Ch3

The research institution's cafeteria wasn't something to boast about, back before the apocalypse started, as they only served nutrition solutions which, as its name suggests, is just a solution rich in nutrients. Some wouldn't even be willing to call it 'food'. It was nearly inedible, and if they could help it, no-one would choose to drink that disgusting solution over warm, cooked food filled with flavor.

But now, every since the apocalypse started, these nutrition solution was the perfect nutrition source. It wasn't as if there were no edible food out there, but there were far too many zombies around the research institution, and most researchers in the institution have no combat power to even truss a chicken.

Basically, since there were too many dangers outside and the people inside were too weak, they had no choice but to drink the nutrition solution, which was abundant due to its long shelf life and the fact that no-one ever really drinks it unless completely necessary.

Why they'd keep on producing them even though they're not popular, was that hospitals would usually buy these nutrient solutions for patients who needed nutrition to recover, but couldn't eat, as this nutrient solution could also be injected directly into the bloodstream.

After introducing the cafeteria area to the Fae, Charles gave him a solution pack for him to drink, teaching him how to drink it.

"It's not exactly the best taste out there, but it's convenient," he explained.

"... Convenient?"

"Yes, when there isn't really anything to eat in the apocalypse, any nutrition source is welcome," he grumbled. "Though I do miss eating from restaurants and stalls on the way back home..."

"Who doesn't," Samantha grinned. "Aah, I'd actually love to eat meat, but most creatures with red blood in their body had mutated and hid themselves so well that not even the travelling mercenaries and fighters encounter them, so we don't really know whether they're edible or not as they haven't been submitted for further research."

"Well, at least my brother did promise to bring a few if he and his team finds any," Charles sighed. "My brother is so cool..."

"Bro… ther?" the Fae said, testing out the word. "Brother is… sibling?"

"Oh, you know the word sibling?" Samantha asked excitedly. "I've been thinking for a while, but the language you speak in sounds like the archaic Fae language, isn't it? If I remember correctly, there are words that are similar to what we use, like siblings, name, love, kill, and a few more that I can't really remember."

Hearing familiar words spoken by Samantha, the Fae looked at her with wide, starry eyes, and nodded. "Sibling, love, --," he spoke.

"Ehm yes, so basically brothers and sisters mean siblings," Charles coughed.

The Fae stared at him for a while, before asking thoughtfully, "You, love your, brother?" he tried out.

"Hm? Yes," Charles nodded. "Siblings should love each other, take care of each other, and support one another."

"I, see."

Samantha grinned broadly.

"You're a really fast learner, aren't you?" she laughed. "But after all this talking, aren't you both going to finish your meals?"

"Oh right, I'll show you how to..." Charles trailed off, his eyes glued to the Fae's empty hands. "Where did yours go?" he asked dumbly.

"... Eaten," the Fae said with a tilt of his head.

What kind of skills does he have, to be able to consume a nutrition solution pack without putting it in his mouth? And even the package was gone…

"A lot of Manna, good taste," the Fae commented.

"Manna?!" Samantha whispered in astonishment. Charles looked at her in askance. "Oh, um, Manna is, basically, the power of existence in everything. It's… like the intertwined power of chaos and order that exists in everything. Pure-blooded Fae could survive without eating anything all their lives, just by relying on Manna. Sadly, Earth's Manna isn't abundant, so not many Fae could actually survive relying on Manna found in nature, as they're mostly scattered.

"Oh but, the food you humans make have enough Manna to sustain us for a year or two," she added as an after-thought. "I'm not really surprised because we did hypothesize that you're probably a pure-blooded Fae, but for you to directly absorb the Manna… It's almost unheard of in the Fae community."

"?"

The Fae tilted his head, while Charles nodded as he tried to digest the new information Samantha had given. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Fae kind could consume Manna and that it's basically their life support, but to hear such detail from Samantha, a demi-Fae, herself is far more informative than anything he'd ever read or heard.

"So then, you basically absorbed all the Manna in the solution pack and made it… cease to exist?"

