Volume 0 Chapter 3: Final Chapter

The containment pods were carefully extracted and brought back to the nearest hospital, Arced Gleedmie. Aoblue parted ways with Majes after the tragic event. After finishing a mission, one must always report the event to their superior. In this case, the superior of a Grand General is the Remnant, the strongest person and their leader in the Kingdom of Highborn.

Aoblue nervously knocked three times on a door labeled "Remnant." After suffering such a defeat, Aoblue no longer had the nerves to face the Remnant. His mind ran through all sorts of scenarios of how he could've saved his subordinates.

His body fidgeted upon hearing a hoarse voice from the other side of the door saying, "Enter."

Aoblue slowly opened the door and entered the room.

The room wasn't grandeur by any means. Plain wooden walls and floors made it seem like a home, rather than an office of someone important. A large window sat behind the wooden desk, allowing one to view the City of Highborn with a three-story view. Many metallic cabinets sat in the corner near the wooden desk to allow a convenient and easy access to public or private files. In front of the desk was two auburn couches, and a brown table between them.

An old man, dressed in a loose white cotton shirt and pants, sat on one of the couches.

"Sit, Aoblue." said the old man.

"Yes, Remnant." Aoblue replied. He quickly made his way to the couch while avoiding eye contact with the old man.

The Remnant pointed his bony finger at the stack of paper sitting on top of the table in front of him.

"I've read your report. However, I would like to hear it from your own mouth.  Describe everything in detail from beginning to end." The Remnant sipped his tea and awaited for Aoblue's report.

Aoblue began to describe the event in its entirety. The tone of his voice gradually shifted from nervousness to reserved and avoidance the more he talked about his encounter with the masked man. His eyes remain on the stack of paper the entire time he recounted the experience.

The Remnant immediately picked up on the audio cue, but he didn't say anything. The moment he saw the way Aoblue entered his office, he knew that the Grand General was in no state to be lectured.

Silence filled the air after Aoblue finished his report. The heavy atmosphere was crushing his soul; wishing that the Remnant would just give him his punishment already.

"Aoblue, you're the youngest Grand General ever recorded, and your achievements prior to this mission had been amazing. That is why I've decided to bestow you the title of Grand General despite the oppositions. However, your inexperience compared to the other Grand Generals are showing. It's unfortunate, but this information has to be shared between the other Grand Generals in the next meeting. They need to know so they can be better prepared if they meet this masked man." The Remnant said.

The Remnant reached for the tea cup, indulge in the bitter flavor, and allowed another moment of silence to take place.

"Aoblue, what do you think should happen next?" The Remnant asked.

"I... I don't know. Can I ask you a question, Remnant?" Aoblue asked.

"What is it?" The Remnant replied.

"In my position, was there any hope for me to prevent the disaster? Was there anything I could've done to bring everyone back safe and alive?" Aoblue remorsefully asked.

The Remnant let out a sigh and placed down his cup of tea on top of the table. He looked at the pitiful Aoblue and hoped that he would learn from this experience and not let it ruin him.

"Aoblue, a battle is not made of certainties.  When you step out of this door, you won't know everything that will happen until it happens. Talking in hindsight is easy because the scenario and details had already been presented. To answer your question: yes, there is something you could've done, but not the way you want it. One way is to save the [Black Hole] scroll for the burnt body. Another way, although it's a bit drastic and uncharacteristic of you, is to abandon the mission and retreat." The Remnant replied.

"If I'd save the scroll for the burnt body, then my front lines would've fallen..." Aoblue emphasized.

"Right. I was referring to mitigation. One, two, or a few may have died, but you'd be able to save them from the disaster. However, like I said earlier, talking in hindsight is easy. Don't let it get to you too much. If you knew what your opponent was capable of, then maybe the outcome would be different." The Remnant said.

Aoblue slouched his back and held a gloomy expression. The faces of all his deceased allies, all smiling and proud to be under his leadership, ran through his mind one after another. He couldn't find it in his heart to sacrifice a single of them to protect the others.

The old man stood up, walked over to the window, and gaze at his countless citizens proceeding with their daily lives.

"Aoblue, henceforth you'll be demoted to General. Alfin will be expecting your sword and shield upon exiting the building." The old man tried to soften his voice, but the nature of his hoarse voice made it difficult to lessen the impact.

"Yes, Remnant." Aoblue replied soullessly and left the room.

Once stripped from his glory, Aoblue made his way around the city, visiting the homes of his deceased allies. He bowed low and apologetically while reporting the tragic news of the fate of their beloved. Some were infuriated; others fell to their knees and prayed that the esteemed Grand General was joking. When they saw the man bowing lowly with no light in his eyes, they found it extremely difficult to say anything hurtful. The best thing they could do was shut the door and accept the truth.

Arced Gleedmie, 74th ward...

A hospital patient sat on one of the chairs stationed outside of the special facility care. The left arm of his clothes was cut and sewn specifically to match his missing limbs. The metallic chair wasn't comfortable at all, but he continued sitting there, waiting until the doctors inside were done.

