The hum of static electricity floated in the air, intermittent, as if reality itself were poorly tuned.
Leonel Herrera opened his eyes.
The light was dim, bluish, almost artificial. Around him, enormous metallic columns rose towards a ceiling he couldn't see. Screens floated suspended in the air, displaying symbols he didn't recognize. Everything seemed like a mix between a sci-fi laboratory and a godless church.
His legs trembled as he tried to stand up. He was lying on a cold surface, glass or steel, hard to distinguish. A distant beep echoed every few seconds, rhythmic, mechanical, like an artificial heart marking the pulse of this strange place.
Leonel blinked.
His body... felt weird. Not in pain, but different. As if something fundamental had changed in him. As if he were himself... but not quite.
He tried to remember.
The factory. The control panel. The noise. The collapse.
The impact.
And then, nothing.
"Where... am I?" he murmured, his voice sounding dry, as if he hadn't spoken in days.
There was no answer. Only the echo of his own voice and the distant clank of some mechanism opening.
He walked with clumsy, shuffling steps. Every corner seemed to watch him, though no one was in sight. The walls glowed with pulsating circuits and arcane symbols, an impossible mix of technology and something else... ancient.
He looked at his hands.
They were his.
Weren't they?
Anxiety began to climb up his throat. He felt there was something he should remember, something important, but the more he tried, the more it slipped away, like sand between his fingers.
The cold from the floor seeped into his back.
Gabriel Elías Ramírez opened his eyes, slowly, as if each blink cost him a part of himself. The light in the hallway was white, but not natural. It flickered with a soft hum, as if the electrical system were on its last legs.
The ceiling was smooth, white, metallic.
His body felt heavy. The air smelled of disinfectant and technology.
He didn't know where he was. Or how he had gotten there.
"...Hello?" he tried to say, but his voice was barely a whisper lost in the hallway's silence.
The echo replied, distant, empty.
He sat up clumsily, leaning on a trembling arm. Something in his chest throbbed with force, as if a part of him knew this place wasn't safe. Or worse: that it was too important.
He tried to stand, but his knees gave way. He barely managed to drag himself to the wall and lean against it, breathing heavily, confused... and scared.
That's when he heard footsteps. Light, but firm. Quick.
And a feminine voice, soft, restrained:
"...He's awake!"
A figure that seemed straight out of a dream appeared before him. A young woman in light armor, lilac hair tied in a low ponytail, and a shield as large as herself on her back. Beside her, a small, white, furry creature with blue eyes watched him curiously.
"Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling beside him.
Gabriel looked at her, but said nothing.
Not out of fear.
But because something inside him screamed that he knew her... and at the same time, didn't.
She watched him for another second, concerned, then turned to the small creature.
"Fou, help me lift him. We need to take him to the infirmary."
"Fou!" the creature chirped, as if it understood perfectly.
The world turned blurry again.
And the darkness returned.
The warmth of the sheets contrasted with the persistent metallic cold of the surroundings. The smell of disinfectant filled his nostrils as his eyes cracked open heavily. White light. Sterile walls. A subtle beep accompanied the beats of his heart. This wasn't his room. This wasn't his bed. And he definitely wasn't dead... or was he?
"Oh! You're awake," a calm, almost relieved voice pulled him from his thoughts.
He slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice. A man with messy hair and a kind expression was watching him from a medical terminal. He wore a slightly wrinkled white coat, as if he had slept in it.
"How do you feel?" he asked with a warm tone.
The protagonist looked at him silently for a few seconds. That voice... that face... that name, which would come moments later:
"My name is Romani Archaman. I'm the chief physician here at Chaldea."
The protagonist's heart skipped a beat.
Chaldea...
The name echoed in his mind like a sound finding no origin. It was familiar. Too familiar. His expression remained serene, but inside, his mind was racing a thousand miles per hour.
Chaldea? Romani Archaman? Wait... that's not... Fate? No, it can't be...
