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I'm not one to run, nor do I think myself a coward, but there's nothing I can do right now. Can't project any weapons, no one around to help; all I can do is get away from here.

I quickly turn my back on them, only to notice that the hallway had been made much shorter. I was already at it's end.

There's no escape.

"Relax, boy." The feminine member attempted to calm me. "You are our chosen one."

Chosen one? No thanks, no thanks, no thanks, no thanks, no thanks!

"Our power is diminishing." The skeletal member outlined. "We have kept this Behelit stored for quite a while now. Your potential has been noticed; rejoice."

"We want to make a deal. That is all."

I've been taught better. Never make a deal with The Devil. First lesson of life, or well— That's close enough.

"Clearly, you have not laid your hands on one of the many copies of the holy book before..."

They can see through my thoughts?!

...

I don't know what to do. I can't quite process everything at once.

That must be the skeleton, brain-exposed one speaking. I can't really tell which one is which. The only one in this batch close to 'normal' would be the girl; because at the very least her mouth opens up normally. Still, that doesn't excuse her being naked. With that said, I wouldn't dare put my hands on a copy of the Bible anyways, not after I had to deal with that priest and Gilgamesh. "No marvel, for Satan himself shall be transformed into an angel of light. We come before you with full honesty, appearing in our true forms."

"Then what? What do you want from me?!"

"It is simple. Firstly, we shall open up to you. We are pieces of The Root, tasked with keeping history flowing. It is by our will that humanity still exists to this day. However, it is also due to our nature that we are the sworn enemies of the Mage's Association, but fear not, we do not mean any harm to you in specific."

Yikes.

Pieces of The Root.

"If you want me to dismantle the place I study at, that's not happening."

"No, that's not quite it. Mages of this era are only insects. We don't have anything to fear, but we want to ask you something else. Before we go on, we will release some information to you, information normal humans shouldn't know. After all, we're going to be partners for the time being, aren't we~?"

...Eek. The girl feels rather perverted. I'm keeping my distance.

"At first, there was nothingness, besides nothingness, there was another creature, and that was the God that many worship to this day." A slight pause... "On the first day of creation, He created light, however, something had to bring that light; hence, the first Angel was crated, the lightbringer. The lightbringer was once God's beloved, but he was blinded by his own beauty and power. That is when he rebelled, and so he fell to the Earth."

"The basics of Satan's story. Why are you telling me any of this?"

"When he was cast down to the unholy grounds you humans inhabit as well, his soul was reincarnated into another being, another being that still lives to this day and still fools the masses into loving him. He is the one you call Saint Griffith, the one who ended the Hundred Years' War along with his mercenary army."

"Wha-? Saint Griffith from the past? Those are some hefty accusations, alright!"

After all, he was the one who brought peace to France and England both. His kingdom, Falconia, was the closest thing to utopia. Something tells me another king like Saber would have loved that place if she ever found out about it.

"We know of this because he was once one of us. Gaze for yourself." The archangel raised a skeletal hand from under his dark cloak, his index finger pointing at a space in front of him. A dimensional rip opened up. I can see something in there. It's not very clear. I guess their power is really diminishing.

I see it. A figure covered by the darkness much like the rest of these demons, a male. He had a sort of dark, bird-shaped helmet looking thing. There was a face under that.

...

That face under that thing... is that who I think it is? I could just barely make it out.

Hiding in plain sight, so painfully easy to figure out. I wouldn't be surprised if the higher ups at the Clock Tower already knew and simply didn't care, knowing the world of magecraft these days.

I did think Cypher looked a lot like the Falcon of Light's depictions. Keyword being depictions. None ever found out how he really looked. The entirety of Falconia did disappear in a single day after all, all that was left was paintings. That aside however, the disappearance of Falconia suddenly means a lot more. It all adds up to a single conclusion.

They're all in Hell.

I can't help but be reminded of the same place Kiritsugu found me. That was the closest thing to Hell on Earth, but to think that some are suffering in a place like that for all of eternity...

This is really grinding my gears.

"What a shame. I always thought he looked cute, but it's in his blood to rebel against those above him. No matter how much power he holds, as long as there's someone above him, he WILL go out of line. It can't be helped. He also enjoys hiding in plain sight. This time, he didn't even alter his appearance that much."

The dimensional rip closed.

"Your eyes were once closed, Shirou Emiya, we hope that you can see clearly now. If you truly believe in your ambitions of becoming an ally of justice itself, then you must protect those around you by revealing the identity of the morningstar, the scourge of humanity. We despise him as much as humans do, bring peace for the sake of all."

"Proceed with caution. Calculate all your moves beforehand."

"But..." I grit my teeth for a moment. How can I do this? "It's not going to be easy. Cypher is above even the Lords in terms of ranks. I reckon he's only below the Vice Director and Director. They're not gonna believe me."

"It's so simple." The small demon with the glasses floated back over to me. I was still a bit scared, but I had nowhere to run anyways. He took his right hand out of the clasped posture, pointing at the Behelit. "You will keep that Behelit on you. Find a way to bring our good friend Louis back into the tower tomorrow, at a time where the hallways are crowded. Until then, we will keep our power stored, once you get him in an appropriate position, we will reveal ourselves. Don't show that to any members of the Mage's Association, unless if you want to be decapitated like that Counter Guardian you fought! Hah!"

These demons are unsettling, but the fact that Louis named himself that is more than enough for me. It all lines up.

"We will dismiss you for now. Our hope is placed in you. Go, Shirou, go and bring... peace."

The last word caused the dream to crumble.

Reality

Ugh...

"Shirou? Can you hear me? Shirou?" Tohsaka's voice came to me clearly.

I'm on the cold floor.

"Hey, look! He's waking up!"

I slowly open my eyes, only to realize that I've been surrounded by students. Some gazed at me with worry, others with a wide smile upon with their face. Not that funny, but okay. Rin was on her knees besides me.

"Shirou! Are you alright?!"

...Seriously, though? I passed out in the middle of the hallway? Embarrassing. This is gonna haunt me years from now for sure. Yikes. I don't have time to think about embarrassment anyways. Cypher himself said that he comes once a month. If I miss this chance then who knows if those 'angels' will be able to help me out with this by then?

"Yeah. Sorry for making you worry," I put a hand on my forehead, rubbing it. The Behelit had been moved to my pocket, thankfully. I doubt anyone would've done it for me, must have been some sort of sleep-walking. "How long have I been out for?"

"Five minutes or so, around that ballpark." Tohsaka then stood back up, looking to the students around her. "What are you guys looking at?! Scram already!"

What a commanding voice, a commanding presence. It didn't take long for those around us to go away just as she ordered.

Heh. She's really reliable, but if I want to protect her, then my first priority should be getting to Cypher.

"Thanks."

She turned back. "No problem."

"Say, do you know where Cypher went?"

"The guy that gave Luvia a good scolding? What for?"

"Oh, he just seemed pretty interesting. Maybe we could get acquainted."

God, I hate lying through my teeth, there's not much else I can say as an excuse right now.

"Well, I saw him go that way, to the left." Her finger pointed to one end of the hallway.

I might be too late, I certainly hope not, but looks like it.

"Alright, thanks. I'll see you later."

I stood back up as well, walking past her, but her voice quickly stopped me.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to go to class too?"

"...Er, I'll get a pardon from him. I hope."

"Don't get into trouble, please. Our reputations are linked together."

Right. I forgot about that. If this entire thing goes awry, I'll have to hold a funeral for our buried reps. "No worries. I'll see you around."

"Bye."

I finally turn my back on her, heading my own way, but...

What luck.

Just as I wanted it, I got closer to Cypher. A bit too close, let's say. A head-on collision with one and another. Must have been written in the stars.

The both of us fell to the floor, taking a few moments to recover.

"Hey, watch where you're-!" Once he had realized who he bumped into, he calmed down. "...Going. Ah, I remember you, you're Tohsaka's friend. Sherou, was it?"

"Shirou, sir."

"Alright, Shirou. Please be careful with where you're going next time."

Interestingly, he had a bottle in his right hand. Looked like luxurious wine.

In the next instant, he had already stood back up. Making his way over to me, he put his hand out.

"Here, take my hand."

I hesitated for a moment, but I have to act natural. As such, I took his hand, getting back up.

"Thanks."

"No problem, my friend."

And immediately after, he took off again.

Can't let him get away.

"Sir, wait!"

"Hm?" He stopped.

"Not that it's any of my business, but are you a drinker?"

"Oh, me? No, not at all!" A wide smile came to his face. "If this is what you're talking about, I'm taking this to a friend. She's a real nice lady, likes drinks like these. I keep these stored for her. I myself can't drink or smoke. This is an incredibly serious job."

"Huh. What a nice friend."

"Why thank you. You should be getting back to class anytime now, though. Don't forget." He started to head his own way.

"...About that, could we, um... become friends?"

He finally stopped in his tracks, turning around.

"Friends?"

"Yeah. If possible."

"I like to consider myself friends with everyone, though, so don't worry-"

"Nonono, I mean like, get to know each other better. Like that."

"...Like that. Okay. You look like a good kid, I'll pardon you from class for today. We are close friends from here on out, Shirou Emiya."

That was fast, but it also sounds worrying. Great. A monkey's paw situation.

"By the way, do you like cycling?" The both of them picked up the pace once more.

"Cycling?" What's he getting at?

"Yeah, cycling. You know, getting to places with a bicycle. The friend I mentioned earlier asked me to go cycling with her, she's right outside. I'll have to keep my legs in tact too after all. Hehe, as they say, never skip leg day."

"No, I don't. Sorry."

"That's fine. You can still come with us."

"Where are you two going?"

"My apartment building. We'll be having dinner tonight. You HAVE to join us. Come on."

...You know, it's been quite a while since I've cooked personally. I'm rusty for sure, I'll have to get back to shape. Maybe I could do some cooking. With that said, the last place I would wanna be alone in with Cypher would be a cramped space like an apartment.

I have to do this.

"Fine, why not."

"Great, great. Let's go out for now.'

Outside

The Sun is as bright as ever.

While it's pretty innocent, I can't help but be reminded of the term 'morningstar.' That's what he is, right?

"Come with, Shirou."

"I'm coming."

Two bicycles in the distance, one girl between them.

"Ah, there she is." We both quickly took after her.

Even at first glance, she seemed familiar. I swear I've seen her somewhere else before.

"He-Hey! If it isn't Mary herself!"

Mary. Interesting name. Mother of God.

"Greetings, sir Louis. Are you ready to go on a cycling trip?"

"As per usual—"

"Wait, hold on, please." I quickly interrupted the conversation.

...That face.

That absurdly long purple hair, that tall stature.

I know this person.

A cold shiver runs down my spine.