Majes look at his left arm, and then at his bare feet. He was thankful that he only lost an arm. A strange burning sensation lingers in his left arm, as if he could still move his non-existent fingers. He couldn't help but laugh manically before being interrupted by a doctor wearing a white coat, who just left the special facility care.

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"You must be the one who accompanied Aoblue here. I heard of a ghastly ghost haunting this hallway for the past twenty-four hours that we were in the operation room. I never thought it'd be you." The doctor said and sat next to Majes.

He extended his right hand and said, "Dr. Norwin."

Majes chuckled and shook his hand.

"So, since the Remnant requested for the details regarding these kids, I am afraid that we'd have to disclose the information I am about to tell you. Is that alright?" Dr. Norwin asked.

Majes nodded. The doctor wasn't really asking for his permission, after all, his authority cannot be compare to the Remnant's authority.

"Where do I begin... These kids have been previously operated on, and it wasn't just once. I'll spare you the details, but you should probably look into cosmetic surgery if you want to prevent these kids from scaring other children. Or, you know, have them wear long shirts and pants for the rest of their lives. Anyway, we discovered that there are fragments of ores fused into their skin. Our tests proved that it belonged to one of the rarest mineral discovered, Adamantite. Needless to say, cutting into their skin proved to be very difficult." The doctor chuckled before realizing the unamused expression on Majes' face.

The doctor let out a few fake coughs before continuing, "That isn't all. Their meridian cores are in a terrible state due to the countless experiments performed on them. At this point in time, we are uncertain as to whether they'll be able to utilize mana or not. Their bones are also in an extremely brittle state, so they'll have to remain here until our tests reports that they're healthy again. Our nurses will notify you once they're awake. You can visit them at that time." Dr. Norwin stood up and parted ways with Majes.

Majes didn't know what to think of it. From the sound of it, there was a chance that his nephew could become crippled if something goes wrong. He sat there for a few more hours before Aoblue appeared and took the seat next to him.

"Is your left arm okay? Wait, what am I asking?" Aoblue  face-palmed himself, regretting what he just said.

"Don't worry about it. I'm doing fine. How are things going on your end?" Majes smiled and asked.

"It's going... It's running its course. Life goes on whether you like it or not." Aoblue meekly replied.

"I see... Has anyone reported to you about their conditions?" Majes asked.

"No, I haven't been back to my office yet." Aoblue said.

Majes began informing Aoblue the same details that Dr. Norwin discussed with him. Aoblue attentively listened to him while trying his best to avoid glancing at the Majes' missing limb. It constantly reminded him of his failure as a Grand General.

Midway during his explanation, a nurse walked out of the special facility care and looked at the two chatting adults.

"Grand General Aoblue? Mr. Majes?" The nurse walked over and asked.

The two replied and the nurse led them inside. While leading the two, the nurse constantly reminded them to not touch any of the children, and to remain as quiet as possible.

Walking through the hallway, Majes passed by many rooms and glanced at the patients residing in there. There were a few patients who stared and waved at him in a creepy manner. Their thin hospital outfit combined with their emotionless expression made it seem like a ghost from a horror movie. Many of them simply ignored him and continue staring at a wall or at the ceiling. The most memorable of all was a small girl with long hair who whispered, "Hello, monster," before running back into her room. Majes looked at the nurse, and the nurse shook her head to signal him not to inquire any further.

The group made a left at the end of the hallway and entered the first room on the right with a caution sign that said "Restricted: Authorized Personnel Only."

The nurse took out a plastic card, slide it against the lock, and turned the handle. The door slowly opened when they heard a clicking sound.

Stepping into the room, Majes saw four beds containing four children, two males and two females. The children were all hooked up to many different medical devices that made him dumbfounded.  Their hands, legs, necks, were all strapped down and bounded to prevent movement.

Majes walked over to the bed of a resting black-hair boy. There were many cords hooked into the veins in his arm and leg. One cord was also connect to his nose. Majes traced the cords back to a medical device that was connected to a blood pack. The cord in his nose connected back to a translucent blue bag.

The black-hair boy opened his eyes and smiled faintly upon see his uncle. He wanted to wave at him, but he soon realize that his entire body was restricted by leather straps.

Majes bend down to meet eye level with his nephew. He angled his body so that his nephew couldn't see his left arm.

"How are you feeling?" Majes quietly asked his nephew.

His nephew's lip barely moved, and an inaudible sound came out. Majes leaned closer, and his nephew tried to say something again. He heard something along the line of "...bored," and smiled.

"Hang in there, okay? You'll be back at home before you know it." Majes said while noticing the hand gesture that the nurse was making.

His nephew nodded and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Aoblue walked over to the beds of the other children and examined their condition. He didn't have much knowledge in the medical field, but he was curious as to why they were the only ones in the pods. The most bothering question that pricked him is the goal of the masked man. What was his purpose with these children? From what Majes told me, they've been experimented on more than once. But what exactly is he experimenting for? And why did he leave them behind?

The nurse walked over and tapped Aoblue's shoulder, wakening him from his deep thoughts.  She used her hands to gesture for the three of them to let the children rest. Aoblue complied and the three walked out of the room.

Majes took one last look at his nephew before the door closed with a beeping sound, signifying the lock is operational.