"My name is..." He paused, hesitating for a moment. He thought about it. His real name? Or a new one? "My name is Leonel Herrera. Thank you for taking care of me."
"It was Mash who found you unconscious in the hallways along with Fou," explained Romani, while checking a tablet with his vitals. "You were stable, but unconscious. Your tests showed nothing abnormal. No residue of external mana, no signs of magical malformations."
The protagonist nodded weakly, but his mind was still far away.
This can't be real. This must be a dream. A hallucination. An induced coma? Am I in the hospital and my brain is just processing all this as a fantasy?
While Romani murmured medical things, he discreetly looked down at his hand. Slowly, he brought it to his forearm and pinched himself hard.
Pain. Real. Brief. Unmistakable.
His throat went dry.
It's not a dream...
The world he knew, his old body, his life... everything now felt like a blurry memory trapped behind a foggy window.
Romani interrupted his thoughts, showing a calm expression.
"I must say your registration as a Master candidate was a surprise. You were sent from one of the associated branches, but your file arrived with a special priority seal. I apologize for not receiving you earlier. It's been a... complicated day."
The protagonist swallowed.
"So... this is real... Chaldea exists..." he muttered to himself, almost voiceless.
Romani raised a curious eyebrow.
"Did you say something?"
"N-no, nothing," he replied, clearing his throat softly. "Just... I'm still a little confused. Could I ask you... some things?"
Romani nodded with a smile.
"Of course. It's normal to feel disoriented upon waking. Go ahead."
"Where exactly am I? I mean... what is Chaldea? What do you do here?"
Romani tilted his head, as if surprised by the question, but attributed it to the shock of waking up.
"Chaldea is a magical and scientific research organization, backed by the Mage's Association and the United Nations. Our primary mission is to preserve the continuity of humanity's history. Although, of course, that sounds very grandiose, right?"
The protagonist nodded slowly. Every word fit perfectly with what he remembered. The pieces were coming together, leaving no room for denial.
"And... the people who work here? Are they all mages?"
"Not necessarily. Some have magical training, others come from the scientific side. You, for example, don't have a strong magic circuit, but according to your exams, you have a rare compatibility with the summoning system. That's why you were accepted as a candidate."
So they haven't summoned any Servants yet... The sabotage hasn't happened. I still have time to prepare...
The weight of reality hit him completely. He was no longer in his world. And if his memory of Fate/Grand Order was correct, what was coming wasn't exactly easy.
Soft footsteps echoed in Chaldea's hallways, barely perceptible over the constant hum of the machines regulating temperature, energy, and the magical barrier enveloping the facilities. The protagonist walked slowly, brushing his fingers against the cold metallic walls, as if touching them confirmed it was all real. But his mind remained trapped between disbelief and anticipation.
"This is too much... even though I knew it was going to happen, it doesn't feel real..."
Every corner seemed like a snapshot from a cinematic, a frozen image from a video game he had played many times. But here there were no buttons, no menus. Only his bare feet, the electrical hum, and his held breath.
Suddenly, a soft sound pulled him from his thoughts. Something like a whimper or a short squeak.
He turned cautiously, feeling a shiver run down his spine.
"What was that...?"
His eyes settled on a small, furry figure with bright, curious eyes. A white creature with rounded ears was watching him from the floor with an intensity that was almost... human.
"Fou..." he whispered, his voice tinged with surprise and a bit of fear.
He knew who it was. He knew all too well.
Cath Palug. Primate Murder. The Beast of IV. A creature that could rival the gods themselves... and yet, at this moment, it was looking at him like a simply curious little animal.
They stayed like that, in a thick silence that seemed to devour time. Their eyes met, studying each other, as if both wanted to unravel the other's secrets.
Then, without warning, Fou approached with a small hop. And another. Until it jumped again and landed softly on his shoulder.
The protagonist tensed. His instinct screamed that this creature could kill him with a simple gesture... but instead, Fou rubbed its cheek against his and let out a small, delighted sound.
