Memories of a Distant Past

"What is happening-"

"Rai? Sweetie! Your spaghetti is ready!"

A voice beckoned me from beyond the door of the room that I found myself in.

"That voice-!"

A familiar voice… Perhaps, awfully familiar… and personally painful to ever hear again…

"Mirror… Yes, a mirror!"

Without even questioning what was happening, I walked to a nearby full-length mirror and saw a form of mine that has been lost forever from me.

"This uniform is… Kuroyama Colonial University. But my body is young again…"

"Sweetie? Come on, Rai! Your food is getting cold!"

"…"

"Rai? I'm coming in, alright?"

While I am still flabbergasted with what was happening after seeing a 9-year-old me wearing my old university uniform on the mirror, my room's door was opened by the last person I wished to remember right now.

"Ate… Risa… Is that you?"

"Mm? Yeah, this is me. Why are you asking such a silly question?"

Her beautiful face that captures the eyes of any onlooker, her voice that is as pleasing to the ears as the song of swallow birds… even the familiar aroma of apples in the shampoo that she uses on her long, shiny hair as dark as the calm night sky.

I will never mistake her for anyone else… this is Risa. The one who saved me from my traumatic experiences… and helped me when my father died, and my mother became ill. So great was my admiration and love towards her that even though we didn't share any blood relations, I referred to her as Ate Risa.

(T/N: Ate [pron: Ah-teh] is the local word for "sister", usually used for those older than the speaker and towards someone with or without any blood relation to the speaker.)

"B-But you and the others are-"

"Agh! Stop mumbling nonsense right now! I need you downstairs, eating your breakfast and getting ready for school! Today is your surgical demonstration with your proctors! I can't have you fumbling there because of an empty stomach! Come on!"

"Ahh! W-Wait! I don't understand-"

"Ask those stuff later! Just eat right now! Come on, I'll bring you to the dining room. Hup!"

While I am certainly confused with what is happening, I keep on hearing a soft buzzing sound on my ears as if someone is beckoning my name. I wanted to know if there was something wrong going on and tried to remember what was happening before all of this happened and-

Wait… what is happening? Why am I thinking about something so intently right now?

"Oi, oi! You're cuddlin' with Risa so early in the mornin'? How much of a baby are you, lil' Ephraim?"

"A-Arthur…"

"Hrm? Whatcha' lookin at me for, kid? Is sometin' wrong with me?"

"Arthur! Quit scaring him and go eat your food!"

At the dining table downstairs, I saw the familiar face of Arthur, one of the people I lived with back in my country after Dad died and Mom gave birth to Hannah and found out about the relapse of her disease. As usual, he is wearing his local police officer uniform while eating his heavy breakfast and drinking from his mug of black coffee.

"Urk-! Okay, okay… I get it, geez…"

"Ahaha… Our mornings sure are as rowdy as ever, ain't it?"

"Emannuel?"

And on one end of the table, sits the sanguine-looking Emannuel. Someone whose face I can never forget in my life… But why am I saying that as if I am looking back at the past?

"Mm? Why the confused expression, little man? Is something wrong?"

"Hey, sweetie… Why do you keep muttering our names? Are you not feeling good today?"

"I-I am…"

"Come on, sweetie. Ate Risa is here to listen to you… Go on and say it and I'll try my best to help out."

What is happening right now?

Why do I feel like something is… missing?

As if… I am not supposed to be here?

"Ey Risa, maybe the kid's just hungry so much that his head's on the clouds."

"I think that's the case too, Risa. Rai's a growing boy and his body is always hungry for food. Come on, bring him here and give him his favorite spaghetti. Maybe that will bring his mind back to his body."

"I-Is that so…? Alright. Come on and sit down there while I'm preparing your plate, darling."

"O-okay…"

As she plopped me down gently to my seat, I looked around the place that, for six years, I called as my home along with these three people and another person who isn't present here today.

It was a resort casino building that was greatly damaged during the war that we cleaned up and lived at as informal settlers in the slums of Old Manila. We only use a portion of the massive old resort's grounds, so there weren't many improvements here and there.

"Here's your food, sweetie. I wish you'll enjoy it."

"T-Thank you…"

Still, if I am asked about the place I would call home, this would be the first to pop up on my mind.

After all, this is the place where I ran off after one of the most traumatic experiences of my life and where I eventually regained my sanity and normal self… wait, why am I speaking as if this happened in the past?

