The tension in the air kept rising as neither of the two said absolutely nothing. Though the presence of the two soldiers spiked a primitive alert inside Elgan.

Elgan stayed wary of them, but there was little he could do. Even though their laser weapons were nowhere to be seen this time, he couldn't simply overlook the fact they were the ones who had apparently beat him into a coma.

Still, the intention for their visit was yet to be revealed, neither could he bring himself to hate them knowing they had taken good care of him instead of letting him die like a pig.

Whatever was the reason for their change of mind... That remained a mystery.

Enemy or not, they were one of the few that hadn't actually been hostile against them. Their weapons hadn't fired against him that night.

'Those two bastards, however...'

The feeling of having his arm cut, and his knee busted by a bullet still fresh in his mind.

Without a warning, the taller one spoke.

"[NID]#302. Your presence has been issued by an Official. Put this on and follow us."

The modulator in her voice was still active, her voice distant and artificial. Her terrifyingly formal composture, though, was enough of a clue to know she wasn't joking around.

In fact, she seemed to be in a rather bad mood.

Her hand extended, revealing a small transparent plastic covering a monotonous grey uniform, a small bronze identification embedded in it, almost what you would expect to find in the military. If it still existed.

He hesitantly approached the soldier, picking up the delicate package with a conscious effort to not crumple it up. Elgan's eye automatically glanced at the identification, to his demise, it did read [NID]#302...

'Well, fuck.'

You knew you were in serious trouble when someone had actually bothered to put a bar code up your ass.

| Gulp |

The young man stood up from the bed and entered the annexed bathroom making sure to lock the door in the process.

This was the first time he saw the bathroom, which wasn't anything special either, just an extension of the bland white room you would expect to find in a decent hospital, just with an uncomfortable lack of buttons to press.

Still, there was one single thing that stood up more than anything. The mirror, better said, his own reflection, although he couldn't tell exactly what, there seemed to be something odd about it. It wasn't that he looked healthier, slightly leaner, or that his black hair now reached the base of his neck. It was something else...

'Whatever.'

Elgan decided to check it later, he wasn't in the best of situations to be losing time, much less checking himself out like a narcissistic monkey. Although, he reminded himself to look further into it as soon as he had free time at his disposal.

Elgan's few working fingers moved as fast as they could, removing the blue surgical gown that covered his body quite easily before unpackaging his new outfit.

He let a sigh of relief, it seemed they hadn't forgotten to put underpants in the pack. More so knowing his were gone, either burned or dissolved in acid.

"Hahaha..."

He let out a quiet nervous laugh, he could already imagine having to ask for underpants in that situation.

In less than three minutes, he was ready to go, he unlocked the door. The two soldiers didn't budge as he came out of the bathroom at rather questionable speeds for a kid.

"Let's go."

The two of them turned around, not bothering to glance at him for a second time.

The door to the outside opened, both of them exited the room, Elgan followed after them. The taller one hurriedly walking to the front, leading the way through the ample white hallways. The other one waiting for me to come out of the room, probably to make sure I wouldn't pull a funny on them by going where I wasn't supposed to.

The smaller girl made a gesture with her head, indicating me to follow after her bothersome companion. Raising his shoulders in defeat, Elgan followed after the unstopping soldier's shrinking silhouette.

'An official has requested my presence, huh?'

They crossed two men, both hospital staff, wearing those enigmatic white masks above their faces as they walked passed them. None of them interested in meddling in their business.

'What rank is that anyway?'

As they walked, the black-haired teen examined the hallways with genuine curiosity. Though as plain and boring as the rooms themselves, he really felt amazement at the extent of the facility they found themselves in. Apparently, the room he had stayed in was just one of many as the hall itself extended for a considerable length.

'That's impressive.'

Taking into account that each of the doors was supposed to be a lodge, he guessed this place could easily hold several hundreds of people if necessary.

After ages of walking, they made their way to the elevators. A row of three closed-shut steel doors could be seen. Just like most devices he had seen until then, an authorization of kinds was required to access them.

'I wonder if mine would do.'

Maybe in other circumstances, he would have dared to try out his theory. Not now though.

| Bip |

The female soldier didn't even move from her place, the eye-like scanner automatically aimed toward the silvered metal plate on her chest, granting access in less time than it would take to press any button.

The reinforced metallic doors opened before us. A fairly large cubical enclosure, big enough to lift twenty people without an issue.

Without saying anything, we entered the elevator.

- Positive; Seventh floor. -

With a single mental command, the cubical chamber accelerated swiftly towards the skies without making a single noise. The only connection to the outside was a simple panel indicating our progress. Our fast progress.

We had arrived at our destination in the baiting of an eye.

| Clank |

Sadly. The doors opened to a similar view, open gray hallways extended as far as the eye reached. Contrary to the last floor, the ambient here seemed somehow more compact, tenser. One could easily pinpoint the difference in design between both locations, sacrificing white blandness, these corridors had been clearly bolstered.

Two columns of an unknown metallic material stood every few dozen feet, one at each side, beams of the same compound running up the ceiling, supporting it. That wasn't all either. Every few hundred feet stood a series of heavily armed soldiers dressed in grey camouflage armors, their faces occult under thick helmets.

'This level must hold some important people.'

Elgan thought as they crossed past three men, all of them dressed in black uniforms with simple golden epaulets, a white band running through their chests. Each of their faces uncovered. I tried peeking into their conversation, but I couldn't hear anything understandable. In the end, they slipped through without a care in the world. Each following his own mysterious agenda.

