Land of the Blades

2. White

I opened my eyes to find myself in an unknown room. I didn't remember any other room, but I had the distinct feeling that I hadn't been in that one before. The ceiling was very high, there were some shelves next to a wall near, and the same wall had large windows. I was on a stone table, with my body covered by a white sheet. There were two people there, one wearing a doctor's coat and the other wearing some black clothes. I tried to get up, but it was harder than what I would expected, my body was stiff and heavy. It gave me the feeling that it wasn't really mine.

—Oh, you DID wake up —the one wearing the doctor's get up said—, rather early, it seems.

She seemed to keep her distance, unlike the other one, who stood crouched next to my bed, inspecting me with her blue eyes.

—Good morning, may I ask where I am? —I said, in the most gentle tone that I could muster. This seemed to calm both of them.

—Hmmm. It is quite unusual for a new gem to speak without being taught, more so with so eloquence —the doctor said.

—Sensei said he was very unusual, and things like this should be expected —the one with the green hair said, producing a tablet with some papers from behind her—, In any case, welcome to our land, I am Phosphophyllite, but everyone calls me Phos —she added, reading from the paper—, Ah! but since you are younger than me, I suppose you can call me Sempai.

—I am Rutile, in charge of repairs —the other said.

—I'm glad to meet you both, I'm... —I froze. Who was I? My head started hurting a bit.

—Ah, relax, relax —Phos intervened—. Normally it is Sensei who gives us names based on our composition, but he said that you were too complicated for that, even if you were mostly steel.

—Steel? —I said, looking at my hands. They looked like such or at least some kind of metal alloy. It would explain why my body felt so stiff and heavy. But if my body was made of such material, why I felt so weird having it. Then another though crossed my mind.

—Who is this Sensei that you are talking about?

That word meant someone who teaches, and the image of someone related to that concept appeared in the back of my mind, someone important to me.

—Do you want to meet him? —Phos said smiling.

She helped me get up, putting some gloves before touching me. I was wearing some sort of robe already, but it was too short, barely covering my legs. I asked Rutile if I could take the sheet that was previously covering me, and tied it up at my waist.

Walking was it own challenge, I managed to control my balance rather quickly, but I still couldn't get accustomed to the weird sensation of that body. As we walked towards the so called Sensei, we meet some of Pho's companions and she told me a bit about her world.

They were Lustrous, people made of minerals, gemstones and such, raised and taken care by their Sensei. Their island was the only thing that remained over the surface of the water after some catastrophe that had happened a long time ago. She started saying something about "Lunarians" when we got to our destination.

—I'll tell you about them later —she said, knocking on the door to announce our arrival.

She opened it and the light that entered from the windows blinded me a bit. There stood a tall figure, dressed in a black outfit that I could recognize as "religious". I felt a shiver on my spine and instinctively stood in front of Phos, but as my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw the face of that man, and calmed down. He wasn't... who exactly I was thinking about?

—I'm glad to see that you are awake and healthy —he said, approaching me. Phos moved from behind me, slightly confused, and towards him, while I tried to regain my breath.

He presented himself as Adamant Sensei, and told me pretty much what Phos had said before, adding that they had found me at the beach two weeks before.

—Do you have any past memory?

—...No.

—I see.

The ambient felt heavy, more than my own body. I could feel this man didn't had any ulterior motives, but I couldn't feel comfortable under his glare.

—As Phos told you, you are mostly steel. It is very unusual to find steel in nature, the process to create it's just too complicated. But you standing in front of us is proof enough that it can happen. However, I don't feel appropriated to give you that name due to other components inside you that I... can't identify.

—Even you can't identify them? —Phos said, surprised.

—The steel doesn't allow me to see them properly.

—Ah, I see.

Phos seemed content with that answer, I just choose to not dive further into it since I didn't understood half of what they were talking about.

—So, for the time being, is there any way you would like us to call you?

It took me a moment. I didn't had memories, but I felt like I wasn't empty. Not transparent, just white.

—Shirou.

Adamant's eyes widen a bit in surprise, but then they returned to normal in a fraction of a second.

—A fitting name. Welcome home, Shirou.