Fate Apocrypha Volume 3

Chapter 3.7

"I-It is nothing of the sort... Anyway, Sieg, I wanted to ask you again about what happened earlier. I would like to hear your opinion as well, Chiron."

"Earlier? Did something happen, Master?"

"Yeah, actually..."

Sieg explained about the 'dream' that he had had. When he mentioned his chest being gouged, Astolfo pulled apart Sieg's shirt in a hurry and made sure that there were no wounds there. Impulsively, Sieg covered the blackened parts of his skin with his hands, feeling that letting the others discover it would only worsen the situation.

"Whew. What would we have done if it'd actually been life-threatening..."

"You could have not ripped my shirt open, I think."

"Rider... why must you... really..."

Jeanne pushed her fingers between her brows, as though weathering a headache. Putting all of that aside, Chiron began to analyze the dream that Sieg spoke of. With knowledge bestowed by the Greek Gods, it should have been trivial for him to interpret a dream...

"...allow me to say in advance that I cannot speak with certainty. After all, Sieg, you are unmistakably unique in this world, something that has never been possible in any of the Holy Grail Wars of history."

Chiron repeated that Sieg was an unknown factor. Beyond any description of 'rare', he was quite literally the one and only and unlike any other.

"You live on by the heart of Siegfried, successfully resurrecting through the release of Frankenstein's Noble Phantasm. However, the problem lays with your heart... the heart that ought have faded away when Siegfried left this world. Due to the binding by your mana and Circuits, it has become flesh, in a fashion."

The Einzberns created homunculi that were top of the line. It was even possible for them to manufacture homunculi to function as a vessel of a Holy Grail – a Lesser Grail, in other words – that was also capable of managing itself. Although Gordes had realized the potential, these functionalities were deemed unnecessary for the homunculi commanded by Darnic.

Even the homunculi forged for disposable purposes were structurally designed to be able to accept a 'vessel'. It was simply a matter of not having enough space to take in as oversurging an existence as a Servant.

The homunculi of the Yggdmillennias were unable to take in even a single Servant. However, it was only the matter of a single organ. Now, with that organ lost, instead supplemented by a very symbol of immortality – dragon's blood – even the impossible had become possible.

"Your dream was influenced by Siegfried, that much is without doubt... what remains doubtful is whether that had been but a simple dream. What are your thoughts, Sieg? Did you feel that you were in a dream?"

Sieg wordlessly shook his head.

"No... I don't think that was. There was a dream, before that."

He glanced at Astolfo. Surely, even this Servant would prefer not having his own past discussed openly. Mentioning it would not help anyone.

"In that case, I believe we should take it as an ill omen. I can only presume... but I believe that you may be attempting to becomeSiegfried."

"Become him?"

"Would it be so strange for such an overwhelming existence as the heart of a Servant to erode you? Your flesh would not be able to withstand it. It would eat in you, until the dike collapsed and you would be crumpled from the inside."