The silence produced by the question crept in.

The Official's unexplainable conviction and the peculiar way he phrased the question. Elgan understood neither.

Still, it was not that which was rubbing him the wrong way. There was something else... Something was off with the way he acted yet he couldn't put the finger on exactly what...

Elgan centered his thoughts, he had a question to answer.

'Why did Armstrong put so much emphasis on the What, instead of the Who.'

He looked at his blue eyes. The mechanical ticking of the clock at the back of the room extinguishing the man's patience bit by bit. Official Armstrong was waiting for an answer, perhaps not even that.

He waited for the answer.

The question repeated itself.

'What am I..?'

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

Tick

Tack

'I'm...'

Elgan's gaze shifted downwards, aimed at his amorphous right arm, completely hidden under the long grey sleeve of his shirt.

His eye opens to the realization.

'Did I, do this?'

The Official's serious expression morphed into a grin, but the teen's mind was far too lost to notice.

Your spoil.

Immersed in a situation he couldn't fathom to understand for as long as he woke up from his coma, Elgan had auto-convinced himself that the medical staff had found a way to bring back his arms and cure his injuries. Being witness for the first time to such a high level of technology it even seemed like a plausible theory. Yet the more he thought about it now, the less it made sense.

The less everything made sense.

If his body had been reconstructed, Why was it in such condition? Why weren't there any stitches or marks on his skin? Rather, Why weren't there any bruises at all on his body? Why could he read various conversations that didn't exist? Why kept those thoughts solidify in his mind?

Ẃ̷̥̉ͅh̸̗̰́̃y̶̱̒ ̷̳̓̚ẃ̵͕a̶̦̐̔s̷̹͐͒ ̷͍͖̑h̴̬͐e̴̟̊̀͜ ̵̳̘͊͌a̵̖͂l̷͕̰̊́í̶͇̙v̸̲̎͋e̴̯͛̄,̸͚͊ ̸͓̎ẇ̶̰̈ḧ̵̹́̍e̶͍̖͌ń̶͉͎͋ ̴͕̦͝h̵̲̥͋è̴͙͎͆ ̶̨͉̏͛c̵̩̾ǒ̵͙u̵̢̗̐̑ḻ̵̖̇̔d̵͈̐ ̶̗͠c̸̡͎̃ḷ̶̨̿ḙ̶̇a̵̗͉͆r̴̥͇̊l̸̠͕̈y̶̫̍̄ ̵͖̈́͠r̸̹̰͘ë̶̗́č̵̖͕ä̷̫̜́͝ľ̴̯͇ḷ̶̨̇͘ ̶́ͅṫ̸̪̥̿ẖ̴͊̕ȅ̸̬͂ ̷̯͚̋̎k̵̻͠i̸̢̢̒s̵̨̯͂s̸̗͉̈́ ̵̳͝ò̷̠̒f̷̤͐̐ ̸̙͊ḑ̷̓é̵͓̄a̴̱͠t̷̠̍͜ḫ̴̢͛́ ̵̞̩̄̂o̵̡̪͆n̵̛̝̲ ̷̨͂h̸̯́̽i̷̾ͅs̸̜̿̚ ̵̤̦͝ļ̶̽̚ï̶̳̅p̴͕͙̔́š̵̲̥?̴̥͋̆͜ ̴̜̏

'Why?'

With each unsolved question, the rabbit hole deepened further into the abyss. The more he advanced, the more he seemed to lose himself in the labyrinth he himself dug. The promised answer had searched for in the first place only growing more distant. Each turned corner threatened to reveal a truth. A grotesque and deformed truth staring at his soul from the edges of darkness, smiling, finding pleasure in his demise, in his insanity. In the insanity of it all.

After all, they aren't that different.

'Am I, a monster...'

His heartbeat slowed down, his throat dried at the thought. At the possibility.

Anomaly and Human, the barrier will collapse. Soon.

But will it?

'No...'

A flare of blind belief lit within the youth's soul, his eyelids open with rivaling determination, his unclouded left eye reflecting the last rays of sunlight.

"I'm human."

