"Wake up. Won't you wake up?"
A voice calls.
"Come on, wake up already. I want to get going."
A slap to the face, the voice echoing.
"Ngh…?" I murmur.
Opening my eyes, I see a blue ceiling. I sit up, my body sprawled on a bed, covered with a towel.
"Where…?"
I was in the Singularity, survived, then slept to restore my spiritual core… right?
The First Order seems complete, given I'm here. Relief washes over me. I relax my tense body, exhaling.
Good. I brought the Masters back to Chaldea safely.
Humanity's incineration. A ████-induced project to ████ humanity. The failure to overcome █.
Hearing it is one thing; experiencing it is another. The claim that humanity's already gone is a cruel jest.
The Masters will surely choose to face this hardship. With no other path, it's practically forced upon them, but they must act, or humanity ends.
"Adults are powerless when it matters most," I mutter.
The vessel calls adults mundane creatures, overwhelmed by their own lives. I don't disagree. Narrowed perspectives close off possibilities.
Life tarnishes dreamed tomorrows and radiant futures with reality's rust. For me, even that self was nothing…
(Hey, how long are you gonna ignore me?)
!?
A voice rings in my head—no, my heart.
Who!? What!?
(Calm down and look ahead. Cute little me's right there, isn't it?)
I follow the voice. There, a beautiful beast with white fur and horn-like protrusions sits primly.
(Hey, nameless King of Heroes. I saw your struggle.)
!?
(Don't tense up. I won't tell anyone, and I'm not here to interfere.)
The voice sinks into my heart, calm yet weighty.
(Let's be clear: I hate him.)
Him?
(Yeah, the golden, arrogant clairvoyant. That clairvoyance especially—it nearly changed me.)
(I'd rather not be near him, but you're different.)
Me?
(You, the nameless soul reborn in Gilgamesh.)
He sees through me!? My true nature, lodged in the King of Heroes, recognized by this pristine beast?
(I hate him, but you intrigue me. Confusing? Get used to it.)
(You chose a miracle. And you pulled it off.)
Miracle?
(That hysterical Olga Marie. You cared for her, gave her the Grail, and reconstructed her from her lingering consciousness.)
(It was small-scale, so her body's restoration was limited.)
(But you undeniably saved a life.)
…I did?
I saved her? But that was only because of Gilgamesh's treasury…
(Treasures don't save on their own. Someone must wield them to give them value.)
(You chose the Grail from his treasury and gave it to Olga Marie.)
(Why did you do it?)
Is it wrong to want to save a life?
(You could've abandoned her. She was already dead.)
She was still alive.
(Without a body?)
Even unknowingly, she was striving to live. She bonded with Mash and Ritsuka, building something they'll need. That's why I wanted to save her.
(Even with a miracle?)
Yes.
(I see.)
The beast rises spryly.
(Then, congratulations are in order.)
For what?
(Your soul. You achieved something only you could.)
…
(Without your soul, no one could've saved her.)
(You left a mark on this world.)
…
I left a mark. I did it.
Really?
(Olga Marie, thanks to the Grail, needs no food, sleep, or bodily functions. She's determined not to waste the life you saved.)
(Your achievement. I'm the only one who perceives it, but I do.)
Olga Marie is safe. A girl who yearned for praise and recognition, spared from a merciless end—it's truly heartening.
Did you come just to congratulate me?
(Partly, but this is the main point.)
(You can stop now.)
What?
(There's pain and hardship ahead. Your wish to achieve something is fulfilled. Your soul changed the world.)
(But there's more suffering to come.)
(What do you say? If it's too hard, you can stop.)
Stop? Leave this vessel? Abandon it to the others?
I shake my head.
Don't be absurd. I haven't achieved anything yet.
The world's gone. Humanity's gone. Mash, Ritsuka, everyone will face anguish. Why should I alone stop?
(You'll keep fighting?)
Of course.
I haven't accomplished anything yet.
(Alright. Your story continues.)
(Keep at it. I'm intrigued by you, the different you in this world.)
Who are you?
(I'm Fou, a beast who loves comparing people.)
(I'll visit you like this.)
(Don't forget: if it's too hard, you can stop.)
The voice fades.
What… was that?