Story Reader / Floating Record / ER02 Cinder Burns / Story
ER02-01 Withered Grass
>When I am silent, I feel replete; as I open my mouth to speak, I am conscious of emptiness.
The past life has died.
I exult over its death, because from this I know that it once existed.
The dead life has decayed.
I exult over its decay, because from this I know that it has not been empty.
—Lu Xun, "Wild Grass"
I remember my own death.
I was given by many when I was alive, and I gave the future my all. I loved them, and I was loved by them, too.
I will be reborn as something else and come back to them—like wild grass.
I should be happy—yet happy is the last thing I'm feeling at this moment.
...Why is it... that I feel like I'm missing a big part of my memory...?
...
...Wait.
Why am I dead "now"...?
They seem to have thrown me off Asslam... when I made the wrong choice.
I don't remember anything else, though...
All I know is that it's getting dark now.
It's so cold.
It hurts.
It hurts...
...Who am I?
Countless names pop up and flash by in his head—except he's unable to make sense of them, being torn apart and feeling nauseous from tormenting phantom pain.
...Is this a dream? Or am I just seeing things now because I'm dying?
Pain and death fill his consciousness. Nothing else can be found.
...I need to wake up... from this pain.
Confused, the humanoid tries to feel for its limbs.
After God only knows how long, his fingertips finally gain sense amidst the shivers—as he slowly opens his eyes from the pain that has tormented him so.
Recalibrating Visual Module >>>>>> 78.13%
...Visual module?
This hits him as a new concept.
He has no idea what that means, but his recalibrated vision is showing him exactly what "death" is like.
Where... is this?
Rubbing his messy hair, he sits up the same way any humanoid would and checks his limbs and clothing—which only makes him even more unsure of himself.
Am I still human?
Checking his body for a second time, he doesn't seem to recognize his bio-skin and its mechanical structure.
Do I still count as human?
When did all this happen?
Did it all happen on that day?
...
He doesn't know the answers.
But these are not the only questions he has—he doesn't know who he himself is, where he came from, and where he has to go next.
Lost, the young man walks aimlessly in the dark.
After what seems like forever through the zigzagging paths in the underground tunnel, he's finally out and sees the city.
Beside the entrance sits a pile of stones with a clean sling bag in it, beside which lies two swords of different shapes. They seem like murder weapons the killer didn't have time to properly dispose of.
Picking up the bag, he sees a blueprint in it with the words "Rev Blade" and a blood-soaked notebook.
...Can't really open this notebook now when it's like this...
Putting the items away, he gives the seemingly empty sling bag a few shakes—and sees a pair of glasses falling out of a side pocket.
...
The pair of glasses seem familiar to him. Not knowing exactly why, he picks it up and walks up to a puddle of water beside it. He can see himself looking back at himself from the water.
...Then, he puts the pair of glasses on his face, as if he knew exactly that's what he was supposed to do with them.
...
It isn't until this moment that he finally senses something familiar in himself—actually, everything in the sling bag seems more familiar to him than his body.
Who left the bag here? Where should he go?
He paces around as his brain kicks into gear.
At sunset, he hears rhythmed footsteps coming from the distance.
Hey, there is someone over there!
Who are you?
Don't worry. We're Babylonia's Task Force, and we're on a rescue mission.
You can go to the conservation area with us if you have nowhere to go back to.
But look, this guy is a Construct.
A Construct?
What's your team?
I was wondering about the same thing actually. Say, why don't you tell me what a "Construct" is first?
...Huh?
The man and the team learn about each other through a brief exchange.
This memory loss you're experiencing is probably caused by a deviation of M.I.N.D. We've seen quite a few Constructs like you these days.
But the database... doesn't have anything on this guy.
This thing he's carrying seems like a telecommunication device... Here, I'll have a look at it.
The Construct soldier checks the device the young man is carrying.
Found anything out of the ordinary?
It's broken, and it didn't come from Babylonia. Should we get rid of it?
We should give it back to him. What if it turns out to be a piece of hint?