"...Did you accept me?" he murmured, feeling the tremor in his voice slowly fade. A faint smile crossed his face. "This... this is good."
He was petting a Beast. One part of his mind screamed incoherencies, but another felt strangely grateful.
That's when he heard quicker footsteps.
"Huh? Fou!" The feminine voice was like a soft bell, and seconds later, Mash Kyrielight appeared in the hallway.
She wore her usual uniform, though her expression was more surprised than formal.
"Is Fou with you?" she asked, a bit bewildered. She approached slowly, her violet eyes watching the small being on the boy's shoulder. "It's weird... Fou normally doesn't get this close to anyone. Except me..."
The boy laughed nervously, trying not to seem so aware of everything.
"Wow, really? I guess it likes me, huh? Although... now that I think about it... how do you know my name?"
Mash blinked, a little surprised by the question.
"Ah, that. I heard it when Dr. Romani admitted you to the infirmary. He said your name several times while checking your condition."
"Hmm, I see..." he said, covering. "Sorry if it sounds weird, but... what's your name?"
Mash seemed a bit puzzled by the question, but smiled kindly.
"Mash. Mash Kyrielight. I'm a... Chaldea apprentice. Well, technically I'm not a Demi-Servant yet... I mean... I'm still in training."
"Mash, huh? Nice name. Pleased to meet you," he replied with a friendly smile that hid his mind racing a thousand miles per hour.
He had to be sure. Exactly where in the story was he? Had Fuyuki already happened? Did the original protagonist exist?
"Mash... has there been a boy around here... with dark hair, about my age? One who... well, looks lost most of the time?"
Mash tilted her head, confused.
"A friend of yours? No, I don't think I've met anyone like that. As far as I know... you're the only one who arrived recently. No one else has been summoned or transported..."
That confirmed what he feared... or hoped.
There was no other protagonist. He was the protagonist.
Mash continued, as if trying to change the subject:
"Ah, tomorrow we have an important meeting. The Director, Dr. Olga Marie, will present something to us. She said it will be the start of a new stage in Chaldea."
The confirmation hit him like a hammer.
Tomorrow the story begins.
Fuyuki. The First Singularity. His true personal hell.
He felt a knot form in his stomach. Even though he knew what was coming, he didn't feel ready.
Not yet.
Mash looked at him with concern.
"Are you alright?"
He forced a smile while gently petting Fou.
"Yes... just a little nervous. It's a lot to take in."
Silence settled for a moment after Mash left. Alone in the room, the protagonist let his body fall onto the bed with a long, heavy sigh. His gaze lost itself in the white ceiling, almost as if searching for answers among its invisible cracks.
"So this is real..."
He knew it was. The room, Mash's uniform, Olga Marie's name... everything fit with the prologue of Fate/Grand Order. Except now he was here, inside the story. Not as a spectator, but as the protagonist.
But that worried him.
"The original protagonist had the ability to bond with any Servant..."
He looked at his hands. They trembled slightly. Not from fear, but from uncertainty. He knew the events, the key moments, the inevitable deaths... and above all, he knew that what was coming wasn't a game. He couldn't "reload" if something went wrong. He had no summoning guarantee, nor the power of Personas in this world.
And yet... he had to act.
"If I want to survive... if I want to protect them... I must play my part. But I can't improvise everything. I need time. I need an advantage."
He remembered the exact moment of the prologue, when Olga Marie gathers the candidates in the command room. In the game, the protagonist barely had time to meet her before everything exploded, killing her.
He would only wake up in the rubble, with Mash protecting him.
But if that happened here... if he just sat and listened like everyone else, doing nothing...
"She will die."
And he didn't want that.
Even though in the game she seemed arrogant and haughty, he knew what was behind that facade: the weight of the Animusphere legacy, her struggle to be taken seriously, and the sacrifice she made without anyone really noticing.
She didn't deserve to die.
"If the price of playing this role is living with those deaths knowing I can prevent them, then I don't deserve to be here."
