Chương 4: Coming Clean

( Ken POV )

'Now... What should I tell them...?'

"I'm alright, Mash," I reassured her, feeling the warmth of her touch. "It's just my mystic eyes acting up. I haven't quite mastered control over them yet." I offered a small smile, though inwardly, I grappled with the weight of what I needed to disclose.

Despite my assurance, Mash still held my palms. Thanks to her warm gesture, I somehow managed to calm down and deactivate the mystic eyes.

After both of my memories merged together, I saw the people of Chaldea as my family, not just game characters from my other life. We'd been together for a long time, and I learned a lot from them.

Deep down in my heart, I didn't want to deceive them or keep secrets. But how should I tell them about the truth of this world?

"Oh, right. We heard from Romani that you awakened some sort of mystic eyes when you were in a coma, Ken."

"That intrigues me. What kind of mystic eyes did you awaken? Chaldea has records of numerous types of them, so we could help you identify it if you want."

Both of the big brains of Chaldea said while they stared at me with predatory eyes. They looked at me like I was some kind of delicious meat!

'What the hell is wrong with these women?'

"I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather hold off for now. There's something else I need to discuss..." I replied to them with a slightly hesitant tone.

"Hm? What do you want to speak of Ken?" Olga eyed me with curiosity as she saw my hesitation on my face.

"What I want to share with you guys will sound unbelievable and make you think I'm crazy, but I need you to believe me..."

"What is it? Just spill it out!"

"I think we're already past that, Ken. So feel free to share what you want to say..."

"It's fine, senpai. If the others don't believe you, then I will."

Hearing their support and encouragement words, I felt relaxed. I gathered my thoughts once more before deciding to address it to them.

"When I was comatose, I saw something... unsettling. It was like what we just saw in those videos, only... worse." I struggled to articulate the chaos from my memory, the sheer magnitude of its horrors.

"I can't explain it really well because it's just too much and too messy, but I saw an alien invasion, a war spanning dimensions, dimensional lords threatening the earth, and even half of all living beings in the universe getting wiped out by just a single snap of a madman..."

As I shared my memories with them in the simplest way I could, the room descended into silence until somebody decided to break it.

"Um, I'm sorry... But could you please say it again one more time? I think I heard it wrong..." Even the big brain like Sion decided to confirm what I said once again with doubt shown on her face

"A half inhabitants of this universe got wiped out, you say!?" Director Olga snapped her eyes wide open and stared at me intensely.

"Ken-kun, what you just said is not a joking matter, you know..." The former king of magecraft even had a grim expression on his face.

"I know it's hard to believe, but this is what I saw. A certain alien with a purple head that looks like a potato decided to wipe out half of the living beings in this universe for reasons unknown to me.

As unbelievable as it sounds, I managed to gather almost every detail about this enigmatic creature. It appeared driven by a relentless quest to obtain artifacts known as the Infinity Stones. These stones, remnants of the cosmic event known as the Big Bang, held unimaginable power. Each stone governed a fundamental aspect of existence—Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind, and Time.

If you can harness just one of the stones' power, you can directly control that aspect for yourself. The purple alien tried to gather all of the stones and use them to clean up the universe. And if he succeeds, he can do it with just a snap of his fingers... He becomes a god-like being in this universe.

What's worse is that he won and succeeded by doing it in my vision... The world... No, the whole universe is lost..." I finished my summary about the mad titan story with a grim tone.

"Wow... Our difficulty has just risen, from dealing with a humanity extinction on earth to the universal level of extinction..." Da Vinci chuckled with a wry smile, trying to lift up the mood but failing miserably.

"So, whatever you saw when you were in a coma is something similar to clairvoyance..." Dr. Romani chimed in on my side with a thoughtful look.

As a former grand caster, he also possesses the same skill, and maybe he guessed that my dreams are similar to the clairvoyance skill. I mean, it's not wrong, but it isn't entirely right either.

"If Romani's assertion holds true, then these events are likely to unfold in the future... much like his past visions of Goetia's schemes," Sion added, her tone weighted with concern.

"Sigh, I thought that after we defeated Goetia, my job as the director was considered done... But who would have thought we were transported to an unfamiliar world with more danger waiting for us," Olga sighed in a defeated and weary tone. I get what she feels; she's just getting resurrected, and new challenges are already waiting for her to handle.

'God, that sounds so stressful...'

"If Ken-senpai's vision is true, then we just need to continue to do the same thing we've always done in the past, right, everyone? We will continue to fight for the future..." Mash spoke with unwavering conviction, her tone imbued with determination as she offered her characteristic warm smile to all present.

Everyone in the room who heard her words showed a stunned expression before they replied with either a chuckle or a smile, lighting up the mood in the central control room.

"Haha, well said, Mash. If we could defeat Goetia, then what's the difference in surviving this new one?"

"Your optimism knows no bounds, Mash. But I guess that is what we need right now..."

