Chapter 1: The Third Day
Early in the morning, a visitor arrived outside the hospital doors. Since there was no one to say "come in," Shirou entered the once-visited courtyard uninvited. The reason Shirou had come here was simple: this hospital was the place where he had vanished. Engulfed by a great mist that had shifted from invisible to visible, he had arrived in this city that was both familiar and foreign, separated from Saber and the others.
Naturally, returning to the scene of the incident to investigate was the logical course of action. Furthermore... since that black mist didn't seem to have specifically targeted Shirou, Sigma and the police officers waiting at the hospital's main gate had likely been swallowed by it as well, barring any surprises. Shirou was doing his best to find them, intending to regroup first.
It had been barely an hour since he was conscious of standing right before this hospital, yet now he had to travel a long distance just to return to this backyard; the reality of this brought Shirou a distinct sense of strangeness. Surveying the familiar-looking yard, Shirou first discovered an abnormality. All traces of the battle left behind by Jester in the backyard had disappeared. The turf now looked clean and pristine. The weeds, which should have been trampled, were swaying vibratedly under the draft of the wind.
'Were the building and the earth automatically repaired? No, it's more like the battle never happened at all.' After a moment of silence, Shirou stepped across it. He walked into the hospital interior. The turf, untouched by any swordsman, was quickly left behind. Then, as he witnessed the scene inside, Shirou felt his heartbeat quicken:
"...Correction. Was I wrong to think no one was here?"
The hospital was teeming with people. Doctors and patients ignored Shirou, hurrying past. While the path here had been devoid of human presence—this hospital alone was full of ordinary people. People passing by checked medical records as if nothing were wrong. It looked as if they could go home once they recovered. Shirou tried following one closely, looking into his eyes, only to find that nothing could be read from his gaze. Something wasn't right; there was still some kind of anomaly here. These people were like NPCs; the only difference was that Shirou could still touch them. While they didn't seem like mere silhouettes from another world... they certainly weren't "normal" either.
"Do you know what happened a short while ago?" Shirou tried to strike up a conversation. "Hmm? I don't know who you are, but nothing happened here. We're just here for a normal check-up. I got over my fever during the night, so I'm preparing to leave today," the patient replied casually, though his eyes seemed strangely vacant.
Suppressing a chill on his skin, Shirou pressed further: "Do you have any memory of the period when night turned into day?"
"I was handling my discharge procedures... I saw the clock on the wall pointing exactly to eight o'clock."
Shirou opened his mouth to speak but left without a word; even though he deliberately acted this rudely, the patient showed no reaction. He returned to a state as if he hadn't seen Shirou at all. Everyone in this hospital was infected with some kind of poison.
Since he didn't know the antidote, the only thing he could do was pass them by and head for the front gate. Take that patient just now: he seemed to have arrived here while still being treated for a fever, feeling nothing out of the ordinary.
Incredibly, despite being in this world, he had completed his discharge paperwork quite smoothly. Whether it was the fact that some hallway lights remained on, or the patient saying the clock pointed to eight o'clock... it all indicated that the electricity in this world was functioning normally.
'Is this a world inside a mirror?'
The thought flickered and died. Shirou prioritized finding the front gate, reaching a spot where he could observe the courtyard. There was indeed a group of people in the yard, standing blankly by the main gate holding their Noble Phantasms. There were about twelve or thirteen of them. Among them, Shirou spotted the only face he had met previously alongside the Chief.
As Shirou walked toward them, they noticed him too and swarmed over. "Sorry I'm late. I woke up on a rooftop a few kilometers away. Fortunately, you're still here." Shirou offered a greeting. Clan Calatin also lowered the tips of their blades or muzzles to show no hostility... though they were actually fewer than twenty-eight people now. A total of twenty-five people had participated in this hospital operation; nearly half of them were missing. Furthermore, Shirou didn't see Sigma, Flat, or the Assassin they were temporarily cooperating with.
"Emiya Shirou, did you also wake up after losing consciousness? But not in this hospital?" "Also." It seemed they had indeed been swallowed by the black mist.
"Yeah, I want to know what happened too." Shirou first answered, then asked in return: "Where are the others? I remember there couldn't have been just you regrouping here."
A golden-haired officer, whom Shirou had met a few times, spoke up first: "When we woke up, everyone besides our team had disappeared. We discussed whether to go out and explore or wait in place for anyone who might come, and finally split into two paths."
Shirou understood the situation well enough now. Everyone near the hospital had been brought here. They had simply been separated. As for whether the separation was accidental or intentional... he would likely have to ask the person who brought them here.
"..."
Shirou didn't know his name. The young officer he'd met twice replied loudly: "I am John Vingard! Greetings!" His attitude seemed especially respectful among the group, though Shirou didn't recall doing anything that warranted such respect.
"Just call me Shirou. I'll call you John too." Shirou suggested, but John insisted: "Then I shall call you Mr. Shirou. You are someone the Chief trusts." The two reached a compromise.
"So, to summarize the current issues: Where is this city? Why were we pulled in here, and what should we be doing? How do we get back?"
Thinking this far, Shirou looked up at the familiar yet strange side wall of the hospital. Then, Shirou suddenly remembered another crucial point that couldn't be ignored and frowned: "By the way, have you checked on Tsubaki's condition? Since there are patients in the hospital, maybe she exists in the hospital of this world as well..."
"We've already gone up to investigate." The bluntness of the answer exceeded Shirou's expectations.
John replied with certainty: "That girl named Tsubaki Kuruoka is not in the hospital of this world. The ward is completely empty."
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting