A scorching hellscape spread out before her eyes.
A vortex of flames rising high into the sky.
Assailing her ears were the sounds of agony and curses.
Fiore did not know this scene.
Before she knew it, she had been thrown into this scorching world.
An unfamiliar town was crumbling amidst the raging flames. At her feet lay charred, unrecognizable human forms, and even now, many more people were losing their lives within these flames.
In this hopeless situation, Fiore could not even make a sound; she could only watch.
Yes, this was probably a dream. It wasn't Fiore's past, but rather a glimpse into Archer's past.
She had heard that Masters, spiritually connected to their Servants, sometimes relive their contracted Servant's memories in their dreams.
When Fiore heard this, she thought it sounded enjoyable.
For one contracted with a mythological hero, they could see the scenery of the Age of Gods in their dreams.
It was a view one could never normally see, a spectacle one could never normally know. If it were a mythological battle, one could probably brace themselves, and Fiore had even thought this phenomenon would feel like watching a movie.
In any case, she simply hadn't been prepared enough to step into Archer's past.
Was this Archer's past?
There was no color here but despair.
The sky was covered in sticky, tar-like dark clouds, and the ground was buried in flames and death.
The curses in this world were more intense than any malediction Fiore knew.
Even knowing it was a dream, Fiore was seized by a heart-rending feeling.
Just what had happened in this town?
Was it a natural disaster or a war? One day, calamity had suddenly befallen the residents of this town. Were the voices of resentment filling the city coming from those who had been too slow to escape?
The sound of flames crackling, the sound of hot winds blowing. Every sound seemed to carry hatred. In this sea of despair, where merely being here made one wish for death, a single boy was struggling desperately to swim.
Covering his ears, closing his eyes, ignoring the voices crying for help, shaking off the hands reaching out to him. Who could blame him? In this situation, a boy of about ten had no leeway to help others. If he diverted his attention elsewhere even for a moment, he would be instantly engulfed by flames and smoke and die.
And so, the boy finally greeted the dawn without ever having stopped once.
When he came to, he was lying on his back in the burned-out field.
The presence of flames had long since receded, and he could see the sky covered in heavy rain clouds.
It would probably rain soon. That was fine. If it rained, this hell might be washed completely clean.
Around him lay the burned corpses of people. Charred black and shriveled considerably, they no longer retained their original human forms.
Why was he able to survive when these people ended up like this? It must have just been sheer luck.
Ah, but this is as far as it goes.
Even breathing was painful. His physical strength had reached its limit, and the sensation in his body was gone.
Even so, he reached a hand towards the sky.
It wasn't that he was conscious of anything.
He just thought, impersonally, how far away the sky was.
Perhaps that action used up the last of his meager strength; unable to resist the rapidly approaching drowsiness, the boy fell into darkness.
In that instant.
There was a hand that powerfully grasped his own, which should have been flung back onto the hard ground.
He remembered that face.
The face of a man, tears welling in his eyes, overjoyed from the bottom of his heart that he had found a living person.
Fiore woke up feeling horrible.
It had been a nightmare unlike any before.
Unable to hide her inner turmoil, Fiore let out a sigh as she raised herself from the bed.
What she saw in the dream was undoubtedly Archer's past.
In the city reduced to a burned-out field, a boy with no hope left of survival had his life saved by someone. And at the end of that, the boy transformed into the Archer of now.
Information about Archer connected within Fiore's mind.
Archer said he had no memories however, the only means to prove that was through Command Spells.
And the fact that she could relive Archer's past in a dream suggested that, at least regarding that part of the dream, his memories had returned.
Then, why didn't he tell her?
Their trust should have been firmly established. At the very least, Fiore placed her complete trust in him.
But on the other hand, Archer was desperately hiding things about himself.
The only information Fiore currently had to know about Archer's life was that he was a mage who used projection magecraft.
Fiore felt a sensation as if a cold wind had blown into her heart.
It wasn't a feeling of betrayal. It was an anxiety that perhaps she wasn't trusted. Thinking that, an extremely vague, elusive anger welled up inside her.
"But, if he experienced such a calamity, I can understand not wanting to talk about it."
The scene Fiore witnessed was the reality Archer actually experienced.
That must be his starting point. He is a survivor from hell. She felt hesitant to force him to speak about that suffering.
Both rationally and emotionally, she could sympathize with that boy, and she found that calamity distressing. Therefore, she didn't want to, and couldn't, dig into Archer's trauma.
Thinking about it rationally like that, she could give a certain persuasiveness to Archer not speaking about his past.
She could believe that Archer not talking about his past wasn't due to her own inadequacy, but purely because of his psychological factors.
And so, as Fiore suppressed her emotions and pondered Archer's past, a desire to know more about it gradually sprouted within her.