Determined, he got up.
The infirmary was quiet, and the hallway dark, barely lit by the dim lights of the night system. He moved carefully, guided more by his memory of Chaldea's map from the game than by visible signs. He walked through still-uninhabited hallways until he reached the doors of the command room. They were closed, but not locked yet. It was early morning.
No one should be there.
He entered silently, the echo of his footsteps resonating like a ghost. He stayed alert as he explored the large white hall, searching carefully. He knew the bomb was hidden... a small charge, placed by Lev Lainur Flauros, the traitor. In the game it was just a scene, one more detail of the script. But now... it was real.
It took nearly twenty minutes of meticulous searching. He checked metal structures, connections, false panels. Finally, after removing a discreet cover behind the director's podium, he found a small device embedded among the cables.
"Damn it..." he murmured, observing the components. He wasn't an expert, but he remembered how Mash had said the explosion was sudden, without warning.
This was the catalyst.
Without tools, the only thing he could do was disconnect the system, carefully cutting the connections so it looked like a technical malfunction. He even left it slightly loose so that, if someone checked, they'd think it was wear and tear.
Nothing drastic, nothing that would alert Lev. Just enough so it wouldn't explode.
When he finished, he hid the traces of his intervention, sat in a corner, and sighed again.
"I have no powers, no weapons. Only what I know... and what I decide to do."
There were hours left until the meeting. He didn't plan to sleep. Nor relax. Just close his eyes for a moment and prepare to act as the protagonist.
"Olga Marie... if this story must begin... it will begin with a change."
The morning arrived with unbearable slowness.
Despite having slept a few hours after sabotaging the bomb, the protagonist felt more tired than ever. He had showered, eaten something, even tried to meditate, but nothing could calm that knot in his stomach. The fear was real. The danger was real. Unlike a video game, here there were no second chances. He had no powers, no weapons, not even a logical reason to be there... except his desire to change the fate of those who, in his world, were merely digital characters.
Mash. Olga. Romani.
All of them were now real. And vulnerable.
As he headed to the command center, his mind went over, again and again, what he was about to do. Feign indifference. Fall asleep in the middle of Olga's speech. In the game it had been a comedic scene, a quirk of the silent protagonist... but in this world, it would be disrespectful, a deliberate act of contempt. And yet, it was necessary. Because if his memory didn't fail him, that simple act would end up saving his life.
But now that Olga wouldn't die in the explosion... would everything remain the same? Was he changing too much, too soon?
He entered the conference room with a racing heart. Mash greeted him timidly. Olga hadn't arrived yet.
Minutes later, she made her entrance: confident, elegant, with that authority she didn't yet know would be shattered. She began to speak, explaining the principles of Rayshifting, Chaldea's plans, the project to restore history.
And then he closed his eyes. Slowly. Deliberately.
Drowsiness soon overcame him. Not from fatigue, but from effort. Each of Olga's words faded, faded into a distant murmur. The murmur became an echo. The echo became darkness.
When he woke up, he was kicked out of the room, just like in the game.
And then everything happened very fast.
The explosion shook the command center, but without casualties. He knew it. There was no death... for now.
Still without understanding how, he got up and ran. The hallways were chaos. Alarms, red lights, smoke, screams. He knew where he had to go. He ran to the command center. To that moment.
Mash was trapped. Olga unconscious. Romani shouted from the speakers. The system was collapsing.
And he... he had nothing.
No Persona. No Servant. No Mystic Code. Only his body. Only his fear.
Even so, he entered. He crossed the threshold with the conviction of one who doesn't expect to return. He lunged towards Mash. Tried to free her. Couldn't. The light enveloped them both.
Then, the mechanical voice of the command center, cold and indifferent, pronounced the sentence:
"Containment system failure. Security compromised. Forced Rayshift activated. Destination: Singularity F, Fuyuki. Preparing emergency transfer."
"Two souls detected. Initiating transition."
A final flash.
And then... nothing.