ARC I:

Antinomy

Chapter V

COMMUNICATION

The sun was setting soon, but the sunlight wasn't shining over us like a blanket from god himself, no, it was already cloudy when we arrived in this area. The Illusion Academy was surrounded by mountains, this is the first time we attempted to embark on huge missions like these since the Heartless in this area would be too tough for other students. But due to the sudden improvement in almost every student in the academy, thanks to Yuro's inspirational presence, we were able to finally hunt Heartless here as a new mission location. The mountaintops have huge forests lining all over, there were small caves that often led into dead ends here and there, but these spots can be used for recon and the cliffs are an ideal spying location on the academy if one would need a bird's eye view of the structure of the entire thing. Luckily, there were no signs of battle on these mountains from the look of it, so I don't think the Light Faction actually scaled these mountains before, even if they did, the Heartless would catch them by surprise.
We didn't know anything about each other, yet we had to survive this ridiculous mission set up by Ace. I call it ridiculous because it's meaningless to me. But I suppose it was important enough for the Calamity Project preparation steps to issue. From what Ace told me, it was to build a bond with people we would work together within the Calamity Project's final phase. An exercise not only fitted to create relationships with people we are not familiar with, but also to gather materials from unknown Heartless to use in expendable creation. The "bonding with other squad members" was just an excuse for us to go on a hunting mission. Although it would allow me to at least open up to a few of them, so I guess it is important. Sheesh, I just said it was an excuse, now I think it's important, talk about hypocrisy.

"Hey guys," whispered Yuro, "look over there," he pointed to a huge clearing in the forest, which was just a few meters away.
"What about it?" Selena asked, looking over to Yuro.
"Want to head over there? To rest?" Yuro suggested.

We all looked at each other and nodded back to Yuro. In response, all he did was fist-pump with a happy look on his face. We that settled, we slowly made our way to the clearing, trying not to make as much noise as possible.
Why? Simply, the Heartless in this area seems to have a higher aggregation rate than the ones we previously encountered. It's almost impossible to get the upper hand on these guys, and as a result, tougher battles with more diligent enemies. I'll admit, it made battles more interesting and we will have to cooperate at some point.
As we were about to enter the clearing, I stopped dead in my tracks, looking across from us and scanning the wide clearing, there seem to be small boulders scattered around the area, and what seems to be a large black vortex swirling in the center. All of it put up red flags in my mind. I felt the cold sweat run down my forehead, and the weight of the backpacks we all brought just for food, yeah, food only. They expected us to be real soldiers and camp out in a ditch or something. But that's beside the point, red flags rose in my mind, telling me not to go there. It was painfully obvious that it was a bad place to go in. My teammates caught wind of my sudden stop, they looked at me in confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yuro asked.
"... I don't think we should go in there," I say, looking down to my feet in bewilderment.
"I don't see a problem with it," Selena tonelessly said.
"But~, there is a strange vortex in the center, Maybe that's why Kazu's scared," Xiu held a finger up to her lip and smiled in a carefree tone.
"Not really panicked.. but yes. I'm a bit worried that something bad will happen if we walk into that clearing," I say, finally gaining my composure.
"Do you doubt our abilities?" Scarlet asked, crossing her arms.
"Huh?" I look at her, dumbfounded.
"Don't doubt our abilities, even if you haven't seen us fight a boss Heartless yet, we are in the Elite Division for a reason." she glared into my eyes as if looking through my soul.

Just from looking into her eyes, I can sense that she is serious about this, but knowing that we aren't coordinated at all, still worries me. I don't think we can win based on pure strength at all, we need to have a strategy for whatever is waiting in that clearing. I glance to my teammates, it seems like they trust in whatever strength they have. Honestly, we are such idiots for believing in our skills alone without a plan. I guess that's what makes us kids.

