Why do doctor appointments always have to be so early? I find myself thinking as I walk down the hallway. It's 10:00 AM right now. Normally, I wouldn't care, but I hoped to sleep in today until Doctor Romani called me to his office for a checkup.

It's been a month since Trifas wrapped up. All the Servants have gotten comfortable and have started to do what they want. Semiramis and Amakusa Shirou are usually seen together and even share a room, Sieg and Jeanne are very much the same. Shakespeare usually just stays in his room and writes. Vlad III usually stays in the study inside in his room as well, and Karna and Siegfried can usually be seen either hanging out or fighting. Chaldea has really gotten more lively as of late which is really nice from the empty state it was in before.

The staff have also been more active as of recently too. I can see them walking through the halls, eating in the cafeteria, chatting with Servants. It seems that we have all recovered enough from the sabotage that once almost wiped us out.

I arrive at the doctor's office and knock. In a few seconds, the door opens and Doctor Romani is standing there with a smile.

"Just in time Serena. Come in! Take a seat right over there, please."

As instructed I walk in and sit down in a chair. "So is this just a normal checkup? Or is it magecraft related?", I ask the orange haired doctor.

"Don't worry, it's just a normal checkup. You don't have to worry at all."

"Alright then. Is everyone getting it too?"

"Ah, I've already done checkups on everyone else. I want to make sure you all are in good health before the second Singularity. We should be leaving for it tomorrow or the day after."

"I see. I have to say, I'm kinda worried. The first proper Singularity went well enough, but it was still really dangerous and well…I still can't look Amakusa in the eye. I can tell he's not someone awful anymore, but still I can't bring myself to do it.", I say with a nervous smile on my face.

Romani takes a seat next to me. "Did our little therapy session help at all? You talked about Amakusa, yes, but also all that other stuff from your past. Did it help at all to just talk about it?"

"Yes it did. It was nice to just be able to vent for a while. Thank you for that."

"It's no problem at all. It's my job after all. If you want to talk again, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Thanks Doctor! I'll keep that in mind."

Romani stands up from the chair and begins the checkup. Just the normal stuff any doctor would do like checking blood pressure, heart rate, test my eyesight, hearing. Measure my height and check my weight.

"163 centimeters tall and you weigh about 57 kilograms. Perfectly healthy for a woman your age. Your eyesight is great too. Overall from what I can test, you are perfectly healthy."

"That's good to hear.", I sigh in relief, I'm glad nothing is wrong. Wait, isn't he forgetting some stuff?

"Hey Doctor? Aren't you forgetting the…stuff involving my body? I'm pretty sure that's important too."

"Hm? Oh, I'm going to have one of the female nurses do that in a minute. I'm qualified and willing to do that sort of thing, but I feel you'd be more comfortable with a female worker doing that instead.", he laughs it off.

"Yeah, that makes sense. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that I'd rather have a woman do that sort of thing you know?"

"Yeah, that's how it usually was back when I was a normal doctor. Well, except for surgeries, people usually didn't care about that sort of thing when their life was at risk. I'll call for a nurse now.", Romani picks up a phone and starts talking to someone on the other end. After a minute, he hangs up and places the phone back onto the wall.

"So have you been a doctor your whole life? Or well I mean as long as you could work for.", I ask him. I realize I don't really know much about the Doctor, despite him being the on duty director while Olga Marie is absent or with us on a rayshift.

Romani turns to face me. "No no. I did do medical work plenty and of course am fully certified for such. But I also did some scientific work, construction and other jobs that could help people. You see, a long time ago, I had a premonition that something bad would happen to humanity. So I wanted to find out the cause, which led me to a path of helping people as much as I could."

"Wait, do you have magecraft like mine? Or eyes I mean?"

"No, I don't know what caused that vision, and I don't have magecraft at all. I'm just a normal doctor. All I know is that it wasn't a dream and was instead a vision. It seemed like Marisbury thought the same and recruited me for Chaldea where I work as a full time doctor and now part time director. Marisbury was a strange man, to believe some ramblings of mine. But, he was always like that, he believed in what he believed in and threw away anything he didn't believe in without hesitation or a moment to reconsider. It's a shame he passed, but his legacy still continues on via Chaldea."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's no problem. I've gotten over his death. Though, the Director seemingly hasn't, so try not to mention this around her.", Romani responds.