"Ey, Emman. Have ya' finished makin' those walkie-talkies that Chief ordered from you?"

"Ahh… You can ask that again later, Arthur. You and your higher officers know that I can't do much after you injured my left arm."

"Oi, stop remindin' us about that mistake! We've already bowed down to the ground for ya' after that accident. And besides, what the heck are ya' doin' in that dark alley anyway?"

"I told you guys already… I was dumpster diving for copper wires and electric tape. Your higher-ups keep on bugging me about finishing those communicators, but you keep on sending shoddy materials to me. Next time, tell your rookies to warn first before shooting someone."

"Alright, alright… I get it. I'll tell 'em you're still cranky and yar' having a hard time with just one usable arm."

"Hey, you two! You're going to be late to your works! You think you have enough time to send Rai to the University campus and get to work on time?! Finish your meals or I'll send you out there on an empty stomach!"

""Y-Yes, ma'am!""

"…"

Everything seems so typical today. I can still remember it well… Today is my surgical demonstration in front of the medical proctors. I managed to pass after successfully performing a heart valve replacement… one of the hardest types of major surgeries that can be assigned to you in the ACES Medical Science course… Wait, why do I already know that I will be able to pass…?

"Wow! Rai-kun is eating so well today!"

"Hehe! Are ya' stress eating somehow, kiddo?"

"Shut your mouth, Arthur!"

"Ow!"

Ate Risa's spaghetti is as sweet, savory and meaty as I remember… A true comfort food that I still miss to this day… Wait… why am I missing something that I am not meant to look back right now.

"Well, if you're up and filled now, I guess it's time for us to leave. You know the drill, Arthur… I can't drive with this arm."

"I gotcha, homie. You'll be ridin' backseat today though. We hafta' drop Risa and Rai down at the Uni campus today."

"Did you leave some of your coffee for me, Arthur? I'll place it on a flask so I can drink it later, I still feel a bit sleepy after last night… Ah-"

"Ooohhh… Your tongue is slipping a bit too much these days, Risa. Say, is Arthur still as much of a horndog as before?"

"S-Shut up, Emman!"

"Horndog? What does that word mean, Ate Risa?"

"AAAHHH!!! Forget that! Forget that word this very instant, Rai! Kids like you shouldn't know that word yet!"

Ahaha… What are you talking about Ate Risa? I'm all grown up and I know what that word means… why are you treating me as if I am…

"…a child…?"

As soon as that thought snapped in my mind, I looked down on my arms and from the spindly-looking arms of a boy, it came back to the fairly taut arms of mine that has the fading scars of my many injuries.

["It seems like you're finally back…"]

"Law?!"

["I am."]

Without even any warning, Law, my Psychic Spirit, appeared at the empty chair of the table while Ate Risa, Arthur and Emannuel was frozen in place… No, to be exact, everything was frozen in place as if time stopped. I confirmed this as the steam from Arthur's coffee mug never moved and the thin hand of our wall clock that represents the passing seconds was stuck between 8 and 9.

"What is happening here? Why am I back to my childhood?"

["Your opponent caught you off guard. He hid on the rubble while you're fighting his brainwashed underlings and he managed to trap you in a dream-like memory by directly tampering with your spiritual form."]

"What… are you saying?"

["You're in a dream, Ephraim."]

After saying that, the buzzing on my ear that was almost inaudible before, became a bit louder as if a nearby stereo was ringing right beside my ears.

"W-Wait… how can I-?!"

["You have to find your own way out of this, Rai. Just like before when your sensei helped you clear your mind."]

"The mind clearing test…? What are you talking about?"

["Your mind was cleaned and pacified back then… but the same isn't true with your heart."]

Finally, time seemed to slowly pickup to flow again properly as Law slowly faded and his voice sounded less and less audible to me.

["I will be waiting for you in your actual battle. I believe that you can get past this…"]

As he disappeared, my arms came back to being that of a young boy's and I deduced that my entire body too, was like that now.

"A-A-Anyway… Let's head out now! Come on! Let's go!"

"Y-Yeah! I'll warm up the car ahead of ya three!"

"Ufufufu… Look at these two lovebirds... Trying to hide their evening tryst from us. Hey, Rai… If you ever hear a weird sound from their room while you're reviewing for your tests, it means you need to go to their room and you don't have to knock anymore, okay? Just go in and ask Risa if you can sleep beside her in that night."

