Splash!

As Askan suddenly flipped the water, he regained consciousness. His entire body felt heavy like a soaked cotton. It was because, at times, he was forcibly suppressing the power within his body by administering sedatives.

A man in a white gown standing in front of Askan asked, “What’s your name?”

“…Askan.”

“Where is this?”

Unable to answer the question, Askan rolled his eyes around, looking at his surroundings. There was no memory… Nothing came to mind, as if his mind were a blank sheet of paper.

Looking at the bewildered Askan, the man asked again, “Number 13, answer. Where is this?”

“I don’t know.”

“How old are you?”

“I don’t remember.”

Satisfied with Askan’s confused answers, the man laughed. Approaching his colleagues standing at a distance, he conversed with them. Thanks to his excellent hearing, Askan could vaguely catch their conversation.

“We’ve confirmed it several times over the past few days. He has indeed lost his memory.”

“Getting rid of unnecessary resistance was annoying, but this turned out well.”

“That’s true.”

Lost his memory?

Askan could sense that what they were talking about was somehow related to him, but that was it. Upon careful consideration, he could remember nothing except his name.

If there was anything faintly lingering in his mind, it was being tortured, electrocuted, and being subjected to various experiments.

The man who returned after conversing with his colleagues untied the rope binding Askan and, in a subdued voice, gave an order.

“Take Number 13 to the room.”

Two sturdy men, who had been guarding the door, held Askan’s limp arms due to the sedatives and dragged him somewhere.

As Askan was being dragged along the floor, he couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

“Where is this? Who am I, exactly?”

Feeling like he had forgotten something important, his heart raced anxiously.

Soon, the two sturdy men, who seemed to have reached their destination, shoved Askan into a room surrounded by iron bars.

Inside the enclosure, there was already another boy who looked like Askan’s age.

With ashy eyes and thick blue hair, the boy had an outstanding appearance, but his demeanor was so cold that it seemed like not a drop of blood would come out even if pricked with a needle.

Askan, with a wary look in his eyes, asked the boy, “Who are you?”

Sigh…

In response to Askan’s question, the boy sighed as if it were the seventh time he had received that question.

“I’ve been asked that question about seven times. A few times they told me to answer properly, causing a commotion.”

The boy seemed to want to show evidence and lifted his top to indicate the bruise on his chest.

“Please, this time, I hope they didn’t beat me like a dog.”
Askan still couldn’t shake off his suspicions about the boy, but since he didn’t feel completely untrustworthy, he asked again with a softened expression.

“So, what’s your name?”

“I am Number 164.”

“164?”

“If you’re asking about the name I used outside, call me Bill.”

“Bill…”

Askan paused for a moment, but like cutting through memories with scissors, nothing came to mind.

However, it seemed that losing memories didn’t make the emotions disappear. His chest kept pounding, and he felt extremely uneasy.

“Bill, do you know where this is?”

“I’ve given the same explanation several times, but if you want it again, I’ll tell you. This is the human weapon experimentation lab of the Kalua Empire.”

“Experimentation lab?”

“We undergo experiments to infuse special powers into our bodies. That’s how we are turned into human weapons.”

Askan thought of the only faint memory that had come to mind earlier. Scenes of being tortured in various ways.

In fact, it was more of a lingering feeling of pain that remained like a stamp, rather than a memory.

“Is that experiment dangerous?”

“Of course, it’s dangerous. Most people can think of it as dying.”

Dying…

Askan felt a sudden aversion upon hearing those words. He still didn’t want to die. For some reason, it felt like there was something left to do.

Askan looked at Bill and asked again with curiosity.

“Do you happen to know anything about me?”

“Of course. You are a very famous figure in this lab. You’re the first person to successfully escape from the lab. No one doesn’t know the name Number 13.”

“I escaped from here? Then, was I caught again?”

“Yes. Many were disappointed when they saw you, the one with the most exceptional abilities in the lab, being captured again. It felt like hope had disappeared.”

“Do I know what I did after escaping this place?”

“I don’t know. I only know that after returning here, you attempted to escape several times. Thanks to you, this place almost collapsed.”

Looking where Bill pointed with his finger, Askan could see that the inner walls of the building were charred.

Askan had no memory of such events; it felt like listening to someone else’s story.

Bill continued speaking, looking at the pensive Askan.

“Because you tried to escape so many times, they decided to completely erase your memory. They’re truly ruthless.”

“Do you know why I wanted to escape?”