Being electrocuted was probably the worst wake-up call ever.
I jolted out of the bed, my whole body went numb, electrified and my head throbbed, felt like it's being squashed by a vice grip.
I was in a room, like it wasn't obvious, it wasn't that big, well, it was average in fact, the window sills opened as fresh air blow through, white sheets covered me, in the far end of the wall was a cabinet with some leaves and other stuff that seem to serve medical purposes, just beside it was probably the creepiest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. An aquarium filled with venomous snakes; it was weird cause I was definitely in an infirmary.
"Oh, he's awake, finally"
I looked over the source of the voice, A girl I didn't recognize. She looked to be around maybe fifteen or sixteen years old. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and it almost seemed to defy gravity as it swished back and forth. She had slender legs that were covered by knee-length socks. She wore a sleeveless shirt as she made a peace sign, she had a confident smile and winked at me. I could've sworn I saw a star flew off from that wink.
Still, I have no idea who the girl is, and first of all, WHO AM I?
I can't remember anything prior to waking up, what's my name? do I have a family? Why did I wake up in an infirmary? And who's the annoying bitch beside me?
"Ah! Did you just think of me as an annoying bitch?!" She exclaimed as she pouted.
"Did you read my mind?" I asked. Okay, let's set things straight here, maybe she's annoying, but that pouting face, is adorable.
"Secret" she said, okay she's really annoying.
"Who are you? Who am I? why am I here?" I bombarded her with question, but she made a calm smile, then a sullen look and looked down.
"…You really don't remember…"
I don't, I don't have an idea, remember that term Amnesia? It means complete memory loss, I don't remember anything in my whole life, but why do I know that word? Weird…
The girl suddenly held my hand, blushing, tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. Wha-what the hell is this… my chest is tightened, is this a heart attack?
"I…" She hesitated "I'm your girlfriend… Asher…"
Wha…
I… this girl… this beautiful girl, is my girlfriend? What did I do in my past life to have such a beautiful girlfriend?
Guilt washed over me as I saw the girl on the verge of tears, whatever happened to me… it must've been hard for her, and now I've lost my memories… my precious memories of the girl that loves me… it's all gone.
"I…"
The girl then wiped her tears and put up a mischievous smile, she put her finger over my lips.
"Gotcha!"
Eh? She broke out in laughter
"AHAHAHAHA!!! Did you believe that?"
"H-hey… what…"
"Did you really believe, I'm your girlfriend?" she said mockingly as she clutched her stomach laughing "You're still the Ash I remember!"
Th-This bitch!! She's teasing me!! Unable to control my annoyance, I grabbed the pillow behind me and hurled it to her face.
"AH!! Ash got mad!!" while she was having her fun, here I was being miserable because this annoying bitch just got my hopes up and toppled me down!
The door opened and another man walked inside, he was a Chad, he had a handsome face, his combed brown hair rested coolly, he fixated his brown eyes on me with a smile of relief, he wore a trench coat under a vest and white shirt, then a scarf rested on his neck.
"It's good to see you're awake, Ash" he said, behind her was a silver haired girl, she was also smiling with relief, do these guys know me?
The girl beside me, stopped laughing and now she had a serious expression.
"I was told you'd have an amnesia after what you just did… it was hard to guess how much of your memories would retain, but I hope you'll still stick with us"
What did I do? Who's this guy? What the hell is going on? Did I do something that cost me my memories?
I must be putting up a confused look, the man had a worried look all of a sudden.
"Ah… I'm sorry, it must be taking a lot for you to process everything, take it slow, we'll start with the re-introductions, my name is William Sage, you used to call me Will."
He extended his hand towards the girl beside me "This is your partner, Stella Chevalier"
"My partner? This annoying one?"
Will chuckled "Yes, you two are mostly at odds but you make one heck of a team in battle. I'll explain the other things once you're ready, but for now, why don't you get dressed and walk around for a bit… you've been asleep for days"
The Silver haired girl laid down the clothes on the table and then She and Will walked out of the room.