"Just ate Manna," the Fae nodded.

"I see, I see," Samantha nodded happily. "By the way, what position do you have in your tribe?"

Despite knowing that asking such a thing to a Fae would be considered rude and disrespectful, she still asked anyway. The Fae stared at her, seemingly confused.

"You know, are you, like, a Chief? Warrior? Mage? Resident?"

The Fae was silent, contemplative, before he shook his head. "Don't remember."

"... Eh?"

Both Samantha and Charles said at the same time.

"Then, what do you remember?" Charles asked, disbelief colouring his tone.

The Fae thought once again. "... Blue."

That one word confused both researchers even more.

"I remember, blue." And he stopped there.

"Blue… now that I think about it, you've been underwater for such a long time, then of course you'd remember only the colour blue..." Charles mumbled.

"But, wouldn't that mean that he'd woken up a few times before? While trapped in ice, waking up to the sight of… the endless water. And since he was found in the North Pole, considering the biome and the location, then he wouldn't even see penguins," Samantha said, her face paling at the thought of seeing only endless blue, and maybe the occasional white.

"No wonder… your mind might've sealed away your memories, so as to not get driven into madness by it..." The loneliness, the nothingness, just a vast expanse of blue and white, nothing to tell him the time, or any living thing to ever visit him. And considering the theories around him while he was comatose and frozen…

Maybe, once upon a time, he had been driven to madness from loneliness, and that was why his memories were sealed… and maybe that was also why he was put into a comatose state.

But… he's a Fae, right? Probably an ancient one that had come to Earth far before they appeared; far before humans existed.

"Sealed..." the Fae said thoughtfully. "I was, probably sealed, by the Chief."

"Ah yes, usually only the Chief has enough power to seal another Fae," Samantha agreed, her eyes sad as she looked at the ancient Fae.

"Though, all we can really make right now are theories with high probability and nothing concrete," Charles sighed. "Let's just rest up for today, I'm tired from all the work I've been doing recently."

"Where's he going to sleep?" Samantha asked.

"I'm not sure. Let me go ask the Head Researcher while he hasn't disappeared into his office yet."

And off he went.

Samantha glanced at the ancient Fae beside her. The Fae looked back at her. "I know that you can actually speak our language."

"... I can," the Fae said.

"You're lucky that I'm the only person of Fae blood in this particular institution. Others would have immediately sold you out."

"... I know," the Fae acknowledged.

"Why did you act that way? When you started speaking in archaic Fae language?"

"... I don't remember anything, and I don't know much about this world, yet. Even if, Manna could be absorbed to gain the world's information, I've been doing so for nearly a millennia, maybe even more."

"Oh, so you need time to digest all the information about this world?"

The ancient Fae nodded.

"It's… quite a lot. And for some reason, I can't get any information from the Manna about the time when my tribe came."

"Is it because it's been far too long?"

The ancient Fae shook his head.

"Manna can retain information, no matter how long ago it was. I think, maybe… the Chief erased the Manna's information about when my tribe was here."

Samantha looked at him in surprise.

"I can maybe get another chief, to undo the erasure of information. But I don't know where your tribe's Chief is."

"Well I've heard that our Chief had already left with a few of the younger generation to another world."

The ancient Fae shook his head.

"I can sense him, your tribe's Chief. The one who left is probably a budding Chief, newly ascended."

Samantha didn't say anything afterwards, as Charles came back right after he said that. "What're you guys talking about?"

"Oh, Fae stuff," Samantha shed her serious expression and donned a grin as she replied to his question.

"Oh. Well, the Head Researcher said that you'll be sleeping at my dorm room. You'll have to share with a few other people though, and you'll also get your own bed."

"Alright."

"Come on, I'll show you were the dorms are, and where our room will be. And I'll also introduce you to my roommates."

The ancient Fae nodded his assent, before nodding to Samantha as farewell. For now. Samantha just grinned at both he and Charles, and waved her hand. In a mischievous tone, she sent them off, "See you tomorrow, and good night!"