･ﾟ*. 水の子 ･ﾟ*.

   “ I dunno. Can you?”

   “ AND your suggestion was unwanted.”

   “ THINK it’s time to learn when to hold your tongue?”

   “ TALK about completely dead. So boring.”

❝ I knew I’d get an earful — ❞ He pauses, long and slow, still smiling brightly, something that had become armor as much as it had been a heartfelt beacon, if I woke up, rings bitter in his tongue. He doesn’t regret it. Heldalf, all of it. If his future needed to be sacrificed to secure his dream and the people he loved…then he had no hesitations. Sure, he had been afraid, that was undeniable. He can still remember the jarring surge of his heart pulsing as he awoke, and the familiar feeling of ‘death’ when sending away his Prime Lord and Sub Lords, all the pacts, all the friendship, all the family he’d made. 

❝ — when I uh, opened it up! ❞ A thousand years asleep and he’s still a poor liar to the person who knows him the most. There’s so much they’re skirting around. What’s his condition, he feels different, and he’s no fool, quite capable in the mind and intuition, far more mature than he ever should have been before lain to a semi-peaceful rest. It was required to bear the world and all its hearts and dreams…wasn’t it? As much as its darkness and despair. 

An owlish blink at the natural touch of him against his side, softly and quietly resting his side against him in turn.  ❝ I’m sorry. ❞ A beat, the Shepherd now made of legends eternal acting much like when he truly was seventeen, awkward with his words at times, much like before he ever drew the sword in Ladylake. 

❝ I just….I still think I’m asleep. Guess it’s why I’m up!❞ His smile is too bright. The unspoken lies between them. The first night of the Shepherd’s return and all both likely are thinking of is, a thousand years, a thousand years of time and moments lost for the sake of the all, paid by one. Even if it was all their efforts, ultimately Sorey had chosen the price. Still, they’d paid a price in their own ways hadn’t they? By accompanying him, believing or not believing in every vision, but still united…where was everyone? He didn’t want to think of Rose or Alisha….they were long gone and the grief had long settled in his gut.

❝ But a part of me really does honestly want to know the things you’ve written. You always did want to write a book. You always had your own dreams. In the world now, were you able to fulfill some? ❞ He veils how desperate he feels, an anxious, even if it hurt, even if we all said goodbye to me, and to each other…were you all able to live happy and honestly when I closed my eyes?

     MIKLEO cast his gaze to the ground, not at all convinced by the cheer of his words. Sorey was quite obviously lying ( he had always been a terrible liar ) but he saw no need to call his partner out on it right away  — not yet anyways. With how recent his return was, he probably had trouble adjusting to the world now ( with all the memories he's slept with for all this time ) so his mind was probably a mess. He could see that the other was struggling to act naturally at times, as if he wasn’t sure how to react. Well, the seraph supposed that was a given; it had been hundreds of years after all and so much had changed. Still, there was a part of him that couldn’t bear to see Sorey wear this all too familiar mask in front of him. What an idiot he was but Mikleo had an idea of the obvious guilt that was weighing Sorey’s heart so heavily.

     He couldn’t help but sigh when all Sorey could do was respond with an apology. He knew exactly what this was about. ❛ ... You don’t have to apologize, Sorey. ❜ He reassured softly. There really was no reason for him to apologize at all. That was far in the past now and Mikleo had managed to come to accept it long before their reunion. They both knew what had to be done and as much as it pained Mikleo for god knows how many years that came, he knew nothing would come out of allowing himself to be continuously enveloped by the pain. He moved on to do all he could to fulfill his part of the promise shared between them. He knew that Sorey wouldn’t want him to grieve for him, not while there was a bright future ahead. Of course, the painful emptiness without him through the years never completely waned but he learned to live with it as he clung onto the hope that someday that his partner would return. He was sure that in a sense, it was the same for everyone else they journeyed with. 

     ❛ ... Yeah, I’ve managed to fulfill plenty. ❜ He assured him with a smile. ❛ I never actually got to write a book of my own but take a good look at the Celestial Record. There’s several volumes of it with my name signed on back. ❜ Well, alongside the other contributors that aided in expanding the record anyways but that was besides the point. He leaned over to point out the engraved names. ❛ Now that you’re here, you might as well take the liberty to start a new book, wouldn’t you think ? You have a whole lot of catching up to do but you’ll have plenty more to discover. We won’t rest until we find every secret the world has to offer, right ? ❜ He raised up a fist, waiting for Sorey to bump it.

Akin to her, he’d come from a different world altogether. At least, it seemed like that judging by his words and his behavior. Mikleo, right? Yes, that name was also new to her ears, but there was nothing that she could say about that. Her own world lied in the steampunk style where engineering took a new part, her father was the one who created electricity and created so many things, including the NeoSteam engine. It was a world that lacked the expansion of magic there, solely relying on the humans’ intelligence and their creation. It was terrifying how a human could progress without any reliance on anything else besides himself or herself. With that in mind, Cardia understood him. In a sense. Unlike Mikleo, she had the opportunity to learn about the world they both were not. It was a complicated world but still filled with the same living people who wanted to be happy. No matter the cost. 

“They are. We have Servants from another dimension here as well. Specifically, if you’ve seen a young girl Abigail or another young lady - Hokusai, they are Foreigners. From a completely different reality.” Specifically, Yog-Sothoth and Ctulhu. The ones created from Cthulhu mythos. Cardia as well was supposed to disappear (erased) from this timeline and this world. She didn’t belong here. She was just the heart of mother earth, the last drops of her love for humanity. A desperate attempt to save it from her own despair and anger.  “I’m sure once this all is over, you’ll be able to return back. And everyone is here for one reason or another. You were deemed worthy of helping save humanity in this world because you were a hero in your own world, correct? That must be it.” 

Ruler spoke with the same softer smile on her face as she continued to explain the basics that would be confusing to someone who’d never heard of them. For example, Mikleo probably won’t know that Phantasmals were coming from a similar source like Gaia, fighting against humanity to return it back to their beginning. 

“Do you think any of your friends qualify as either class, Mikleo? If you are here, it’s a matter of time before they will be summoned as well.”

      SO, there were others like him in this world too. Honestly, what sort of world was this, pulling beings out of their own separate realms in order to aid this one ? They probably were grasping at straws to simply survive. He couldn’t help but wonder though, how did the humans of this world manage to accomplish such an out-worldly feat ? As far as his curiosity ran, he felt like his head was going to explode. If Sorey was here with him then he’d probably be more at ease, knowing that he wasn’t alone in this bizarre place. At the very least, he wasn’t the only one who ended up in this predicament. 

     Upon hearing that it was likely that he would return by the time this all ended certainly lightened his spirits. ❛ ... A hero, huh ? I don’t know if I can be considered much of a hero but I guess I’ve done enough to be deemed worthy by this ‘ grail ’ here. That aside, it is a pretty troublesome situation I’ve ended up in but it’s nice knowing that I’m not completely alone on this. ❜ He absentmindedly gazed down at the apple in hand as he briefly thought back to his former partner. Looks like he would have more to tell Sorey by the time he got back. Well, it seemed like he had no choice but to go through this either way. He squeezed the apple in hand and returned to meet the Ruler’s soft gaze with a more relaxed expression ( not quite smiling yet however ).

❝ I was about to say ‘sharing is caring’, but good thing you aren’t being stingy! Thanks Mikleo, I never get over how good this dessert tastes. If you give me another bite I might just say how I think yours might be my favorite. Might.❞

Don’t mind him beaming his signature sun-bright smile before taking a healthy bite !! 

     ❛ YOU’VE been reading the Celestial Record nonstop ever since you got back. Isn’t it about time you called it a night ? ❜ Mikleo well understood the ENTHUSIASM here; how many hundreds of years has it been after all ? With how much time had passed, there was obviously so much that Sorey was EAGER to catch up on but the Seraph couldn’t help but SCOLD him like old times ( it had only been a few nights since Sorey returned after all ). It was practically in the Seraph’s NATURE to care for the other like this but knowing Sorey, he probably had too much on his mind to sleep anyways. With a defeated sigh, Mikleo decided to make his way over to seat himself on the edge of the bed, closest to wherever his partner was seated. He gently leaned against Sorey’s side and briefly went quiet as he thought about their REUNITED time so far. 

THAT’S JUST /LOW/ MIKLEO

@tennomizu​ 

“I’m just a staff member here in Chaldea,” the woman brought her index finger to her lips, signaling the other to be quiet in a silent ‘shh‘ gesture. A smile rested on her face as she reached out to grab an apple from her table. A fresh apple that she used her powers to grow. She’s hiding something, but Cardia’s not here to give away her secrets. “As a sign of your friendship, here you go. An apple. You don’t have to call me by my class name, you know that, right? It’s like with Da Vinci.”  Even though between Leonardo and Cardia, the latter seemed saner and more mature. Even if she seemed a bit childish by offering an apple as a token of friendship, she still tried her best to establish a good connection. “Do you want to be called by your name or your class name? I never asked before.”

     UPON arriving in this strange place, it was no wonder that Mikleo was quite CAUTIOUS of the new world around him and not to mention, the people around here could actually see him ! From what he’s learned so far, this place was called Chaldea and in this time, humanity was on the brink of INCINCERATION. He was SUMMONED as a ‘ Caster Servant ’ and was fighting under a ' Master ’ who COMMANDED the servants ? Mikleo couldn’t say he completely understood but either way he had a lot to LEARN about this world. He might as well learn all he can from Cardia at the moment. That aside, she certainly STARTLED him when she suddenly approached him from behind ( her peculiar presence, causing him to overreact ).

     With Cardia’s offered token of friendship ( the apple being a means to showcase that she meant no harm ), he saw that there was probably nothing to be WARY about. Although he wouldn’t completely let his WALLS down yet, he gingerly accepted the apple ( with slight hesitation ) and briefly gazed upon it. Come to think of it, how was he supposed to get home, he wondered. Knowing that he could probably TRUST her, he was able to be a bit more at ease but nonetheless, it was clear that he was quite TROUBLED by his current situation. ❛ ... Thank you, Cardia. Mikleo is fine. I’m not entirely used to the whole class name thing anyways. Besides, I don’t even know how I ended up as a ‘ servant ’ — I’m not even from this world. Do you know if servants are usually able to return to their time by the end of their pact ? I don’t think I’m supposed to be here in the first place. ❜ As interested as he was about this UNFAMILIAR world, his first PRIORITY was attempting to figure out how he would return home.