka lineage’s thaumaturgy—or perhaps all these reasons combined.

But whichever the case, this willpower was utterly disproportionate to her age.

“It is time to let Mother come out, perhaps?” Rin spoke calmly.

“Yes, almost time.”

The priest in black, Kirei Kotomine, surveyed the suddenly tranquil graveyard and turned to greet the waiting car idling at the back gate.

Tohsaka Aoi, the bereaved wife who should have presided over the funeral, was confined to bed and thus absent. Though Rin was reluctant to expose her mother to outsiders, she insisted that Aoi see her husband one last time before the coffin was sealed forever.

Rin had waited for her mother’s arrival even while other mourners were present. She walked to the car, helped her mother into the wheelchair, and began pushing her toward Tokiomi Tohsaka’s grave. The beautiful widow on the chair, looking remarkably youthful, displayed no expression; her eyes stared into the void with a hazy, dreamlike unfocus.

“Mother, come. Say your final farewell to Father.”

At Rin’s gentle urging, Tohsaka Aoi’s ethereal gaze slowly gathered focus onto a single point on the ground. Her eyes slowly swept across the surrounding gravestones, and then, as if realizing something belatedly, her eyes widened.

“Ah, that, Rin? Whose funeral is this today?”

“It’s Father’s, because he passed away.”

“Oh dear, that’s terrible! I must get Tokiomi’s mourning clothes out quickly. Rin, you go help Sakura change. Oh no, what should I do, I haven’t prepared anything…”

Tohsaka Aoi in the wheelchair descended into brief panic, then suddenly slumped forward like a puppet whose strings had been cut. When she looked up again, she offered a gentle smile to the empty air before her and extended a finger forward.

“Look, my dear, your tie is crooked again. And there’s a bit of lint on your shoulder. Hehe, cheer up. You are the father Rin and Sakura are so proud of.”

Evidently, the massive shock had rendered Tohsaka Aoi mentally unstable; to use a common term, she was insane. She chattered endlessly to her husband whom only she could see. Rin simply stood guard over her mother in silence. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak to her; it was simply that normal communication was no longer possible between them.

For Tohsaka Aoi, who could no longer perceive reality correctly, perhaps this was a form of happiness. Her mind remained fixed on the time when Sakura was still at home and Tohsaka Tokiomi was alive. She wandered through the echoing Tohsaka manor, laughing and talking with the husband and second daughter of her memories, forever living in the perfect dream of a happy family.

But...

Only Rin was left stranded in the real world. She cared for her mother in this state, yet could only watch silently, unable to step even one foot into that blissful illusion. She hid a grief no one could fathom, shouldering the heavy responsibility of a magus family head with a child's frame, enduring the torment of the Crest. For a girl still in elementary school, this was a fate of unimaginable cruelty.

“Rin…” That profound sorrow emanated from somewhere. Lin Luo deeply empathized with Tohsaka Rin’s feelings; it felt as though his own heart was bleeding, overcome by the powerlessness of the situation.

Lin Luo could imagine this scene replaying not just once in Rin’s memories, but perhaps countless times in her dreams at midnight. Until salvation arrived, the weaker side of her would forever torment her.

Alongside the grief and helplessness, another emotion surfaced in Lin Luo’s core—excitement, joy, and fortune.

This was certainly not Rin’s feeling, nor Aoi’s, nor his own. It belonged to the other person present—Kirei Kotomine.

In this world, Lin Luo could "see" anyone’s mind, including Kirei Kotomine’s.

He could see now what hideous face lay hidden beneath Kirei Kotomine’s sorrowful expression… If a demon was an object of disgust, then Kirei Kotomine was likely an entity that even demons would abhor.

To derive pleasure only from the pain and misery of others—this was Kirei Kotomine’s deformed nature. To savor Rin’s current predicament at such close quarters was, for him, akin to tasting the most exquisite vintage wine. To be the guardian of such a tragic young girl was, to him, an immense stroke of luck.