"Right, just another chaotic day at Chaldea, fufufu."

"Ahahaha, as expected from my kouhai. I like your way of thinking, Mash!" I replied with a chuckle while still holding her hand.

Even if the whole future looks grim, she always thinks about the good things beyond that, just like in the past. Mash is a perfect example of the optimism possessed by humanity; no wonder Goetia even tried to rizz her to his side.

'Yeah, fuck you, Goetia!'

"I'm looking forward to our new future in this world with you and everyone, senpai!" She turned her head to me and said those words with a face full of happiness. Damn, what a cute girl...

"Sigh, you never change, huh, Mash? I guess we just need to do the same thing as we already did in the past.

Alright then, Ken, I want you to tell me all the details about what you saw in your vision, including the artifact called the Infinity Stones and those dimensional lords you mentioned," Director Olga quickly decided before demanding more details about my past memories. I guess this girl is still a workaholic in the end...

But before I could even respond to her, Dr. Romani beside me put his hand on my shoulder and addressed something to her. "Director, Ken-kun has just woken up from his coma, and I think he still needs to rest, especially after this whole debacle. So, I think we can wait for more reports about it later."

Whoa, I didn't expect that Solomon would help me get away from this questioning session and deliberately become my shield from Olga's wrath. What a good guy...

"I agree with Romani, director. Let him rest for today; after all, he deserves it," even Da Vinci-chan is helping me.

Seeing that both of her trusted staff are siding with me, Olga just sighed once again while massaging her forehead with her hand. "Fine, I guess my bad habit is acting up just now. Ryougi Ken, you can take your rest and wait until your condition improves before you write me all those things you saw in your vision as detailed as possible.

"Mash, you can escort him out. I still need to talk to the others about our remaining resources."

"You could bring him to the cafeteria with you, Mash. He hasn't eaten any food since he woke up, after all," Dr. Romani added a suggestion to the lavender-haired girl.

"Alright, Director, Doctor. Everyone, I'll take my leave. Come on, senpai," she said to everyone present before she dragged me toward the exit with an eager face.

I think I got out of Olga's questioning for now, but I also need to write all the things I know about the Marvel universe to her later. What I told her is only half the truth of what I know, like Thanos's massacres in almost every single universe out there.

But the thing is, I don't know which universe we landed in. So, should I write about all the knowledge I have or just the MCU version? But there are also X-men in here...

You know what? I'll leave all of that messy stuff for the future me to deal with. For now, I just gotta follow my kawaii kouhai to the cafeteria and let her pamper me, hehe.

.....

"How is it Ken-senpai?"

My kouhai peered at me with intensity, her gaze tinged with nervousness, as I savored the meal she had prepared. We found ourselves in the cafeteria area—a sterile expanse of white, despite the futuristic technology surrounding us.

"It's delicious, Mash. Your cooking skills have certainly improved," I complimented her as I chewed the omurice she had crafted with her own hands. What a diligent girl...

"Thanks for the praise, senpai! Fuuh... I was worried it wouldn't be to your liking, but I guess I think too much about it," she sighed in relief after hearing my praise.

"I've been trying to improve my culinary skills in the past few days in the cafeteria kitchen. After all, there is no staff left who can provide us with food now..."

"Fou, fooou!"

Mash's words were responded to by a cute animal that looked like a squirrel-like creature, nibbling its own food that Mash had also served on our table. We met this thing as we were heading towards the cafeteria a few moments ago. I was really surprised that this creature had also spawned in this world.

'I sometimes forget that Chaldea has its own BEAST as well, cdisguising its true nature behind an adorable facade,' I mused on my own thoughts while staring at the hidden powerhouse.

'I wonder if its intelligence and capabilities as BEAST IV also have been fully restored now?'

"Oh yes, there is still at least Fou who has been accompanying me since I woke up. Thank you, Fou-san," Mash said with a smile at the little beast while petting it like the domestic cat it is.

What struck me as even more absurd was the creature's apparent awareness of its surroundings, purring contentedly under Mash's touch. 'Has it truly regained its power...?' I wondered dumbfoundedly, beginning to question the nature of reality.

'Oh well, I guess it's not my concern. Even if Fou recovered its power, it will never harm us... I hope...'

As I watched Mash pampering the little beast, I also lost in my own thoughts. I remembered before I passed out that I seemed to see some kind of hologram appear in my mind when I was thinking about the FGO game.

[ Fate System

- Master Status

- Servant

- Staff

- Missions

- Summon

- Shop

- Inventory

---------------

Currency:

- Saint Quartz: 0

- Quantum Piece: 0 ]

Lost in contemplation about the cursed game, the strange hologram materialized before me once more, and I stared at it with a blank expression. Glancing at Mash and Fou nearby, I realized they seemed oblivious to its presence, unable to see or sense it. With a lingering gaze, I pondered my next course of action regarding the enigmatic projection.

'I need to check what the hell is this thing...'

.....