Shirou's eyes opened to the sight of a pristine white ceiling.
It was a far cry from the dreary ashen landscape he had been in moments ago, and the contrast was almost enough to distract his mind from the horror of his newly gained [Flaw].
Even without looking at his runes Shirou could still see them carved straight into his mind, perched on the backs of his eyelids mocking him.
He had just regained a piece of his past. Just regained a connection to his father and their shared dream of heroism and justice. And just when he thought he had a path to walk towards, it was ripped away?
The thought of it was enough to leave Shirou feeling numbness in his heart, and made him all too willing to simply lay down and sleep.
His body wasn't willing to put up with that though, and as his consciousness fully returned, Shirou became aware of how stiff and uncomfortable his body was. It made sense though considering he was strapped to a chair, and had been in a coma for over a week.
"Hello there lad, glad to see you're finally awake" a low voice spoke out from beyond Shirou's restrained field of view "We might as well get you out of those restraints now that you're conscious."
A soft click echoed from within his restraints as they popped open, letting Shirou sit up and get a look at the person who had spoken.
Standing against the far wall of the room was a man decked out in the dark blues and pale greys of a government military uniform.
His frame was solid without being overbearing or excessively muscular and, while his face showed some clear signs of age, every hair on his head was a perfect midnight black.
Those subtle aspects of his appearance were secondary compared to the presence that the man carried with him. It was hard to pin down until Shirou focused on it, but the more he did the more clear it became.
That impression was a scent like copper and rust mixed with blood and sweetened with lead. A cocktail that was alluring for a moment but seemed more and more like the echo of a battlefield the more one dug.
Even without digging deep though the weight of the man's presence was inarguable, as though he was bearing down on the world around him and demanding the very air bend down to accommodate him.
It was the same type of presence that Shirou had felt seemingly minutes ago from Flavius. The weight of a [Transcendent] standing right in front of you.
As soon as he recognized it Shirou descended into a panic.
His eyes darted around the room and realized that it wasn't the police station he had fallen asleep in. Wasn't the bed he had fallen asleep on. Even worse, the hospital gown he was wearing weren't the clothes he had fallen asleep in.
His palms began sweating and his heart rate skyrocketed as he looked around the room for a weapon or anything he could use to defend himself. That thought didn't last long though as Shirou recalled what he had gleaned from his memories.
Rather than look for a weapon Shirou tugged on his newly recalled [Skill].
The act of pulling on his mana sent a deep yet surprisingly dull pain running down Shirou's arm. He had felt far worse in his nightmare and as such it did nothing to stop him from fully drawing out the image of the longsword he had held just hours ago.
A wireframe schematic of electric green light surged forth in Shirou's palm, and less than a second later it was filled in with matter and form, perfectly recreating the longsword he had wielded.
Shirou rolled back off the bed and stood back up, drawn blade in hand brandished towards the man.
The man took Shirou's display in stride, not at all concerned or threatened. That much was what Shirou expected, after all if this man was like Flavius then Shirou would starve to death swinging his sword before he managed to even draw blood.
What was surprising though was rather than charge forward or move to subdue him, the man only looked at Shirou with a sad frown.
Giving only a sigh in response to having a sword in his face the man placatingly held his hands up. "All right lad, let's just settle down all right? I know that coming out of a nightmare can be frightful but you're safe now. You made it through to the other side."
"Where am I? This isn't the station I fell asleep in and these aren't my clothes."
The man kept his hands up, in a pointless show of powerlessness "You're in the District 7 police precinct lad. Something strange happened during your nightmare and it was enough that the outskirts officers called us in to help." He gestured at Shirou's hospital gown clad body "That same strangeness led to your clothes getting burned to ash, and it's what we suspect gave you those new marks."
At the mention of the marks Shirou turned his gaze to his arms.
They were covered in the same thin black marks he had seen on himself at the end of his nightmare. They looked a bit more raw than they had inside the dream, and the pain coming from them was more constant and dull but their positions were identical.
While keeping his sword pointed forward Shirou lightly traced them with his free hand and felt ripples of pain, worse than they'd been in his dreamscape yet not enough to debilitate him.
It was enough to cause him to wince though and the sight of that reaction had the man let out a sigh "Well seeing you confused about those is a disappointment. We were hoping you could help explain why your body started burning like a bonfire while you were sleeping."
Being set aflame wasn't something Shirou recalled.
The closest thing to that was the heat he felt when he drew on his abilities, but the most those fires did was singe his arms or legs. "I don't know anything that could have caused that, but it still doesn't seem like something like that would get a [Transcendent] brought in to watch me?"
The man narrowed his eyes in curiosity "Most civilians call us Saints rather than [Transcendents]. The fancier terms tend not to make it into the saturday morning cartoons or mangas."
The curiosity in his eyes was smothered by a thin smile. "As for your question though lad, you should understand that something unexpected earns a lot of attention and sometimes a lot of fear. People need to feel like we understand things in order for them to feel safe and someone's first nightmare going haywire isn't normal. That's what I'm here for, trying to learn more about what happened and making sure no threat to public safety will start running around killing innocent people."
The last sentence was delivered in a dry tone as the man stared straight at Shirou's sword.
The silence that filled the room after his words dragged on and Shirou felt increasingly embarrassed to still be holding what was essentially a demigod at bladepoint.
With a sigh Shirou released his projection and the blade in his hands dissolved into green sparks "I apologize for the sword Sir. My nightmare ended with a fight and I didn't expect to see… someone like you out of the blue."
The man's eyes lingered on the fading sparks of Shirou's sword for a moment before he shook his head goodnaturedly.
"No apologies needed lad. Like I said before, nightmares can be frightful and first ones especially so. I've seen people bigger and older than you do far more foolish things" he let out a laugh. "Though waving a sword in a Saints face might be up there, but I think we can keep that tale between us all right? No need to start off your career as an Awakened with a story of threatening an old Saint eh?"
The man's laughter was strangely infectious, Shirou could almost hear a chorus of ravens crowing beneath the man's voice and it was enough to make him chuckle himself.
The persona he gave off was entirely cold and dark, almost bordering into the realm of emo and goth. His actual behaviour seemed far more grandfatherly though, and made it simple to feel at ease "I appreciate that Sir. You probably already know it, but my name is Emiya Shirou, it's a pleasure to meet you."
The man received the apology with a gentle smile and offered Shirou his hand "I'm Saint Cor, and despite the start the feeling is mutual. What do you say we get you some fresh clothes and discuss what comes next over some food? I imagine that after nearly two weeks of IV fluids your body is craving some real food."
As Shirou shook his hand the last words sank in and his eyes widened "It's been two weeks? I know I was in the nightmare a while but has it really been that long out here!"
"Huh, I suppose that isn't mentioned in the introductory slide show then is it? There's no kind of time shenanigans between nightmares and the waking world, or the dream realm and the waking world for that matter. Time there is time here, which is why getting good sleep pods and beds matter so much. Why don't we get you something to eat first and then we can…"
His words were interrupted when Shirou twisted away and ran for the door "I'm sorry Sir but I need to go! Someone's waiting for me and I need to find her before her nightmare!"
When Shirou turned back to the door he ran headfirst into an unyielding wall of flesh, so hard that he bounced himself off and landed on the floor.
"Whoa there, slow down a minute. I've got a good idea of who you're talking about and I'm more than willing to bring you to her. Trust me when I say getting dressed first and having a guide will be a lot better for you than running through this tower half naked all by yourself."
Shirou looked up and saw Cor standing in front of him, the man literally unfazed and his clothes not even ruffled after Shirou had run into him.
Far more frightening to consider was the fact that Cor had somehow moved across the room in a frighteningly literal blink of an eye so fast and so suddenly that Shirou couldn't even tell he moved.
Despite the implications both his speed and strength carried, the man was still acting calm and had his hands up in a placating gesture which was enough to stop Shirou from trying to run again.
