Land of the Blades

50. An entirely new perspective.

I had been freed. Freed from a weight I didn't know I was carrying, from HIS expectations and HIS last will. I could live my own life and not GHOST's. I was able to see everything in a new light, and I could do everything that I wanted.

What exactly did I wanted to do?

—I... don't know? —I told to the man who had freed me, the Prince of the Lunarians, Aechmea.

—Without the influence of Ghost Quartz, everything that you really desire should come naturally to you. It is fine if you can't tell right now; take your time to adjust to your new freedom.

—That sounds good, I think. Yeah, thank you.

—There is no need, it is the least I can do —he said, putting his tools away—, will you still join the attack against the moon tomorrow?

—I... can NOT go?

—It is your choice.

—Oh, right. Are you going?

He nodded.

—I gave my word to Phosphophyllite and the rest of the alliance, and I want to free my people from Franny.

—Then I'm going to. You helped me, so I'm going to help you now.

—What about Phosphophyllite and Emiya Shirou?

—I don't owe anything to them; they had only caused me troubles.

Even Antarc, who I fought alongside for over a hundred years, didn't attempt to make a connection with me. He thought of me only as a coworker, and the feeling was mutual. I think I actually liked him better because of that. Ghost was... complicated. But he wasn't here anymore, and according to Phos, the one we knew wouldn't ever come back. So I didn't have to care for him either. If there was someone who I cared in this land aside from my savior, it was the one who made us, Sensei, but...

—What do you want from Sensei?

—... It would be better if Phosphophyllite would tell you about it.

—No! She sucks at talking, just like Lapis. They keep hidden things and lie whenever it is convenient to them. I hate it. I want you to tell me everything!

—Very well —he said, and asked me to sit down.

And he was truthful to his word, he told me everything. The Lunarians were the souls of humans who couldn't go to their next destination if they didn't received prayers from the living. They were the last ones because they were "the worst ones", before the machine that was left to pray for them broke down. The machine we had known as Adamant Sensei.

—He is just a machine?

He shook his head.

—He might be a machine, but he is the culmination of all the progress humanity made. He is, in certain way, our legacy and our greatest achievement.

I couldn't fully understand what he meant, I was too focused on the revelation that Sensei had been created, not born, and had a specific function that he wasn't fulfilling anymore. Like a broken chisel. Aechmea continued telling me how they had attempted everything to make Sensei pray for them again, but not even begging to him everyday worked. Frustrated, they hunted and hurt us in an attempt to make him react, but it was still in vain. Sensei had let them turn us into dust.

Aechmea must have noticed the troubled look on my face, and told me to follow him. I had gone to look for him to the crystal-looking building they had made to process the dust, because I really wanted to tell him something. Or was it asking for something? I couldn't quite remember, and didn't quite care, those were the wishes tainted by the remains of Ghost. Aside from the workshops, they had prepared rooms to rest, and with the help of the witch's magic, they could breathe and talk freely inside. They had also brought some of their personal belongings, since they feared Franny could attack their city on the moon and destroy them. What Aechmea wanted to show me was in what he called a "forgery", a workshop in which they made weapons. There were a lot of them; bow and arrows, spears, swords, axes, everything made with a blade resembling Shirou's swords, but their handle and decorations were unique. Aechmea looked at a few, and finally presented me with one that was rather slim. He called it a rapier.