FGO Specter of Glass

Rome Ch1

It had been a week since Russia was freed, and Carmen fell asleep on the ship as it rode the waves. The mirror was back as it showed her the image of a coliseum; it was large with stands filled with people. A bell rang as two fighters went after one another, clashing their swords and trying to best the other. At the throne was a man, he had his legs crossed as he drank from a wine glass. When it was empty, he moved it to the side and let it go, causing it to shatter on the ground. A servant cleaned it up as he got up and went to the stone railing.

The crowd stopped, waiting for him to make a statement. He raised his hand and slammed it down on the railing. A wave of energy blasted through the area and fractured the glass Carmen was looking through. The two fighters stopped, their battle wasn't satisfying and they were removed from the coliseum. The man went back to his seat and sat down, his servant giving him another glass as he waited for the next competitors. When Carmen moved her hand, she switched to the glass that was next to the man.

He looked familiar, like someone she knew from Chaldea. He had dark blue hair and a sadistic look on his face. She was noticed by him and he went over to the glass, he poured his wine on it and wrote the words "go home," then broke it. The scene changed to a room inside the castle. A man with crimson hair and golden eyes prepared for a battle, he shifted the gauntlets on his wrists and then headed out. He looked back at the mirror and went back to cover it with a cloth.

"Carmen..." Akko shook Carmen, attempting to wake her up. "Carmen, wake up. We've arrived in Rome."

Carmen stirred, giving a low groan as she woke up. Akko came into view, and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. ".... Doctor, can I tell you something?"

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Well..." Carmen sat up a bit straighter, still a bit groggy from waking up. The dream was so vivid earlier, that she couldn't help but want to tell him about it. "I've been having dreams lately..."

"That's normal for most people. But I assume they're not normal dreams, are they?" Akko asked, with Carmen shaking her head in a response.

"In these dreams, I can see other people's reflections in mirrors instead of my own. But they can see me as well." Carmen explained. "When I fell asleep in Finland, the King saw me. She knew I was there somehow. It happened again last night... What's happening to me?"

Akko thought for a minute. "It seems like they're calling out to you, and you're responding to them."

"How do you know?"

"Perhaps I knew someone else who had the same dreams as you, or it's something else entirely."

Carmen got up and went to the upper deck to check out Rome while Akko stayed. The darkness surrounded him and created sparks as he stepped away from the bed. He clenched his fist and it went into his shadow, he let his guard down and it almost got out, he had to be more careful. He joined Carmen and the others as they looked at the coliseum. It was far away yet so big, it still towered over the town that surrounded it. The castle was just behind it, being twice as big with the flag of Rome flowing in the wind.

Laurine docked near a small town where she felt safer, she said that Rome was a place of thievery. No matter what someone's status was, if they were in Rome, they could have anything stolen from them. Beyond that, she didn't know much. She tended to avoid Rome and it was said that anyone who entered never left. She told the group to wander the area while she took care of the ship. And they needed to return before dark, she wanted to speak to them at dinner.

Akko hopped off the dock and onto the green grass. He wanted to go with them and wasn't taking "no" for an answer. Carmen was fine with it if she wasn't the one catching him if he tripped on a rock or ran into a tree. The land was vast and beautiful, it was like a large garden. The trees were massive with fruit hanging from their branches, bushes were lush with plenty of flowers growing on them, and small herbs were in abundance as they grew wildly in the grass.