After I put my clothes on, I decide to occupy my time until Luvia wakes up by doing some meditation and magic practice. I look over my room after deciding this and take note of how different it was from my previous. This room is much more spacious and had many more features, such as a desk, couch, wall mirror, and window. The door here is wooden too… And unlike when I lived in that room, they don't lock the door every night anymore… I turn to my right, away from the mirror, to look at the door upon realizing this and I notice Auguste patched up the hole I made in it. I wonder if Auguste fixed everything else I broke? With that, I walk to the door and into the hallway and begin making my way to the old room.

The roof was patched up, painted over, and whatever circuitry that ran through it to power the hall was also repaired, seeing as the lights were now back on. As for the room, the wall, doorway, and floor, they're also good as new, save for the paint which Auguste must've not had time to get to. Auguste sure is efficient… I realize he accomplished more in that one day Luvia gave him than the time I helped him by a large margin. The only things left that need to be done are the paint for the wall and doorway, a new door, and some replacements for the few pieces of furniture I broke. I enter the room and notice the light switch is missing from the new wall Auguste put up, indicating he didn't finish all the electrician work. It's fine anyways, meditation works better in a dark place. I sit down at about where I stood on the floor when I blew off the wall and the roof and reach into my shirt to feel around my chest for the gift Luvia gave me. While we were out in town yesterday, Luvia bought me a thin, leather-braided necklace and had a jeweler mount the diamond onto it, turning it into a beautiful pendant. Once I placed my hand on it, I detach it from around my neck and admired it for a moment. I look down at my right hand and decide I should try conducting magic through it as well, so I clasp the diamond tightly in it.

Ever since Luvia gifted this diamond to me, I've been making sure to fill it with magic energy every day after she explained how important it is for me to do so. Even last night while I cried myself to sleep, I clasped the necklace in my hand and pooled some magic energy into it. I'm a bit scared of how well I'll be able to do it with my right hand, but I realize my worries are unwarranted after I establish the magic flow and begin transferring it as normal. I do notice it's significantly harder to keep the flow going compared to when I use my left hand, but it's still doable. I can't really gauge how much 25 percent is, so I decided the indicator I'll use to stop is when I start getting a bit light-headed. Once I get to this point, I realize my breathing grew heavier as I filled the gem and I wipe the sweat beads from my brow while putting the necklace back on. I'm still not sure what the point of filling this gem is. According to Luvia, whenever I decide to use it, not only will it be one-time use, but the gem is going to shatter. I'd much rather just keep it as the beautiful necklace it is. Once the gift is safely back under my shirt, I adjust my kneeling position into a cross-legged one to prepare for meditation.

That's a lie, of course. While I do want to meditate, and I do know it is an important part of being a mage, the real reason I want to "meditate", the real reason I came back to this scary room, is because I want to invoke the dreams of swords once more. It's not that I haven't been seeing them ever since I left this room, but they've been much sparser. Whether it's due to the change in location or because of the sudden nightmares with the husk man, I do not know, but I figured returning to this room would help. And so, I close my eyes and steady my breathing. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Start with five-second inhalations and exhalations and make them longer with each consecutive one. Soon, I enter the state of unconsciousness that I strive to reach every time during meditation. I call it "aware napping", but Luvia said that's not a proper way to refer to it. It's essentially exactly the same as sleep, but the only difference is I'm completely aware of my surroundings and I can awake whenever I want. Luvia told me it's some kind of self-suggestion, but I don't like thinking about the technical aspects of things. If I can achieve it, I do it; If I can't achieve it, I don't. It's as simple as that. At first, I don't see anything; just myself in the dark space that is the room. After a moment though, I hear distant clashing of steel against steel. I focus on that noise and single it out amongst the silence and I listen closely as the sounds of battle gets closer.

When the sounds become so loud that they appear to be in the room itself, they do just that. The darkness of the room is stroked over, and the scene of a duel is painted in front of me. Yes, this is what I've been wanting to see for the longest time. These two men fighting one another. As always, the men are featureless and look as though they are figures made of shadows, swinging their swords. It's almost as if I'm watching floating blades fight each other. One thing that I notice is different, however, is that the paired swords of one of the men are now revealed to me. They're the swords I always projected in the dreams with the husk; the tortoise shell-patterned, black and silver swords. I realize only then that I couldn't see the swords they fought with before. All I could see were "beautiful swords".

