CHAPTER 2: INTERROGATION

PRESENT DAY

[Wake up.]

When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry. All I can see is a white light in the center of the darkness. This white light has a form of a circle, and as of now, that is the only thing that is being registered by my senses.

[Wake up.]

My other bodily senses are now working. My nose recognizes the smell of dried blood and sweat, which is probably my own. My throat is dry and my tongue tastes sour. I'm feeling lightheaded. I tried to move my arms and legs, but I was not able to.

[He's awake.]

My eyes finally recovered its high-definition resolution after a few seconds. The light in front of me is nothing as a supernatural entity; it is a hologram globe that represents the whole planet of Alterra. There are three rings covering it, and it keeps rotating in an unrecognizable pattern.

I tried to move my limbs, but I cannot. I soon found out that I am restrained on a metal seat, similar to those electric chairs used to execute convicts. My arms and legs are tied by pairs of belts that even with my full force, I couldn't shrug it off.

"Where.. am I.." I muttered.

What am I doing here, sitting in a room fully restrained, at the center of the darkness?

I can't remember.

[Welcome to the interrogation room. Whether you like it or not, you will answer all our questions.]

That cybernetic voice came from the hologram globe in front of me. There must be a speaker somewhere hidden in this room.

"...Who are you!?" I asked.

[It doesn't matter who we are. The question is, who are you?]

"Heh." I let out a single laugh. "You.. can kiss my ass!"

Suddenly, a long and powerful jolt of electricity entered my veins! The source of such voltage came from the very arm belts and leg bands used to restrain me in this seat. This is an electric chair after all, and it's being used to torture me!

"Gaaaaaaaaaahh!!!" I cried in pain. My loud hollers only ended when the electric shock stopped.

[Who are you!?] The cybernetic voice asked.

I didn't answer. I'm too busy catching up my own breath. My head stayed down, and my eyes are slowly closing. I'm so weak. I'm so tired. I need to rest.

[We're losing him. Give him another shock.]

A long electric shock was made once again and in the same voltage. The jolt has penetrated my nerves, my spine, and my brain, causing me to be fully alert and awake.

"Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!" I cried. Then I uttered several curses to express my anger against the person who is currently holding me up. "What the fuck do you want from me!?"

[We need you to answer all our questions!] The cybernetic voice is giving a hint of irritation. [Do you remember who you are?]

I didn't answer. I just glared at the hologram globe with an intent to kill. With that intimidation, they punished me with an electric shock.

"Gyaaaaaaaaah!!!" I cried. My saliva is now falling from my lips. Warm sweat ran from my forehead to my neck.

[Your name is Xenon Paul Animusphere Wingate. Dragon Knight First Class. Commander of the Alterran Battle Fleet. Former White Ghost Infantry of the Elysian Intelligence Unit. Prisoner 626. Your age is twenty-one, height is one-hundred and seventy-five, weight is sixty kilos. Blood type is AB. You grew up in Minos in Elysia. Your father is a historian while your mother is a public real estate agent. Is that correct?]

My eyes opened wide. They seem to know a lot from me. Even though all those words he said are right, I kept my mouth shut.

Suddenly, the electric jolt burned my nerves. This time, I didn't scream. I tried to endure it.

"Guhhh.."

[Is that correct!?]

The cybernetic voice is getting a lot more intimidating.

"Yes!... Yes, you're right!" I shouted. "F...Fuck! Who the hell are you, people!?"

[Now let's get to the main point. Where is the Psychic Amplifier?]

"I don't know what you are talking about."

[Where is the Psychic Amplifier!?]

Never waiting for my answer, there was an electric shock again.

"Gaaaah! I don't know! I don't know!" I hollered.

There was silence for at least five seconds. After that, I heard the cybernetic voice again.

[Blood pressure normal, heartbeats normal, brainwaves normal.. It seems that you are telling the truth. But we are not convinced that you don't know the location of the Psychic Amplifier.]

"I'm telling you the truth!" I shouted. "I don't really have any idea what you're talking about!"

The interrogator stopped speaking. I heard some inaudible murmurs behind the cybernetic voices, making it clear that there are more than one people watching this very interrogation. After ten seconds, the interrogator resumed talking.

[I have received a word from our medical staff and psychiatrist. Xenon Wingate, it seems that you are suffering from amnesia due to psychic radiation and stress. We ran several tests on you, and we discovered gaps in your memory. We will proceed on the interrogation nonetheless.]

I stayed silent. Only my breathing is the one making noise in this dark lonely room. I'm not planning to talk anymore. After gaining so much dead air, the interrogator with the computer-enhanced voice asked another question.

[Do you remember everything that happened before you got yourself here?]

The interrogator's latest question left me stunned.

I.. I don't remember anything. I don't know any event that brought me here. In fact, I don't remember any events at all. I don't remember anything.. anything..

My head hurts.

It feels like it's about to explode. It feels like a hot iron is stuck on my brain's center, frying all my thought circuits from the inside.

I know the name of my parents and friends. I still remember their facial features and behaviors. Yet I couldn't remember any event with them. I went to a normal grade and high school, yet I don't have any memory of any happening at that stage of my life. The same goes to my experiences Dragon Knight Academy. My head is empty regarding such events. I know that it happened, but I don't know how. It feels like all those things in my head are just incomplete memories implanted in my brain.

Seeing that I'm at a loss of words, the interrogator guided me out of my internal oblivion.

[Let's start from the very beginning. Vanilla City. Crimson Dragonfly Incident. You were there. What do you remember?]

"...Shut up.." I answered. "I don't remember anything..."

[You were there!!! Don't screw with me, Xenon! You have no choice but to answer truthfully! Vanilla City. Crimson Dragonfly Incident. The very heart of the Third Dragonoid War! What. Do. You. Remember!?]

Suddenly, the hologram globe started to glow right in front of my eyes. It gave off an aching sight that forced me to see images;

-ash-colored snow.

-countless dead bodies.

-skyscrapers falling.

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-dragonoids and humans shooting each other.

-and a gigantic black dragon razing the whole city with its particle beams.

Seeing those events made me acquire a fragment of my lost memories. And somehow, I felt like a painful rage re-entered my heart for some unknown reason.

"Monolith Dragon. The trigger of the war in the empire of Alterra. Third Dragonoid War. The dragonoid's resistance group called Arcadia." I dumbly muttered.

[What were your role in that war?]

"Nothing."

[There is no use in lying to us, Xenon! We can read your mind! We know you were there! Alfred Sierro and Carlo Tavionas. Your dear best friends. They were with you during that Crimson Dragonfly Incident. What happened?]

Deciding to cooperate a little, I disclosed not so confidential information that does not matter to me anymore. If I don't comply with their demands, I might get an electric shock again.

"We were tasked to steal the dossier kept by a duke in the Empire of Alterra. I was a leftenant back then, serving the White Ghost of the Elysian Empire, doing craploads of wetwork. The operation was suicide.."

The hologram globe spun its rings rapidly as the globe itself unleashed a blinding light. Everything went white before I saw my very own memories flash right in front of my eyes.

[What happened, Xenon?]

"...We all died."