Logically, she knew she shouldn't make him talk about it, but she wanted to know how he, saved at the brink of despair, managed to ascend to become a Heroic Spirit.
He was an extremely rare, modern Heroic Spirit... she desperately wanted to know what he saw in his life.
Summoned by Fiore, Archer had no idea why she was emanating such displeasure.
Had he done something wrong?
The only thing he could think of was letting the homunculus escape, but that matter was already settled. He didn't think Fiore would bring that up again now.
"Didn't you have some business with me?"
Since thinking about things he didn't understand was pointless, he decided to ask directly.
Asked this, Fiore made a troubled face. Then, she sighed.
"Archer. I want to ask you about your memories."
Hearing that, Archer understood. "I see."
"You saw my past, didn't you?"
It wasn't a question. It was a conviction. Sure enough, Fiore nodded.
"I'm very sorry. I never intended to peek."
"I know. It's not a past I can particularly boast about. So even if you saw it, it doesn't matter much. But that's not what you want to say, is it?"
"No."
The reason for Fiore's displeasure was probably that Archer hadn't told her about his past.
Archer had insisted to Fiore that his memories were unclear. But then, she saw his past through a dream. Now she was angry, wondering why he hadn't told her the truth.
"Fiore. What exactly did you see?"
"A burning city. And... you, from when you were young."
"I see..."
That was a nostalgic scene.
Archer's starting line. On that day when he lost everything due to the Fuyuki Holy Grail, Archer saw a dream he would stake his entire life pursuing.
A powerful dream, one could even say an obsession, that pushed Archer to become a Heroic Spirit.
"And... you are a Heroic Spirit from the modern era, or the future, correct?"
"....."
Archer fell silent at Fiore's words.
"It was hard to believe at first, but your clothing back then... I can only think of it as modern. I don't understand the reason why I was able to summon you, but Heroic Spirits are beings not bound by the timeline. For reasons unknown to me, you were summoned instead of Chiron. Pondering that deeply is futile. What I want to confirm is the existence of your memories. Why have you remained silent about them until now?"
Archer crossed his arms and looked at Fiore.
He could feel her resolve to permit no falsehoods. Fiore regretted having seen Archer's dream, while simultaneously blaming him for not reporting that his memories had returned.
"Let me offer one explanation: I have not fully recovered my memories. It's true that my memories were confused due to the summoning, and the things I've recalled aren't that many."
"Is that true?"
"Yeah."
Archer nodded.
"My memories from my lifetime are still not clear. Even so, there are certainly things that haven't faded. What you saw is one of them."
"What was that... what exactly happened?"
Fiore asked hesitantly.
"The result of a certain magecraft ritual failing. A life-or-death game involving seven mages and seven Servants."
"Eh... th-that, could it be..."
"Yes, a Holy Grail War. In my childhood, I was caught up in the Fourth Holy Grail War held in Fuyuki and lost my family and all memories before that. The one who saved me was one of the mages participating in that Holy Grail War."
Hearing this, Fiore's face paled.
"The Holy Grail War... ended with such a result?"
"Yeah."
"To think... such a thing..."
For Fiore, the Holy Grail was only recognized as a omnipotent wish-granting device. When she actually saw the hidden Holy Grail with her own eyes, she could believe in the miracle it would bring. But the Holy Grail War Archer experienced was a calamity that one could never call a miracle, no matter what.
It vividly illustrated what kind of disaster a mishandled Holy Grail could unleash upon the world.
"But, Archer. You just said the Fourth Holy Grail War, didn't you?"
"Ah, I did."
"That's impossible. Because the Holy Grail Wars in Fuyuki concluded with the Third one. The Greater Grail of Fuyuki is right here."
The Holy Grail Wars held in Fuyuki City ended with the Third. There shouldn't have been any after that. There is no Grail in present-day Fuyuki, because Darnic secured the Grail and transported it to Romania.
Since the Great Holy Grail War is currently being fought with the Fuyuki Grail, a Holy Grail War shouldn't occur in Fuyuki.
But, in response to Fiore's question, Archer gave a wry smile.
"That's the story in this world, right? For us Heroic Spirits, differences in worlds are irrelevant. In the world I existed in, Darnic did not secure the Fuyuki Holy Grail. That's all there is to it, I suppose."
"In other words, you are from a completely parallel world?"
Indeed, if one becomes a Heroic Spirit, such things could happen.
But on the other hand, she still didn't understand why Archer, who had no connection to her whatsoever, was summoned in preference over Chiron's catalyst. It's basically impossible for heroes from the future or parallel worlds to be summoned as Servants. The only way is to prepare a catalyst that a future hero would possess, but that's nothing more than a shot in the dark. Even when no catalyst is used, heroes from the past should be prioritized. That's because the connection between the present and the past is deeper than the infinitely branching future.
"Why were you summoned by me?"
"Probably because you prepared a catalyst."