It's hard to describe, but it's like having a dream where you eat a dish that you've never tasted before, but can discern a certain taste of it in that dream. Whether it's an accurate taste of what the dish actually is or not doesn't matter, only that in that dream, the dish had a taste and regardless of the taste, you can tell whether it's good or bad. I can tell the "taste" of these swords I've never seen before and it's a good one. I guess in this regard, other than those paired, curved swords which I can clearly see now, I was watching them fight with shadows of swords. Shadows of men fighting with shadows of swords… If I had to describe it in one phrase it would be: "I see two fake men fighting with the aspects of swords." Though after seeing the paired swords, I suppose it's now two fake men and only one fighting with the aspect of a sword… Just like the heinous killing intent of both of the men, the lack of form of the swords were overshadowed all this time by the beautiful skill they both exhibited. The dream follows the same trend as it always does, it keeps going with no victor being decided. But every time I have this dream, I watch it a bit longer. And with every few seconds more I see, I see more of the techniques and skills of each of these men. My only hope is that one day I can watch the dream long enough to see how it ends.

Just as always, the dream fades away and ends before I want it to and my eyes slowly flutter open and I look around in the darkness of the room. I turn around to look at the window to see the sun's position to gauge what time it is, but then remember I'm in the old room that lacks a window. I hear a creak near the doorway and jump to my feet, instantly igniting both of my hands while entering a fighting stance. The glow from the flames illuminates the face of a very alarmed Auguste who turns the screwdriver in his hand one last time to fasten the screw of the light switch in place before flicking it on. I squint at the brightness of the light while extinguishing my hands and firmly placing them to my sides in embarrassment. "S-Sorry, Auguste, you startled me there." Auguste places the screwdriver in his little, red tool box on the floor and then closes it and locks it up.

"I should say the same. Earlier when I first arrived here, I didn't expect in the slightest you'd be here meditating. I dare say I almost shot you right where you sat when I noticed your presence." I sweat nervously at the thought that I almost died without even being aware of it.

I helped Auguste gather all of his tools and supplies while we talked about why I decided to meditate in my old room and about the dream I just had. "I don't know, master Emiya. Your dreams are a bit over my head. Have you discerned any possible reason for the dreams yet?" I thought about it while I grabbed the small box the lightbulb he replaced was in off the floor.

"Other than my abnormal love of swords, no I haven't found out the meaning of them. Maybe it is just because of a simple reason like that?" Auguste lifts up his tool box and walks into the hallway, upon which I follow him while flicking off the light behind me.

"Perhaps, but I love the mystical aspects of life, so this old soul would prefer it if they have some bigger, grand meaning." He laughs at his statement and I take a moment to consider his words. Regardless of whether they have an important meaning or not, that's not what's important right now. I'm ready to begin the interrogation. Though, I suppose I'll wait a bit longer until Luvia is with us. "By the way, master Emiya, what happened to your cast? I noticed earlier today when you returned that it was missing, but I didn't comment on it then." I look down at my hand and flex it once or twice.

"I just broke it off. I got tired of it getting in the way and being a hindrance and I figured my arm had enough time to heal." Auguste sighs while continuing to walk.

"You did almost the same exact thing with the bandages we had on your left arm. I don't think you're qualified to decide when they come off, sir…"

"Hey, Auguste?" He looks over at me after I call for his attention, not stopping as we walk down the hallway. "Um… about my night pants… are you, uh, done washing them? They're kinda my most favorite pair, so I'd like to have them back as soon as possible…" I assumed not mentioning the embarrassing part would be best for now. Maybe he'll understand and not bring it up and we can just forget it, whatever "it" was, ever happened.

"Your night pants? I haven't gathered your clothes hamper as of recent, nor have I done any laundry either. I'm not quite sure which night pants you are referring to, I shouldn't have any." He didn't pick them up?!

"Are you sure Auguste? They were lying on my bedroom floor last I knew, and when I looked back they were gone. You didn't grab them when you came and made my bed last night?" His face became puzzled and he shook his head.

"Yes, master Emiya, I'm certain. I didn't even make your bed, nor did I go to your room last night." His answer made me even more nervous, but I quickly calmed myself down as we arrived at Auguste's room and he took the items from my hands to place back where he got them from. The bed… it probably wasn't even made, and if it was, I probably just tidied it up before I went out into the woods. I was really emotional, so I could've just forgot. And as for the pants, they probably got kicked under my bed or my dresser when I slung them off…

Auguste led me back to my room and brought with him an extra chair from his own. "What's the chair for, Auguste?" He placed it in front of the couch, across from the coffee table, and gestured to the fireplace with his hand.

"Would you mind starting a fire, master Emiya? As for the chair, it is a third seat for myself. We will begin the meeting now. Once I go retrieve miss Luvia, that is. As you can see," Auguste gestures to the window behind me "dusk has already begun to set, and the talks will no doubt draw on for a long time, so it's best if we start now." I nervously swallow and nod at him before turning to pick up a few pieces of firewood from the pile next to the chimney. This is it… no more secrets… I hear Auguste turn on his heel and walk towards the doorway. "I will go prepare some tea and awaken miss Luvia. We will be back shortly." I nod at him as he swiftly exits before placing the wood atop the soot in the fireplace and then dropping a small orb of fire on top of it. The orb bursts as if it were a drop of water and spreads across all the logs.