"Then, I'll be waiting outside" Stella said
"What, why?"
Stella looked at me like I just knocked my face on a pole, "We're partners remember? I gotta jog your memory, dumbass"
Make sense, but I still have no idea what is going on… who's Will? Why am I partnered with Stella of all people?
I got out of the bed, yeah, I guess sleeping for days did took a toll on me, I got wobbly, but I managed to stand, I walked over the window and saw the outside.
Am I in a castle? The sky was clear and blue, the outside was a garden filled with dozens of flowers and bushes.
I grabbed the clothes, surprising it fits me perfect, it was a white simple shirt, then a vest, why was there a gun holster belt? Anyway, I put it on, it seemed to go with the clothes anyway, then lastly a brown hoodie jacket, it was a little long than ordinary jackets, but I like it.
Walking outside, I've confirmed it, I was really in a mansion, the girl, Stella was one annoying brat, I seemed to be in the same age as her, about 16 or 17.
She showed me around the mansion, she was reluctant on sharing her memories about the places we visited because I couldn't remember them. But still I insisted that she share them, who know, maybe I'll remember something.
"Let's go, I think Mr. Will is waiting for us in the meeting room"
"Yeah…"
I followed Stella to the third floor of the mansion, she urged me to open the double doors, upon opening I saw three people, in the middle was a wide oaken conference table, sitting at the head chair was Will, and the silver-haired maid was behind him standing, next was another unfamiliar lady, she had a long sleek black hair, purple eyes, and an elegant face, she was wearing an open collar dress, and pants, on her waist was a katana, she looked at me with a smile, she stood up to meet me, she was about the same height as I am. Before I could even react; she locked me with a gentle embrace.
"Thank goodness…" her voice was breaking, there was a tinge of regret in her tone, moreover it was like she's overjoyed to see me. "you're alive and well…"
I don't really know how to react in this situation, all I could do was say "Uh…" like an idiot.
The lady let go of me as she wiped her tears "I'm sorry, you're still confused about it"
"He still has an amnesia Hime" Will advised.
"Ah… I see… I'm Hime Kirigaya, I'm your squad leader"
I look at her with suspicion, thanks to a certain brat, I now have trust issues with anyone I meet for the first time.
"Something tells me, you don't believe me…" Hime made a sullen look
"Sorry," I pointed over Stella who flinched as tried to whistle unsuccessfully. "Thanks to her, I have a hard time believing anyone"
Hime only made a warm smile as my words "I see, but believe me, it's not a lie"
"Ash…" Will called out "She's telling the truth, she's your leader"
If Will says so, besides Hime's earnest expression seemed to be genuine, I nodded in understanding. Hime made a relieved sigh.
"Okay, I think everyone knows me… now, would you mind explaining?" I turned to Will and put both my hands on the table "who I am, who you guys are? What is this? As you can remember, I'm amnesiac"
Will chuckled, what's so funny about this? I'm an empty person! I would very much like to know who I really am though.
"No, sorry," Will said "It reminded me of the first time we met, it was about a year ago…"
It seemed like a fantasy, and it didn't feel real when Will told me the story.
Apparently, He met me in a street struggling for my life, covered in blood and all. Then a few days later, I went and volunteered to help him on his mission.
Eradicate the Houkai and protect the world from complete chaos, first of all, I don't seem that heroic, but that big of a cause, maybe I was naïve at that time, but I think I have my own personal reason of why I want to join him.
The Houkai, as Will said, was some strange phenomenon that happens in cycle, it is was what destroyed the previous era, and now on the verge of destroying this era, the Houkai had already summoned the first two Angels that tried to destroy this world. I don't exactly know what the Angels are, but they said it was a dangerous humanoid Houkai with the ability over principles
"Okay… I think that was too grand of a cause" I said "I don't think I'm the heroic type of guy"
"yes, you're not" Will admitted
"So, why am I here?"
"A way home" Will said "you joined me and our cause to find a way home"
"Okay, why?" I asked
Will shrugged his shoulders "I can't answer that for now, let's keep it as a mystery for you to discover."
