A marble white door currently stood before me. Or rather, I am the one standing before it. I reviewed my verbal report one last time, and then knocked on the door firmly.
"It is Unit 5236. I have returned from my assigned task. Please allow me to enter in order to offer my report." (Me)
"You may enter."
I carefully swung open the door and stepped inside. After surveying the room in secret, I closed the door behind me and stood erect at my position.
"Unit 5236, here to report." (Me)
In front of where I stood, there is a semi-circular table made of oak. Around it were 5 chairs of the same material and simple design; on each chair sat a person with uniforms slightly differing from mine. They represent the officials, superiors that run the orphanage. Most events that occur are due to them. Our daily necessities, such as food, shelter, education and other survival prerequisites are given by them as well. If all children are to have parents, these five people are the parents of the orphanage. After all, we can safely say that our current lives of comfort are due to their efforts.
"In the task to retrieve the objective, I am the only survivor." (Me)
That isn't shocking in the least. After all, I am the only one present in this verbal report.
"I have seen the deaths of other units with my own eyes. I shall report their circumstances as proof to their honour. The first one, Unit…" (Me)
"It is fine. Skip their deaths and continue the report."
It took me a lot of effort to not raise my eyebrows in protest.
Our vision in this orphanage is to recognise the value of each and every single person. Aside from breaking this very vision they have cultivated in our community, this is the first time the officials have interfered with a report for such a reason. At least, in what I have known.
"…then, pardon my insolence to question. Due to my condition, I was unable to confirm the completion of the task. However, I was certain that I was holding…" (Me)
"It is with us."
Again. These interruptions are giving me an impression that they are rushing something.
"According to the report by Niterias, you collapsed in front of our facility while dragging yourself to the entrance. Niterias noticed you and made haste to retrieve both you and the objective. You did well in the task without any obstruction."
This time, I had to bite down on my tongue in order to keep a straight face. The information the officials have given to me was not in accordance to my memory. I am itching to rebuke them, but the senses that I trained for years through experience tells me that doing so would put me in a disadvantageous position, one which even I would come to hate. The officials happen to have keen observation skills, so any action or speech I make must neither hesitate or stumble that could potentially arouse their suspicions. I pray that my tense facial muscles from biting my tongue are not noticed.
"However, while it is true that you have succeeded the task assigned to you, it is also a fact that you wasted three bright futures that originate from here."
The declaration soaked in irony heated my temper to the edge of bursting. How could they not hear out their cause of deaths but come to acknowledge them now?
Nevertheless, I kept silent. I knew what was going to come next, despite how unfair it felt in more ways than one.
"We hereby decree your punishment to be the highest tier. With that being said, all of our punishments is always beneficial for our members, so we sincerely wish for your growth from here onwards."
"I understand." (Me)
"You may leave now. But first, report to the training area. The punishment will commence only after 3 hours' time. Until then, please manage your time well and condition your body. That is all."
"Unit 5236, out." (Me)
With that, I left for the training area.
***
What was that change in attitude?
It certainly was annoying. But more than that, it was suspicious; their rushed speech made it too obvious that they are trying to hide something important. It was not at a point where they bothered to remain calm in order to not rouse suspicions, but just plainly rejecting anyone from whatever they were trying to cover.
Was it the objective I had recovered? It seems that is a possible and obvious answer. The most glaring supporting evidence was the difficulty of the task this time around. While having something or someone protect an object is not unusual, encountering a divine beast is definitely out of the norm.
I knew not whether there are other worlds out there. But in this world, we have various species existing together, regardless of harmonious relationships, or antagonistic ones. Among them, divine beasts are classified under the Divines. Divines are higher beings that possess higher wisdom and intellect above the average. More than that, they are capable of wielding powerful abilities that an average living thing would stand no chance against it, even in large groups. Of course, the divines have differing capabilities and different levels of power. The guardian I had unluckily encountered can be considered one on the lower rungs of the ladder. I recalled its extreme senses and the unbelievable speed at which it freely wielded its tail as powerful weaponry. The death of my team members, who were skilled in their respective tasks, was already sufficient proof to it strength. Rather, I am the lucky one that is still alive.
