Tosaka Tokiomi is a man who pursues the Holy Grail and reaches the "root" for his whole life. He is a pure magician. Ironically, he did touch the "Holy Grail", but this "Holy Grail" is no longer the Holy Grail he knows, and it is filled with curses.
Angra Mainyu, all the evil in this world, a curse materialized through the "Holy Grail" system, a vicious collection, a pollutant that is ten or a hundred times more terrible than the curse of "Prince White Wings". Even just a little bit is enough to destroy the human spirit and life.
I don't know whether to say it was lucky or not, but when Tokiomi touched it, the curse was gradually losing its effect, and it did not take his spirit and life on the spot, but this did not mean that the curse was ineffective, it just changed the death penalty of cutting the Gordian knot into a suspended death sentence of cutting the flesh with a blunt knife.
In the following time, Tokiomi's body weakened day by day, like a patient with a terminal illness. His hands and feet were weak, his vision was blurred, and the functions of his organs were gradually failing. He had to rely on the technological equipment he despised the most to maintain his life.
Even sadder was that he was losing his magic circuits and his ability as a magician. In the end, he couldn't even perform a basic fireball magic, as if the magic he had devoted his life to was just a joke.
In March 1999, the tail of winter finally faded away, symbolizing the arrival of a new life. However, Tōsaka Tokiomi, who had entered the cold winter of his life, could no longer welcome a new life. His life, which was damaged by the vicious curse and riddled with wounds, finally came to an end.
"About today, I think."
Tokiomi, who had been bedridden for half a month, felt the long-lost vitality surging in his body and knew that he didn't have much time left. This last surge of power was a phenomenon called the last flicker of life, the last burst of life like a candle in the wind.
Tokiomi struggled to sit up from the hospital bed, and this action startled his wife, Toosaka Aoi, who always stayed by his side, never left him, and had no regrets.
"Honey, what's wrong with you—" Aoi hurried forward to help.
What a good wife.
Feeling his wife's gentle movements, Tokiomi repeated the same sigh countless times in his heart.
He put his hands, which had regained some strength, on his wife's hands, and his scattered pupils showed signs of focusing again: "Please call Rin. I have something to say to you. I don't have much time."
"Honey... "
After hearing Tokiomi's words, although Tousaka Aoi had been mentally prepared to a certain extent, she still felt like the sky was falling.
"I'm sorry, Aoi."
Tokiomi gently held his wife's hand, and warm liquid dripped down. It was Aoi's tears.
"Go ahead."
"Yeah." "Call Sakura as well. I have something to say to her." Tokiomi added when his wife pushed the door open.
Aoi nodded and left hurriedly with steps that were inconsistent with her elegant demeanor.
◇◇◇
"dad!"
Rin, who had just entered the teenage stage, rushed to Tokiomi's bedside and tightly grasped her father's arm with both hands.
"Rin, don't cry. We in the Tohsaka family should always remain calm and elegant." Tokiomi placed his free hand on his daughter's head and gently stroked it.
"I know, Dad." Lin sniffed and reached out to wipe away her tears, but they wouldn't dry.
"Good boy." Tokiomi showed a trace of relief on his face, "After Dad dies, you will inherit the Tōsaka family, you will protect Mom, and you will realize the unfulfilled dreams of me and my ancestors. Although it's a little early, Dad believes that you can do it."
Rin has been taught everything that should be taught, and the magic seals have been gradually transplanted to her over the past few years. She has to walk the rest of the way on her own.
"I can do it. I definitely can do it." Lin said firmly. She wanted to be as good a person as her father.
"Then Dad can rest assured. If possible, Dad really wants to see you grow up and become an outstanding magician, see you start a family, see you bring new members to the Tohsaka family... Unfortunately, Dad no longer has time. So, Aoi, please look after Rin and Sakura for me, and watch our children grow up."
Tokiomi seemed a little tired, and his voice was much lower. He tried hard to lift his increasingly heavy eyelids and looked at his wife who had returned to the window at some point.
"I will, I will." Aoi hugged her daughter, tears falling like pearls from a string, "I will take good care of our children and our home."
"That's really great—"
The pupils that finally regained focus dilated again, and in a trance, Tokiomi seemed to hear the sound of approaching death, but he couldn't fall asleep just like that, because he still had people he wanted to see and things he wanted to say.
"dad-"
The call that he should refuse but didn't want to refuse sounded in his ears, and in a trance he saw a familiar ray of purple.
"Ying, you're here." Tokiomi's lips moved, and for the first time he faced the girl who was related to him by blood but did not belong to this family.
"Dad, you're going to be okay."
The girl with a crying voice kept writing runes in the air.
URUZ, JERA, EIHWAZ, ANSUZ, WUNJO... ...
Sakura wrote down all the runes she could think of related to healing and life, but she could not delay the arrival of death.
"Don't waste your magic power." Tokiomi shook his head at his little daughter, "Yakura, let me look at you again, look at you carefully, even though I may not be qualified to do so."
"No, no, Dad is Dad." Sakura denied while putting her face close to Tokiomi.
"It's so nice to hear you call me like this. I hope you can come back more often to see mom and sister in the future."
Maybe many people don't believe it, but Tōsaka Tokiomi loves his children, but his love is too restrained and he doesn't know how to express it, so he seems a little cold. At the last moment of his life, he let go of his reserve and the image of a strict father and said everything he was thinking.
"I will, and I will come back to see Dad. So, Dad, you must get well soon."
Sakura turned her head and looked at Kariya who was standing outside the door with pleading eyes.
"Uncle, call Sister Orange right away. She must have a solution."
Kariya sighed and did not answer, or perhaps this was his answer.
"Uncle!" Ying urged.
"It's no use, Sakura. I know my own body well."
Tokiomi squeezed out the last bit of his strength and placed his hand on Sakura's head. This was the first and last time he would do this to his little daughter.
Also the first and most frequent request was made to the "rival" and "traitor".
"Kariya, lastly, can I ask you for a favor?"
"You say." Seeing the person he had always disliked and even hated fall into such a situation, Kariya did not feel the slightest bit of joy in his heart, only sadness and emptiness.
"Sakura, I'll leave it to you—"
"You don't have to tell me."
"—Also, help me take care of Aoi and Rin!" Rin is still young, and Aoi is not strong enough to support the family. The only person Tokiomi can think of is Kariya, who has defeated him. At least his feelings for Sakura, Rin, and Aoi are real. Compared with his family, a little bit of a man's self-esteem can be lost.
Kariya was stunned for a moment, but in the end he didn't say anything more, just kept repeating: "You don't have to say it."
"Then I can rest assured... Aoi..."
"I am here."
"...Rin..."
"dad."
"... Sakura..."
"dad."
After calling his family one last time, the man who had been struggling to survive for four years calmly closed his eyes and let his hands fall down.
Tousaka Tokiomi died peacefully.
PS: The king of blame in this world is gone, you have to take responsibility for your own mistakes from now on.