'What a shame.'

He chuckled to himself as he continued walking sandwiched between both armed soldiers. Ranging from automated cleaners to heavily armed units and high-ranking command chains, our little trip came to an end in front of a generic-looking grey door. An inscription in white letters on the wall aside confirmed we had arrived at our destination.

'FS-Official Armstrong.'

I glanced around slightly, noticing something strange.

'This door. Why doesn't this particular door have a guard.'

After thinking about it for a few seconds, he decided to forget about the casual oddity and focus on the matter at hand.

[Identity confirmed. Wait for authorization.]

Instead of beeping, the scanner talked.

'It seems you also require his confirmation to enter.'

After a moment of silence, the system granted access sliding the door open, revealing what appeared like the interior of a sizeable office. Some of the two soldiers pushed Elgan forwards, making him stumble into the room, almost falling in the process.

The two soldiers followed after him, each holding guard at one of the sides of the door which slid shut consecutively.

|Uhm-|

A hand placed before his eye, the blinding light from the sun entering through the wall opposite to him. His vision had grown accustomed to the artificial lighting on the inside, the sudden assault of natural light took him by surprise.

"Uhm. Excuse me for that."

A voice resounded from a desk near the window, the amount of light entering the room dimming out slightly, enabling Elgan's eyes to grasp the sitting man. His vague silhouette seating in a cushioned black chair, his features still vague, only his deep blue eyes reflecting the sun as it neared the horizon.

"Take a seat."

The moment he said so, a chair rose from the carpet covering the floor, both matching in red color. Elgan didn't fool around and sat as ordered, his gaze locked on the slim young man sitting in front of him, his fingers intertwined, covering his mouth, a serious expression tainting his particularly handsome face.

He wore a familiar black uniform, with golden and white decorations, corresponding with his rank as an Official.

"You two can wait outside."

Armstrong said in a calm tone, his eyes meeting the two of his subordinates.

With a slight nod, the two women abandoned the room.

None of them spoke for a while. The Official had turned around, almost ignoring his existence as he gazed through the panoramic window, only stopping to take a sip from his cup of coffee. Elgan used the chance to peek around the elliptical room. A red thin carpet covers its floor, both lateral walls holding piles upon piles of thick books waiting to be read, patiently waiting on their wooden bookshelves. No artificial lightning to be seen, the only source of light was the sun.

The moment his gaze landed on the auburn-haired man he resumed talking.

"My squad informed me they found you during their last mission at Sector W."

His tone kept unnaturally warm, just as if he was talking to a newborn.

"It was a surprise, for sure."

His eyes narrowed as the glorious sun neared the horizon.

"But a welcome one."

What seemed like an honest grin taking over his face, his eyes locked onto Elgan for a few seconds before turning, preparing to witness the oncoming sunset.

Weirded out by their interaction and pushed by curiosity the young man lifted his eyes from the Official, enjoying the sunset as best as he could. Though it was not dawn that picked his interest, it was the sight of the skies themselves, shadows traveling like javelins through the bright sands of the desert that covered the landscape.

'There are planes here...'

A tint of a long-lost fascination with conquering the skies glinted through his eyes for a brief moment, his eyes affixed on the steel birds piercing the dreamy landscape with their lances of white smoke.

"How old are you kid?"

Armstrong said, slightly curious about the answer. Elgan didn't answer immediately, troubled whether to lie or not. Not being considered an adult in this place could bring him some problems.

"I-"

In the end, he refrained from lying and stuck to the truth.

"I'm seventeen years old, Sir."

He noded.

"I see... you are young then."

He didn't lie because this man...

'He already knew.'

He hadn't forgotten, not for a single moment. The difference in knowledge between the two of them was abysmal, and him lying his way around would not help fill that gap.

"Tell me, do you know where we are?"

The question took me by surprise, luckily, the answer was clear enough.

"I don't know."

His eyebrows raised his eyelids opened slightly.

"Haha, such bluntness. You could have at least tested your lack with something."

He shook his head, his fingers playing with a pen.

"Goliath Fort. This base's name is Goliath Fort."

The sun began sinking between the mountains of sandstone in the distance.

"This base has been fully operational for the past sixty-four years without a halt. One of the very few invited strongholds within the conflictive expanse the southern frontier is becoming."

His hands stopped moving. His eyes fiercly locked onto mine.

"You are now standing near the very top of this decaying world."

Elgan stared unmovingly and silently as Armstrong continued talking. Although his worlds tried to represent reality, to him it seemed surreal, fiction even.

"You may now be witness to a distant defeat, gazing from above like an all-seeing eye."

His eyes lost in a thousand-yard stare, unblinking.

"Do not mistake though. Your place, kid, remains on the foot of this mountain. Same as those fools..."

Armstrong's trance touched Elgan the wrong way. He couldn't help but grab onto the chair, crawling as far as he could.

"Whether you make it or not. That's on you."

Dawn was over. Sun had set, night had arrived.

The man's shaking gaze returned from wherever it went. His hands trembling. Only after a few seconds of confusion, did he find the strength to look at the teenager's eye.

"Elgan, isn't it?"

Hesitating to answer the clearly deranged man, I simply nodded my head.

"I'll ask you one last question."

A strange ember of determination burned in the Official's eyes, its ambition yet unknown.

"Do you know what you are?"