However, Kirei Kotomine was not satisfied with this. Despite carrying such a devastating fate, young Rin had never shed a single tear, nor uttered a single weak word.

Even now, before her mother who could not comprehend her father's death, she remained composed, forcibly suppressing her inner heartache while waiting for her mother to settle. This was an ordeal a child doted upon by loving parents, her exact age, could never tolerate.

Rin had already acknowledged and accepted her fate, daring to face it resolutely. Such rare self-respect and self-control were the greatest virtues possessed by the girl named Tohsaka Rin, yet this infuriated Kirei Kotomine the most.

Having endured the bitter trials, this gem named Rin was beginning to take shape from its rough state. Kirei had expected witnessing the wretchedness of the mother she loved would scar her soul, but instead, she accepted her mother’s weakness, lost in fantasy, with tolerance and compassion.

This girl was step-by-step walking the path of the Outer Magic, the Gehenna. Perhaps in the end, she would follow her father’s example, discarding the perversions and evils of the magus world to forge a personality that was truly upright and balanced.

Of course, this was the most boring outcome for Kirei Kotomine. He had so looked forward to seeing what twisted bloom would emerge from Tohsaka Tokiomi’s daughter; he desired to witness the girl’s most distorted and agonizing aspect.

Concealing his inner secrets, Kirei Kotomine placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder in a gesture of encouragement.

“I will remain in Japan for some time longer. Do you have any worries regarding the future?”

“None at all. I have troubled you enough already; everything is settled now,” Rin replied sharply, without even glancing at him.

Rin was unaware that Kirei Kotomine was responsible for her father’s death. Thus, she followed her father’s last wishes and raised no objection to Kirei becoming her guardian. Even so, she could not conceal her innate disgust for him. As his father’s assistant, Kirei had gone to the same battlefield yet failed to protect him in the end. Rin could not help but feel anger and suspicion toward him.

Kirei Kotomine paid no mind to Rin’s blunt hatred; rather, he eagerly anticipated the expression on her face when she eventually learned the truth one day.

A slightly malicious thought suddenly flickered through Kirei Kotomine’s mind.

“Rin, you are now, in name and in fact, the head of the Tohsaka lineage. To celebrate this special day, I offer you a gift.” As he spoke, Kirei Kotomine drew a sheathed short sword from his breast.

“This was something I received when my accomplishments in thaumaturgy were recognized by Master Tokiomi. I believe it would be better for you to keep it from now on.”

Rin accepted the short sword and drew the blade, examining it closely. She stroked the leather grip and the magical script on the steel almost reverently, as if she could feel the warmth of her father’s touch on it.

“Father.”

A faint ripple suddenly shimmered across the short sword in the girl’s hand. On the otherwise flawless blade, a single drop of liquid rolled down… Under Kirei Kotomine’s deliberate manipulation, Rin finally could not hold back the tears.

As if tasting a long-awaited fine wine, Kirei Kotomine’s heart thrilled with elation.

Rin did not know that the sword that caught her tears had once been stained with the blood flowing from Tohsaka Tokiomi’s heart. She would cherish this sword as a relic of remembrance for her father, storing it with utmost care, completely unaware that it was the very weapon that had killed him.

This extreme irony and the pleasure of trampling upon an innocent heart gave Kirei Kotomine supreme satisfaction.

Rin, bowing her head and weeping, was entirely oblivious to the silent smile blooming beside her on the priest, gripping the Sword of Destiny tightly in her hand.

And above in the void, watching this scene unfold, Lin Luo clenched his fists until his teeth nearly ground to blood, his eyes radiating a sharpness as keen as a blade.

“Kirei Kotomine, you bastard, dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough!”

At this moment, Lin Luo’s hatred for Kirei Kotomine even surpassed that for Zouken Matou. He forcefully suppressed the urge to immediately depart this ‘world’ and tear Kirei Kotomine limb from limb.

“It won’t be long now. You’ll live seven more months… Kirei Kotomine.”