As night gave way to dawn, wisps of pale light spread through the clouds, heralding the arrival of a new day. The luxurious garden floating in the sky was split in two by the morning glow and the lingering night.
In the eastern bedroom, Karna leisurely woke on the sofa, shook his slightly groggy head, and scattered the stray thoughts still lingering in his mind.
He had dreamed of the past again.
Because Servants and Masters formed contracts and relied on one another during a Holy Grail War, fragments of their memories and past experiences would inadvertently open themselves to each other, their dreams connecting.
It was a different kind of soul mate.
As the sun rose over the horizon, golden-red light streamed through the window and dispelled the shadows in the bedroom. Karna lowered his head to look at the blanket covering him, and a faint ripple passed through his mismatched red and blue eyes.
After a brief pause, the Servant turned his gaze toward the study, where the intermittent clatter of a keyboard could be heard.
A certain Master who had risen early sat in a swivel chair behind a half-closed door, endlessly typing at a computer covered in pop-up windows and blue streams of data. Every so often, she grabbed a handful of chips, stuffed them into her mouth, and crunched away.
Apparently noticing the gaze from outside the door, Jinako jolted and instinctively sat upright. Even the hand holding the chips shrank beneath the desk, leaving her looking thoroughly frightened.
Karna shook his head, turned away as though he had seen nothing, tidied the room, and headed out to inspect the defenses.
As the door closed and his footsteps faded, Jinako's tense little body immediately slumped. She hurriedly stuffed another handful of chips into her mouth