It didn't stop him from pleading though "Please Sir, I've wasted enough time already and I don't…"
"You don't want to waste anymore. I understand lad, really I do but I also understand that the time it takes you to get some clothes and follow me won't be that much of a difference will it?"
Silence was the only response Cor's words got which he took as a confirmation. "That's about what I thought. Now how about we get you some clothes while you tell me about your friend. If she's the one I'm thinking of, we'll head straight to her room afterwards all right."
For the second time in as many minutes a hand was offered to Shirou. One that he gladly accepted.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
As the pair walked through the massive structure Shirou became increasingly grateful that he hadn't run off on his own.
When he had been told he was in the district 7 police precinct Shirou pictured something on the order of the outskirts station he had first gone to. A fairly large place that may have a sizable underground area but was still of a reasonable scale. This place was nothing at all like that.
As soon as they made it out of the Aspirant holding area Cor began to lead Shirou to the police quartermaster. In Shirou's mind it should have been the sort of thing that was across the hall or three doors down.
Instead they began a journey through hallways and corridors that seemed to go on without end before stepping into a grand atrium that was filled with thousands of police officers scurrying every which way.
The ceiling stretched a dozen meters above them and the floor of the space was still another dozen down. High above hundreds of light screens illuminated the room even as they displayed an image of a false sky.
Every floor the room cut through had walkways that circled the space and stairs that connected them all together and to the floor below.
It seemed like the kind of room that would be fit for a world leader to give a speech in, or a massive sporting event to take place inside of.
In this police station though it seemed to simply be the fastest point between A and B for many and it took on the role of hub for foot traffic.
It was apparently such a mundane sight for those here that Cor didnt even slow when they stepped inside, instead continuing through at a brisk pace towards a cluster of elevators.
Getting inside them did nothing to reduce the impression of scale this place had. The elevators were marked as being specific for this station and yet despite that there were still fifty floors to pick from.
Thankfully once they left the elevators it only took a few more minutes of walking to reach the warehouse sized supply department.
There was a bit of a discussion between the staff there and Saint Cor but it didnt last long and soon Shirou was wearing proper clothes once again.
The style of clothes he was given though…
"You look good in that lad! Depending on how things go, maybe you'll end up wearing that uniform officially in the future?"
Shirou smoothed out the military uniform he had been provided and gave Cor a slightly strained smile "Are you sure it's appropriate for me to wear this Sir? I'm not part of your organization."
A waved hand showed how much Cor cared about that. "Nonesense, you're on the path to being an Awakened now and I've got a good feeling you'll have a future with the government if you choose to go that route. We can work out the details later though, why don't you keep the uniform until then?"
Shirou wasn't sure how to feel about that yet before he could answer Cor began walking away forcing Shirou to follow him "Now I'm pretty sure I know who your friend is Shirou. But before I lead you to her I need you to tell me some things about her so I know you two are related. I'm not accusing you but I can't lead a random stranger to one of the Aspirants under our care. Why don't we start with her name?"
Shirou was about to correct Cor about their relation yet before he did a paranoid thought wormed its way into his head. If he mentioned they were just friends then Cor might start asking about their past together. He couldn't provide memories he didn't have and despite starting to trust this man, revealing his amnesia didn't seem wise.
Shirou wanted to trust Cor but other than the politeness he had shown so far there wasn't any real reason to disclose everything. Especially not if sharing too much might cause issues once Rin woke up.
The simple things about her should be ok to share though "Her name is Tohsaka Rin."
"Hmmmmmm, knowing that name alone is a big clue you know her. Not many folks have last names outside the clans. Having some kid from the outskirts waving one around is rare enough, but both of you doing it makes a bit of sense." Cor chuckled to himself and turned back to Shirou with a smirk "Though if you two were playing house and planning to start your own clan shouldn't you have made your last names be the same."