The Divines consist of beings such as Kirin, Griffons, Phoenixes, Dragons, and even Gods. If anyone considered this group of absurd existences, having a divine beast as a guardian is in no way trivial or superficial. Given the fact that they possess high intelligence and capability, protecting something is extremely unlikely due to the reason of being controlled. Instead, it is much more probable that they are doing so out of their own will, which makes me further certain that the objective I was tasked to secure is by no means ordinary. The fact that some divine beasts are known to be messengers or mounts of the gods does not help alleviate my mood in any way.
In the end, I don't know whether the officials knew about the existence of the serpentine guardian. I don't know what happened to it either. I was not there to see the situation. Or to be more specific, I was not conscious to see it. If it is still alive, it is possible that it can be plotting to retake the objective we stole from its protection. Had Mr Niterias not arrived, I would have no chance of survival.
This brings me to my next point. Though in no way am I attempting to doubt Mr Niterias, my saviour, he may be another possible reason to the suspicious way the officials were acting. Whether or not Mr Niterias had brought along a group, came by himself, plainly escaped or killed the guardian, the fact that I am saved shows his calibre.
A possible scenario would be that, in order to save me, Mr Niterias decided to reveal himself to be a God, and then bully the guardian to save me, and because he did that, the officials are somehow wary of him, and are hurriedly deciding what kinds of sacrifices or offerings to gift him in an attempt not to anger this almighty existence and bring doom upon themselves.
Who am I kidding? I snickered and realised I had already reached the training area.
As expected, there are already people inside, doing some daily routines or chatting out of boredom. The training area is our classroom and our playground after all. There are several facilities that enable us to simulate real life scenarios and force us to act in the correct manner. Of course, given its guaranteed level of safety, it is in no way comparable to the real life experience. But to trade your safety for learning, that is only something left to one's personal moral weighing scale.
In this large space where looking from one end to another is difficult, there are many different areas that focuses on different aspects. A jogging track, close quarter combat, sparring with wooden weapons, an obstacle course that changes its difficulty in accordance to the user's liking, a place that mimics trap scenarios, a deep water area to carry out underwater simulations, high elements with safety equipment, a driving course…
I headed towards the open gym area.
I see some people over there. Of course, they see me approaching as well. A guy with a big stature waved at me, prompting me to smile in spite of myself.
Having an overly muscled male with a face as smooth as a baby, and moreover look like one, greet you after you wake up is a mysterious but enjoyable sensation. In a failed attempt to hide my smile, I jogged towards them.
"Morning my man!" (Muscled guy)
And I was slapped on my back so hard I propelled forward. Damn it, how many times did I ask you to control your strength already? Look, my wound is opening again. The healing mage is preparing for something else, so I can't afford the luxury of healing magic yet.
"Good morning Unit 2251, though it looks like it's already past lunch." (Me)
"Hey, hey… didn't I tell you already? Call me David!" (Muscled Guy)
"Alright David," I replied, marvelling at the goliath flexing his muscles at no one in particular.
I swivelled my eyes and greeted the others. Since Muscles has already broken the tension, I decided to ignore the subtleties.
"Hey guys." (Me)
"Yoo, 5236."
"How did your task go?"
A girl from my left rested her hand on my shoulder and asked. Unknowingly, my face darkened.
"Only I came back." (Me)
With that, the mood around us darkened along with my face. Presently, I wished I had longer hair to cover my face. Even the ones not around me heard it and turned silent. Half the people in the open gym area ceased their workout in silence.
Death was never a happy subject. Even if it was an occurrence that isn't rare around in our orphanage, we learn to live with each other. Strangers here will never fight, and at most endure some level of awkwardness. Both genders here are familiar with the practice to fight out their misgivings or unresolvable arguments at the combat area in this training area. After a good fight, they would laugh about it, and at the very least take some time alone to cool down thereafter.
Every time a member of our orphanage passes away, we take a moment of silence. It isn't grievance. We never do that. We knew that each and every one of us here are useful and worthy in one way or another. By no means are we measuring individual value. But knowing that everyone here has a strength we can depend on, we acknowledge each other. We knew if we grieve for our members, we would personally let down him or her that has taken a place in the heavens.
After a while, someone broke the silence.
"It's fine bro. We get the creed. We know our vision. We should be glad that you yourself made it out alive. Remember them, but don't get obsessed. Move on, yeah?" (David)
"Thanks David. Though I already know without you telling me." (Me)
"Smart as ever, eh? Can't you just be a little more sensitive to the care people show you?" (David)
The people around us leaked bitter smiles. David was definitely the man we need at times like this.