"Okay, I got it."

""DAMN IT, EMMAN!!!""

My mind returned to being the one that I have on this day that I am reliving right now. But at one corner of my mind, I was aware of what is happening and patiently observing for irregularities in the surroundings that might become my way out of this thing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I am going to be honest. I have no particular fondness or strong feeling towards the country I was born in. I know how it may seem uncouth and probably even ungrateful to some people who would say otherwise… but if we're talking about people who either survived or are currently facing the hardships that came from the past world war, I don't believe I would be an uncommon sight.

"The rotational blackouts seem to be getting more frequent… Is something wrong with the power grid, Emman?"

"There is."

"Really? Huh… Mind informing us?"

"Coal and oil ain't getting out of the port yet."

We are riding Arthur's patrol car to our respective places today. Unlike normal prim and proper police vehicles though, this one is officially recorded to be stolen from a dealership shop twenty years ago and only because of the Statute of Limitations, was it recognized to be owned by that man who eyed it at an impound lot a year ago.

He said he chose it because it looked like the most drivable one for a beginner driver in the place when he picked his personal patrol car, but he must've been the luckiest guy as the car runs on electricity and he doesn't have to spend his entire salary for petrol unlike the other officers who wanted to look cool by driving gas-thirsty vehicles.

"Oil, huh? Heard the bigwigs in the government are havin' a bad time findin' a country to trade oil with."

"Well, it's running out and big countries are hoarding as much of it as possible… Especially the west."

"America? I thought they went all in on zero oil-dependence."

"Only the Pacific States of America. The Mid-West Confederation and Eastern State Union of America is still very dependent on oil. So much so that it's suspected that the stolen oil ships in the Atlantic ocean aren't actually heading to South America or Western Africa but to the States."

"Wow… Piracy just for the slick black gold, huh?"

"Exactly."

"You two, can you please stop talking about politics in front of Ephraim? You're going to ruin his future, geez…"

"We're just talkin' about recent events, Risa… Our lives would be affected by any kind of wrong moves from the other side of the globe. Just look outside and you'd understand what I am sayin'."

"…Even if you say that, it is still wrong to-"

"Uh-oh… Snow fall. Guys, close your windows!"

As soon as Arthur cut off Ate Risa's words by announcing snow fall at the road ahead of us, everyone pulled the window-up button on their doors to securely seal the windows shut. As for the reason why, it would be answered with a simple look outside of the car's glass windows.

"Wowsies… look at the roadside Geiger counter. This snowfall has a lot of it today."

"Makes it hard to believe that our country used to be a humid and tropical area, huh?"

"Yep… Instead of warm summers and cold rainy days, we only get radioactive winter and black soot sleet storms."

"I've turned on the AC… hopefully, the particle filter that the chief machinist put on the car's air-conditioning wouldn't let the radioactive dust in."

"It isn't too hot, Rai? We had to close the windows shut after all."

"No. I'm fine, Ate Risa."

The war only lasted for a few years, but it was enough to fragment hundreds of countries into areas that either seceded from their motherlands yet remained resolute to the identity, culture and governance that they are used to, or has fully descended into a chaotic hellhole where there are no rules other than the survival of the fittest.

But more so than the collapse of past governments, rise of anarchy, lack of international cohesiveness and the general decline of the human race, one… or perhaps, several instances of the same thing that happened during the war left a tangible scar in the world.

"Ya know, I remember readin' something in the Academy during my training that back in the 20's, governments became hellbent on getting their countries out of their dependency from oil due to environmental concerns and several oil-rich countries that started to hold their resources hostage against other countries that need 'em."

"I learned about that too during my studies. I heard there was a rise on the construction of windfarms, solar panel fields and hydroelectric dams after that."

"Yeah… The reasons might be considered to be more on the political side or on the concern about self-sufficiency. But the public face of it is said to be mainly on the environmental concern and such. Global warming, greenhouse gasses and other terms like glacier recession, melting ice shelves and declining populations of arctic animals."

"Sounds like a good way to make people consider it as an important thing."

"Yep. There were companies involved in the creation of carbon emission collecting factories, the use of electrically driven vehicles and even the systemic lowering of a so-called "carbon footprint" by recycling items and lowering the use of non-biodegradable wastes. But no one seems to have thought about the two most effective ways to do it."

"What are those, Emman?"