"But, I don't have any catalyst that would call you..."
Fiore's words were abruptly cut off.
Her eyes were drawn to the ruby pendant hanging from Archer's hand.
"That is..."
Flustered, Fiore took out the pendant hanging from her own neck.
"The same... pendant?"
It wasn't just similar. There was an completely identical pendant.
"In the history I followed, the owner of that pendant was my life's benefactor. I believed that pendant was something my benefactor left behind, and I carried it with me my entire life, never parting with it."
"And... I had obtained that pendant in this world? That became the catalyst that called you?"
"Probably so."
It was a necessity born from the convergence of multiple layers of coincidence.
She happened to receive the gemstone, happened to bring it to the ritual site. And it was the same pendant as the one owned by Archer. The start was an accident. However, the moment the pendant was brought into the ritual site, the probability of Archer being summoned skyrocketed to inevitability.
"There's one thing I'd like to ask you, if I may?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"It's about the Holy Grail. You said you've seen the Holy Grail with your own eyes. What was it like?"
"What it was like..."
Within the Yggdmillennia camp, only Darnic and Fiore have seen the Greater Grail. Fiore was permitted to see it as the next head, even before Archer was summoned.
"It stored a vast amount of magical energy, unlike anything I've ever seen or felt before. Yes, I could believe that if that Grail were completed, it could even rewrite the world. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, really. If you judged there was no problem seeing it from such a close distance, then this Grail probably has no issues."
"The Grail in your world had problems, didn't it?"
"That's right. However, Darnic has been investigating this Grail for half a century. I had no anxiety on that point to begin with, but it's good to have it confirmed from your mouth, Fiore."
"What would you have done if it was the same as the Grail you know?"
"Of course, there would be no choice but to destroy it. You saw the destroyed Fuyuki City in the dream, right? That was the result of a part of the Grail, tainted by evil, flowing out. If the Grail in this world is the same, naturally there is no way to avoid destruction other than by destroying it."
"A Grail tainted by evil..."
Fiore repeated those words.
The Holy Grail basically stores colorless magical energy. That also means it can transform into either good or evil. Precisely because it is a pure, innocent energy whose use is not fixed, it can respond to all wishes.
The Grail in Archer's world must have had its colorless magical energy stained by evil wishes for some reason. If magical energy capable of rewriting the world were unleashed with an evil orientation, the world would naturally collapse.
"From now on, Fiore, you will probably continue to see my dreams. Since my own memories are worn down, the images will likely be noisy, though."
"I see. Understood."
Worn down memories.
Probably it wasn't a permanent condition. With some trigger, he might be able to recover them.
And besides, there should be no lie in those words.
Lying verbally to Fiore, who can peek into his memories through dreams, is meaningless. There's no point in making excuses each time saying he just remembered, and above all, it's already known that he is a Heroic Spirit summoned from a parallel world's future. Archer should have no reason to hide anything further.
"Then, finally, Archer. Please tell me your True Name."
"It's Shirou. Emiya Shirou."
"Emiya Shirou... I see, it certainly is a Japanese-sounding name."
The order of first and family names being different is a well-known fact. Emiya is the surname and Shirou is the given name.
Now that a part of Archer's origins and his True Name, which were unknown until now, had been revealed, Fiore's mood improved.
Exchanging names creates a bond of trust.
"By the way, Fiore. Will you report my details to Darnic?"
Asked by Archer, Fiore pondered for a while.
Disclosing a Servant's True Name was a promise made between each Master before they were summoned. Although not compulsory, in a Holy Grail War where True Names should be concealed, not disclosing them creates distrust, so it was a necessary promise for maintaining the organization.
However, an exception was allowed for Saber to conceal her True Name, and Archer also concealed his citing memory confusion. Was there a need to deliberately change that current situation?
"Let's see. For now, let's have Archer remain as a Servant of unknown identity."
"Is that alright?"
"Yes. While I'm not my uncle, fewer leaking mouths are better. For the enemy as well, an unidentified Servant is better. Having a mysterious Servant will deepen their suspicion and paranoia more than knowing he's a future Heroic Spirit."
"I see. Understood."
Archer nodded and accepted Fiore's policy.
There would be no problem revealing Archer's true identity.
A Heroic Spirit born in a parallel world, moreover on a future timeline, shouldn't appear in the historical records of this era. Therefore, even if his identity were known, no effective countermeasures could be taken.
However, at the same time, if the enemy knew that, they would have no need to investigate further.
Keeping him unidentified was convenient for causing the enemy even a little trouble and leading them into paranoia.
But, hidden beneath such strategic reasons, it was undeniable that a small desire, wanting to be the only one who knew Archer's True Name, had slightly guided her thinking.
Right after Archer left, Fiore became aware of the selfish desire that had interfered with her thoughts and let out a sigh.