The older man's suggestion was enough to make Shirou overlook the sheer strangeness of a lack of last names as he felt his cheeks heat up. "Thats not… we didnt… we aren't together like that. And we didn't pick out our last names or anything."
Cor's teasing chuckle trailed off into an intrigued hum at Shirou's last sentence. "Interesting…" Despite his curious tone Cor was fast to pivot back into his goodnatured tone. "Well no need for this old man to pry too much into your business then. What kids want to call themselves is their own business. Most people don't pay any attention to names unless you're famous, from a famous clan, or you got a true name from the spell to wave around."
Shirou's cheeks were still heated from Cor's insinuation and he latched on to the change of subject he had just been given. He still didnt understand his own cryptic title and a chance to learn more was useful. "I'm not all that familiar with true names Sir. The public library Rin and I use doesn't have much in there and the things online we've found aren't the most reliable."
"Mhmm. A lot of the stuff that makes it to the general public is fluff or speculation. Or a hefty dose of propaganda that our government spooks puts together. Helps make people less fearful about bulletproof superhumans living among them."
Cor let out a sigh and looked up, his eyes gazing beyond the ceiling of the corridor they walked through, at some distant thing only he could see. "As for true names, the details of them are actually vague even among Awakened. We know the spell gives them out and that most people tend to pick one up as they go up the path of Awakening but there's no rule to it. On one hand some Saints still don't have one and on the other hand sleepers can get them in their first nightmare. That's just getting them though, once you have them…"
Cor's sentence trailed off before he let out a sigh "Don't worry too much about it if you end up getting one. Despite what some of the strange folks in Clan Night like to say, no research has ever found any effects from someone's true name. Even if it's something unpleasant it doesn't mean anything about you."
Shirou had the distinct impression that the last piece of advice was as much for Cor as it was for himself but he didn't press it.
He was prepared to thank the older man for the advice when he realized they had arrived back at the Aspirant holding area and were standing in front of a door flanked by two Awakened soldiers.
"All right, here we are. Before we go in though I don't want you getting your hopes up ok? She's still in her nightmare right now and odds are she won't be bursting awake soon. What's more, we can't leave you alone in there with her. Even if I know you know her, she's still an Aspirant under government protection. If it makes you feel better though, we can talk about next steps for you inside. Sound good?"
Shirou offered a nod in reply, and the two stepped inside.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
The inside of Rin's room was every bit as posh and elegant as his own had been.
The lounger she was laid up was the same plush faux leather his own had been and the safety restraints were equally fancy. The room was clean and had a nearly sterile quality to it that the outskirts station had lacked. There was even a TV screen displaying calming natural vistas and waves which drove home the idea of this being a high class location.
None of those opulent details mattered in Shirou's eyes.
The only thing in the room that mattered to him was the raven haired girl laying comatose on the bed.
Nice clean walls didn't change the fact that Rin had IVs in her arms keeping her fed and hydrated.
No amount of cushions on it made up for the fact that Rin was unconscious, battling who knows what in her nightmare.
Fancy decorations didn't change the fact her arms, legs and neck were securely clamped down to hold back the nightmare creature that would erupt from her corpse if she failed.
None of it changed the fact that he was too late to tell her anything that might have helped.
Shirou slowly walked up to Rin's bedside and looked down at her. Despite the unknowable trials her soul was going through right now, her body was perfectly still. Only the steady beating of her heart and breathing of her lungs made it clear she was still alive, those and the brain scan readings being collected.
His eyes didn't linger on those things though. Instead his gaze was drawn to the marks that covered Rin's body.
He had seen something similar on himself already and while he suspected Rin might have them too he wasn't sure about it. What he hadn't expected was for hers to look so different from his own.
The blackened marks on Shirou's body had a random jaggedness to them and each one was thin, only about half the width of his pinky. What's more, despite their rough patterns covering his limbs and much of his chest, the actual number of distinct lines on Shirou's body wasn't that large. He didn't think he would have much trouble counting them all up if he tried.