Could the guy be an unregistered Construct from ACA or ARU?
Possibly.
I'm sure there is a bunch of Ascendants we don't know out there that are unregistered.
At the mention of the word "Ascendant", the other two Constructs take a few steps back with their weapons raised.
Wait, you only went over what a Construct is. What is an Ascendant?
...
Hesitating for a moment, the three fill him in on what an Ascendant is.
They're the reason we're living through this mess now.
In other words, they're the bad guys.
Exactly. They're responsible for the Red Tide and the defecting Constructs.
I see.
He nods earnestly.
Boy, he really knows nothing. Should we try looking into something else? Like his Punishing Virus concentration?
Already did. He's on the low end, but that only shows he's not a Transcendant. I've read that Ascendants can control the Punishing Virus.
We should speak to the elite squad about it. I heard they'll pass by this area.
Yes, and "passing by" is all they're going to do. They won't come to the base because the Purifying Force is busy. And the Gray Raven Commandant just recovered, and...
The Construct that the other two Constructs refer to as their captain stops mid-sentence. Looking hard at the young man, he decides to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Come back to our base with us. We'll run check-ups on you after that.
Wait...!
We'll deal with any anomalies later when we come across any, but I just don't want to let doubt get in our way of saving people.
Captain is right. Too many lives have been lost. We can still try to be safe, but that doesn't mean we should leave anyone behind.
Giving the man the benefit of the doubt, the three decide to bring him back to their base.
...Thank you.
The team brings the young man to a place they refer to as a "temporary base".
After the man turns in his Rev Blade—deemed a "dangerous object"—and its blueprint, the Support Construct in the base runs a quick check-up on him.
No damage found. It seems that the individual is experiencing aftereffects of a M.I.N.D. deviation.
A M.I.N.D. deviation?
I see you're clueless.
The Support Construct quickly goes over the M.I.N.D. and all the possible complications it might cause.
Memory loss is one of the things that happens when M.I.N.D. deviates.
You're lucky, though. You're experiencing some issues with memory reading, but the data in there is otherwise intact.
What you're experiencing is rare, and people like you usually end up with aftereffects that are more severe if they don't get helped in time.
Maybe your M.I.N.D. is super stable.
Maybe it's because I've been helped.
That's possible. We don't have the equipment needed to treat you, unfortunately, and I suggest you seek help somewhere else.
It's either that, or you can give yourself some time and see if you recall anything. It's quite a gamble, though.
So I don't need to be treated to recover?
Yes, but that's based on the assumption that you have a stable M.I.N.D.
Don't get your hopes up, though, because that's not possible with most Constructs.
With a smile, she stands up as she waves at him.
Are you leaving?
I have another mission to attend to. Feel free to stay.
Seeing the Support Construct off, the young man stays quietly in the corner as everyone carries on with work.
Three hours later—when the world is fully clad with moonlight, the man hears noises coming from outside the door.
It seems to be a group of unexpected visitors.
What are you all doing here?
We came to rest ourselves up. Commandant and a few Constructs need to be treated.
The young man looks at where the Construct is pointing—and sees a human behind the crowd speaking quietly to a nearby Construct.
Commandant is here alone? What happened to the rest of Gray Raven?
The captain came, but the other two stayed up there.
Why isn't the captain sticking around Commandant?
We had a change of plan and asked the captain to stay there because they were short on hands.
After their exchange, they quickly head back to their respective maintenance chambers, leaving the Construct captain, who has been stationed in this place, and the commandant here.
The two sit by the table. The captain asks some questions while opening a white first-aid kit.
Is that a... first-aid kit?
Does anyone else need to be patched up or stitched up?
The young man is suddenly awash with old memories.
Was I... a doctor?
He looks at the frowning human and the white first-aid kit in the distance as he tries to piece together his newfound shards of memory.
Phew... The second volume of "Surgical Science, Twenty-First Edition". Took me a while to find it...
His finger twitches at the touch of the non-existent book.
I'll probably remember more things if I touch the box—the young man thinks to himself as he musters up his courage to offer his help.
