Amidst a world of ice and snow, a group of thinly clothed people trudged forward.
Aside from their meager clothing, they wore shackles on their feet, and their bodies were covered with black Originium crystals.
There were men and women, young and old.
The only thing they all had in common was that they were Infected.
Standing at a distance, Shirou looked down at the scene below.
He did not know where this place was. Other than being able to stand on the ground, there was nothing else he could do.
When he tried to touch the trees, his hands passed straight through them.
When he tried to attack the soldiers, his fists passed through them as well.
All he could do was watch helplessly as these Infected endured their suffering.
A frail Infected collapsed into the snow. No matter how the soldiers whipped her, there was no response.
She was dead.
A fierce snowstorm swept through, and the scene before Shirou changed.
No longer a frozen wasteland, but what appeared to be a mine.
The Infected gathered together, using the tools in their hands to continuously dig out Originium.
Their frail bodies performed intense labor, while the thick Originium dust in the air constantly worsened their Oripathy.
A vicious cycle that accelerated the end of their lives.
One by one, the Infected collapsed, then were pushed into a large pit and burned together.
They became a source of warmth for the rest of the Infected in the mine.
Looking at those in the pit, the only thing Shirou could do was clench his fists tightly.
This was not the real world, nor was it Archer's memory.
It was the memories carried by Originium itself, memories of the Infected.
Towering flames surged into the sky, engulfing Shirou as well.
"...!"
Startled by the sudden flames, Shirou's eyes snapped open.
What greeted him was a pure white ceiling.
Along with the smell of disinfectant and the sound of medical equipment.
The moment he smelled the disinfectant, he knew he had returned to reality.
After all, even when he had been standing among piles of corpses just now, he had not been able to smell anything.
Those scenes would be deeply shocking to an ordinary person, but to Shirou, they were not particularly overwhelming.
It was only the expressions in the eyes of those people before they died that made him feel uneasy.
"Hmm…?"
Supporting himself with his hand, Shirou tried to sit up.
There was no pain as he had expected, nor did his body feel unwell anywhere.
It was as if everything before he lost consciousness had just been a dream.
But unfortunately, it was not a dream.
Looking at the red sleeve on his right arm, Shirou still had some impression of it.
It was the same outfit as Archer. In another, rather special Holy Grail War, Emiya Shirou had also worn a similar outfit after borrowing the power of a card. The only difference was that the sleeve had been on the left arm.
It was likely similar to the attire Heroic Spirits wore in battle. Shirou felt that he could dismiss this outfit at any time.
As for why he had it… he had a rough idea.
Excluding the possibility of a Class Card, the only remaining explanation was the one item related to Archer he possessed, the holy shroud.
"Shirou, are you awake? Do you feel any discomfort?"
Noticing movement on Shirou's side, Minmin hurried over from where she had been busy.
She was wearing a lab coat bearing Rhodes Island's emblem and holding several documents.
"No, I am fine. Is this a Rhodes Island office?"
Shaking his head in response, Shirou sat on the hospital bed, scanning the room.
He had been here a few times before, so he was familiar with it.
He had brought the children here for checkups to assess their Oripathy conditions.
"Yes. Since you are awake, could you please remove that outfit you are wearing? No matter what we tried, taking it off caused a lot of disturbance, so I could not attach any instruments to you. Even X-rays cannot pass through it."
After observing Shirou for a while, Minmin confirmed that he seemed to be in relatively good condition.
At least, there were no obvious external issues.
However, none of the necessary examinations could be skipped. Earlier, that extremely unconventional outfit had been constantly interfering, and it could not even be removed.
Not just X-rays, even needles could not penetrate it. Even areas not covered by the clothing were somehow affected.
If the initial diagnosis had not suggested that Shirou had simply fainted from exhaustion, the people outside might have already tried to tear the outfit apart with their weapons.
It was almost absurd. Every pair of scissors in the Rhodes Island office had broken while trying to cut through his clothes, yet the outfit itself did not have a single scratch.
"Is that so… sorry."
Hearing the faintly resentful tone in her voice, Shirou let out an awkward laugh.
A blue glow of magical energy covered his body, revealing the tattered shirt underneath.
"This is bad! I borrowed this! It is not going to be expensive, is it?"
Looking at the shirt that was practically beyond repair, Shirou's first thought was compensation.
"No, no, no this is what you are worried about? What was that scene just now that only appears on television?"
Rubbing her eyes repeatedly, Minmin felt that what she had just witnessed was far too unbelievable.
She wanted to learn it too.
"Uh… let us handle the important matters first?"
Seeing the curiosity shining in her eyes, Shirou quickly changed the subject.
Putting aside whether he could teach it or not, he did not even fully understand the principles himself.
Glancing at the shroud on his right arm, Shirou gently removed it, folded it, and set it aside.
There was no time to study it now. That would have to wait.
"Oh, right. Business first."
Snapping back to her senses, Minmin picked up a prepared syringe and drew a tube of blood from Shirou, then arranged for someone to bring a change of clothes.
A full examination would follow, and he could not wear that outfit for it.
"…Shirou, are you mentally prepared?"
Watching the syringe slowly fill with blood, Minmin hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Prepared for what? Oripathy?"
Shirou, who had been slightly dazed, was brought back to reality by her question.
"Yes. Are you not worried?"
Seeing that his expression barely changed, Minmin finally relaxed a little.
Even the calmest and most gentle people could feel resentment upon suddenly learning they had become Infected. As a doctor treating Oripathy, she was often the target of misplaced anger.
She did not know what Shirou would be like if he got angry, but judging from what he had just done, she doubted she could handle it.
