The man’s final words echoed through the warehouse.
“When you remember, you’ll also remember why we left you behind.”
Arthur held the photograph in his hand.
E-18.
Himself.
And the third person standing between them.
The face was familiar.
But his mind refused to accept it.
The man took a few steps backward.
Arthur raised his head.
“You’re one of the Area 19 instructors.”
The man didn’t answer.
Arthur continued.
“I remember you.”
Something changed in the man’s expression.
“No.”
A brief pause.
“You don’t.”
Arthur frowned.
“Then why do I recognize you?”
“Because you were taught to.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
The instructor looked at him.
“You were taught how to read people.”
“How to manipulate them.”
“How to frighten them.”
“How to fight.”
“How to win.”
He paused.
“But we forgot to teach you one thing.”
Arthur remained silent.
“What to do when you lose.”
The lights suddenly went out.
Arthur’s body tensed instinctively.
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
A woman’s voice.
“Arthur.”
Arthur froze.
He knew that voice.
Elera.
He turned.
The metal door on the opposite side of the warehouse opened.
Elera stepped inside.
Her long, pale-gray hair fell over her shoulders.
Her blue eyes found Arthur in the darkness.
Years.
Arthur hadn’t seen her for years.
Yet his mind recognized her instantly.
“Elera…”
She said nothing.
She simply looked at him.
Arthur took a step forward.
“You…”
For the briefest moment, something appeared in Elera’s eyes.
Longing.
Then it disappeared.
“Arthur.”
He took another step.
“What’s happening?”
Elera didn’t answer.
“Was it you?”
She shook her head slightly.
“Not everything.”
Arthur stopped.
“What does that mean?”
“I only brought you here.”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
“The others?”
“I chose them too.”
His breathing caught.
“Frank?”
“Yes.”
“Yara?”
“Yes.”
“Sean?”
Elera remained silent.
Arthur understood.
“You…”
Elera lowered her head.
“I didn’t use them against you.”
Arthur’s eyes darkened.
“Then what did you do?”
Elera looked back at him.
“I gave them back to you.”
Arthur’s mind began working rapidly.
Frank.
Yara.
Sean.
Ethan.
Alice.
One after another.
Events that had seemed unrelated were beginning to form a different pattern.
Arthur walked toward Elera.
“Why did you play games with me?”
Before Elera could answer, the instructor spoke behind her.
“Because we needed to know who you are.”
Arthur turned.
“You stay out of this.”
For the first time, the instructor smiled faintly.
He knew that expression.
He had seen it years ago.
“A-1.”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
“Don’t use that code.”
The instructor’s voice remained calm.
“Did you really think you escaped it?”
Arthur moved forward.
But before he could reach him—
The doors opened.
The first figure emerged from the right.
The second followed.
The third dropped from the upper platform.
The fourth stepped out of the darkness behind Arthur.
Four people.
Their faces were covered.
The instructor stepped backward.
Elera remained where she was.
Arthur looked at her.
“Elera.”
Her eyes never left him.
“Go.”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
“Arthur.”
“I’m not leaving you this time.”
For the first time, something almost like sadness appeared in her eyes.
“Then get past them first.”
The first attacker charged.
Arthur moved aside.
The punch passed centimeters from his face.
He caught the attacker’s arm and redirected him.
The second came immediately.
Arthur ducked.
The kick passed over his head.
He rolled across the floor.
By the time he stood, the third attacker was already behind him.
Without turning, Arthur stepped backward.
The strike grazed his shoulder.
He countered with his elbow.
The attacker retreated.
Arthur studied their rhythm.
One.
Two.
Three.
Their attacks were different.
But their reactions weren’t.
They were adapting to him.
They’re reading me.
Arthur stepped backward.
The fourth attacker came straight at him.
Arthur met him.
Their hands locked.
The man was stronger than expected.
Arthur shifted his foot and attempted to break his balance.
The man responded immediately.
Arthur’s eyes widened.
That movement.
That turn.
That counter.
Area 19.
Arthur released his grip.
A fraction of a second of hesitation was enough.
The attacker struck.
Arthur hit the floor.
He rolled and stood again.
Blood touched the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it away.
Then smiled.
“So that’s how it is.”
He finally understood.
They weren’t random fighters.
They had all been trained by the same system.
And Arthur had forgotten something important.
He had been trained by it too.
The fight began again.
This time, Arthur didn’t wait.
He cut off the first attacker’s angle.
Forced the second into the other’s path.
Slipped past the third attack and used the man’s momentum against him.
The fourth remained.
Arthur stood in front of him.
Neither moved.
Then the man attacked.
Arthur waited.
The moment he entered striking range, Arthur stepped aside.
Caught his arm.
Turned his balance.
The man hit the floor.
Arthur didn’t mount him.
He simply secured his wrist.
“Who trained you?”
Silence.
Arthur released him.
All four attackers were down.
His breathing was heavier now.
But he was still standing.
Elera was still several meters away.
Arthur walked toward her.
“Elera.”
She closed her eyes.
“Arthur…”
“This time, you’re going to answer me.”
Then—
Thunk.