Rin's were different. Each line had a smooth nigh artistic flow to it and they were all five times the size of his. Their size, and the fact that there were so many of them, lead to most of Rin's visible skin being covered by them but none of those differences were the most striking one.
The biggest difference was the fact that unlike the blackened char of his own marks, Rin's looked like reverse tan lines. As though she had worn a strangely artistic stencil and gone sun tanning for a month.
"Its a likely a small comfort for you, but it seems Tohsaka went through the beginning of her nightmare much more gently than you did. Despite still catching fire no part of her body got burned black like you did."
Shirou felt the urge to reach forward, to try and hold her hand and comfort her somehow. He still wasn't sure what their relationship was but he knew they had been close.
And he knew that he should have been thinking of her more in his nightmare.
The thought of getting back as fast as possible slid from his mind when he had gotten inside, all his focus overtaken by the people around him that he needed to save and help.
He had been consumed by the world he found himself in and being a hero to people that didn't even exist. All the while she must have been waiting for him.
He owed her an apology, and he needed to talk with her and try to understand more about what was going on around them and what they both should do.
That would all have to wait until she woke up. "It helps to know that she didn't get hurt as badly as me. Even if I didn't feel it, I know whatever did this to my body must have been painful."
Cor hummed in acknowledgement before he grabbed a pair of chairs and sat down. "Now that you've had a chance to see her, and know she is being taken care of as best we can, are you ready to talk. There's a lot about your future that needs to be discussed."
Shirou took the offered seat, though his eyes still lingered on Rin's dreaming form. "I… I don't know about making any decisions without her."
Cor sighed and lightly shook his head "Fine, you don't need to make any decisions right now then, but at the very least you need to hear what I have to say all right?"
To that Shirou had no objections "Then I'll get started. Firstly I need to discuss some of the standard things we go over after everyone's first nightmare. Starting with the fact that you are entitled to receive free psychological counseling from a government agent. We know that many people's nightmares are deeply traumatic and helping people recover from that is paramount. Are you at all interested?"
Shirou was still for a moment, images of screaming soldiers, bleeding bodies, and sand soaked red with blood flicking past his eyes. Despite the weight of it all it didn't settle on Shirou's mind as much as the guilt of failing to save people did. None of that made him think he needed counseling. It would be better to save for someone more valuable.
He shook his head, and Cor looked at the young man for a long moment. It almost seemed like Cor was going to push the matter before he slowly shook his own head. "If that's how you feel, I won't push you. I can only highly recommend that you go. With that said though, is there anything about your Nightmare that you want to talk about with me? Not many have a chance to chat with a Saint about these things, and I don't have many chances to share what I know."
Shirou thought about that offer longer than he had the first. The idea of talking to Cor didn't feel like he was taking up resources at all, in fact it almost felt like he would be doing Cor a favor if he talked. The question of what to talk about though was difficult.
So much had happened in his nightmare. So many things all happened so fast and in so many ways that he honestly barely managed to keep track of it all. Even after living through it all Shirou barely had a grasp on it. All of that balanced against weighing what he could and could not share with the man he only barely trusted left Shirou struggling to find any words.
As his mind was whirring in circles one question bubbled up to the top of his mind, and slipped past his other raging thoughts down to his mouth "Is it true that the people in our Nightmares aren't real?"
Cor closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He was silent for a moment before a sigh escaped his lips, one more slow and weary than his others had been. "That's an interesting question, though mercifully it's also a clear cut one. Everything in our Nightmares, the land, the air, the people, places and things all of them are illusionary and there aren't any permanent consequences from what happens inside. The only effect that the fate of people in the nightmare has is on how the blasted spell appraises you."
Cor held his finger up, cutting off a question that Shirou was about to ask. "But they are not some dreamt up images. They don't spring up from the ether with no rhyme or reason. They aren't entirely empty things. Instead, according to every single study and expedition that's been done, our nightmares, and all the people in them, are built from historical events in the dream realm itself."
