[On this day, you, as a member of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry, sense the Empress's call from within your incubation pod.]
[As this is a Beginner Simulation, the Host will be granted a special ability to start.]
[Kamen Rider Zeronos (Altair Form/Zeronos Form)]- This power is derived from a fusion of the Imaginary element and the Path of Remembrance. To wield the full might of the Zeronos battlesuit, the user must burn their own memories as fuel. Simultaneously, this power consumes the memories that others have of the user. Once all related memories are exhausted, the user's very existence, along with the suit, will be erased.]
[Loading complete. Simulation begins.]
"Warriors, awaken..."
A voice echoed in his mind. As Ye Ming heard the faint call, the warm, slick liquid that enveloped his body began to drain away.
He opened his eyes and found himself standing inside a row of upright, humanoid incubation pods. The pod door in front of him slid open, and he saw a long line of identical pods.
"So... my designation is AR-26710521..." he murmured.
The pods of his comrades opened one after another. A large number of Iron Cavalry knights, all clad in silvery-white uniforms, walked out. Expressionlessly, they formed neat ranks.
Following the procession, Ye Ming soon arrived at a grand hall. He looked up and saw that at the center of the silent crowd, a throne room had appeared.
The Iron Cavalry stood in silent formation, their gazes fixed on the Great Hall before them. A woman whose face was a blur sat upon the throne, her hands resting on the armrests.
"A new recruit..."
Just as Ye Ming thought the woman on the throne was looking at him, a person appeared beside him, their light footsteps barely making a sound.
Ye Ming turned his head to find a spirited-looking young woman standing there. She wore the same silver uniform, her short, clean-cut hair framing a determined face. Her designation was AR-1368.
Ye Ming looked at the young woman and was about to speak.
"Come, my partner."
A gentle voice reached him before he could. Hearing this, Ye Ming felt an inexplicable fervor rise within him, an urge to ask her something.
His heart raced. He had to suppress this strange emotion.
Ye Ming silently followed the young woman, moving to the front of the ranks. He stood beside her, his gaze fixed on the Empress seated on her throne.
The woman's hands, resting on the armrests, were as smooth and flawless as warm jade, yet they seemed less like ornaments and more like cold, deadly weapons.
"So, my partner for this simulation..."
As the thought crossed his mind, the Empress's voice rang out again, her words directed at him. It was a formal, ritualistic assignment.
The Empress raised her hand and pointed her slender finger, first at Ye Ming, then at the young woman beside him.
"AR-26710521," the Empress declared, her voice echoing through the hall. "From this day forward, your partner will be AR-1368."
Wait, you? Ye Ming thought, then immediately realized she was the girl who had bumped into him in the main hall earlier.
"That's right, it's me," AR-1368 whispered, confirming his thought.
As the Empress assigned the pairings, Ye Ming noticed that the other members of the Iron Cavalry remained silent and motionless, as if they were nothing more than silent statues.
Without another word, AR-1368 turned and began to walk away.
Following his new partner, Ye Ming passed by countless ancient structures and pieces of machinery before finally stopping in front of a glass corridor.
The young woman pushed open the glass door of the balcony. Seeing her from behind, Ye Ming noticed her silver hair, a detail that immediately sparked a memory.
A girl with long, silver hair... The first thing that came to mind was not her designation, AR-1368, but Titania, the Empress of Glamoth.
But the girl before him was clearly not the Empress. As he recalled the lore text he had read, another name surfaced.
This girl, whose designation was AR-1368, was a prototype for the genetically-engineered Royal Guard. In the lore, she was a warrior who fought alongside the Iron Cavalry until the very end, in the final, desperate battle for Glamoth. Her price for that battle was her memory. Her name was Firefly.
Ye Ming now understood the simulator's cruel design. He was meant to get close to this legendary, tragic hero, form a deep bond, and then have his entire existence erased from her memory.
