4 - Amnesiac Talent

When Arthur opened his eyes again, a familiar sight would show itself to him.

Finding himself sinking in the depths of an abyss, vague memories of the dream he had upon transmigrating came back to him. No, it was the exact same, except this time, he was more aware. That, and he didn't feel the scorching light upon his skin.

He retained the ability to move his body, more than the first time, at least. Afloat in the water, he turned himself around, moving like a rock in the void of space, and sending himself spiralling.

Opening his mouth to try and speak, bubbles of air would come out, but he didn't feel like he needed to breathe, nor did he feel any liquid rushing into his lungs. Looking down at his body, his joints were glowing once again with that warm light, although aching only once he took notice of it.

‘It’s different.’

That was the thought that ran through his mind, feeling the sensation of that light. The glowing energy wasn't carving his skin and burning canals into it, it was burning from within, escaping to the outside. Energy trying to escape his body, using it only as a conduit.

‘This is… Archê.’

Lifting his hand, bringing the glowing joints closer to his sight, he reached a conclusion. Thinking back on it, this abyss, this feeling of being submerged in water, was the same he felt when trying to comprehend that energy.

However, it was different from the first time he saw that place. He couldn't say he had ‘felt’ that place, since it wasn't fully a sensation, like when he was meditating. But, he didn't feel like he was there physically, either. Akin to a dream or similar, a state of uncertainty.

He could see the light jolting from his joints, spreading to the space around him, and leading off in seemingly random paths. However, on a closer look, it wasn't random at all: they were forming circuits, drawing shapes. This was no different, then when he was copying Ayn. But, why was he copying him…? A jolt of pain suddenly appeared in his mind, the memories of what had led to this situation resurfacing suddenly.

He had, arguably successfully, used Archê through ‘flowing’ it in his body, by copying the process off of Ayn. Then, once he swung down the pickaxe… All he could remember after that, was a strong pain in his joints, as if he had been hit with a shockwave, and a burnt smell spreading around him. Bringing a hand up to the bridge of his nose to massage it, the headache grew stronger, and the light spouting off of his body grew more intense.

Looking up, he could see the circuits and paths which were forming, converging into a single point, far above his current position. For some reason, he felt a need to follow those lights, like they were leading him somewhere. With difficulty, he moved his body, starting to ascend to what seemed to be the surface.

—

“Sir Sol, if I may ask…”“I already told ya why. This guy here? He's packed full o' talent.”

A large man with a face riddled with scars sat beside the unconscious body of an elf, leaning back with his arms crossed behind his head. Hidden by the dark tint of his glasses, his eyes shimmered and glimmered, as if his gaze was cast upon a pot of gold and riches. Standing in attention behind him was another guard, a cap covering the upper part of his face with shade, gazing with uncertainty at the youth.

“Talent, so he says…”“Did I just hear ya badmouth me, Grimm?”“You did not, sir. You might want to get checked for illnesses that cause auditory hallucinations, sir.”“If ya say so!”Bellowing out a loud laugh, the one seemingly called Sol would lean back forward, sitting properly on the chair. Despite one's threatening appearance and overwhelming presence, and the other's incredibly rigid and upright behaviour, the atmosphere in that room was surprisingly light. And inside that peculiar room, Arthur slowly opened his eyes.

‘Nghh… It’s so bright in here…’

Letting out a pained grunt, his awareness would be cast once again towards the world of consciousness. Although very hazily, he recalled the dream he had just seen, similar to the one he had the first time he woke up in that world. This time, however, it didn’t seem like he was cast into another world- just another room. He was laying down in a bed with extremely light sheets, reminding him of hospital beds in his old world.

No, looking around himself, that was definitely a hospital bed. To his right, was a curtain separating him from, supposedly, other beds, and an empty metal cart, the kind nurses would use to bring patients food and medicines. Assuming his memories were correct, he knocked himself out after trying to use ‘flowing Archê’, and he must have been brought to a medical camp in the prison. Surely, the benefits of being an elf were great, even if he was in an unfortunate situation.

Though, being an elf wasn’t the only reason he was brought there, instead of being left in his work station. Looking towards his left, still fully laying down, he’d jump slightly, not having noticed the presence of the two standing there earlier.

“Um. Good… Morning? Sirs?” He wasn’t sure how to refer to guards in that place, or if he was even supposed to talk to them directly at all. Luckily, at his awkwardness, the man simply laughed.

“Hah! Good mornin’ to ya, diamon’ in the rough!”

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‘Diamond in the rough…?’

Slowly sitting upright, he’d look at the man sitting beside his bed up and down, while trying to look respectful. Didn’t want to make it seem like he was judging him, and end up getting beat, or worse. In the end, he was a prisoner, even if the atmosphere seemed weirdly comfortable. Unconsciously, he held his breath, the presence beside him overwhelming him ever so slightly.

“Now, now! No need ta look so scared! I don’t bite, I promise ya!”

“Sorry, I’m just, er, didn’t expect someone of your… Caliber? To be watching me sleep. Is it for security reasons…? Oh, er, if I can ask, of course.”He wasn’t sure on how to refer to the man now in front of him, having never before quite been in a situation like this. While he understood that he was a prisoner, he had no knowledge on how to speak to a guard, in that situation. Should he appear scared? Frightened? Simply respectful? Or maybe even bow his head and stay quiet? Still, the scarred soldier seemed amused by his behaviour, rather than enraged by possible disrespectings.

“Security reasons, you could put it like that, haha! But first- what’s yer name? Names are an important thing, ya know? On a battlefield, especially if you encounter a strong opponent, ya might not get a chance to take a good look at their face, or body, but knowin’ their name? Names hold power, they hold memories. On that note, ya can call me Sol.”