"Setting off nuclear explosions in the atmosphere to make a worldwide nuclear winter…"

"Oi, oi! Emman, you better stop that right now, man-"

"…And country-wide genocides alongside man-made mass famines."

"Emman!"

"…"

Both Arthur and Ate Risa shouted at him before and after he said those words, obviously trying to stop me from hearing those terrible things.

"…We don't talk about the mistakes of those before us. We just climb back up and live our life the best way we can."

"Ya hear that, Emman? I don't wantcha lingerin' about that stuff anymore. Those are in the past… so please, let it stay there."

"I know that, of course… Just let me ramble about it. You know I have very personal reasons to be hung up about those things."

"…"

"After all, all three of us are scarred with those events… I just want to remind the two of you about that since you're the parental figures of that child… and I know you two want to make your own family soon too."

"Say, Emman…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we can ever get the proper life that we all dream about? You know… away from this irradiated snowy place and into something like Japan or Chile."

"My answer to that would be a simple "let's not hope but work on it"…"

"…A typical very logical answer from you, huh?"

"Of course. You know that I'm sick with counting on things or hoping about something, only to not get it in the end because I daydreamed about it more than I worked to get it."

"…"

"That's something that I believe our little man should learn too… It's not wrong to hope or dream about something, but you also have to be realistic and learn that you should work on it more than you look forward to it."

"I don't think that's an advice fitting for Ephraim."

"Yeah… The kid ain't even ten, man. Give 'im a break."

"You two… how many times do I have to tell you two to not underestimate that kid?"

""…""

"Do you think that the ACES Education Scholarship exam that only has a 0.5% admission rate would just let a random eight-year-old in for no reason? In the Allied Health and Medical sciences course, no less."

"Emman… we talked about this with auntie Catherine…"

"We promised that we'll take care of him and not let him lose more of the childhood that he's supposed to have."

"…"

"Forcing him to act all grown up just because he has an elevated IQ is too cruel, Emman.

I was silently listening to them all this time because from my memories about this day, I remembered that I was still in the deep end of my recent trauma about a certain group of women that used to be my dormmates who did… terrible things to me.

"Are you two kidding me? That kid's IQ is about four hundred-"

"Shut it, Emman… or I'll force ya' out of the car to walk to the powerplant."

"Alright, alright… I get it."

"…Ephraim is a normal child. He can get the childhood that he deserves. Let's not deprive him that."

"Ate Risa…"

By instinct of my child self and a sense of longing for her by my grown-up self, I found myself holding her arms tightly in front of me and leaning my head on the intersection they made. Because I was sitting on her lap, it made us look like a mother and child… which to be fair, aren't as far as our true relationship.

"It's alright, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere."

"The kid's really got attached to ya', ain't he, Risa?"

"He's just acting as a normal boy would. At this age, little boys are still innocent and easily scared that they seek the attention and security of their mothers."

"…I wish that's true for everyone."

"I'm sorry for letting that slip, Arthur… so please don't take those words to heart."

"I know, I know… It's just… ya' know. It's just a wee bit disappointing and annoying to me that what you just said ain't happening to each and every little boy."

"…"

"Some poor boys ain't have a mother to lean on… while there are poor sods that do have a mother… but the wench ain't acting or even living as if they have a child to think about day to day."

"Arthur… please… I know that you still hate her, but don't say it right now while Rai is in here."

"Of course… I won't do that."

"Thank you…"

"Mm."

The rest of the drive to Kuroyama Colonial university was silent. Once we entered the gatehouse of the foreign-owned university ran by the Japanese embassy, the car was sprayed with a radioactive neutering fluid to catch every fallout dust that was collected by our car along the way before being scrubbed with utmost care by three men wearing hazmat suits and holding soft bristled floor brushes.

"Seems like the monsoon winds brought the fallout cloud back to us. These guys are doing their best to make the campus immaculate from the fallout dust."

"Lots of foreign students with rich and powerful parents. They are avoiding having to deal with a report to the media that they lack radioactive cleanliness in the campus, and it resulted to higher cancer rates in the student population."

"I see… that does make sense."

"Speaking of which, Cosette told me earlier that she already secured a day for all of us with the doctor she works with. She said that it's best that we get ourselves screened every month so we don't get something that might make us sick."

"Heh… that girl sure looks after us even if she rarely interacts with us."

