Fragment 46 Insight

Didn’t see this servant coming at all, did you?

Hyde is technically his own servant, and one of the ones who practically required their own fragment. Since Jekyll is the primary identity, the chances for Hyde to make an appearance are much more limited. However, of all the characters who could make the final push for to end a long-standing development, he was the best choice. It made for a great book-end since the whole relationship question was raised by him in Jekyll’s Fragment months ago.

The trick was getting him to the point where he would actually consider doing it.

It was easy enough since watching Jekyll would likely give him a headache, especially after all his development. With Mordred shaving off parts of Jekyll’s gentleman persona, Hyde would likely get more respect for his alter ego. With every step he takes down the less “pure” path, it would be a nod of the head from Hyde. So when Jekyll makes a giant leap in the other direction, of course Hyde’s going to be frustrated and dumbfounded.

The other trick was ensuring Hyde wasn’t going to do anything crazy, but at the same time, explaining why he hasn’t tried to forcibly seize control whenever he’s released. This took a bit of extra thinking, but the idea that you can do anything you put your mind to made it clear: He can manipulate imagination at will. He’s trapped in the brain, so why shouldn’t he be able to use the imagination section to make his “prison” a lot more comfortable? Quite the comforts he has access to now.

I added enough of Hyde’s quick interactions to show how many see and deal with him in Chaldea. To be fair, it’s mostly his fault they’re still distrusting of him when he’s throwing blunt commentary around. What do you expect from the man, anyway? He’s smart enough not to cause too much trouble, but he’s certainly not going to bend over backwards for people who he doesn’t owe anything to.

Gawain is still his loyal lap-dog self, but for good reason. At least it doesn’t extend over his king alone anymore. Arthur is also showing his newfound protection for family, showing he sees this Mordred as something different from his actual son (who is an actual son, heh). With all the knights likely to be stalwart, there needed to be some sort of leverage for the berserker. That’s where Brynhildr comes in, since her standpoint and heartache over Jekyll’s situation would likely make her at least consider the options from a different perspective.

The rest is straightforward, with not too many future teases. That will be remedied next chapter now that Chaldea has reached a relatively stable equilibrium once more. It’s time to shake it up again in the last Fragment before their next primary singularity. Next week features a servant with a larger-than-life and often overbearing personality.