"How'd I lose my memories?" I had to ask, because that's exactly my main concern over all things
"You lost it when you fought that Angel of Knowledge" Will answered "She has the ability to manipulate the mind of a person, and when you fought her, she took away your memories."
"How do I get it back? Also did I defeat the 2nd angel?"
"I believe she only sealed it, and not exactly took it, over time, it may return. And no, unfortunately, we had to retreat, the 2nd angel proved too powerful for us since it can virtually control anything."
Is that how strong that Angel was? having no memories sucks, I don't even know if all of this was real, or it was just some elaborate prank.
"Okay… who are you guys then?"
"We don't have an official name," Will said "But I guess, we go by Guardian Force"
Nice name, not much thought about it though.
"So, we're an army?"
Will shook his head, "We're not an Army, Ash, We're the resistance"
Now that sounds cool, The Resistance, so, is the Houkai that inevitable that we're calling ourselves Resistance.
"Anyway, back to the topic, your amnesia took everything," Will stood up and walked over to my position.
Then he grabbed my arm and pulled me over a judo flip, my back slammed to the ground, the air pushed out of my lungs, my body hurt all over like I was hit over by a truck.
"and I mean everything. We'll have to retrain you from scratch, thankfully, your team wants to help you retrain"
"Come on… it's gonna be a long day" Stella grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room, for a girl with slender arms she pulled me with ease.
"Ash!" Will called once more and tossed me a red metal plate, it was a seven by three inches red plate, I took a read on the contents
Name: Asher Guren
Age:17
Male
Level: 76
Job: Synergist
Strength: 3650
Vitality: 3734
Defense: 3500
Agility: 3900
Magic: 2600
Magic Defense: 2550
Skills: Transmute, Ichor Gene, Fire Resistance, Lightning Aura, Heroic Drive, Houkai Resistance, Superhuman Perception, Detection Skill, Martial Arts, Blade Proficiency, Marksmanship, Violent Slash, Force Touch, Stealth, Mana Drain, Enchantment, Language Comprehension
What's this? It stated a name and some parameters of sorts, just as I thought of what it was, Will explained as I get dragged
"That's a status plate" he said "That's who you really are, you can't fake that so rest easy"
So, my name is Asher Guren, why does it sound like a fake name, I feel like it's a fake name.
"Stella…"
"Yeah?"
"Is my name really Asher?"
"What are you talking about, of course, it is"
"Why does it sound like made up?"
"Ask your parents not me!"
Some weeks passed, I've been receiving training from Stella and Hime, no scratch that, I'm getting my ass whooped during the weeks, their training regimen was too much for me to keep up, in sword training, Hime was so strict, what was that blade proficiency for if I couldn't even handle a sword, on the other hand, I completely suck at firing a gun, Stella's been teaching me, but I suck as it, I couldn't even aim properly.
I'm starting to think that the skills written on the Status Plate were all fake, except the Transmute skill, it was real, it was just a basic spell that allows me to manipulate minerals into my will, it was useful for crafting which was my job.
Will had been teaching me about the Houkai and other stuff such as politics and economy, it can't be helped it was necessary for me, in the past few days, my memories still haven't returned.
Stella and I were in the shooting range, practicing my gun skills.
"By the way… what am I training using a gun for?" I had to ask Stella
She gave me an exasperated look, "Hah… you may have forgotten but you're the only one who can handle the Key of Destruction, and it was a gun, so you better practice your shooting"
I clicked my tongue and aim for the target on the far side of the range, it was about forty meters, I fired off my pistol until I empty the cartridge
"It's all a miss" She sighed "I'm starting to miss the old you…"
"Okay, if you're so great, shoot the target then" I said to her.
She then gave a confident smile and grabbed one of the pistols that hung on her hips, without even looking, she fired off several shots at the target from the other side, each shot obliterating the target in shapes of orbs.
"Beat that…" She smiled as she mocked me, I grit my teeth in frustration.
