During the year of 2030, I was created in January. A child born for war and victory.
Code name: January
Real name: N/A
I was the first born of all the months created in this lab, which also meant I knew the inner workings of the lab a little better than the other kids. The moment I was born, I could walk and talk like I had always done so. I could already function. It's like they inputted codes into a child's body. However this wasn't weird to me at first because I had never known anything aside from the lab. They told me my power and how to access it.
Power: Reset
Innate Ability: Clock of Life
At the moment of failure, I can go back in time to any moment in time I left my mana in. Clock of life can give me the life expectancy of anyone I set eyes on.
They ran me through tests, fighting robots and monsters soon after. All within the month I was born. At the end of the month, they finally showed me the outside world. Not as some sort of field trip but an assignment. I was to quell the war in District 1 and 2.
For a week I studied their culture and people.
—————
In the back of a black car, a radio spoke to me in a serious tone.
[January. This will be your first assignment. Kill the corrupt head of District 2.]
I could hardly focus on the task at hand. I looked at the outside land with stars in my eyes. The outside world seemed to expand for eternity. This was way grander than any cage could ever be. Once I saw the world, I knew the lab could never satiate my hunger to explore. Only suffocation and claustrophobia could be found back at the lab. My eyes traced the brilliant shapes and colors of the horizon. The tall plants were trees I could tell but I had never seen them before, as they passed by my excitement grew. I responded to the radio with a clear tone that I hadn't paid attention to anything said.
"Sure."
The voice on the radio grew in sternness.
[Listen January. You could die out there. Also the client paid a hefty sum, you must succeed even if it means death.]
I laughed as if I didn't understand the meaning of her words.
"Yeah. Yeah. Stop nagging. I got it."
I let out some of my mana to mark the time stamp.
"I already marked it."
[Alright. Be careful and good luck.]
They parked the car a ways away from the first location. The door automatically opened and I stepped out. I instantly felt a chill and started to shake.
"Huh? What is this?"
The car drove away. I wrapped my arms around my body, it did little to help my discomfort. When I let out a breath it turned white like it was frozen. Is this what being cold is like? I heard footsteps and I quickly turned towards the noise. It was an older woman with a sullen face. Her skin was pale, borderline sickly. She wore multiple rags for clothes. Her auburn hair was tied in knots and she was covered in soot. Her gray eyes looked tired. When she spotted me, she rushed over.
"What is a child doing in the cold all alone?"
She took off some layers and put it around my body. She held me close to her body, my body stopped shaking. She held my shoulders.
"Where are your parents? I need to talk with them."
I shook my head.
"They… um I don't have any of that."
She looked at me strangely before gasping, a sympathetic expression fell onto her face.
"This war is too cruel. Forgive me for asking. I, too, have lost someone to this war."
I felt a stinging in my chest listening to the woman speak.
She held me close to her body as she strung me along on her walk.
"Let's go. I'll take care of you."
I didn't say a word the whole walk back. I didn't even dare examine the scenery. I finally realized that this wasn't playtime. There were real lives under my heels.