Quake's Formation (1)

--Cole's Perspective--

---December 17th, 2445---

"This is the next one you plan to reawaken? May I ask why, Overlord Eirikr?" I opened my eyes and flexed my jaw at the first sight of a girl with wings talking to a man coated in black clothing and an even darker aura.

"Those with strong will come here whenever there is unfinished business, Fico. Do you remember your name, child?" The man in gilded black asked me.

"W-What is this...? Where am I...? Who are you...?" I rapidly asked.

My surroundings were becoming clearer by the second, but my anxiety set in. I remembered nothing, yet I knew how to function. I could breathe, blink, and understand what was happening... but I had no memory of who I was.

"I'll read his DNA," the girl with wings said.

She stabbed something into my arm and I felt an ounce of pain shoot through to my chest.

She looked toward a screen to my right-hand side and read the details off.

"Cole Zerion. A person from an irreputable family... why did he awaken? Oh... I see now!" That girl with the wings exclaimed.

"His Incarnation, correct... Hey, if you remember, Cole, you were killed by a man long ago. Does that stimulate any memories for you?" The man in gilded black asked me.

"No... maybe... was his name... Sky?" I mumbled. Some memories were returning to me.

"It worked. You were killed by this man named Sky, and it's been four hundred years since you died. You awakened because you felt some sort of grudge against him. Do you remember what that was?" The man asked me again.

I thought back on it, reconsidering all possibilities as to why I'd have a grudge...

Nothing came to mind, until about thirty seconds into the process.

I remember it... a man talking above me after beating me senseless.

He talked without any sense of fear or any other emotion in his voice, and held up a weird leg of meat in front of me, demanding that I eat it to save myself. I refused and he pierced my skull with a shiny blade, kicking my remains off of my decapitated head.

Remembering that vision sent me into a frenzy. I fell from my standing position and clutched my head on the ground, remembering what it was like to be decapitated and eat that leg of meat. I screamed while scratching at my head, and the two people who brought me back to life only watched.

Eventually, I sprawled out on the ground in front of them and the girl with wings smiled at me.

"You remember that pain... that person who killed you... Do you remember it all? How would you like to repay that debt that he's owed?" The girl asked me.

"Repay... that debt...? How...?" I asked her again.

"My name is Fico, and under Eirikr's Rule, I established a group called Quake long ago. All members have died, but I'm slowly pulling together a team to kill that man. He's a sinner among many, but on top of all. You help me kill Sky Asterio, and I'll restore the life you lost a long time ago. How's that sound?" The girl named Fico asked me.

Her deal sounded preposterous at first. I don't even know her... I only had that glimpse of memory, and yet it was one of two things I ever knew.

I knew that I was woken up, and I knew that I should hate the man who killed me. Those were one of my two memories... and half of my life so far was filled with that hatred.

I wasn't sure if it was off of an impulse, or a decision I knew was right, but I agreed to Fico's terms. She smiled once more and slammed her hand on a button to open up the small glass cage I was in.

"How can I help you defeat this man? Is he still alive, even after four hundred years? Is he in the same situation as me?" I asked, but Eirikr shook his head this time around.

"We don't know if he's here or not. Fico herself is scouting, and my sister Illya is looking as well, but we haven't found anything yet. Assuming he is dead, your work will be complete. Then, what do you plan to do after that?" Eirikr asked me.

"I don't know, I would like to lead a normal life if my job is complete. I don't harbor real hatred for a man I don't know, but I would like to help Fico if he's still out there and just as dangerous," I explained. He nodded, turning around and walking away.

"I give you full control, Fico. Do as you please with him. I'll be looking for Genesis, you make sure Cole doesn't ruin anything," Eirikr said while waving his hand. Fico didn't turn her back on me and only analyzed me as she paced back and forth, nodding at the man gilded in black's shadow.

"Where do we start?" I asked Fico. She kept her back straight and looked toward the exit of the room, scanning through the several doors on the walls and past the potted plants decorated with ceramic ornaments.

"Here and now. One of these doors is the right one that'll lead to the dining hall, the others lead you to random places. How would you go about finding the right one?" Fico asked me.

Now that I thought about it, the easiest way to see which door led to which hallway would be to test it, going through the process until I hit success. I wondered if I had that time, and decided against that strategy.

Another strategy would be to guess and hope for the best, but the most surefire way of success?

"Not sure, which door would you choose?" I asked Fico.

She smiled under her mask of a straight face and pointed toward the door behind her.

"I think you and I are going to get along perfectly, Cole," Fico said. I followed her to the door to the dining hall right behind us.