Next was sword lessons, Hime was usually a caring big sister to the both of us, but when it comes to lessons; she's a different person. She's strict but she still retained the gentle aura she had.
Hime taught me swords lessons in one on one sparring, I was using a large black single edge sword, it had some form of mechanism attached on the false edge, Hime and the others said that I made the sword, but my brain was wiped off clean, I don't remember the sword. But I saw the blueprints past me made, the sword was called Sumerbrandr, it was supposed to be an inferior version of the Key of Destruction.
Now good reader, you have probably been asking what the Key of Destruction was, so, did I, but I've been told that it was one of the 10 divine keys, it was made from the previous era with the extracted Angel cores. I still haven't seen the Key of Destruction, they said I wasn't ready to hold it again.
On a side note, Stella's twin pistols were the 10th key, the Key of Devouring, she called it 'Stella super gun' but I prefer the original name of the Key, the Star of Eden.
So, again, they said I wasn't ready, it's why I was using Sumerbrandr as a substitute, they said the only difference of the sword to the Key of Destruction was the power output it could release. Maybe I am awesome as a synergist.
Hime showed me thrusts and parries the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Ash," she'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of her blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap.
Yeah, Hime was a demon instructor, still, I guess, I am learning. She moved on and taught me a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.
She demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.
"Now in real time," she said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Ash?"
I nodded, and Hime came after me. Somehow, I kept her from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw her attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Hime deflected it easily, but I saw a change in her face. Her eyes narrowed, and she started to press me with more force.
The sword grew heavy in my hand. Hime was overpowering me. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Hime took me down, so I figured, What the heck?
I tried the disarming maneuver.
My blade hit the base of Hime's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.
Clang.
Hime's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from her undefended chest.
Hime was silent as she stared at me.
I lowered my sword "Um, sorry"
For a moment, Hime was too stunned to speak.
"Sorry?" She broke into a grin. "Goodness, Ash, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"
I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Hime insisted.
This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Hime hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.
Hime wiped the sweat off her brow. She appraised at me with an entirely new interest.
"You're learning, Ash" she gave a sweet smile "Not long now, you'll be back to fighting shape"
One month after, I finally got the approval of both Stella and Hime. They said I was ready to have the Key of Destruction.
Will was happy to know that I was back to fighting shape, he said that he wanted to entrust me two of the Divine Keys, the Key of Destruction and the Void Archives, I have no idea what the second Key was, but it was said to possess the power of the Angel of Knowledge.
Hime led me to a door leading to the basement, once she opened the door, I saw the stairs leading down, it seemed to go down endlessly, we descended down the endless stairs, after about 5 minutes of descent we reached a large vault, the door was locked by a mechanism, it doesn't run on magic which was a good idea since there are existing seal breaker magic, keeping it in a vault that was only unlockable by those who know how was a good idea, since we're keeping weapons of mass destructions here, bad shit could happen if this falls in the wrong hand.
And guess who built the vault, yep, it was me again.
Apparently, I have some weird knowledge that was otherworldly before I completely lost it, after I joined the Guardian Force, I made a complete upgrade of their arsenal and technology combining magic and technology, but I now have no idea how to do that. Stupid amnesia.
Will thought that the Key of Knowledge would answer to me, and it did. But now, I could only hope it does again.
Hime opened the vault with ease, the room was made from a 5-inch thick adamantine metal, it was about 50 meters in length, height, and width.
"Here we are" Hime said
There were 10 stands which was supposed to hold the Divine Keys, apparently the Guardian Force still haven't found the other Keys, we only have the 2nd, 5th, and 10th keys, so, technically, the vault was virtually empty.
The key of destruction was a form of twin pistols, it rested on the stand, dormant, the gun was painted gray and shaped like a revolver, however, the bullet cartridge was replaced by the Core of Ruin on both Pistols
I've been told that the Core of Ruin that was inside the Key of Destruction proved too powerful so it was split into the pistols to let the user handle the burden.