I lay down across the couch and notice a strong smell. I pull my shirt up to my nose and realize the musk is coming from me. All that sweating last night and today and the only thing I've had even close to a bath is that little hose shower in the garden. It's no wonder I smell so strongly right now. "Hmm, I could take a bath, but I don't want Auguste and Luvia to get here and have to wait. I also don't want to miss out on any time that can be spent asking questions…" It's probably impolite to them, but I'll just deal with it and say sorry if they mention it.

I continued to stare at the ceiling while I waited for Auguste and Luvia. After a while of doing this, I sit up, getting ready to go check on them and see what's taking so long, but then I hear the knob turn and the door slowly open. Auguste walks in with a tray full of ornate cups and a teapot in the middle and followed shortly behind him is Luvia, who is back to looking like her dignified, lady-like self. Auguste places the tray down on the coffee table and Luvia stands next to him, waiting, as he pours each of us a cup… much to my displeasure. As soon as he's done, he steps over to his chair and sits down, crossing his right leg over his left and intertwining his fingers on his lap, patiently waiting for Luvia to sit so we can get started. The problem is, Luvia wasn't sitting. She's staring at me with an embarrassed expression and the word "nervous" was practically painted boldly over her amber irises. "Miss Luvia? Are you going to join us?" She looks over at Auguste and reaches up to fidget with her hair while she stammers.

"I-I… can I maybe sit on the chair, Auguste? It's just that this dress wrinkles so easily and the couch is difficult to sit on with posture and…" Auguste chuckles softly while smiling. Is there a joke I'm missing?

"Is there a problem you have with sitting next to master Emiya?" She stops combing through her hair when he asks this, but her fingers keep shaking, indicating she's still nervous.

"No Auguste! There's no problem at all with Emiya, but… but the couch is really small… and we'd be sitting really c-close… together." As she talked, her figure shrunk more and more as her face got brighter from embarrassment. Auguste continues to giddily chuckle before standing up and walking over to join me, sitting in the same exact position he was in on his chair. Luvia takes his spot and locks eyes with me for a moment before quickly jerking her head away and staring into the fire. No seriously, what's the joke?

The humorous tone quickly fled once we were all situated, sitting down. Luvia clears her throat after taking a long, drawn-out sip from her tea. "Well then, Emiya, Auguste… I suppose we should start now." Auguste nods while staring down at his cup of tea next to mine, both of which remained untouched. Auguste speaks up while keeping his gaze lowered to the cup.

"Well Emiya, I know the gist of what happened yesterday and I'm sure you learned a lot and gained many more questions. Seeing how our current position is, I'd assume we won't be able to move forward unless we answer them all for you, correct?" Of course. I'm missing the first 19, almost 20, years of my life. Considering how long just these few months have been, those years must hold so much important time. I have to know. And I have to know now.

"Yes, Auguste. I'm going to need the truth from both of you. And if for whatever reason you two can't tell me, I'm going to leave this place and go somewhere I can find answers." Upon my last few words, Luvia jumped forward in her seat slightly with scared eyes as if she wanted to say something, but then sat back and returned to looking away from me. Auguste just stared at his tea with his unreadable expression.

"Fair enough, master Emiya. Depending on how much you already know, there may be no point in keeping you in the dark anymore regardless." Luvia looked forward and nodded, her expression now as serious as Auguste's.

"That's right. I don't think our secrecy is a promise we can keep anymore. Now, Emiya, what would you like to know?" The three main questions I'd been sitting on all day, the ones I want to know more than anything else. I poured them out of my mouth the moment the last word left hers.

"My mother! Who is she?! My father as well, who is he? My parents, who are they? Why didn't you tell me about the relationship I had with Rin? And why did you keep the name 'Shirou' a secret from me?!" I didn't mean to shout it out at them, nor did I mean to ask all of the questions at once, but that's just how it came out. Luvia's face is full of shock at my questions and she open and closes her mouth as if to talk, but no words come out. I look over at Auguste and even he looks shocked at what I asked, and his mouth as well is slightly ajar. Luvia suddenly says, "I… I didn't realize you already knew so much. How did you even… no, it doesn't matter how you found out. Your questions already indicate you know the answers to them. Rhetorical questions, is it? What, is this just a display to us to show how much you already know?" Luvia's gaze and tone became defensive towards me while she talked.

I already know? What does that mean? Why would I ask if I knew? Those questions are genuine… Auguste spoke up to continue where Luvia left off. "Well, regardless of how you know this, I'll confirm your information for you. Yes, your mother is Rin Tohsaka, and yes, your father is Shirou Emiya." My eyes widen, and my head draws a blank at what he tells me. I follow his gaze down to the two cups of tea and look at my own reflection in the dark liquid, where I can barely make out the blue of my eyes and the darkness of my hair.

"My… mother and… Shirou Emiya?"