"Ya… I know that it's just her personality or such, but that girl hafta talk to us a bit more. I mean, she only speaks to Risa and Ephraim… it ain't angers me, but it does come across as disrespectful."

Cosette. One of the residents of our abode. I rarely got to see or even talk to her. As much as I can remember, she was a medical technician in an American-owned medical center in the new capital. She's an introverted girl who usually just keeps to herself and because of that, comes across as a rude person… but if Ate Risa let her live with us, I know beyond reasonable doubt that she isn't a bad person.

"Don't be so cranky towards Cosette. As you know, she pretty much helps around with getting things done around the house and even brings delicious food from the capital during holidays and birthdays. As how I see it, that girl isn't really someone to be unfriendly to."

"I know that, Risa… All of us in the station owe her and Ephraim with hiding our mistake about Emman's gunshot wound."

"Yeah. If it was revealed that your runts shot an innocent man like me just because he's dumpster diving for electric parts, all of you would be out of your jobs."

"ARGH! Stop remindin' me about that, man!"

At last, our car was fully cleaned, and we were allowed to enter the campus grounds of Kuroyama Colonial University. Arthur drove into the main academy building which was the only available drop-off point for students that are driven to school.

"This is it, Ephraim… Are you ready for your presentation?"

"Mm! I'm ready, Ate Risa."

"Good. It's nice to hear that from ya, kid."

"Impress the proctors, alright? Don't let those loser classmates of yours who keep on putting you down to get more ammo to insult you with."

Arthur and Emman gave me those encouraging words which I silently thanked them for as Ate Risa opened the door of the car and undid our seatbelt.

"Arthur, I'll send you a text message once we are finished. We'll be waiting for you in the open-air cafeteria."

"Mm… Take care of yourself and Ephraim, Risa. I love you."

"Yeah. I love you too."

Ate Risa gave a kiss to Arthur's cheek before she let me off the car and followed me out before closing the car door behind her. After we got out, both of us entered the academic building. Ate Risa held my personal surgical kit at a duffel bag on one hand and my own hand on her other.

"Student Domingo… Student Domingo, sanitize yourself and prepare to enter the surgery theater. Inability to enter the room before the next notice for your attendance will give you a demerit on your final grade."

"Y-Yes, mam!"

"Demerit to your grade! I am not your instructor today! I am the Head Nurse and not someone to address casually as "ma'am"!"

"Ack!"

The Advanced Career Education System or simply referred to as ACES, is a system of education that was made and implemented in all countries around the world to supplement the lack of workers in vital or highly sought-after jobs. It can be broadly divided in four general Bachelor programs that can be further advanced into a Doctorate degree by the choice of the student and the recommendation of an ACES-graduate professor.

First, there is the Bachelor of Engineering and Mechanical Works. A degree that provides the student a 5-year long specialty course in all things mechanical and material. I heard that it combined all kinds of sciences and studies like metallurgy, mechanical engineering, architecture, aerospace engineering and many more. Being the most practical course in our beat-up world, most students who entered the ACES program would get into this course and easily find work later on.

Second, there is the Bachelor of Information Technology and Cybernetics. A technical degree that provides a 5-year long specialty course in computers, programming, robotics and even a short add-on subject about hacking (this can only be offered under the discretion of a professor and the oversight of a designated government security agent to avoid having the school held accountable if the student went black-hat hacking). This course is mostly reserved for those who had an outstanding grade in the mathematics portion of the entrance exam and I heard most of them switched to an Engineering course afterwards because of the difficulty of its subjects. It is, however, to be noted that anyone who got through this course would surely have a good life ahead of them once they start working.

Third, there is the Bachelor of Agricultural, Aquacultural and Animal Husbandry studies. A degree that maybe in the past world, would be looked down upon by many as a "peasant" study or a "useless" degree. However, as I have said before, with the world messed up and a massive lack of international trade between countries, every country is scrambling to get themselves 100% food independent… which made this course one of the most highly sought study programs. To be fair, there is still some stigma about it among the people. But unlike before where they are belittled, the ire of the people are now to those who has this degree and has profited large amounts of money by creating artificial scarcities in the food market.

"Do you want to drink some water first, sweetie?"

"N-no… I think I'm fine, Ate Risa."

"I see."