I reached out my hand in hoped that the Key would answer to me once again, the guns started to resonate with me, the gem inside started to glow red. It was an indication what it accepted me once more.
As I held the guns in my hand, it felt like they fit perfectly, a wave of nostalgia washed on me, funny, because no memories rushed over me, instead, I received a warm feeling on my chest.
As if the guns were saying "Welcome back, Partner"
I holstered the guns and moved on.
Next, I moved to the next key on the far side, and face the stand holding the Key of Knowledge, it was a Golden Cube about the size of a Rubik's cube, it seemed to defy gravity as it floated and spun slowly above the stand.
I reached out the cube which responded and turned liquid transferring to my body.
The liquid Key kept climbing up to my head and reformed into a pair of steampunk googles. I quite like the way it was resting on my head; I feel like a real synergist.
"Looks like they both accepted you…" Hime said "Congratulations"
"Thanks…"
Hime looked at me fondly, I still feel guilty for them, they were trying hard to act normal, but I know, with my memories lost, things were never the same for them.
So, I was done with the sword and gun training, the Key of Knowledge was also not that easy to control, I can use it to mimic other Divine Keys the only problem was I'm having a hard time using it at the same time with the Key of Destruction, which by the way, the other name was Vulcan's Blade, I know, it's quite lame, but I have no idea what to call it forever, maybe the past me haven't thought of what to name it too.
Just as I got the Keys back, I hit the library to search for some clues on how to use the keys, I knew that the Shamash could transform into a Claymore, but it was said to be dangerous, and I don't want to use it unless it was really life and death.
For the Void Archives, it was pretty much a record of the previous era, and its power was to mimic the other diving keys with decreased power.
But now, I got dragged into the training room by Stella, she suddenly had me go and do a sparring match with her
I jumped over as I dodge the gravity bullet that was shot at me, then not wasting a moment, I fired a couple of bullets at her, thanks to my boots, Icarus, I could do an airwalk and double jump, but that was not for long.
I held both of my Vulcan guns and aimed at Stella; she sharply aimed her shots at my bullets which completely negates it.
"Let see how you counter this!!" Stella yelled "Quasi-Black Hole!"
She pulled the trigger on her pistol, just then a large black orb formed at the end of the barrel completely absorbing anything.
I'm getting sucked in! this girl means to kill me! Wasn't this a sparring match!?
I holstered both of my guns and reached out to the black hole, the effect of Icarus ran out, there was no footing in mid-air, so, it only helps me getting sucked into the black hole much faster
"Void Archives: Mimic!"
The Key rushed to my empty hand forming a golden pistol, I pulled the trigger and produce the same effect.
"Star of Eden: Quasi-Black Hole!"
Both Black holes collided and negated each other, Stella was surprised and took a step back, I didn't miss the chance and use Icarus to propel myself and pointed Vulcan's pistol at Stella's throat.
"I win…" I mumbled close to her.
"AH!!!" she just threw a fit "Why can't I win against you!! You're just a stupid synergist!! Stupid, stupid!!"
Now she's acting like a child, she hurled insults at me
"Yeah, I'm a synergist who uses my brain!" I said "Unlike you, I think of my next move!"
She kept jumping up and down in frustration, and kept throwing insults at me. The door of the training room opened and Hime walked in. she noticed the mess and Stella throwing a fit.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Stella rushed towards her and cried into her chest.
"Waahh!!! Captain!! Ash is bullying me!!!"
"Ah! That's unfair!! You're the one who dragged me into a sparring!! Don't you dare try sympathy on the captain!!"
Hime smiled warmly and patted her head.
"Now, now, Stella… you have to stop throwing a fit every time Ash beats you…"
Looking at them, it was like a loving mother scolding her child.
"Stupid Synergist…" Stella muttered.
Now, I'm pissed!
Just as I rolled up my sleeves and was about to whack the brains out of Stella, Captain Hime spoke up.
"Oh, Will was calling for us, so you two, after you clean up here, head to the meeting room, okay?"
"Understood" I said
"Yes…" Stella said dejectedly.