The knife he was forced to wield was not for others; it was for himself. The deepest despair is born from the closest intimacy, only to be followed by the coldest estrangement.
The nature of his Zeronos power meant this tragedy was inevitable. There was no happy ending possible.
Knowing this, a strange calmness settled over Ye Ming. He felt a sense of relief. Since he already knew the ending, he didn't need to entertain any false hopes.
"According to her records, she's also a prototype, then?" Ye Ming thought, looking at Firefly.
He leaned against the glass, and a new set of information flowed into his mind.
"Correct. AR-26710521," the system seemed to confirm, addressing him by his own designation. "You were being cultivated as a member of the Empress's Royal Guard, but a mutation occurred during the process."
"After AR-26710521 transforms into Zeronos, your appearance and abilities will undergo a special change. You will no longer benefit from the Empress's psychic protection and must rely on your own physical body to endure."
Hearing this, a cold dread washed over Ye Ming. The consequences of this mutation were severe. Every battle would cause him to lose his memories. His physical body, unable to escape the ravages of genetic collapse, would decay over time. It was a lingering fate far worse than a swift death.
For the young woman who now called herself his partner, his transformation would be imperceptible. She would not notice the gradual decay of his memories and his body. When his Zeronos power erased him from her mind, AR-26710521 would simply cease to exist in her world.
To her, he was just a frail-looking boy in a white uniform. He had no notable abilities, and his only defining feature was that his designation, AR-26710521, would vanish from her memory the moment he fought.
"As for her price..."
Ye Ming recalled the cold, emotionless words of the Empress, Titania, from the lore.
"The purpose of the Iron Cavalry is to be living weapons. They are born to fight for the Republic, to study, to learn, to hone their skills, to throw themselves into glorious battle—that is the sole meaning of their lives. Each and every one of them is a consumable, a tool to protect the lives and property of the Republic's citizens."
"Love, life, and death... these are all meaningless."
"The fate of this desolate star where he was born is already sealed. The Swarm will devour it entirely. If a boy who was destined to die can participate in such a magnificent battle, his existence will be worthwhile. This is the value I, as Empress, have granted him."
"And you, AR-1368," the Empress had told Firefly, "your duty is to act as a witness. To ensure his short life shines with the brightest light."
"Next, my mission is to monitor you," the young woman's voice cut through his thoughts, pulling him back to the present. It was Firefly, speaking to him for the first time with a solemn earnestness. "To ensure you receive the Empress's grace."
"I was born on a barren world destined for destruction," she continued, her voice filled with a strange mix of sorrow and pride. "My only wish was to die in a glorious battle. Her Majesty, the Empress, granted me that wish by making me an Iron Knight. She has promised that I can die on the most magnificent of battlefields."
She looked at Ye Ming, a hint of pity in her eyes. "But you are different. You are weak. My duty is to protect you until the day I die."
"This is where we'll be," she said.
"AR-26710, I must warn you in advance. The Glamoth Iron Cavalry are living weapons, born to protect the Empress and the Republic. As a knight, all you need to do is accept the Empress's command, welcome your glorious death in battle, and that is all. Emotions, and other such superfluous things, you should not have, nor do you need them."
"Just treat AR-26710521 as a fellow weapon. Don't get too close, and certainly don't invest any unnecessary emotion, otherwise—"
"—Otherwise, if you develop a bond with AR-26710521, you will simply have to watch as he uses his power, forgets this bond, forgets you, and suffers no harm whatsoever. But for the AR-26710521 who remembers everything, the more beautiful the memory, the more agonizing the pain."
The young woman said nothing, as if she didn't have a choice in the matter.
This was not an emotion a living weapon should have.
But she believed that the AR-26710 standing before her would surely understand what she meant.
"Alright, the debriefing is complete. It's time to formally meet AR-26710521 and say hello."
The short-haired young woman slid open the glass door.
"AR-26710521, come in."
-------
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