Chapter 23

        "You're finally awake." The boy opened his eyes to find himself in a frigid cold environment. There was snow and ice as far as the eye could see. A constant yet light wave of snow constantly fell onto him from the sky above. He lay looking up at it with the sun far off in the corner of his peripheral vision. "I was beginning to think you might not wake up again. I don't get too many chances to try waking you. I'm glad this attempt was succesful," the familiar voice said.

        "Fou?" (y/n) identified. He slowly sat up from the snow and looked for the fluffy cosmic tailed beast. Cath Palug sat directly across from him in a small form. If (y/n) hadn't already known the identity of the creature, he would have mistaken the little animal sitting in front of him for a cat. Or perhaps a dog? Maybe even a rabbit? Actually, what exactly was this tiny creature.

        Fou tilted his head before seemingly narrowing his eyes in a deadpan. "I'm still me if that's what you are thinking. Do not let this form fool you. I've lost my power over the years. My conciousness is slowly fading while my real body continues to protect your mother."

        (Y/n) watched the little creature that Fou had become. "Years?" Something about that statement hadn't felt right. In fact, (y/n) began to notice that he was not feeling the effects of the cold around him. Didn't he almost freeze last time? As if the world around him read his mind, the frigid cold hit him like an ocean wave. Right, the last time he was here, there had been an important mission. Caules wasn't truly their target. A girl named Gray had gone with him to take a servant, Masuda, to his master and get some answers.

        "Good. It appears that your conciousness is finally responding properly," Fou spoke when a puff of (y/n)'s breath condensed in the air. Before then, the little clouds of his breath had not been there at all, as if his very existence had not registered. "This is a realm of the mind after all. Since you are waking, it only makes sense that you'd start being affected by this realm of mine." Fou stood up and turned away from him. "Next time, I'll bring us back to the darkness outside of this place. My time is up right now. Do take care of yourself until we meet again. If...we can even meet again..."

        The environment along with Fou faded. The very next time that (y/n) blinked, he was awake within the real world. The sudden shift threw him off for a moment, but he was still calm since his mind hadn't fully rebooted. The boy turned teen reached out a hand to touch the glass in front of him. He was encapsulated within a familiar liquid substance. It was dark outside the capsule for the glass was designed not to allow him to see what was on the other side of it.

        He could remember now. All the events that led up to his blackout came back to him. The only problem was that he didn't know where he was now. "Is anyone there...?" He wondered if his servants were still present. "Hessian? Gilgamesh?" There was no response from either of his servants. He was not one to immediately assume the worst, but he had no clue what was going on which led his mind down the path of worst possible outcomes.

        Just then, the capsule drained itself before opening. The light that shined in had (y/n) squinting. His legs were weak from having gone so long without using them, but as he fell forward, someone caught him. A warm blanket of furs was draped over him which (y/n) quickly latched onto and pulled closer to him to fend of the initial cool of his new environment.

        "Took you long enough to wake up." (Y/n) flinched at the sound of that voice. It was not Gilgamesh as he had guessed. "I'm sorry." The director pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry." (Y/n) couldn't think of anything to do in that moment. He remained there shocked at the director's sudden kindness as his sight adjusted to the light. Ahead of where he and the director where stood Gilgamesh with a critical stare focused on them. They were in a room with nothing in it aside from the incubator-like machine that had been keeping him alive. There was no indication of what was powering the device, but it had certainly done its job.

        "What's going on? I thought you hated me." He recieved no answer from the leader of Tokugawa's operations. It scared him. His command seals reacted and sent a small burst of energy from his palms. The director released him with a yelp, and (y/n) didn't hesitate to get up and rush over to Gilgamesh. He stumbled along the way, still finding trouble with moving after all this time, but he did make it there to stand at the king's side.

        "The fool has come to a realization," Gilgamesh spoke up. He shook his head giving the director a look of pity and disgust. "But it's already too late." The director, Shirou, looked back at them with grief stricken eyes. For some reason, it made (y/n) feel sick. The man who had tried to kill him countless times was suddenly trying to sincerely care for him.

        (Y/n) pulled his blanket closer around his figure. "I don't understand. What's going on here? How long have I been asleep?"

        Gilgamesh's hand came to rest on (y/n)'s shoulder. He pulled his master a bit closer to him, just enough to allow (y/n) to lean on him for support. "You were in a coma for eleven years. It would have been twelve years in a few more months if you hadn't woken up just now." Gilgamesh explained this rather calmly despite how serious it was. "The director had a replacement set up for you, but things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to. From the beginning, it's all been wrong."

        "I don't understand." (Y/n) shook his head trying to make sense of this new information.

        "It's my right to tell him, not yours," the director snapped at Gilgamesh. Several gates from the king's treasury appeared around the man. The director didn't care. "It's not your right!" he practically yelled.

        "Silence you filthy mongrel!" Gilgamesh demanded. (Y/n) could feel his hand slightly shaking with rage. "If you had  just done your job properly the first time, there wouldn't be any need for this explaination to begin with!" Archer sighed and waved a hand across the air to make the portals vanish. He turned his attention to (y/n). "That coward there who calls himself the director is actually..." he trailed off with an expression close to a grimace, shaking his head. "No, now isn't the time to tell you that. I must ensure that you are in good condition. Let's go. I will explain everything once your health has been accounted for."

        "Has it really been eleven years?" (y/n) asked. He knew that he was taller, now reaching Gilgamesh's shoulder in height. It was the only visible indication that he had aged. If that was true then he would be sixteen, almost seventeen now. His life had gone by without him even being aware of it. "What happened to Masuda and Setanta? Is Gray alright? Did her mentor keep his promise to protect Caules and Fiore? What about-"

        "Enough questions, (y/n)." Gilgamesh guided him out of the thick steel door. (Y/n) briefly looked back to see that it was a vault built to trap whatever was within. Or perhaps it was meant to keep others out. "Once we're done here, I will take you to see the woman that you once called your mother. She will be able to explain everything."
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A new arc has begun, and we're about halfway through the book. Hope you all are ready because the Setanta Arc is here! Until next time you amazing readers!

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