“Uh… Nice… To meet you??”Slightly taken aback by the guards’ loquacity, he’d swallow, before pondering for a moment, which name should he give. Arthur Luria? Back when he first woke up, Ayn said that he, too, was an ‘Aerhius’- was that his surname? Should he take that name up, too? He exhaled, no use wasting brainpower on such futile things.

“I am called Arthur. If I can ask-”“Arthur, ay? Wonderful, perfect, brilliant! A great name, befittin’ of a great king, befittin’ of a brilliant talent! Like the radiance of Sol above, yes!”“Brilliant talent…?”Arthur murmured to himself, confused by the man’s words. Who, in turn, twisted his head slightly to the side, confused at Arthur’s confusion. Even behind the tinted glasses, the youth could spot a hint of surprise in his eyes, as if thinking to himself ‘Huh? Is he dumb?’.

“Hmm, well! I guess, ya wouldn’t know ‘bout my Gift… Of course, I’m talkin’ about yer peculiar method of manipulating Ark. Ya put on quite the spectacle, out there… Guess yer thirst for attention worked out exactly how ya wanted it too, ya scoundrel!”

The confused expression remained on Arthur’s face. Sol’s eyes widened, behind the glasses.

“Wait, wait, wait, hol’ on for a second… Yer telling me, ya didn’t do that jus’ to get my attention?”“Uh… I’m sorry, I really, really, have no idea what you mean.”

Well, he had a slight idea on what he might have meant, talking about ‘putting on a show’. What he didn’t understand, was the brilliant talent he had been talking about for a while now. The man’s befuddled expression slowly faded back into an amused one. This was better than he thought.

“So. Ya don’t understand what’s wrong with how ya blew up that rock? Or with yer output of Ark?”

With an awkward expression on his face, he shook his head. Sol chuckled quietly, amazed at Arthur's, how he would put it, brilliant ignorance. He'd put a hand to cover his mouth, this was better than he thought it would be.

“Alright, let me put it in a way easy for ya to understand… With that one strike, ya used the entirety of yer Archê reservoir. All of it, jus' to blow up one rock. Now, if ya weren't showin' off- why would you do that?”“I, er, never used Archê before. I was copying Ayn- the other elf's movements.”

Once again, the rugged man's eyes widened, his jaw damn near unhinging as he opened his mouth. Really, he was overdoing facial expressions for the sake of theatrics, but his awe was real.

“Ya never used Archê…? Wait a second, jus’ wait a moment, this is too wonderful, too incredible, too stupidly brilliant. Ya ain't a diamond in the rough, yer an unpolished gem, a hidden wonder…”

“Did… I say something wrong…?”At Sol's mumblings, Arthur quickly realized the reason for his overreaction. Just like Ayn said, for the inhabitants of that world, using Archê was as natural and instinctive as seeing with one's eyes, or hearing with one's ears. For someone to never have used Archê before, would mean to have never lived in that world before.

“Oh, er, that might seem too weird…”“Indeed, truthfully, brilliantly, yes! That is bizarre!”“I, er, forgot to mention- I suffer from amnesia.”“... Ya can't remember squat?”“Something… Like that, sure.”

Making up an excuse on the spot, he hoped it would work. He was already attracting too much attention, and if he paraded around the fact of having transmigrated, he could only imagine where that would lead him. In contrast, something like amnesia might be more believable, and definitely make more sense.

“Then, yer not a hidden wonder either… Ya just need to get finely polished, ‘n ya'll be back to yer original shine in no time at all.”

“Erm… What, might you mean, for finely… Polished?”

“Don't worry ‘bout it too much. See, I had a proposal for ya.”

A proposal? First, he was given special care, seemingly for being an elf, then he was approached by a guard, getting way more comfortable with the youth than he was comfortable with, and now he was offering him some proposal. Did it have to do with that brilliant talent he kept mentioning? Was the body he transmigrated in, that wonderful?

“But first, yer body needs to get better. Doing that stunt of yours, ya busted yer core pretty badly. Talent or not, try and make Ark with a busted core, and ya'll end up blowing yerself up again.”Slowly, he was figuring out the difference between Archê and Ark. He rubbed his chin, putting together what he knew so far. If Archê was the limitless energy source which enveloped everything like an abyss, then, Ark was, most likely, the refined state of that energy, usable for applications.

If that assumption was true, or close to the truth, the implication of his usage of unrefined Archê damaging his ‘Core’, not knowing yet what that was, meant that a ‘Core’ was responsible for either the body's intake of Archê, or the output of Ark.

“… If the former is true, I gathered too much, which would explain that explosion, I tried to exert too much energy… But if the latter is true, then I must've damaged ‘it’ by using unrefined ‘Archê’, instead of the refined ‘Ark’...”“Bravo! Even with yer memories gone, yer figuring out this stuff at an incredible pace.”A bad habit of his- whenever he was deep in thought, he ended up blurting out his thoughts, often making it seem like he was talking to himself. The guard clapped slowly, before standing up and patting his uniform, to remove any dust.

“If ya keep that up, ya won't even need help in figuring out how Archê, Ark and your Core work. ‘N in that case… Well, my proposal might come sooner than later.”

Again with that proposal. Seeing Arthur's intrigued look, the man would leave him with some last, few words, before moving towards the medical bay's exit.

“Yer a golden lump of talent, Arthur. Show me your worth, your brilliance, and if ya burn bright enough… I'll give ya back yer freedom.”With that, the two left the room. Perhaps, even without Ayn's and that unknown Aurora's help, he could find a way out of that place.

In his eyes, a fire of determination was lit.