Something struck the back of his neck.
His vision collapsed into darkness.
When Arthur woke, the first thing he noticed was the silence.
The second was his hands.
They were tied behind his back.
He was sitting in a metal chair.
The room was completely dark.
Then the screens turned on.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Every wall was covered.
The same image appeared across all of them.
AREA 19.
Arthur held his breath.
The child on the screen…
was him.
Smaller.
Weaker.
Quieter.
A training room appeared.
An instructor stood in front of him.
“Again.”
Child Arthur had fallen.
He stood.
“Again.”
He fell.
“Again.”
Again.
Again.
Arthur watched without expression.
Then the footage changed.
Other children appeared.
Field tests.
Escape simulations.
Behavioral experiments.
Manipulation exercises.
Arthur was deceiving people.
Turning them against each other.
Frightening them.
Giving them choices.
And every time…
he won.
Arthur’s eyes moved across the screens.
Then text appeared.
A-1
Underneath:
TACTICAL ASSET
Another screen activated.
A-1 — FIELD OPERATIONS
Arthur’s expression changed.
The footage accelerated.
Confined spaces.
Night operations.
Surveillance.
Escapes.
Interrogations.
Assignments.
Orders.
Targets.
Results.
Then more people appeared.
Arthur didn’t recognize them.
But he was there.
Following orders.
One mission.
One target.
One result.
Then the next.
Arthur’s hands tightened behind the chair.
“No.”
The screen changed.
A recorded instructor appeared.
“A-1 demonstrates minimal emotional response.”
Another report.
“A-1 demonstrates no remorse following mission completion.”
Another.
Arthur’s eyes froze.
Then—
Elera appeared.
A child.
Sitting beside Arthur.
She was crying.
Arthur was looking at her.
But saying nothing.
Another image.
Elera holding Arthur’s hand.
Another.
Arthur standing between her and an instructor.
Then the footage cut.
Elera was gone.
Arthur was alone.
The instructor stood before him.
“Today, you will make a choice.”
Child Arthur looked up.
“What do I have to choose?”
The instructor smiled.
“Which one of us gets to live?”
Arthur’s breath stopped.
“No…”
The footage continued.
The instructor placed a file in front of him.
Arthur looked at it.
Then at the camera.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then—
He made his choice.
The screen went black.
Silence filled the room.
Arthur couldn’t speak.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the floor.
Then the speakers came alive.
His former instructor.
“You’re beginning to remember.”
Arthur slowly raised his head.
“You lied to me.”
“No.”
“I did those things when I was a child.”
“Yes.”
Arthur’s voice hardened.
“I hurt people.”
“You followed orders.”
“That doesn’t make a difference.”
“It does to you.”
Arthur fell silent.
The instructor continued.
“Because for years, you’ve remembered yourself as a victim.”
Another screen activated.
Arthur’s first day inside Area 19.
Small.
Frightened.
Alone.
Then another image.
A-1.
Another.
An A-1 operation.
Another.
A-1.
A-1.
A-1.
Every screen filled with the same designation.
Arthur closed his eyes.
But the sounds continued.
Orders.
Doors closing.
Children crying.
Footsteps.
His own voice.
Mission reports.
Everything blurred together.
For three hours, the screens never stopped.
Some memories were real.
Some had been altered.
Some were incomplete.
And the gaps were the worst part.
Because Arthur no longer knew which memories belonged to him…
and which ones had been placed inside him.
After three hours, every screen shut off.
Silence returned.
Arthur’s head was lowered.
His breathing was slow.
His eyes remained open.
But something inside him had changed.
The screen directly in front of him activated again.
Elera.
Alone.
Arthur raised his head.
Elera looked directly into the camera.
“Arthur.”
He didn’t answer.
“Do you remember me now?”
Silence.
Arthur stared at her.
Then asked:
“Why did you leave?”
Elera remained silent for several seconds.
“Because if I hadn’t…”
Her voice trembled.
“…they were going to kill you.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
Elera continued.
“I didn’t run away, Arthur.”
A pause.
“I disappeared to save you.”
Arthur held his breath.
Then he noticed something behind her.
The room.
The old Area 19 facility.
Two beds.
Two children.
Arthur.
Elera.
And a third bed.
Arthur’s eyes widened.
A designation was printed across it.
E-17.
Elera looked toward the camera.
“And now…”
Her voice became almost a whisper.
“…it’s his turn to find you.”
The screen went black.
Arthur remained completely still.
All night, he had been asking the wrong question.
Who was E-17?
That wasn’t the real question.
The real question was—
Why was E-17 still alive?
Some memories are buried for a reason.
For Arthur, the truth was never hidden behind locked doors or secret files.
It was hidden inside himself.
This chapter reveals a side of Arthur that even he refused to remember.
The frightened child, the trained asset, the survivor, and the weapon—all of them existed at the same time.
But memory is dangerous.
Because remembering one truth often uncovers another.
And while Arthur spent this entire night searching for answers about himself, one question remained unanswered.
Not who E-17 was.
But why E-17 is still alive.
Thank you for reading.
The next chapter changes everything.