He put his arm on Shirou's shoulder "That means you don't need to carry any guilt about how your nightmare went lad. The folks you met in it were real, but whatever end they faced was beyond your control. Real history already happened, and your nightmare didn't leave any lasting marks on anyone other than yourself."
Shirou offered no reply beyond a nod, the words helping to soothe the logical root of his guilt but doing nothing to wash it all away. Still the intent was kind. "Thank you Sir. Hearing that helps."
"I'm glad to hear that lad. It's an important lesson to remember, not only to help you keep your mind free of guilt, but also to remind you of the importance of learning all we can from the dream realm. Studying its history and the events that shaped it can give you a valuable leg up if you ever decide to challenge your second nightmare."
Cor let out a sigh "Which brings us back around to the rather important things I said we need to discuss." He grabbed a tablet from his pocket and swiped past numerous screens. "Most of this is all formality paper work that was processed for you while you were unconscious. Status paperwork, updated credentials, things like that. What we have left to discuss is preparation for your first journey to the dream realm. In particular I'd like to talk about the support that the government can offer you for it."
Shirou was about to ask Cor what he meant by that when the door to the room opened up revealing a nurse pushing a medical cart.
The only thing Shirou noticed though was the fact that on the cart were dozens of vials of blood, along with the supplies and equipment needed to draw a dozen more.
While Shirou was staring at the cart with wide eyes and an open mouth, Cor's reaction was far more aggressive. The man stood and rounded on the nurse looming over her "What are you doing in here?"
All the blood drained out of the nurse's face as she looked up at the fuming Saint. "The… the lab wanted more samples. The R&D head stopped me in the hall and asked me to collect them before Emiya… gets… here." Her words trailed off as she finally recognized the young man behind the Saint, the one who had just heard everything.
"And you didn't think to check with anyone, to ask the guards by the door before you barged in here!" Cor's shout echoed through the small room, the volume and weight of his voice bearing down on the woman as she shrank back from him.
"I… they… Sir… There's no one outside right now. I'm so sorry I didn't..."
The Saint's eyes widened, he pushed the woman aside and opened the door only to be met by an empty corridor instead of guards. "What in the..,"
"Saint Cor. What is all this?"
Shirou stood in front of the cart, his eyes running across the vials. The idea of collecting blood from them was logical in his mind, in fact it made no small bit of sense for patients in a hospital setting to be getting tested for all manner of things to keep them healthy.
The amount in front of him though, it was dozens of vials enough that the cart had five trays holding them all. Add to that the extra two dozen empty vials…
The implication of it all made the room they were in feel far less comforting.
It made the idea of leaving Rin alone here seem far less acceptable.
And it made the man across from him suddenly far less trustworthy.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Name: Shirou Emiya
True Name: The Question Asked
Rank: ꌈꃔꅐꁲꃔꋖꑀꀷ
Soul Core: Sealed
Soul Fragments: 0/1000
Gears: 0/∞
Blade Fragments: 647/1000
Magic Circuit Count: 27
Magic Circuit Quality: F-
Memories: [Guardian's Mantle], [Honorguard's Bulwark], [Fragment of Home]
Echoes: —
Skills: [Reinforcement: Rank E+], [Projection: Rank E]
Attributes: [Distant], [Third Rate Magus], [Scion of Steel], [?]
Flaw: [Ending of the Dream]
Flaw Description: [Yours is a life that cannot be given away flippantly. You are unable to risk your life to save another.]
Aspect: [Archive of ?????]
Aspect Rank: [ꊿꌈꋖꑀꌅ]
Aspect Description: [Your soul exists as a monument to human endeavors and a temple of heroes. It serves as a resting place, armory, forge, and even foundation for what may one day be.]
Innate Ability: [Unlimited Bladeworks]
Ability Description: [As the armory of your soul grows, the potency of its forge grows as well. With time it may chronicle an entire world]
Aspect Ability: [Spark of Creation]
Ability Description: [Weapons and objects manifested from your soul bear an uncommon weight to them. They are not so easy to erode or dissolve]
XxXxXxXxXxXxX