In Chaldea, where one couldn't distinguish between night and day.
The cold light from the corridor shone into the dim room through the open door, leaving the shadow of the door frame on the ground. Although the light wasn't intense, it was enough to outline the objects in the room. In terms of atmosphere, it was at least much warmer than the empty corridor.
Inside the room, a bed lay quietly in the corner. The fingers of the young man lying on it moved slightly, his originally weak breathing gradually becoming stronger.
"Ugh..."
His chest rose and fell. After a few seconds, accompanied by unconscious muttering, Takumi finally opened his eyes slowly.
"...Familiar ceiling."
Looking at the flat ceiling revealing a hint of high-tech style, Takumi knew he had returned to Chaldea.
Breathing a sigh of relief lightly, Takumi got up from the bed slowly but very easily, completely unlike before when even getting into bed was extremely difficult.
Tap tap...
Instinctively and casually slipping his feet into the shoes by the bed, Takumi clenched his only remaining fist, which emitted a "creaking" sound.
'Strength has all returned, and even stronger than before.'
Although he didn't test it, it was his own body after all. Takumi could feel his body was even stronger than when the Third Singularity ended.
Feeling the enhanced strength slightly, Takumi looked down at his heart.
He could see a transparent flame, yet emitting a faint golden light, burning there.
"[Heart of Fire]... my true ability..."
Takumi chewed on the name he gave it, slowly comprehending the power contained within.
"Power capable of causing miracles... huh?"
With traces of doubt, Takumi said softly.
Although it sounded a bit abstract, it had just awakened. Even Takumi, its owner, couldn't see through its full picture.
Could only roughly perceive part of its ability.
But it didn't matter. Takumi had time to slowly explore its power.
Putting this matter aside for now, Takumi looked at the flag leaning against the door.
The pitch-black, slightly shiny flagstaff leaned against the wall. The long flag cloth dragged on the ground, but one could still see the golden iris, red rose, and the pirate symbol whose color looked slightly mismatched on it.
It had been there all along, just as Takumi judged in the "Prison Tower."
Takumi got up, walked to the flag, looked at it, and took a deep breath.
Then reached out, grabbing the flagstaff without hesitation and picking it up.
Transparent flames spread from where his hand held it to the entire flag.
Where the flames passed, scratches that once appeared due to blocking attacks were instantly repaired as new, as if they never appeared.
In the blink of an eye, the flames licked onto the flag cloth.
Whoosh whoosh
Only hearing a swish, the flag cloth moved without wind, fluttering wantonly in the air.
Flames covered the entire flag cloth. From a distance, it looked like Takumi was holding a huge burning torch.
But this wasn't destruction, but reshaping, reforging!
'What will it become?'
Takumi stared intently at the changing pattern on the flag cloth in the flames.
He also didn't know how the manifestation in his heart would be reflected on this Noble Phantasm.
Seconds later, the flames dissipated, and the reforged pattern appeared in Takumi's vision.
Takumi was stunned.
Stunned for a second, then couldn't help shaking his head and laughing.
"Is this unexpected yet reasonable?"
On the flag cloth reforged by flames, the golden iris and red rose were squeezed to the side, distributed in various places as decorative patterns.
Even the pirate symbol Drake once drew was divided into four, distributed in the four corners of the flag.
As for the very center, it was a pattern like the letter "C" surrounded by olive branches.
Also—the symbol of Chaldea.
Noble Phantasm Upgrade: [Mon Coeur (B)]
→ [Mon Coeur (A+)]
Although Takumi was quite surprised when seeing this, after turning his brain slightly, Takumi understood why it was like this.
Over six months, where else had Takumi spent more time than in Chaldea?
This symbol spread all over Chaldea had been imprinted in Takumi's heart unknowingly during this time.
Besides this, Takumi also discovered a message he only received now.
A sentence was written on this Noble Phantasm originally belonging to Jeanne by unknown means—
[My Master is someone who will choose to move forward even while crying and in pain.]
"Haha, really seen through by someone."
Takumi looked up, smiling helplessly.
Indeed, even if he hadn't met Jeanne in that forest back then, he would have continued to try to find Siegfried's tracks alone in the Singularity after crying through the night.
And this point was actually seen through by Jeanne, whom he had only been with for three days.
Adjusting his mood, Takumi planted the flag on the ground.
Smiling at the fluttering flag, his eyes were piercing.
'The path to salvation lies within!'
"Sigh, having rested for so long, it's time to seriously think about how to conquer that Beast of Compassion!"
Takumi exhaled, saying with a tone slightly tinged with joy.
——
——
I seemed to have a dream.
Dreamed I came to a mountain filled with clouds and mist.
I walked into the mountain ignorantly, hearing melodious mountain songs.
Following the singing, I found the singer.
It was a woodcutter.
I asked him what song he sang and where he learned it.
He said this song had no name, just singing to relieve boredom.
As for where he learned it, it was exactly in this mountain.
Following the direction the woodcutter pointed, I walked all the way.
Stepping over long mountain roads and stone steps, saw a cave with open doors.
Two lines of words were written on the walls on both sides of the cave: [Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain, Crescent Moon and Three Stars Cave]
I walked into the mountain gate.
But didn't see the old Taoist with immortal demeanor, nor were there men and women and monkeys seeking immortality and Taoism inside.
There was no one inside.
I picked up a broom, swept the dojo full of fallen leaves and dust once.
Then sat on the seat in the corner of the main hall, quietly looking at the empty "lectern" ahead.
Clouds and mist gathered and scattered. A figure appeared on the "lectern."
A person in a blue coat, holding a wooden staff, with a frivolous expression appeared in sight, "preaching" to me.
My teacher was not just one person.
Besides the blue teacher, there was a teacher who liked to say sorry, a teacher who always had "ROMA" on his lips, a teacher with a huge appetite like a tyrannosaurus...
Anyway, I had many teachers, and I listened very seriously.
...
Spring went and autumn came, leaves grew and fell.
Time passed quickly. Always felt the teacher in front kept changing, changing to another teacher in the blink of an eye.
Fallen leaves and dust in the dojo seemed never-ending to sweep.
I didn't know how much time I stayed here either, only remembering the peach trees in the back mountain bloomed and bore fruit thirteen times.