Interlude II: His Thoughts

[Shidou PoV]

'What am I seeing right now?'

'Am I still half asleep?'

These kind of thoughts swirled within Shidou's head.

Hearing the space quake alarm a few minutes later, he rushed here downtown to find his little sister who apparently didn't still evacuate based on the GPS of her phone.

Well, she may had already evacuated already but just left her phone. Still, it is better to be sure than never.

And so he arrived.

What he saw was literal destruction all over the place.

Spread out in Shidou's view was a very eerie scene.

Roads without moving cars, a town devoid of all signs of people.

On the streets, in the parks, even in the convenience stores, not a single person was left.

The presence of the people that had been here until just a few moments ago was left behind, but the actual figures of those people had disappeared. It was like a scene from a horror movie.

Since the disaster thirty years ago, it was this Tenguu City that was carefully redeveloped while nervously dealing with the spacequakes. Never mind the public facilities, even the percentage of normal families owning a shelter was the highest in the country.

Because of the frequent spacequakes recently, people evacuated quickly.

But even so...

"Why is that idiot stubbornly waiting there...!"

He let out a shout, then opened his cell phone while still running.

The icon showing Kotori's position remained in front of the family restaurant.

While deciding that Kotori's punishment would be a wild flurry of flicks to the forehead, he continued moving his feet at a high speed towards the family restaurant.

He was not doing anything like pacing himself. He just relentlessly sprinted towards the family restaurant as fast as he could.

His feet hurt, and the tips of his fingers grew numb.

His head was dizzy, his throat started to stick together, and a clattering could be heard from within his mouth.

However, Shidou did not stop. Things like danger or tiredness couldn't make their way into his mind, since it was filled with the single thought of getting to where Kotori was.

But—

"...?"

While running, Shidou had glanced upwards. He thought he saw something move at the edge of his vision.

"Why is he here?"

Shidou furrowed his eyebrows.

The transfer student in his class earlier, the one who the others didn't notice leaving the school as normally as possible, was standing a few meters ahead of him with an amused expression.

But, Shidou immediately stopped caring about that.

The reason—

"Uwahhhh...!?"

Shidou instinctively covered his eyes.

The street in front was suddenly engulfed in a blinding light.

It was followed by a deafening explosion, and a fierce shockwave assaulted Shidou.

"Wha—"

Shidou reflexively wrapped his arms around his face and put his power into his legs but it was futile.

The wind pressure that was like that of a large typhoon blew him off-balance and he tumbled backwards. In the end, he found himself sitting on the ground looking at the direction from where it came from.

"The... What the hell happened...?"

While rubbing his still flickering eyes, he pushed his body up.

"—Huh—?"

Seeing the landscape that spread through his vision, Shidou let out an astonished sound.

After all, the street that was right in front of him moments ago, in the brief amount of time that Shidou had his eyes closed—

Without even a trace, it had 'disappeared'.

"Wh-What is this, what the hell happened, this is..."

He muttered, in a daze.

No matter what metaphor you used, it wouldn't be a joke.

It was as if a meteorite had crash landed.

No, if anything, it was as if everything on the ground had completely vanished.

The street in front had been scraped off in the shape of a shallow bowl.

And, in the corner of the street that had become like a crater—

There was something like a clump of metal that rose.

Because of the distance, he was not able to discern the small details but—he saw a form that was something like a throne that a king in a RPG would sit on.

However, that was not what was important.

There was a girl wearing a strange dress, who seemed to be standing on the throne with her foot on the armrest.

"That girl—why is she standing at that place?"

He could only vaguely see, but he could make out her long black hair and the skirt that was radiating a mysterious glow. He probably wasn't wrong about her being a girl though.

'Is she cosplaying?', Shidou thought.

The girl casually scanned the area, suddenly turning to face towards the transfer student.

As if muttering something, the girl then lifted the sword out of the throne.

It was sa huge—broadsword that emanated an astral glow.

"What...?"

It was then, she swung it down.

Reflexively, Shidou used his arms to cover himself as he dropped once more sitting on the ground.

Just as he thought that it was probably going to hit him.

The transfer student then moved—and summoned a violet-blade longsword and... slashed her attack in half.

It was something incomprehensible. It was as if something right now is happening in a fantasy like setting.

The blade's trail passed through the place where Shidou's surroundings bhad been.

Of course, it was not a distance where the sword could physically reach.

However, it really—

"...Haaah—"

With eyes wide open, Shidou turned his head backwards.

The houses, stores, roadside trees, signs and so on that were behind Shidou had, in an instant, been trimmed to the same height.

A second later, the sound of destruction echoed like distant thunder.

"Eeek...!?"

It had gone beyond Shidou's comprehension. Trembling, his heart tightened.

'What is the meaning of this?!'

The only thing he understood was that if his head hadn't been lowered just then, right now he would be like the scene behind him, reasonably downsized.

"S-Stop kidding me...!"

