For a long moment, silence hung between them. Leonardo da Vinci stood with an amused glint in her eyes, taking in the sight of the man before her. He was nothing like she had imagined during her journey. Young, with the frame of someone well-acquainted with labor, yet carrying himself with the confidence of an intellectual. His dark hair was unkempt, his clothes practical, stitched and repaired in ways that hinted at self-sufficiency. Most curiously, his eyes—brown, sharp, analytical—carried the weight of someone who had seen too much.
Her lips curled into a small, knowing smile. "You look surprised, Master."
Dr. Dew blinked, his brows furrowing. "You say that like I shouldn't be. Are you seriously Leonardo da Vinci?"
She placed a hand on her hip and gave him a mock bow. "In the flesh! Or, well, the best approximation of it. I take it my summoning wasn't intentional?"
"Summoning?" His confusion deepened. "Look, I don't know what kind of magic trick this is, but that shouldn't be possible. I was alone on this planet until today."
Da Vinci tilted her head. "Oh my, so you truly don't know? Fascinating. Then allow me to enlighten you. I am what's called a Servant—a Heroic Spirit summoned to assist a Master, usually during a Holy Grail War. Though, this situation is… unique. There's no war, no summoning ritual that I can recall, and no other Servants in sight."
Dr. Dew crossed his arms, his mind racing. "A Heroic Spirit? Like a ghost?"
She laughed, a light, playful sound. "Not quite. More like a re-creation of a historical figure given form through magical energy. A copy of the mind and soul, constructed by the Throne of Heroes to serve a purpose."
He stared at her, then frowned. "That… doesn't make sense. If you're Leonardo da Vinci, then why do you—?" He gestured vaguely at her.
"Look like this?" She smirked. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd bring that up. Yes, historically, da Vinci was male. However, when given the chance to manifest as a Servant, I decided to take on an appearance that better represented the ideal of beauty and genius combined. It's a personal touch. After all, what is life without a little artistry?"
Dr. Dew exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "I'm talking to someone who was supposed to have died hundreds of years ago, but she's also telling me she's some kind of magical construct. This is ridiculous."
Da Vinci examined him more closely, her gaze scanning him from head to toe before she let out a thoughtful hum. "You know, something about you doesn't quite add up either, Master."
Dr. Dew tensed slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I noticed that your breathing is too controlled, your muscle movements are too precise, and your skin doesn't sweat despite this warm weather," she pointed out, watching for his reaction. "For all intents and purposes, you appear human, but functionally… you're something else, aren't you?"
Dr. Dew sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You're perceptive. I shouldn't be surprised."
"I am Leonardo da Vinci, after all," she teased. "Observation and deduction are my specialties."
After a long pause, he finally spoke, though his voice was reluctant. "I transplanted my brain into a synth's body."
Her eyes widened, and for the first time since their conversation began, she seemed genuinely taken aback. "A full-brain transplant… into an artificial body? That's… extraordinary."
"I still consider myself human," he said quickly, as if trying to reassure himself as much as her. "My mind, my thoughts, my memories—they're all still mine. The only difference is that my body won't grow old, won't break down the way a normal one would."
Da Vinci studied him carefully, her expression unreadable for a moment before she smiled. "Fascinating. You truly have taken the concept of self-engineering to its peak. It reminds me of homunculi, though they are created through alchemy rather than transplanted consciousness."
Dr. Dew gave a dry chuckle. "Yeah, well, I had to work around some of the worst people to get the technology I needed. The Institute built the Gen 3 synths, but they treated them like tools, not people. They kidnapped individuals and replaced them with synth copies, sometimes for experiments, sometimes for espionage. If a synth ever broke free from their coding, they had a failsafe—a command phrase that would scramble their neural patterns, effectively turning them brain-dead. But I don't have to worry about that. I don't have a synth component shoved into my brain."
Da Vinci frowned. "That's… horrifying."
"And then there's the Think Tank in Big Mountain." He shook his head. "They were worse in a way. They didn't just experiment on people—they ripped their brains and spines out, turning them into mindless drones, slaves to their insane scientific whims. Almost everyone they 'operated' on was lost forever. Except for one man—the Courier. Somehow, he got his brain back. I don't know how, and I don't want to imagine what he went through to do it."
Da Vinci let out a slow breath. "And you got your hands on this technology… how?"
Dr. Dew smirked. "I politely borrowed it. Snuck into both their facilities, copied the blueprints, and left before they even knew I was there. If they had caught me? I'd either be dead, replaced, or worse—strapped to a table."
She arched an eyebrow. "Quite the daring escape. A bit reckless, but effective."
"Yeah, well, I like being alive." He glanced at her. "That brings me to my next question. Why do you keep calling me 'Master'?"
Da Vinci chuckled. "Ah, that. In the traditional sense, a Servant is bound to a Master—usually someone who performed the summoning. It's not a matter of servitude, but a magical connection. You supply my magical energy, and in return, I fight for you."
Dr. Dew frowned. "I don't even have magic."
"Ah, but you do." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You feel different from a mage, but I can sense a magical signature from you. And since I was drawn to you, that suggests you were the one who summoned me."
Dr. Dew's mind flashed back to his teleporter's malfunction. The chaos, the void between worlds, the massive bubbles of different universes. And the brief moment when his hand had touched one of them.
He sighed. "I think… I might have brought you here by accident."
Da Vinci's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Oh, now that is a hypothesis worth exploring. If you were interacting with interdimensional constructs, it's entirely possible that you did cause my summoning."
Dr. Dew let out a small, humorless chuckle. "That's one way to put it."
A brief silence settled between them before he met her gaze with sincerity.
End of Chapter Fourteen