After all, he had just cut through an entire wall with a single strike.
"It would be a lie to say I am not worried. But since it has already happened, the only thing to do is face it, is it not?"
After a brief pause, Shirou answered.
"That is very optimistic. Not bad. Keep it up."
Hearing his response, Minmin realized she had been overthinking.
She withdrew the needle, handed him a set of patient clothes, and went back to her work.
"Honestly…"
Holding the hospital gown and watching her hurried departure, Shirou sighed.
Even if he seemed fine, he was still technically a patient. Leaving him alone like this did not seem very appropriate.
"But… where is everyone else?"
Looking around the ward, aside from the busy Minmin, there was no one he recognized.
The Lungmen Guard Department was understandable; they were probably still occupied.
But what about Penguin Logistics? Had they gone to interrogate the captured suspects?
Then again… he did not know how long he had been unconscious. It was possible they had already been dragged back to work by their boss.
After all, their boss could be quite ruthless.
"My phone…is gone."
He had wanted to check the time, but all he found were the remains of his phone.
Along with the remains of his communicator.
Phone, communicator, clothes, accessories…
This time, Shirou had suffered quite a loss.
Fortunately, there were not many important things on his phone. He could simply buy a new one.
As for the rest, he would have to find a way to apologize to Hoshiguma and Swire.
Thinking this, Shirou pushed open the ward door, intending to wash up before changing into the patient clothes.
"Doctor! Is he—Shirou!?"
As soon as he opened the door, Exusiai rushed up, only to be startled on the spot.
It seemed she had been about to ask about his condition.
"You are awake? Are you alright?"
Seeing Shirou in his ragged state, Texas asked about his condition.
Her tone was as calm as ever, but Shirou noticed the large pile of empty Pocky boxes beside where she was sitting.
"I am fine for now. And stop sticking so close!"
While explaining his condition, Shirou held the hospital gown in front of him, blocking Exusiai from pouncing on him.
At the same time, he shot a warning glance at Croissant, who was also eager to try.
"How heartless! We have been waiting here for five hours!"
Seeing the dangerous look in his eyes, Croissant stopped her movements. The fear of being "disciplined" by Shirou over the past days forced her to restrain herself, leaving her only able to complain verbally.
They had been waiting here for five whole hours after something happened to him!
And yet, after waking up, he rejected their enthusiastic welcome.
"I was just hit by Originium dust explosions. I am going to change clothes first."
Ignoring Croissant's aggrieved look, Shirou waved his hand, signaling them to keep their distance.
From the conversation, he could roughly tell that he had only been unconscious for about five hours.
Sora, meanwhile, was resting on a chair nearby. The commotion just now had not woken her.
With her head resting on Texas's lap, she seemed to be sleeping rather uneasily.
"Come back quickly!"
Obediently keeping more than a meter away as instructed, Exusiai cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted toward Shirou.
"Got it."
After putting his things away, Shirou replied and turned to look for the shower room.
"Haa… Shirou looks fine. That is such a relief."
Watching his departing figure, Exusiai collapsed back into her chair.
No one knew how agonizing those five hours had been for them. Even Sora had been unable to sleep peacefully.
They had only managed to lull her to sleep with great effort. After finishing an intense performance and then experiencing such emotional turmoil, her mental state had not been in a good place.
In the end, they had to sacrifice Texas's lap to make it happen.
Unfortunately, she still did not sleep very soundly.
"Yes… at least it did not turn into the worst-case scenario."
Aside from Exusiai, the others also let out sighs of relief.
"Should we inform the Lungmen Guard Department?"
After finally relaxing their tense nerves a little, Croissant suddenly asked.
It was not that Chen, Hoshiguma, and Swire were heartless. They also felt deeply responsible for what had happened to Shirou.
However, they could not simply abandon their duties.
Before leaving, the three had said that once they finished handling matters, they would come over. If Shirou woke up earlier, they should contact them by phone.
"Go ahead."
Texas had no objections. She could not place all the blame on them.
After all, she had been at the scene and still failed to act in time.
They all shared responsibility in this matter.
"Then I will do it."
After glancing at Croissant and Texas, Exusiai took on the difficult task.
Contacting the Guard Department proactively felt almost like turning herself in.
Just as she dialed the phone and was about to mention Shirou—
The ward door suddenly burst open, and Minmin rushed out.
"Where is Shirou?"
Looking around and not seeing him, Minmin asked the group.
"What happened to Shirou?"
Startled awake by her urgency, Sora jumped up and asked.
"Shirou is fine, Sora. Calm down. He went to change into patient clothes."
Croissant stepped forward to calm the still-flustered Sora while explaining Shirou's whereabouts to Minmin.
"I see. Once he is done changing, have him come find me."
Realizing that her abrupt behavior had startled everyone, Minmin forced herself to calm down.
"…Is Shirou's condition very bad?"
Seeing her reaction, Texas asked.
If Minmin was this anxious to find him, something must be wrong.
She wanted to understand the situation first, at least to prepare herself mentally.
"No, quite the opposite. Shirou's condition is excellent. He has not become Infected. Not only that, his blood test results show that he is perfectly healthy."
Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, Minmin announced the good news.
"Really?"
Hearing this, everyone present widened their eyes and sought confirmation.
In their expectations, becoming Infected had already been the best possible outcome. They never imagined there could be even better news.
Shirou must have saved the entire world in a past life.
Otherwise, how could he remain completely fine after being surrounded by Originium dust?
After confirming the news, Exusiai was already celebrating wildly with Croissant.
"???"
And so, when Shirou returned, this was the strange scene that greeted him.
He rubbed his eyes.
How strange.
He looked again.
Still very strange.