Lastly, there is the Bachelor of Medical Sciences. One of the most dreaded courses in the entire ACES curriculum. With almost 10 years of medical studies crammed into a 4-year long academic course and a possible add-on of another 4 years for the Doctorate in Medicine and Allied Health if one is either seen as lacking in knowledge and experience or seen by the professors to have great potential in the field. I believe that to this day, out of the average seven thousand applicants in the course, about three thousand and five hundred would be accepted, only about two thousand would stay in the course instead of shifting into the three other courses and in the end, only a hundred or so would make it out of the course with either a Bachelor or Doctorate degree.

The strictness and almost-Spartan difficulty of the medical course can be justified with the fact that humanity is still fighting against one respiratory epidemic that kills slowly and painfully like a snake wrapping itself around you, one sexually-transmitted biological weapon that is still commonly referred to as the signal of the apocalypse because of the horrendous disfigurement and permanent sexual inebriation it causes to the victim and a myriad of other diseases and disorders that was caused by the nuclear winter and fallout after the past world war.

"Sacrifices has to be made… Even robbing children of their childhood is but a small price to pay if it will mean that humanity can stand back up because of them."

"Ate Risa?"

"Nothing… I'm just annoyed that even a nine-year old boy like you needs to study so hard like this instead of enjoying your childhood."

I remember it well… Ate Risa also had a horrible experience that stole her of her childhood… and that's the reason why she had such a soft spot with me to the point that she even spoils me at times.

Even if this is just a reliving of my memory caused by my enemy's power… her embrace, her voice and her care for me was as sweet and tender as I remember.

"Student Chronia, sanitize yourself and prepare to enter the surgery theater as soon as possible."

"U-Um, miss. He is-"

"We are aware, ma'am. We will send someone to help prepare his surgical kit as per the instruction of Professor Tolentino."

"T-thank you very much."

"Mm. Please leave the lounge now ma'am and enter the auditorium if you wish to watch his presentation."

After our clinical instructor told me to prepare myself, I hopped down from my chair and brought my duffel bag into the prep room to sanitize myself. Before I entered the door though, Ate Risa took me by the hand and hugged me tightly.

"Do your best in there, sweetie. Don't give in to nervousness… remember, I will be there to watch and cheer for you."

"I will do my best, Ate Risa… I promise to make you proud."

"Nn, nn… That's the Ephraim that I know."

I entered the prep room afterwards which sent a tingle up my spine for a while. But instead of nervousness, what made me shiver was the fact that the prep room was kept between zero to five degrees Celsius. A temperature that was chosen because it limits the number of microbes that can proliferate in this room that is supposed to be sanitized 24/7. Add to this the fact that the sprinklers at the ceiling sprays a fine mist of disinfectant alcohol that further changes the air humidity, and you will know why this place is dreaded by medical students including me.

"Sup, Rai-rai!"

"Wendel? Wow, long time no see."

"Ehehe! I've gotten a lot busy with my own thesis study and the handling of the machine that I and aunty Cathy designed together. Sorry if I didn't got to drop by the hospital or your house."

"No, no… I can totally understand it."

Wendel Moses L. Aguilar. A medical technology student in the non-ACES part of the school batch. From what I heard from him and mom, he used to be her student in elementary school before mom married my father, resigned from her teaching job and studied to become a professor after giving birth to me.

To say that he and mom are close would be an understatement. Because Wendel and his little brother Joshua, was a product of a broken family where he had an alcoholic father who later got into a bar fight that claimed his life and a mother who left them at their grandmother to go to the Pacific States of America and start a new family and life, mom became their parental figure for a while and they became like mother and children until mom became married and started her own family.

"Cutting scalpels… Where did you put it, Rai?"

"Pocket B, lower end."

"R-right! I'll prepare it right now."

As for the thesis study that he mentioned earlier, it was a machine that can culture a patient's cells to make them highly specialized in a specific bodily function or alleviate specific problems in some disorders. I heard that he made it for cancer patients and HIV-infected individuals who needed immune system cells that can attack cancer cells and HIV-carrying cells in the body with absolute ferocity and pinpoint accuracy.

"Time is up! Raise your hands."

"I can still do this, Head nurse."

"We said stop! Your timer has run out, Mr. Domingo!"

"I can still finish this ma'am! I can do this!"

"Enough! Get him out of the surgical theater now!"

""Yes, Head Nurse!""

"No! Let go of me! Let go! I can still finish this! I can still-"

From the small indoor amphitheater beyond the other door of the prep room, echoed the voice of our clinical instructor on the microphone, ordering a pair of security men to take one of my batchmates who ran out of time in the demonstration and yet, wished to finish it even with no hope for a better score for him.