The answer made its way across the room, not reaching past the sound-proof walls.

"That's true, I guess."

Fading as if it never existed to begin with, the man's casual composture returned. Almost ignoring the clear madness radiating from his eyes moments ago. His shoulders raised as he chuckled, his thumb tapping against his pen's end cap.

"From the depths of the ocean to the heights of the sky. Everything was taken from us. Even after all of humanity's struggles to reclaim its rightful throne, they reign supreme."

He exhaled before continuing, his gaze lowered. His tone became quieter as if he didn't want to be heard.

"It really has been a long struggle... An eternal war against the elements, against death. Against the world itself."

His expression exuded sadness, perhaps hatred. Elgan couldn't tell for sure.

"Humanity was driven near extinction two times during the last centuries. Hardly a couple hundred thousand people survived the first months of the apocalypse, even fewer made it all the way to the end... Yet some of them did. At the end of the day, this room, this base, or this same conversation are all undying proof of the fact that humans can overcome, surpass and persist."

His voice grew fiercer, as if he was reliving the vivid memories of crushing defeats and joyous victories that accompanied humanity through the last centuries. And although he tried not to cross the line, Elgan could tell that some part of the passion behind those words was real.

"The mightiest, the strongest, the stealthiest, the wisest, the cunning, the useful, the persistent... Only they managed to keep body and soul together in hell, and as time passed, those who lived on were reborn."

He listened like a little kid receiving the tales of an old man.

"Rising from the ashes of those few victories humanity achieved, the first Fragmented made it to this world. Call them Heroes or Devils, it was with their hands we built a new world for ourselves, our own little safe haven, to say."

He faced me, his hand extended towards one of the bookshelves.

"You are one of them, fragmented."

Elgan turned his head to look at the shelves, a red book levitated towards the desk settling in Armstrong's hand.

"Just like me and few others you'll encounter. We, fragmented nourish from the ashes of the dead, we find in them the strength to rise from our own bloodied battlegrounds."

His eyes examined the red cover of the thin book as the dust covering its surface condensed into a small fluff. Before resettling his vision on me.

"The tests you have conquered up to this point become a weapon for you to wield."

He swiped his pen in the air as if it was a sword in a failed attempt to achieve humor.

"You should know, a weapon is not inherently good or bad, the one who uses it though... "

"I wonder what you'll use yours for, Elgan."

The kid gulped down his drying throat in an attempt to digest all the information handed to him. His hands wouldn't stop sweating, his skin paling, as he reached a final conclusion.

'I'm superhuman.'

He thought, his body trembling subtly as all of the dots connected on his head. The unexplainable conversations, his inhuman speed when running, his fucked-up regeneration, his capacity to revive. It all made sense now.

'Could I change that?'

His mind replaying all of the instances he had felt powerless, weak, useless.

He asked himself a question that wouldn't let go of him.

Dumb, stupid, weak, frail, uncertain, shy, cowardly and ultimately numb. All of those adjectives had resonated with him for as long as he was able to remember, in his own home, in school and later in high school, it was something that had never abandoned him. It was only after proving himself wrong time and time again in that onyx hell that had he begun to think otherwise.

Dragging himself up his limits, ignoring the ceiling placed by no one but himself, pushing past what he thought possible and further beyond. Those were probably the only things he had done in his life he felt truly proud of.

Regretless.

Living without regrets. That was the only reason he had reached this far.

'I can reach higher.'

The notion sank into his mind.

...

Armstrong took his time resuming his talk, seemingly thinking about something, or waiting for something. After a couple of minutes, his empty palms extended to the sides drawing the young man's attention.

"That was a literal question, Elgan."

His body froze at the bluntness of the revelation.

"You have two roads ahead of you, choose whichever you deem fit."

He raised his left hand.

"Establish yourself in the Lower Districts or in the Citadel, start a new life from scratch under the shadows of The Goliath, honoring the possibility you'll likely die under its shadow. Take care of the hospital fees and housing for yourself, whether by working a normal job, or joining the mercenaries, how you obtain the money will be none of my business, neither will we assure your personal safety outside our domain."

