Chapter 172: Episode 4 - The Hollow Of Shrine (2)
The plot of "The Hollow of Shrine" begins by picking up where "A Study in Murder: Prequel" left off, with Shiki injured and admitted to the hospital.
In contrast to the previous installment's abrupt transition, this time, the details surrounding the hospital admission and Kokutou's anxious presence reveal the situation vividly.
Everyone realizes the severity of Shiki's injuries.
As time gradually passes, the film chronicles Shiki's treatment in the hospital through various scenes, showing that Kokutou visits her almost every week.
Additionally, the film intermittently includes enigmatic scenes of Shiki floating endlessly in a pitch-black environment, occasionally glimpsing a vast, deep vortex.
....
In the Norsrick tavern, the audience was fully engrossed in the movie playing on screen.
Although "The Garden of Sinners" has a highly jumpy narrative with a steep learning curve, for the bored folk of the southern region, any movie worth watching is certainly not to be missed.
At the same time, many took advantage of the relatively calm narrative moment to chat.
"The plot of 'The Garden of Sinners' is really disjointed. One moment it jumps two years ahead, and in the next, it goes back two years. Honestly, it's tough for an average viewer to follow; it's easy to get lost."
"Yeah, but I feel like each story in 'The Garden of Sinners' could stand alone. Watching it on TV makes for a great experience since not everyone is going to sit in front of the TV waiting for it to play. If you join in midway, you might miss a lot. But with 'The Garden of Sinners,' you can easily dive in from any point."
"You make a good point! I was late watching 'KonoSuba' this morning and had to start from episode eight. I missed a ton, and it was so frustrating!"
"Ha ha! If TVs could become more widespread, and everyone had one, maybe we wouldn't have this kind of trouble."
"That's a bit too optimistic. Such delicate magical devices—how could ordinary folks like us ever afford them? They'd probably only be found in the homes of noblemen."
"Exactly! And if a TV like that breaks, where would we even go to get it repaired? We can't expect mages to come fix our TVs, right?"
"Some things are just better left as thoughts; they're unlikely to happen anyway."
As the patrons of the tavern chatted animatedly, Emperor Hubbard listened to their discussions with an inscrutable smile, pondering his thoughts.
At the same time, since it was his first time watching "The Garden of Sinners," Emperor Hubbard asked, slightly puzzled:
"Is this girl the main character of the film? What happened to her?"
In response to the king's question, Wilhelm answered:
"The protagonist of 'The Garden of Sinners' is indeed this girl named Ryogi Shiki. In the earlier scenes, it seems she was attacked by something and was seriously injured; now she's recovering in the hospital."
"I see. So there shouldn't be too many battle elements in this film, then?"
"Well, that's not entirely true. After all, the earlier parts of 'The Garden of Sinners' do include some combat elements, but the overall pacing is definitely not as fast-paced as 'Fate/Zero.'"
"Hmm."
Emperor Hubbard nodded, clearly looking forward to this film he was seeing for the first time on television.
Meanwhile, the orc prophet beside him furrowed his brow as he gazed at the images on the screen. The dark, deep void surrounding Shiki evoked a strong sense of déjà vu within him.
.....
In the Grand Hall of the Alchemy Tower at the Imperial Mage Academy, mages gathered after watching the movie, clearly having heard from Scar about the new film being shown on television.
At the moment, students and lecturers from various disciplines were assembled here, fully engrossed in the content on the TV screen.
"Two years ago, Shiki really was seriously injured. Look at her—so much of her body is almost decayed, as if she was savagely bitten by some kind of beast!"
"In the last scene of 'A Study in Murder: Prequel,' there was indeed a monster's roar. So, it seems Kokutou was able to survive Shiki's attack only because she was assaulted by that beast?"
"If that's the case, it's surprising that Kokutou still dares to approach Shiki. Doesn't he fear for his life at all?"
"That's impossible. When Shiki was chasing him two years ago, the fear on Kokutou's face was genuine. He's just an ordinary person; how could he not be afraid of dying?"
"If that's the case, his actions are quite strange. It's as if he's being manipulated, forced to fall in love with Shiki, willing to give up everything for her."
"Yes, and the main question is, why did Shiki no longer want to kill Kokutou after she awakened again? What exactly happened during that time?"
"This episode should provide the answer."
The mages exchanged their thoughts amidst the speculation. Lacking sufficient information to support their theories, even they found it difficult to grasp what the plot was trying to convey. At this moment, they focused intently, not wanting to miss a single detail of the story.
.....
At the top of the Alchemy Tower, the archmages, who were originally at the pinnacle of the Mage Tower, quickly moved the gathering to find Scar and request a prototype television to start watching.
At this time, they ignored the many struggling students from the magical alchemy disciplines, focusing on the film's content and discussing it among themselves.
"It's understandable that Shiki is injured, but why are there so many strange images playing during her unconsciousness? What's that dark place supposed to be? Is it some sort of stream of consciousness?"
In response to Archmage Warton's comment, Dean Hohenheim also seemed puzzled as he said, "I can't make much sense of it either. I'm more concerned about the situation with Shiki. Aside from what was explained in 'A Study in Murder: Prequel,' she hasn't appeared in the other episodes at all. Is she in a deep sleep or something?"
Similarly, the other archmages looked equally bewildered. Compared to "Fate/Zero," the narrative of "The Garden of Sinners" was much more obscure.
At that moment, the only one present who had participated in the filming, Archmage Rosa, spoke slowly: "That dark place, according to Director Durin, seems to represent the surface of the lake that Shiki sees while she's unconscious. Shiki is currently in a state between life and death; her body is alive, but her consciousness is repeatedly experiencing the concept of death. This might also explain why she awakens the Mystic Eyes of Death."
"I see now."
Upon hearing Archmage Rosa's explanation, the other archmages nodded in understanding and fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, one of the archmages piped up, "Hey, Rosa, did you just spoil something?"
"Ah, uh…???"
Rosa had not anticipated that her casual explanation would be interpreted as a spoiler, and she immediately wore an expression of innocence, as if to say, "I'm wronged!"
Unfortunately, no matter how she tried to explain, the other archmages had already assumed she had spoiled the plot, and their faces displayed dissatisfaction, leaving Rosa looking somewhat speechless and aggrieved.
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