"Ahem… Pardon the unsightly display, honored guests. We will make sure to properly discipline that rude student of ours just now."

"Please, instructor. No need to be too harsh. Even if he failed this, he can just start back up from scratch later on."

"We will keep that in mind, honored sir."

Sensing that the clean-up of the previous student's mess and the reset for the surgical practice doll is about to be finished, I decided to finish up my preparation and wear my surgical equipment like a gown, gloves, hairnet and the mask.

"Your tools are all good, Rai-rai… Are you ready?"

"...Yes. Let's do this."

"Ladies and gentlemen, entering the surgical theater right now is Ephraim Seliah Chronia of ACES batch 2-E. You may have heard about him as the only student below the average ACES student age of nineteen years old who passed the entrance exam and continued his studies well into the present second year of the school batch. As prepared under the request of Professor Tolentino, Student Chronia has been given some minor help in the preparation of his surgical equipment and has been provided with a step ladder because of his youthful stature."

At last, after my name and introductions was announced by the clinical instructor, I entered the surgical theater alongside Wendel who brought my surgical kit in a pushcart and a stepladder that was requested by my professor because of my childish height.

"So, the rumors are true. There do is a little genius among us."

"What was his age when he entered the university again?"

"I believe he is eight years old when he started here."

"Buonissimo! (Very good!) Very impressive indeed, il giovane (young man)."

One by one, the medical proctors gave their words about me and one of them, a notable Italian doctor who was here as a guest, even broke into his native tongue with praises for me. They are seated inside a room separated from the surgical theater. An indoor auditorium, if you will.

"Well then, Student Chronia. You may step forward to the bed. Student Aguilar, you can leave the theater now."

"Yes, Head Nurse."

"Yes, ma'am."

Wendel placed my stepladder near the bed where the surgery puppet is located and placed my pushcart at arm's length from me before leaving.

"You have two and a half hours to perform the heart valve replacement on the surgical doll. You must perform all of the major functions alone from start to finish with as little error as possible… Your timer will start once you perform the first incision. Nurses, gather around him so it may start now."

"Haaa… Huuu…"

I heaved a lot of air in and out for a moment to steel my nerves. Even though I am aware of the result of this exam from my memory, I still have some tingles to calm down because I can also remember how high stakes this thing was for every medical student.

"Here we go. Povidone-iodine solution on cotton ball."

"Yes, sir."

Putting my all into the task at hand, I ordered one of the nurses to take a cotton ball and dip it into a povidone-iodine solution before gently rubbing it over the chest of the almost realistic skin of the surgery doll.

"Scalpel."

"Scalpel, sir."

"…"

In the ACES curriculum, demonstrations such as these are more honored in the grading sheet than written exams or other project tasks. Perhaps it was the fact that employers realized that people who can perform their tasks practically instead of regurgitating out information for written tests make for better workers.

"Vitals."

"Stable, sir. But please keep in mind the blood vessels near the heart that may raise the blood pressure if agitated."

"Yes. Thank you for the reminder."

I continued to slice the layers of artificial fat and flesh from the doll until I reached the artificial heart that beats and looks like the original thing.

"I can see the damaged valve… Prepare the replacement, please."

"Yes, sir."

Slowly, I made my way around the artificial organ, identifying which of the fake blood vessels has to be connected to the bypass machine to safely remove the faulty valve from it.

"Prepare the Bypass machine, getting into that valve would take time."

"Yes, sir. I'll bring it forward right now."

After the cardiopulmonary bypass machine was brought in, I worked quickly to connect it to the puppet's artificial blood vessels and after a while, I successfully let the machine to take over the heart and lung's job of pumping blood and regulating oxygen intake in the blood.

With that, I immediately went forward with the heart valve replacement with only an hour lost in my timer.

"Alright… let's-"

Suddenly, I remembered something that happened right around this time that is crucial for my present circumstance.

"Sir?"

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"N-no… I just felt a bit lightheaded because of the cold. No need to worry much."

"Should we lower the room's temperature?"

"No. I'm alright."

It should be coming right around…

"W-Wha?!"

"What is happening?!"

…now.

"Please everyone, calm down! Calm down please and settle to your seats!"

"Head Nurse, what is the meaning of this? Why did the light go off?"

