The usual exchange of words devolved into silence, each lost in thoughts. Alistair's mind wondered back to the words of his caretaker back in the shelter.
Back in the orphanage, his caretaker who happened to be the head of the orphanage then, always had something to say about his parents.
He still remember her words, of how his parents, his mother in particular risked her life to save him from certain death.
You see 'project Crèche' was much more darker that it seems.
During the era after the fall, under the effect of a single man's pride, women were paid a certain amount of money to become bearers of enhanced humans.
It was pretty basic at first, all they had to do was get pregnant under the effect of some sort of drug. Even the birthing pain dulled.
That was until after giving birth, only for another man to deposit his essence in her, and another, and another, and another.
Back then, this turned into the highest form of degradation a woman had experienced. A few didn't mind.
Until they saw how their children became mere cannon fodders, some captured by other countries to be experimented on.
Majorities of the mother demanded that their offsprings, be treated as humans, at first the government listened to them.
But all the improvement claims were just muttered and were not established. They even turned the population opinion against them.
This was where the status as 'stained parents' came to play.
Soon the negative opinion became open hostility, as the population of enhanced humans begun to raise.
They even craved a part of the city for themselves, bringing them together and gaining a voice.
A voice that demanded their right to own their lives. And due to their power, it was quickly becoming a reality.
As a lot of prominent people, who worked with them on the battlefield, who had good hearts, supported them.
But it was crushed, as the eradication of enhanced humans took place overnight.
The vast population sided with the government, not knowing that the government were secretly continuing 'project Crèche' behind close doors.
This time brainwashing the enhanced humans, Everett's mother couldn't bear the treatment any more and escaped with her new born baby.
The only safe place was underground, which she took him to, even having a group of friends who helped her hide her baby.
While she went ahead and took an orphaned baby, who had the same weight and height of her baby as a replacement.
Even the birthmark, VII, was drawn under his right eye. Sacrificing his life, for her baby.
Everett could still remember the 'drawings' present on the other side of his slate, a slate that had his name on it.
No. 7, of the 77th badge, of the 77th year: 2536.
---
00:03:00
The digital display flayed up in a spray of chilling red light, announcing the impending death of the individual bearing it.
Seeing the timer, Dee pushed aside his discomfort as he proceeded to test Alistair's knowledge of nightshift, as protocol suggested.
"What do you know about Nightshift?". Dee asked, a clear note of urgency in his voice.
Shaken by the proximity of his death and the urgency in Dee's voice, Alistair didn't waste time and responded.
"... Nightshift is a realm where humans are called to perform shifts, in form of death games—
— Death is permanent, Err.... That's pretty much it".
Dee was dumbfounded. He had never seen someone as ignorant as Alistair; back topside, even a three-year old could recite an entire nursery rhyme related to nightshift.
"What do you mean that's it? I'm pretty sure the entirety of underground is littered with posters detailing facts related to nightshift".
Dee knew that the government liked to skimp out on things, but this was too essential to be neglected.
This time Alistair felt wronged.
'What is he berating me for? Does he think it's easy to read?'. Alistair was one of the few people who could recognize some words, and he wore it like a badge of honor.
He wasn't exactly thrilled about being undermined.
Dee quickly regained his composture and dove into a quick lesson.
"Listen. When the timer end, you will be teleported to Nightshift and complete a game. Note, although some games are strange and unfamiliar, you will encounter some that share ties to humanity—
— inside Nightshift. Specifically the game, you will face a variety of otherworldly creatures, but they aren't really the problem. It depends on the narrative, if the game says 'survive' try to survive by hiding—
— don't be stupid and try to fight, you will only end up dead. Don't be foolish to over-rely or trust fellow humans, as some of them are 'insiders', given a separate missions that usually result in the death of the entire team—
— be sure to be on guard against other humans as some of them will be Scions from clans, who had undergone a series of rigorous training—
— I'm telling you this in-case you find yourself in a situation whereby you are the 'insider'. As scions are trained in body language, being able to detect things that aren't said out loud".
"And most importantly, in no condition whatsoever should you reveal the information embedded in your Soul Diary".
Dee went on for a while before pausing and saying to Alistair. "Did you get all that?".
Everett nodded, a wry smile on his face. As he internally debated if he should tell Dee that he didn't understand half of what he had said.
But the brief flash from the timer squashed that thought.
00:00:59
'This suddenly became real'. As the timer lowered to the end, Alistair's nervousness shot through the roof. He quickly diverted his attention by talking to Dee.
"What if I die? What happens next".
It was a silly question to ask, as everyone knew the answer to it. But Dee decided to answer regardless.
"You turn to a corpse ring and release creatures of nightmares, and in a certain radius; underground would turn to the haunting ground of these creatures".
00:00:10
"But fear not!".
00:00:9
"For the first few seconds, during the event where your body inflate. Your inflating body would be sustainable to fire".
00:00:8
Seeing that he had captured Alistair's attention, Dee gave a wry smile as he gestured to the medium sized holes littered around the walls.
"Just a push of this button, jets of fire would emerge to consume your body". At his words, Dee took out a rectangular shaped device from his chest pocket. And begun to carass the big red button on it.
Alistair felt a chill run down his spine, but before he could react.
00:00:00
Alistair's entire perception spiralled, then a voice whispered directly to his ears.
『 Applicant! Welcome to Nightshift. Prepare for your interview.... 』
---
Dee continued to stare at the 'dead body' before him in silence. Apart from him, they was only one other individual, the other officers had chickened out.
"We'll skip him". Dee said to the lady behind him.
The permanent scowl on her face deepened, before she stated in an irritated voice.
"Our job was to ensure that all Applicants had they body destroyed and returning spiritual body harvested".
The death of the individuals from underground, were certain. They weren't trained in any form of combat, and their knowledge were also lacking.
So instead of allowing their 'dead spiritual body' to return and merge with their corpse and create a corpse ring, the Government decided to put their spiritual body to good use.
Dee turned to her with a plain expression, and said in an equally plain voice. "I said we will be skipping him!".
The scowl on the face of the lady deepened, as she took a step forward, ready to berate him. The interest of the Government comes first, and couldn't be changed due to some silly sentiment.
So she advanced forward, intent on snatching the remote.
Mid-stride, her neck jerked at an impossible angle. The staccato 'pop-pop-pop' of shifting bones echoed in the quiet room.
The predatory focus in her eyes was instantly replaced by a hollow, frantic stare, her mouth falling open in a breathless '0' of surprise.
She didn't even have time to scream before she crumbled, the light in her eyes flickering out as she struck the cold concrete floor.
Being a powerful Elite, her spiritual body was able to anchor to it's flesh for sometime, and if she was to receive immediate medical care, she could still be saved.
Alas, her spiritual body felt a suction force act on it. Unable to defend against it, her spiritual body found itself sinking into a chalice.
The same item that was given to her and her colleague, to be used to harvest the spiritual bodies of slained individuals.
Before fading to oblivion, the last thing she saw was the nonchalant look in the eyes of Dee.
But after teaming up with him for a few expedition, she knew that he wasn't protecting that 'thing' out of sentiment.
His obsession with those 'stained' was clear for the entire organization to notice. Or was it just a precursor to something else.
Who knows?