"Sure thing."

Right as I say that, a nurse walks in the room and the two exchange words and Romani walks out.

After all that is over, I dress back up and await Dr. Roman's return as instructed.

Soon, he walks back in. "Glad to see you are healthy in that department too. Anyway, one last thing I would like to discuss before we finish here."

"Hm? What else is there Doctor?"

"Looking over your info, you don't seem to have your element listed. Do you know what yours is so we can add it to your file?"

"Sorry, I don't even know what that is."

"I thought so. Alright, we can figure it out now then. I already have some of your blood here, so we can find it right now."

Romani does some things with the blood and a machine that I can't really figure out, and after a few minutes, the element pops up.

Though, instead of telling me, Romani just freezes up. Speechless for a few seconds, maybe even a little startled?

"Hey, is something the matter?"

"No…no, nothing's the matter, it's just…Interesting. Hang on, I need to tell the Director and Da Vinci. They need to see this."

And just like that he goes running out the door, leaving me to sit in this quiet office alone. I spend a few minutes just playing with my hair and nails, I look at the computer screen, but I can't understand a thing so I just sit back down on the table and wait.

With a crash, the door opens and Da Vinci storms in, clearly in shock and runs over to the computer screen. Olga and Romani follow over. They all look back toward me and just stare dumbfounded and then look back at the screen. That process repeats two more times and Da Vinci clears her throat to speak.

"Listen little one, this is certainly a surprising turn of events. Never in my life did I expect something like this from someone like you.", Da Vinci says in surprise.

"Wow, you really are just full of surprises aren't you?", Olga remarks.

"Your element is 'Nothingness.'", Romani says to me.

"What's that? Is it special?", I question, very confused at all this.

"Olga then speaks up. "Special doesn't cut it. It's really rare. As in, 5% of the total world population of mages level of rare. Most mages have one of five elements. Fire, earth, water, wind, and void. Those are the basic ones and everyone gets one or sometimes more. But, there are two extras known as 'Imaginary Elements,' and those are Hollow and Nothingness. Hollow deals with Imaginary Numbers which is what Alice has to use her Imaginary Number Space. And you have Nothingness. Nothing is known for 'which is not possible, but materializes.' It is very rare, so it's not known what it can do completely. Basically the way I see it, it means that something that shouldn't be able to happen, happens anyway."

"Wow really? I have something that special? Oh well, I can't even use it since I know no magecraft.", I say in awe.

"That is true, maybe your eyes have something to do with it, though. They kinda work that way, you being able to select the future you want and all as long as it's seemingly possible to accomplish. Damn, we still don't know enough about all this.", Da Vinci expresses her frustration.

"Anyway, Serena, you seem to be a rare individual. You have both Nothingness, and rare Mystic Eyes. Yet you can't use your element at all. You are an unique case.", Romani says in a serious tone. "You are free to leave now while we think about some things. Try to keep this element talk confidential, alright?"

I agree and walk out of the office, unsure of how to process all this. I decided to explore Chaldea to take my mind off this.

I eventually come across a door I've never noticed and walk in. A staircase descends down and being curious, I go down the stairs.

Once I emerge from the stairway, a great library is revealed.

Has this been here the whole time?

A massive library has been in the basement this whole time and I guess I never stumbled across it. Books span the walls, multiple floors are covered in bookcases, tables and desks are on the ground floor of the room with a desk straight ahead of me. Staff members roam the floors, seemingly looking for books to read for themselves.

"Wait, how is this room so big, this is multiple floors, five, no six? How is this even possible?"

A familiar voice responds from a nearby desk "That's easy, a spell was used to make the room bigger from the inside than it actually is. It's used by mages to store things easier. A suitcase can hold as much as the trunk of a car, for example."

"Oh, Nick, you're here?"

"Yep, I spend a lot of my time down here reading. There's enough books to keep me occupied for hours."

"Do you like reading? You look like you do."

"Yeah, it's a hobby of mine. You can never learn too much. It's nice and quiet down here so I can focus."

"Then maybe I'll join you for a bit. Do you know where books about magecraft may be?"

"Magecraft related books are on the second floor.", Nick points up.

"Thanks. I'll be right back!"

After selecting a book about the elements, I return back to where Nick was and sit at a table next to him.

I begin to read, I try to find out more about this "Nothingness" element, along with learning about the others.

Though, I feel eyes looking at me. "Do you need something, Nick?"

"Hm? No, just wondering what you're reading."

"Oh, it's just a book about elements. The magical kind of course. This is a topic I know little about." I respond. "What are you reading?"

"Just a book about Dead Apostles."

I've never heard that term before. "What are those?"

"Basically vampires. They're real and magi have to deal with them sometimes. I've had to deal with them too."

"Are they strong?"

"Depends, there are a lot of different ranks of them. The weakest are Corpses, then Ghouls, then Undead and following that are Nightkin. After that it's Nightmares, Dead Apostles and lastly Superior Dead Apostles. I'd explain them all but that'll take a while, you can read this book if you want to know about each class individually."

"Sounds interesting. They're all blood drinkers…"

"Yeah, depending on class, they can turn those they drink from into a vampire as well."

"How strong are Superior Dead Apostles? Can a Servant beat one?"

"I'm not sure. Probably not. Though, Servants all have their niches and could be a perfect counter toward one, while others may just get killed without a chance. But think of it like this. The Superiors can wipe out a city overnight if they wanted to. They are that powerful. Naturally they have Corpses, Ghouls and Undead to aid them. But the Superior can do most of the work on their own. So yes, they are very strong."

Nick begins to talk again. "There is a task force that was made to deal with Dead Apostles known as the Burial Agency. Just strong people who are able to kill the dead. They are damn good at it too, I've run into one in the past while he was hunting one down. He got the job done really quick and easy. Oh, you know Amakusa and his Black Keys? Those are common weapons against the dead due to their holy properties. Amakusa in general would be good against the dead. Being part priest and all."

"I-I see. Anyway, forget Amakusa! What did you do before this? It seems like something involving vampires? You said you ran into one of these 'Burial Agency' people, so were you also looking for vampires?"

"Oh, yeah I have what you would call a side job. If I happen across a vampire, I'll kill it. I don't actively look for them though, most of the time at least. There was a time I was tracking down a high ranking Dead Apostle and ran into a Burial Agent, the one I mentioned before, two separate jobs and he killed his pretty fast and helped me find the one I was tracking which I killed.", Nick's face then gets a saddened look. "He became my closest friend…he was a good guy, I could trust him with my life. But he was killed on the job by a Dead Apostle he just wasn't equipped to handle. I was there too but I couldn't stop it from happening."

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"No, I shouldn't have said that. Really brought down the mood, didn't it?", Nick cheers up again. A fake smile.

"…"

I don't know what to say. Up until now, he seemed like a normal guy with a normal life. But this…I feel bad for him.

"That Dead Apostle, is it still out there? Once this Grand Order is over, I can help you get revenge."

"No, no need. I killed it that day. My friend has already been avenged."

"I see…"

We sit in silence for a few minutes. Unsure of what to say to each other.

"Hey, would you like to get lunch with me?"

Nick looks up from his book. "Yeah, that sounds good to me.", Nick closes the book he was reading. "First, let's put these back.

"You've improved quite a bit in this past month, Ritsuka."

"Thanks, I've even managed to hit you a few times."

"Yeah, now you just need to learn to hit harder and faster. You did make contact with my stomach, but it wasn't a strong enough punch to do much damage."

"I'll just leave that in your care!"

Alice and Ritsuka continue their training as Mash watches from the side. Mash too has been receiving training from Alice to improve her fighting capabilities.

After a few more rounds, all three take a water break.

"This is so exhausting.", Ritsuka takes another sip of water.

"Yeah, well, you are receiving Sealing Enforcer training, so it'll only get rougher for you in the future."

"Yeah, that's true. How long did it take you to get strong?", Ritsuka questions Alice.

"I take it you mean strong enough to hold my own well enough? About five or six years. But even now I am still improving my skills."

"Wow, you're very dedicated.", Mash says.

"Yeah, it's what my parents did and what I want to do. So I want to give it my all."

Ritsuka looks at Mash. "Hey Mash, so I was wondering, can I hold your shield?"

"Eh? Sure, I don't think there would be a problem with that."

Mash manifests her shield and hands it off to Ritsuka.

"CLANG!"

Ritsuka and the shield instantly fall to the ground. The shield is way too heavy for him to hold on his own.

"What the hell…!? You make it look so easy.", Ritsuka says in between muffled breaths.

"This is strange. You should have no issue holding the shield since you are physically stronger than Mash. Yet she lifts it with no effort, and you can't even raise it up. Can I try?"

Alice walks over and Ritsuka hands the shield off in which she also is barely able to lift it.

"I…I'm stronger than both of you and I'm struggling to lift this…"

Ritsuka gets an idea. "Maybe it's because Mash is a Servant. Something where only she can lift it because she is the one with the Servant tied to the shield. Like Thor's hammer."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Here Mash, you can have it back."

Mash picks it up like it weighs nothing and dematerializes it.

Mash looks pumped up. "Well, I'm ready to keep going. What about you two?"

"Yeah sure. I'm fine with that.", Ritsuka also stands back up and following him, Alice.

"Alright, let's do as we normally do." Alice raises her fists and so does Ritsuka.

"How is the Singularity going?", Olga asks the two at the computer.

Romani looks up from his work. "We should be ready tomorrow."

"Its rank is pretty high. Estimated to be at an A-, I think we can do it, but just stay on guard while there." Da Vinci adds.

"Sure thing. We got through Trifas pretty well thanks to Sieg and Jeanne, but I can't help but worry. No, what am I saying? We'll be fine!", Olga's face then turns sour. "As for Nick, I hope he is better behaved this time around. He was a huge help, but I can't help but feel like he's a little brat. Is it too much to ask for respect?"

"Actually, to me, Nick seems to respect you quite a bit. It just seems like he wants you to do your best without directly saying it. I wouldn't worry about him too much, he's just teasing you. But I can definitely tell he respects you. After all, he follows your orders doesn't he?", Da Vinci replies.

"W-well what about when he kissed me?"

"He was just doing a mana transfer just like he said he was. It's the fastest way to do one after all."

"Well, it's very unprofessional! Hmph!"

Da Vinci and Romani only smile in response to the obvious tsundere.

"Anyway, any changes in the other candidates?", Olga questions with a serious tone.

"Unfortunately they're unchanged. They should be fine until the end of the year and longer though since they are frozen."

"I see. This would all be so much easier if they were here. Instead we only have a few people to carry this out. I don't doubt them, but still, can we really pull this off completely?", Olga sighs, "Nothing can be done. I just gotta accept this as it is and hope for the best."

"Anyway, if this will all be ready by tomorrow, then we should do it as fast as possible, so we leave tomorrow then." Olga demands.

"Understood!"

It's about 9:00 PM now. My laundry has just finished and I walk back to my room. The laundry room is quite far, in an isolated part of Chaldea with some washers and dryers. Along with a hanging rack and other basic laundry needs. I say it like it's in a broom closet but it's quite the nice room, like a laundromat.

I arrive back at my room and fold my laundry to put it all to the side of my bed. "Hm? I don't remember having this tank top. Maybe it got mixed into mine by mistake? It actually looks like Alice's"

I'll just give it to her now. No use in keeping a shirt that isn't mine.

And with that I make the short walk to Alice's room.

I knock on the door and wait.

"Come in! It's unlocked.", a muffled voice replies.

I walk into her room. It's just the basic Chaldea white room…with a bunch of junk on the floor. Mechanical parts cover the floor, tools too. And Alice is sitting there doing something to a motorcycle in the middle of the room.

Damn bitch, you live like this?

"Alice? What are you up to?"

"Making final repairs to my bike. I want it to be able to drive on more surfaces and I'm just doing general maintenance too."

"I see. Jeez, this place is messy. I really didn't expect this from you of all people."

"What? It's my favorite hobby. I make all my weapons and gear myself, so I need these parts for it."

"Can't you just use your pocket dimension?"

"That would require using a lot of mana, constantly putting stuff back in and pulling it out again."

"Anyway, did you need something, Serena?"

"Oh right, your shirt got mixed in with my laundry, here.", I hand over her the gray tank top.

"Oh thanks. I was wondering where this went."

I walk over and take a seat on her bed.

Alice doesn't seem to mind and goes back to her thing.

She replaces the wheels and some other parts I don't know, I'm not a mechanic so I have no idea specifically what she's up to. Looking at her now, she's covered in all sorts of filth like oil, sweat, and paint? She must've wanted some extra visual style.

After a few minutes, she finishes up and the bike disappears, along with the rest of the clutter on the floor. She grabs a rag and wipes her forehead with it and drinks a bottle of water.

"Are you worried about tomorrow, Alice?"

Alice puts the bottle down and looks at me. "I can't say that I'm not. The whole world is at stake after all. After Trifas, I can't expect anything anymore after all that happened. I definitely think we can do it though."

"Heh, lucky you. I'm worried as hell. Amakusa traumatized me a ton in Trifas, so I'm wondering what else these crappy eyes will show me."

"…"

"Well, you don't have to worry one bit.", Alice walks closer and sits down next to me. "I'm your knight after all, I promised to keep you safe so that's what I'll do. Amakusa won't hurt you again, nor will anyone else while I'm around! Wait, would the word 'protector' work better here? Maybe 'bodyguard?' Hm? Serena? Your face is bright red, are you feeling alright? It wouldn't be good to get sick right before the second Singularity."

M-M-M-MY KNIGHT?! I-I'M NOT READY TO PUT SO MUCH COMMITMENT IN A RELATIONSHIP AGAIN, IDIOOOOT!

IDIOT I'M FLATTERED BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK I'M SICK!? I'M BLUSHING HEAD TO TOE BECAUSE WHAT YOU JUST SAID WAS SO CUTE, ALSO WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO CLOSE!?

"No, I'm perfectly fine! Anyway, I should get going now! I need my rest!"

"Hm? Alright then, I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed myself. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

I run out of the room as fast as I can and head to my room. After decompressing, I go to bed. Tomorrow is the day, I need as much rest as possible for the second Singularity.

The next morning, I walk to the cafeteria for breakfast and it is really busy! Servants and staff at every table. The very familiar faces of Sieg, Jeanne, and Astolfo. Amakusa and Semiramis, Artoria Alter and Medusa. Emiya is behind the counter as usual, trying to keep up with the breakfast rush. The rayshift is in about two hours, so I go sit down for breakfast at the table Ritsuka and Mash are sitting at.

"Oh, good morning, Serena. How are you today? All ready for the rayshift?", Mash asks cheerfully.

"Yeah, I'm ready for it. Still got butterflies though. What about you two?"

"I'm ready too! My Mystic Code was repaired and back up to full strength. I'm ready for anything at this point, and I've gotten stronger thanks to Alice. I'm a bit worried like you too, though."

"I'm also ready of course. I will be sure to protect all of you!"

"That's great! By the way, where are Alice and Nick? Have they already eaten?"

"I think they are in the command room helping out there."

"They must've already eaten then. Alright then, after we finish, we should head over there too."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same."

The three of us talk while we eat and chat for a while afterward. Then we head over to the command room.

After finishing preparing, all the Servants that were in the room are forced to leave and we enter our coffins. Fou tried to join Mash, but it wouldn't be safe for a small animal like himself to go on a dangerous adventure with us, so he had to stay behind with Doctor Romani and the others.

Of course, Olga Marie also joins us, and Da Vinci and Romani take over as temporary directors. "Well, your goal as always is to get the Grail, and destroy the cause of the Singularity if needed. Keep yourselves safe, I want you all back alive.", Romani orders.

"Yes sir!", we all reply and the coffin doors shut.

A countdown begins, my heart starts beating faster. I close my eyes as the rayshift begins, sending us through time to the second Singularity, France.