"We are terribly sorry, sir. This must be an emergency shut down from the nearby power plant. It has caused a blackout just like what we are seeing right now."

"I-I see… But then, that would mean that-"

"Time of death. 1537 hours, April 27, 2063. Cause of death, cardiovascular failure by deactivated Bypass machine."

"Student Chronia…"

"It's alright, Head Nurse… This is just my bad luck."

That's right… I failed today's surgical demonstration.

Some students may already be reasoning out right now that this is not their fault, and they should be exempted from this failure due to circumstances that are beyond their control. However, I am not that close-minded and desperate to immediately wash my hands off the blame after a dead patient died in my surgery room.

As I said to my instructor… this is just my bad luck.

"We're sorry for the failure, little Ephraim."

"Yeah. From how you handled that demonstration, you could've passed with flying colors."

"Ehehe… Well, that's just how life works. I failed and I can't do anything about it."

"Seeing you shrugging off this failure sure feels bittersweet… Hang in there, little Ephraim. If the Board of Deans would open a case to let you back in the ACES course, you can bet that we'll be there to testify to your defense!"

"Gee… Thanks, guys!"

The nursing students who helped me in the theater earlier spoke empathetic words to me and even gave some reassuring words about the possibility of me being allowed to continue my ACES course after I failed the demonstration due to outside circumstances.

"Ephraim…"

"Oh. Ate Risa… Did I make you wait?"

After taking off the clothes I used earlier and packing my surgery kit back to my bag, I saw Ate Risa from a nearby bench and gave her a kind question.

"You utter failure!!!"

"-!"

"You think you can excuse yourself because of the blackout?! You failed! You never passed, you little shit!"

"Ate Risa-"

"Get over here!"

"Ahh-!"

To my utter shock, Ate Risa began to shout at me and insulting me. She even pulled my arm to bring me closer before using her folding fan to hit my butt.

"How do you think your mother would take this news?! She had faith in you!"

"Ahh! Oww!"

"You think you have the luxury of failing even once?! HAAAH?!"

"It hurts! Stop already!"

"If Auntie Catherine learns about this, not only you, even I will be called incompetent! That is how much she believes in me!"

As she continued to hit and hurt me, I can do nothing but endure the pain of both her hits and insults. Some people may think that I might be feeling nothing but anger and fear right now… but with the person punishing me being the woman who became like a mother to me and changed my entire life, I can feel nothing but pain and disappointment towards myself for causing her to become like this because of my failure.

"I will teach you how painful it is to fail! I will make sure that you will not repeat this-"

"You're really bad at taking context clues and connecting information, aren't you?"

"H-huh?"

""

*FWAAAB-!*

"GUAH!!!"

With this being the academic building for the medical-centric course, blood banks are placed in every several parts of the place in case it is needed for emergency. And it just so happens that behind us was one that was filled to the brim with blood that I can easily manipulate.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"

"Fuuu… How dare you use her appearance to trick me…?"

"W-What?"

At a nearby wall, Ate Risa was kept in place with solidified blood that I crystallized around her body except for her head.

"I thought that as one of the bigwigs of the enemy, you would be sharper and quick-witted… but it seems like you're just as stupid as the mindless Malignances that I regularly kill in Old Tokyo."

"What did you say?!"

"Quit using her face and voice, you shithead!"

That's right. Ever since the blackout and the fact that the Head Nurse didn't void my declaration of the time of death in the presentation, I knew that the chain of events in my memory was broken by someone.

It sure as hell wasn't me because I did everything as I can remember… so that only leaves one person who was critical to the advanced announcement of the sudden blackout that can save my academic status.

"Ate Risa received a call from Emman ahead of time that their powerplant will conduct an emergency shutdown after they ran out of coal and she communicated that to Professor Tolentino so I can have a valid excuse for failing today's demonstration."

"So that call earlier was-!"

"Yeah… you should've answered that call and saved yourself from my suspicion."

I closed my eyes to let my grown-up self emerge from within my young body.

"Now… Let's return to the real world. You sure as hell scared me to death with the fact that you can readily make me relive a memory that is painful to me… but after you assumed her identity and even went as far as doing and saying things that I can't even imagine her to do and say towards me, I have nothing but absolute hatred to pour on you."

"ABAUF-!"

"You're a Psychic who can place his soul on other people's bodies, right? Well then… I'll torment you until your very soul breaks into oblivion!"