The first orientation session ended, and all the participants filed out of the room one by one in a state of shock after learning what had actually happened to the world and why their current lives were so drastically different from when they were still in the simulation. Only Clyde and Casca remained in their seats, staring at the screen that still displayed the frozen final image. Once everyone had left, Julia walked in and approached the two of them,
"Clyde, Casca," Julia greeted them softly.
The two turned to look at Julia, causing her jaw to tighten; with their pale faces, they looked as if they had just seen a terrifying ghost.
"Are you two alright?" Julia asked anxiously.
"N... no, it’s nothing. Sorry, we’ll head out and go home right away," Clyde answered, standing up.
"Yeah... sorry," added Casca, who also stood up.
"Don’t worry, I’m not kicking you out. It’s just... you’re still sitting here while everyone else has left. Is there something you want to talk about?" Julia asked, concerned.
"There’s nothing... Casca and I are fine," Clyde answered clearly.
"Hoo... so you two are the young kids who just arrived, huh."
Hearing a man’s voice, Clyde and Casca turned around and saw Daniel standing in front of them with Irena behind him. Daniel smiled at the two of them, then glanced at Julia, who nodded and took a step back. Daniel observed Clyde and Casca from top to bottom, then back up again, stopping right at their faces,
"How do you feel after finding out the truth? You probably still think you’re in a post-apocalyptic movie where humanity is facing extinction," Daniel said warmly to them.
"Um... I do like movies like that... about a zombie apocalypse... but that was in the simulation... right now I don’t know what I like or what my life even is," Clyde answered.
"Good, that means you’re normal for being able to tell the difference between a simulation and reality," Daniel said, placing his hand on Clyde’s shoulder.
"Um... can we go now?" Casca asked in a quiet voice.
"Go ahead. I just wanted to say hello. Once again, welcome to Neo Ark and to real life. We look forward to your contributions in the future for the sake of humanity," Daniel replied, extending his hand.
Clyde shook Daniel’s hand, followed by Casca, who also shook Daniel’s hand, after which they excused themselves, turned around, and left the room. Once the two had walked out, Daniel and Irena turned to look at Julia, all three of their faces turning serious,
"So are they the ones you reported yesterday?" Irena asked Julia.
"Correct, Colonel. They aren’t just two ordinary teenagers. Although it’s not certain yet, there’s a possibility they are two of the five children who escaped from the facility and created that giant crater on the screen," Julia answered.
"Hmm... right. Our goal in displaying that image at the very end was indeed to bait their reaction. So from your observations, how did they react?" Daniel asked Julia.
"Nothing significant. They just seemed shocked from hearing the truth about our world... just like the others. But I’ll keep monitoring them, which is why they are living with Mary right now," Julia answered.
"Good. Please don’t share too much information regarding our suspicions with Mary. Unlike us, Mary can still be categorized as a civilian who joined the military after being awakened," Irena said.
"Understood, Colonel," Julia replied to Irena’s words.
"Keep them with Mary for now. No need to rush into preparing a place for them. Have Mary report all their daily activities whenever she’s not on duty outside. If they really are two of the five children who escaped, we must capture them, because they are the key to turning our current situation around," Daniel added.
"Understood, General," Julia replied.
"Good, I’m entrusting this assignment to you. Now, if you’ll excuse us, tomorrow we’ll continue with the lesson regarding ORBs and magic," Daniel said.
"Very well, General. I will carry out my duties to the best of my ability," Julia said.
Daniel and Irena then turned around, and limping slightly, Daniel went down the stairs with Irena guiding him. Julia watched the two of them walk down and fade into the distance; "sigh," she let out a breath, her face instantly looking weary,
"They’re just children who don’t know anything and just want to live... not weapons," she thought in her head.
After Daniel and Irena went through the door below, Julia turned around, climbed a few steps, and walked out through the door where the participants had left. Meanwhile, outside the rehabilitation building, on the crowded and bustling street, Clyde and Casca sat on the entrance steps of an empty building with an unlit neon sign.
The two remained silent, staring at the people passing by in front of them, observing the squeezed crowd passing by, some dressed in military gear mixed with tattered robes, some with bionic arms or legs, some carrying weapons alongside shopping bags filled with various items, and many vendors shouting out to offer their goods.
They were truly taking in reality and processing everything they saw, but a feeling inside told them that the city and society before them was not where they truly belonged.
"We have to find Celes," Clyde said suddenly.
Casca turned to look at her older brother beside her, then lowered her head, hugging her knees just as before.
"Find her where? We can’t get out of here. When I ran away, I managed to reach the surface, but everything was destroyed, and I had no idea where to go," Casca replied.
Clyde fell silent, then began to whistle a song with a different melody; Casca turned to look at Clyde and smiled, then joined in, humming the same song but with a different rhythm, like two people responding to each other in harmony. Their previously tense faces gradually grew relaxed and calm once more.
Clyde closed his eyes, feeling the flow of the melody and sensing his heart rate returning to a normal, peaceful rhythm. A sense of comfort and peace greeted him; he opened his eyes and glanced at Casca beside him, who also seemed to be feeling the same thing as her eyes remained closed. Clyde looked down again, and the final image from the presentation began to form in his mind.
But the image seemed to move in reverse; slowly, the massive crater shrank smaller and smaller until it finally flattened back into the ground, revealing that the crater had previously been an airfield and a hangar. The hospital-like building that had been destroyed in the footage reassembled itself into a structure that looked more like an orphanage than a hospital, enclosed by a military wire fence as if the building were a hazardous area.
"Gasp,"
Clyde and Casca gasped in shock, their eyes widening and their whistling and humming coming to a sudden halt as they saw a giant robot standing in the middle of the airfield, possessing angel-like wings with a three-eyed pattern on each wing. It had a triangular head with a purple gem embedded in it, legs resembling those of a frog, spiked arms that looked like feathers, and horns and a tail behind it. The robot’s appearance was vivid in their minds,
"Chimaera Z-X,"
Without realizing it, both of them spoke the name in unison, turning to look at each other in surprise. Suddenly, a holographic screen opened in front of them displaying nothing, just static full of snow, like a television channel that had ended its broadcast for the day.
["Clyde... Casca... I’m... here... find... the orphanage... I’m... there."]
"Celes!" Clyde and Casca shouted, standing up instantly as they heard the girl’s voice coming through broken and distorted, likely due to a poor signal; then the holographic screen vanished, and the two turned to face each other.
"Okay... we have to get out of here," Clyde said.
"Yeah... I know, but... how do we do it?" Casca replied.
"For now, let’s lay low and investigate how we can get out of here... when Mary gets back, I want to ask her how she’s able to freely enter and exit the city and work as a scavenger out there," Clyde replied.
"Oh... good point. Alright, let’s wait for Mary to come home," Casca replied.
The two of them walked down the stairs and headed toward Mary’s apartment, which had become their home, holding hands so they wouldn’t get separated by the crowd of people walking against them.