Excuse me... but can I patch you up?
Pardon me?
I think... No, I remember learning about this. Can I do this for you?
How did that suddenly cross your mind, though? Well, just because we've brought you back here doesn't mean you have our complete trust. It's nothing personal.
We have no idea who you are, so we can't let you lay a finger on an injured human—not to mention one who is the commandant of an elite squad.
Right when the Construct Captain is about to push the young man away, you—the person he just referred to as the "commandant of an elite squad"—stop him.
...
Weighing his options, the Construct Captain stands up as he looks at the commandant.
...I have my eye on you, son.
...
Hi, Gray Raven Commandant.
I don't remember.
...If it's okay with you, feel free to call me Young Man A or whatever comes to your mind.
Really?
...
What does the person you remember seeing look like?
Was he... someone that everyone else had to try to be careful around?
You sigh, your tone growing serious.
...
Well, when I saw the first-aid kit, it reminded me of a book on surgery that I read before and of when I lent a base doctor a hand.
Right. I was with a Support Construct just now. I didn't catch her name, but she said the same thing.
...Can I really, though? I mean, I don't even know who I am yet...
As soon as he's finished the sentence, the young man realizes that your question was actually a trick question asked out of doubt—to see if his memory loss is feigned.
None of these people have any reason to trust him just because he was brought back here—which is exactly what the Constructs have said.
And even the young man himself finds their doubt fair, because he doesn't even trust himself.
They could make him a new addition to the good side—but what if he turns out to be a bad guy? The young man finds this idea terrifying.
I don't know... Let me think about that.
Well... I see.
He nods with a smile.
The two say no more.
The young man finishes patching you up and returns to his corner.
...
The base is a lot quieter after dark.
Most people are asleep now—except for a much-too-energetic girl and an old man having a heated exchange in a corner.
They leave messages on the paper for everyone to see...! You can't just write down whatever you want on it.
But they don't need it anymore... And I'm not writing down random things.
I don't care what you're writing, but the piece of paper is theirs and you can't just take it! People here have no terminals, and they need these papers to stay up to date on what everyone else is doing.
...Sob...
Look, daughter. I just don't want you to get into trouble... Give it back to them already.
...
Seeing them fight brings up a tinge of sadness in the young man.
(Did I once have a family like this, too?)
Arguing no more, the girl walks up to the commandant from just now with the paper all crumbled up in her hand, all the while sobbing.
The two of them have a quiet exchange. The commandant doesn't take the paper from her, but instead pats her on the head and gives her a page torn from a notebook.
Thank you...!
...
Seeing the girl happy makes the young man happy, too.
When the young man turns his gaze at the commandant, he sees a pair of eyes looking back this way.
Their eyes lock for a few moments in silence. Then, looking away, the commandant says something quietly to the Construct Captain.
(Are they talking about a mission or are they still being suspicious about me?)
The young man hides his smile away embarrassingly.
...Can I really stay here?
The distance between him and the rest of the base feels like a cage—one from which he can neither escape, nor into which people can go—that confines him to the corner.
Would I know where I am supposed to go...
If I remember things?
...
Deep in thought, the young man hears footsteps coming from the distance—it's the commandant.
Yes?
The commandant lowers down and, with a smile, hands over a pen and a notebook page.
Why are you giving me these?
...Big smile, huh...
Lost for words, the young man wishes he had something now that could show himself his facial expressions.
Was it very obvious?
...
Thank you so much.
Caught off guard by the commandant's kind gesture, the young man quickly stands up to receive the pen and paper with both hands.
...
The young man was going to ask more questions when he realizes that the commandant has left with someone else as they spoke, leaving him all alone.
These heroes run into worn-out soldiers, vagabonds, and refugees every single day on the battlefield.
To them, the young man is but one of the many encounters they've had. With all that's on their plates, they simply can't afford the luxury of time to learn about him on a deeper level.
To the young man, however...
Any chance missed puts him one step closer to an abyss from which there is no escape.
