A silence settled in the room, Lucian looking towards the glass pane that held what was once a man and now nothing but rotting bone and flesh. He understood the message; it was quite clear really—choosing to break their agreement was a fate far worse than honoring it.
The dark-haired woman sensed Lucian's hesitance, but only that, not the fear or panic expected of someone who witnessed such horror and was told such a fate could be his as well. Instead, in place of what she expected was a cold silence as the man before her weighed options she didn't think she gave him.
"I want to make sure you understand, you are a very important asset to us…not a slave. You will not be ordered outlandishly, nor will you be controlled by anyone. The only thing we want from you is your own growth, as I assume you want for yourself. The only difference is…you do it representing Shadowfall."
Lucian remained silent as she spoke. He turned his head, looking towards the glass pane that offered a view of an empty stretch of cracked desolate land.
He sighed.
"We have a deal…I mean it this time."
The dark-haired lady smiled hearing his words.
"Great decision…. I am Super Agent B7K11…"
"I am not remembering any of that," Lucian interrupted.
"…But you can call me Ash," she finished.
"Well then, Ash, I presume we are done here. Can I be let out of your trap chair now?"
"Someone will come show you to a temporary room. Have some rest; I'll send for you again in a couple of hours. There's someone extremely important you need to meet."
Lucian attempted to stand from the chair and was freely able to, but quickly had to hold onto the chair as his legs almost gave in. He hadn't stood on his own two feet in four years. As Lucian tried to get comfortable using his legs, he watched as two men entered the room and approached them.
"Take him to rest," Ash instructed one of the agents, and with a head nod, he gestured for Lucian to follow them.
Giving one final glance at Ash, Lucian turned and followed the man.
"What do you think?" the man asked Ash as they watched Lucian exit the room.
"He doesn't act like a thirteen-year-old."
"Well, he's not…he's seventeen now."
"He didn't live those four years. I know he had a brutal past, but a child is a child, and to not react after seeing that…"
The man nodded.
"His heart rate was constant throughout, either he was truly unbothered…or he is far more terrifying than we had thought."
———
The agent stopped at a grey door, one that looked similar to others that lined the hall. He then placed his hand at the side, causing the door to slide open.
"You will be here for now," the man said before quickly turning away and departing.
Lucian took a step forward, entering the room. It was far from being a large space, but it was well managed. A crib-sized bed perfectly fit to the side, and to the left was a desk where a journal sat, and that alone felt like a small touch of humanity in a canvas of soullessness.
Looking forward, at the end of the room, Lucian saw a mirror hung on the wall, and in it was a reflection he almost couldn't recognize. He took steps, ones deliberately slow as he walked into the room, approaching the mirror, the door sliding shut behind him.
Lucian stopped in front of the mirror, looking at it. He couldn't believe how different he looked. His hair had grown into a disheveled mess, a scattered fall of black and silver. His eyes still held their deep grey, but his face had become way more mature, and he was certain he was taller.
He looked at his hand. When he did prior, he hadn't noticed much of a difference, but he found them to be a bit more muscular than he remembered. Intrigued, he took off the grey plain shirt he had been wearing, and as he stared at his reflection, he was taken aback.
His entire body was way more muscular, and his stomach traced very chiseled abs. He looked different.
Lucian sighed, walking back towards the bed and falling atop it, his eyes staring at the blank concrete ceiling.
"I remember…"
Lucian had not gotten all of his memories as a celestial back, but during the time he was unconscious he had gotten enough to not be the flawed human he was. As a child in Namek slump, although he had been made a savage just like any on those streets, he was still afraid…incompetent, impulsive, indecisive, anxious, stubborn, imperfect…he was still human.
However, he remembers now that he is many, many things, but a mortal human is not one of them.