Forgotten Soul

Dear Major Vilhime,

The date is 2201. The month of Empty has come to an end, and winter is approaching. We have secured the passages for the transport team at the eastern point, known as Nathen by the locals.

There are more than three hundred villagers, the majority of them old, and most are from the Nomadlands. Each is adorned with their golden rings. There are inclinations from the higher-ups to transport some of the young ones for experiments, but to our disappointment, we found fewer than twenty in their youth. Give my apologies to the higher-ups for failing to provide good experiments.

Now, regarding the crystals each delivery from the frontlines allows for ten teams to bring fast shipments to the designated points. With our locations, I believe we will be able to accelerate deliveries exponentially. We are also in the process of forming a small unit to synthesize some of the crystals for faster transport. However, due to the shortage of manpower, we have enlisted the villagers to assist. By doing this, we have increased our rate of delivery.

We have secured the village and constructed two watchtowers while building sturdy wooden walls. With expectations for the mission to last more than two years, our coordination with the battle units will ensure great profit...

BOOM!!

"Captain Alexander!" A soldier rushed in.

"I'm fine... Now go check what that was. It better not be any of the Crystals for shipment."

"Yes, Captain." The soldier walked out of Alexander's office with great intent.

Click.

Ding... "Send message."

"Yes," Alexander said, pressing his pointer finger on the Whisper Nexus. The fist-sized cube, enshrined with blue streams of light, beamed into the wooden ceiling before vanishing.

...

"Steven, we checked everything. It seems this nutjob had a case of Chaos poisoning," Lane said, looking at Lieutenant Steven Make.

"I can see that... with all the blood and the brain tissue I just stepped on. Goddammit, the Captain will not like this. Was this guy in your department or Charles'?"

Nate stuttered before responding, his head slightly lowered. "It was my fault... I didn't expect a day or two would make a man go boom. We just ran out of gloves, Captain."

"NATE! What did I say about the policy? I gave you the power to speed up the delivery process in the synthesis facility, not to kill a man!"

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, this will..."

"Lieutenant," one of the soldiers interrupted.

"Yes? Has the kid said anything?"

"No, that's what I was about to tell you. The child hasn't spoken a word. I asked around, and apparently, the kid is mute. From what I heard from the neighbors, the old man found him and started taking care of..."

"I get it. Overall, nothing for us to worry about. But you, Nate I'll be having a chat with you after this about how you manage things from now on."

"Lieutenant, what should we do with the child?"

"Clean him up," Steven said, looking at the child. Blood was wrapped around his legs and stomach. The child hadn't moved, staring at the soldiers, even when asked his eyes engrossed by their looks.

Ash could not understand what was going on. His eyes looked at the man named Steven. His silver hair and green eyes gave off a strange aura many of the soldiers had silver hair.

At first, he wanted to laugh, believing somehow this was all a joke in his head and he would wake up in a hospital. But the longer he stayed still, the more his body adjusted, and his mind now possessing a child's body slowly molded into his thoughts, allowing him to grow new memories.

Or should he say... old memories?

Was he now Elliot? Was he going to accept the change?

"Hey kid, come over here! Let's go!" one of the soldiers called, standing by Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant, he's not listening."

"I got this. We don't need to use force," Steven said, walking toward Ash.

Bending his knee, Steven took off his military cap and smiled at Ash, opening his mouth. "The soldiers here are just going to help. We'll clean all this up, and you can come back. How about you tell me your name?"

"Steven, didn't you hear? He's mute," Nate explained.

"I know, but..."

A raspy, dry voice like an old instrument unused for too long came from the child. "My name is A-A-A... Elliot."

With each letter that sprang from his mouth, his thoughts burdened him, but his body like a final wish seemed to say, If you are to claim my body, honor my name.

His mind was not Elliot's, but his body was. And as the last of the words escaped his lips, a flicker of something deeper, something ancient and forgotten, stirred within him. It was as if the soul of the child of Elliot had been lost, but not entirely gone. The transformation was not just physical, it was a tug at the very essence of who he had been and who he might still become.

"Elliot, well, my name is Steven. If you follow me..."

"Shut up!! Tell me where I am! What is this place? Don't talk to me like a child!" His anger grew with every word. His body and mind were soon becoming one, even though he knew there was no way to go back. Even if there was, how would he know? After all, he was dead before.

"Okay, I've tried to reason with you, but now you seem to be ill," Steven said, reaching out to grab Elliot.

Before Steven could reach him, Elliot backed away, shouting, "DON'T touch me! Now what state is this? What country? Tell me, are we on Earth?" With every word, his eyes grew wetter, and soon tears began to fall.

"It's okay, you don't have to worry," Steven responded, not truly understanding what Elliot was asking.

"NO! I'm leaving! I'm going back... to... to"

Bang!

Nate knocked Elliot out from behind.

"Why did you do that? I had it under control!" Steven said, looking at Elliot, whose face was now still and his eyes shut.

"Thank me later. Let's clean this up," Nate concluded.