His voice turned cold by the end of the sentence.

The other option.

"Join our ranks as a fresh [NAT]. I can't promise you It'll be easy to climb the ranks, nor that you'll find a peaceful life here. In fact, It will be a rough climb ahead from then on... It takes a lifetime of blood, sweat, and tears to forge yourself into a good soldier, but It'll grant you something no other option will."

...

"Power. The strength to take on the cruelty of this life, to advance through tragedy, and bend the world to your wishes. I won't lie, It's a long road no matter if you choose to work as a Scavenger, Soldier, Hunter, or any of the other branches. But..."

He is playing with you.

...

"I assure you'll die a warrior."

Silence filled the room one last time.

Honestly impressed by Armstrong's driven monologue, Elgan found himself unable to say anything. A part of him would have liked to choose the second option directly, but he ended up rejecting that impulse. It was the hard truth that Elgan Knew far too little about his own situation to make a wise choice. Deciding without further informing himself, nor contrasting the ups and downs each option posed was a bad idea.

"Of course, if you choose to join us, the Coalition will take care of fees, housing, and food."

The official added, his voice always firm and confident.

'It's true that having a fixed path within the military would help me get accustomed to everything easily, plus not having to worry about paying rent and fees doesn't seem bad. Still...'

That forced gentle smile glued on Armstrong's face.

'This man is biased.'

It wouldn't take a genius to realize the fact that the balance between the options wasn't even. The Official was favoring him to join in as a cadet.

'But if he wants me to join his cause so badly, why does he allow me to chos-'

It wasn't difficult.

The answer was clear for him to see, it's just he didn't notice up until now. Elgan's choice was of little importance, if not entirely negligible. Armstrong's casual attitude had fooled him into forgetting the cliff of knowledge between them was still present, and he had followed falling flat on his face.

The exact words replayed in his mind.

'Neither will be your personal safety outside of our domain.'

The unnatural smiles, the cold menacing attitude, the emotional dialogue. All to push him into choosing what he wanted, and to make him realize.

'The difference between both of us.'

Was far greater than Elgan suspected.

Yes, the theory may have seemed unfounded, in the end, it had been pieced together in seconds, mixing anxiety and conspiration in the process. Yet something inside Elgan knew this was not the true Armstrong. What would happen if he made the wrong choice? He didn't know, but judging by the merciless hostility his people had shown towards him, Elgan could imagine.

'Just another liar.'

No different from everyone else he had seen so far, the man before him hid behind a mask. Just not a physical one.

"Don't be worried."

Driven into a corner, the youth took a little too much time to give an answer. The Officer shot first.

'Shit.'

Elgan was far too slow.

"It's not a problem if you can't decide, you can always give me an answer tomorrow after you think it thro-"

Though, slowly didn't mean late. This man wanted to games with him. So be it, he'd gladly join for a dance.

"I'll join your military. I have decided."

For the first time since their lengthy meeting began, Elgan was able to spot genuine astonishment in the Oficial's expression, his pen escaped his finger's grip for a second, only stopped from falling by the unknown invisible force.

"I see."

His knuckles tapped the side of the cedar-brown table, the door of the room opened, the same two spotless soldiers entered the room standing at each side of the door.

"You can lead him to his quarters."

Without waiting for any other interaction between them, the youth stood up from the chair and followed after the two armored women who were already on their way out of the office.

'Hmm.'

Elgan sensed something moving in his direction from the back, a flat rectangular object bumped into his chest as he turned around. His eyes drawing big circles, the surprise was now his. Realizing what it was, he grabbed them tightly with both arms making sure they wouldn't fall to the ground.

"You can take that as a gift."

The blue-eyed Oficial said calmly, his gaze lifting from Elgan as he turned to face the night sky. His fingers back to playing with the shining golden pen, seemingly forgetting about the kid's presence. Shrugging, Elgan left the room without saying anything else.

...

"What an unforeseen outcome, Isn't it..."

Armstrong said for himself in a quiet voice.

The door closed shut. Nothing else was heard.