As if pulling a body that was cut apart at the waist, Shidou crawled backwards. As soon as possible, as far as possible, I have to escape from this place...!

It was then, as he was about to escape from the place, an indescribable force began to bore down his body making his body unrealistically heavy making him lie down on the ground.

And then, a blunt feeling struck his head making him abruptly losing consciousness.

...

Opening his eyes, Shidou thought that what he just saw earlier were just his uselessly realistic dreams, or so he thought.

But alas, what greeted him was the same scenario just a while ago.

Sitting on the ground, Shidou felt his body gone numb. His vision was slightly hazy but he could at least guess what was happening around him by using his other senses.

There were explosions all over the place.

Numerous gunshots ringing on his head consecutively as if there was no stop in it.

A boy standing with a longsword gripped within his hand while having an amused expression plastered on his face.

The distance between them, rather became even closer than farther from what he noticed just a second ago.

That's why Shidou was at least able to discern the features or appearances of the people ahead of him.

His current position... was of that a audience watching a show or play. No matter how incredulous others say on this description, this would be the perfect name for the situation he was in for his opinion.

BOOOMMM!!!

Countless explosions as if a war was happening.

Gunshots and bullet carcasses dropping continuously on the ground.

The transcendental beauty was the main performer, accompanied by the drones as the supporting actors. Meanwhile the devasted area was the stage, and him and the transfer student was the audience.

This continued for who knows how much time had passed in Shidou's perspective.

Though he knew that his life was undoubtedly in danger at this very moment, he held no such desires to leave unlike a while ago.

His gaze was locked to the figure of the girl, dancing and hovering in the sky as she defends herself and slices her enemies—the drones with ease.

In fact, he was even feeling the urge to come nearer to get a better view.

Nevertheless, his body was incapable for doing that at the moment.

And so, Shidou just continued to sit there watching these incomprehensible things ahead of him unfold.

His distance between them was quite significant in fact. It was to the point that he would be unnoticed not unless someone pays attentively at his direction.

And it was then.

"Hey!"

The transfer student, Rei Ainsworth, shouted—or rather, called out to the girl hovering in the air.

It was audible enough to be heard clearly at Shidou's position.

However, their conversation was not understood by him. Of course since he was too far from them.

"No... I shouldn't waste time here...!" Shidou uttered as an attempt to regain his composure.

He didn't come here to watch this fantasy-like show where people with superpowers or supernatural abilities were fighting mechas in the sky! Shidou came here to find his sister and check her situation up.

That's right.

His time shouldn't be wasted here doing nothing.

He needs to move.

Right, he needs to find his little sister now. Though one would think that any normal person would already be dead right if they're not lucky considering the countless stray bullets, explosions, and debris coming out almost anywhere in the place.

There are many things that he needs to know.

First, whether Kotori was safe and already evacuated here but only left her cellphone since the GPS is still signaling that she was still the restaurant.

Second, what the hell is truly happening here and why the transfer student, Rei Ainsworth, and the girl who was adorned by an armor-like dress was right here.

Third, is everything that he saw right now was some kind of joke, or was real.

Besides these three, there are still many more questions he needed to have an answer on.

And so, he tried to stand up and move away from this place.

But to no avail, his body fail to comply on his wishes.

"M-move...!"

Shidou uttered in a resolute manner to somehow force his body to regain its control. Surely, he was having some difficulties towards it.

It was then.

*SNAP*

He heard a *snap*.

What happened after that was sudden tremors occuring almost anywhere which was accompanied by explosions in the process.

"...!"

And then, something blunt apparently hit his head.

He doesn't know what it was or what really hit him, but if you ask him what he is sure about right now, it is the fact that his consciousness was beginning to dim out.

'Kotori.... be safe....'

With those thoughts, Shidou's consciousness was set to sleep.

---

[Shidou Main PoV]

Within a blank world, a voice resounded within my head.

—It's been a while.

In my head, a voice that I've heard somewhere before echoed.

—Finally, finally we meet again, ×××.

A voice filled with nostalgia, with warmth.

—I'm glad, but, just a little longer. Wait just a little longer.

Who are you, I asked, but there was no answer.

—I'll first investigate the matter about the foreign factor that had arrived recently.

What do you mean by that, I inquired as I am unable to comprehend the meaning of those words.

—That's right. I won't let anyone else get in our way once again.

I can't understand, I said but the next words I heard wasn't the answer to that.

—I won't leave you again. I definitely won't make a mistake again. That's why...

There, the mysterious voice was cut off.

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[A/N: How's another filler chap? Like it? Or not? Share ur thoughts my friends~

Also, read the Author's Note. This may somehow quell some dissatisfaction (LoL)

Anyways, enjoy and have a nice day~

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\\( ･ั﹏･ั)//

Btw.... can some of u send some Player ID's in FGO? I need some friends with high level servants for farming...

Plz Help meh guyz... ༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽. ]