#[tags ritsuka bc hey ur in it ovo]

[akafilogaallgrior]

;;perspective

       The homunculus had expected the first irregularity of this place to be something more... perilous. A monster that was rampaging across the land and needed to be stopped; a coming calamity that threatened to destroy the island; some cataclysmic or troublesome event that would require all of Chaldea (and perhaps even the other inhabitants of the island) to band together and face the threat.

       Instead, he awoke one day, and found something much more mundane had happened. 

       It was almost as if various people all across the city had been taken from entirely different points in their life. Most of them looked younger, while others seemed entirely different. But one common thread connected them all--they all acted as though they’d only just arrived at the city. Strange.

       His first thought was to worry about Fujimaru. Their Master had been here for a while--if she’d been caught up in this, then--

       Fortunately, his fears were quickly put to rest. Their Master, like Sieg himself, had been one of the few that had been unaffected by whatever had happened. But then came the question; what of the others? Those who had been affected, and of the truth of the matter--was that not a concern? With all of that considered, her order (or rather, request), surprised him:

“Just lay low for a bit.”

       ... That was a simplified version of it, but it was the main thing he was told. Many of them were entering this place with no memory of their stay, and there seemed to be no sign of them recalling anything. As such, dumping all of the possible history they had (both inside and outside of the city) could have been extremely traumatic. 

       ... (There seemed to be a sadness to her voice in that, but he dared not pry.)

       Regardless, he was to pretend as though he knew nothing more of them than they knew. A rather difficult request, as though many called him ‘stoic’, the truth was that he didn’t have a very good ‘poker face’ (or so the saying went). As such, he spent most of his time quietly observing everything that happened. 

       Though, as he observed it, a thought occurred to him.

       ---What if he had been subjected to this?

       It wasn’t the pondering of what time in his life he’d have been sent back to (though he could think of one specific period he’d have refused to return to). Rather, it was the fear of something else: the fear of forgetting. 

       Memories. In many respects, they were what defined a person. And when those memories were lost, that person lost something that defined them. As a result, their very being was redefined, twisted, and contorted. Even the simple act of returning someone to a different point in time had massive ramifications. 

       He wondered if he’d have lost his time spent with his friends and the battles they fought together; the trials Ruler, Rider, and he had faced in the Great Holy Grail War. He wondered if he’d have had his memories of Chaldea taken, too; of the time spent there and the friendships he’d formed there. 

       It was terribly similar to how Heroic Spirits often changed form, when summoned to different Masters.

       ... I don’t like this.

       He laid down, pondering when the people would return to normal. It was a terrible thing, to have the nature of your self jerked around so. It was cruel; a horrible, horrible thing. To awaken one day, and to have your memories reset anew from a completely different point. To lose all of your experiences, your bonds, your self--

       ... Maybe it wasn’t his place to feel this way. He was an irregular Heroic Spirit, not subject to the normal rules of summoning. He would never lose his memories after being summoned, up until the day when his role was finished and he would return to himself.

       And yet, he could not shake the emotion.

       He didn’t exactly need to sleep. Servants never did. But, he hoped it would help to settle his mind, even just a bit.