I look back to Scarlet and give her a sharp nod, "Alright. But we need to form a plan at least."
She shook her head in denial, "We don't have time for that."
"Huh? Of course, we have time for that. It's not like the Heartless is going to disappear on us," I argue.
"I second this, we need a plan. Because I don't want to wind up as swiss cheese during the fight," Yuro concurred.
"I'm siding with my sister on this one. Yuuki, I already have faith in mine and my sister's strength, we don't need a plan," Selena said in a cold tone.
"Are you guys for real? Just because you have seen your sister in battle, doesn't mean we have! At least, not fighting a boss Heartless, but still...!" Yuro stumbled on his words.
"So what? You fought Yuuki yourself, haven't you?! And you fought me before, and I don't see a problem! The only person that doesn't know our strength is Mr. Robot here!" Selena pointed at me, with her eyes brimming with disgust.
"True. But I wish to cover all potential problems in our formation and think about a plan," I continue to suggest, seeing as raising my voice will make more problems.
"We don't need a plan!" Selena continued to protest like a child who doesn't get their way.
"We need a plan!" Yuro protests in a similar way.
I turn to Xiu, who is strangely passive about the entire situation. She noticed me staring at her, I made a face that can be easily read as, "what are you doing?" and her reaction was along the lines of: "eh?! n-nothing really..!" seeing as she was playing with her fingers and looking down. I decided to speak up, "Xiu? Your opinion?" I asked.
"U-um.. not really. I just don't want to rile anyone up any further. Because you know, Yuro and Selena often get into arguments all the time. And I don't want to intervene since I don't want to get swept up in the storm. Even Selena's older sister knows this," Xiu answered and pointed to Scarlet, who is scratching her cheek and not engaging in the shouting battle Yuro and Selena were having.
"... I see... In any case, let's just stop this pointless bickering and calm down," I try to assess the situation by stepping in between them.
"Move it!" both of them yelled in unison, shoving me out of the way and carrying on with their argument.
I stumbled a bit but kept my balance and center of gravity so I wouldn't fall over.
"I don't think they're going to stop anytime soon," I sighed heavily. I looked at the others who weren't arguing and they nodded in agreement.

After a minute or two, we finally settled down. But since they wanted to go head first into battle, and Xiu didn't want to pick sides. Me and Yuro, clearly not wanting to pick another yelling battle with them, we went in without a plan. Which... ended up with us in this huge mess. But that's to be expected since not everything can go your way sometimes.

Boom, and just like that, the entire situation changed.
"Shit! it's regenerating!" Scarlet shouted out.
The Heartless that stood before us had regeneration properties. It's yellow eyes glowing brightly in the otherwise dark, rainy night. It was another titanic Heartless, with claw-like fingers, a slim body, and pointed feet. Its skin was jet black. Its face was that resembling the face of a dog, it looked like a godly figure that people who were unaccustomed to today's culture would worship.

"Don't just stand there! Take 'em out!" Yuro yelled, charging in for an attack on its ankles. He was aiming to knock it down to its knees.
It fell down on its knees as Yuro struck both of its ankles with multiple slashes. We all backed away from it, around ten feet away, assuming it'll counterattack as soon as we get close to it.
"Thundaga!" Selena and Scarlet shouted, pointing their Keyblades into the air, casting a lightning spell to strike the boss Heartless. Two individual lightning strikes come down from the sky and strike the enemy.
"Raaaaarrrrrrr!" it writhes in pain as its entire body jolts up from the attack.
We finally had it pinned down thanks to Yuro slashing at its ankles, now we were able to strike it with our magic.
"Now! While its regenerating, attack with everything you got!" I yell, swinging my Two Become One in a horizontal line, creating an arc of fire and projecting it at the head while it's down.
A cloud of smoke clouded my field of vision as it hit, but the Heartless roared in anger in response to the attack, I knew it wasn't over yet.
We still didn't have any sort of formation, but we were so close to beating the beast. We finally turned the tables from a death trap of a battle. Thanks to Yuro, we were able to launch consecutive attacks at the enemy, but we cannot afford to let our guard down. I whipped up a quick Aero spell to expel the smoke clouds to deal more hits to ensure victory.

This was our reckless survival battle, a battle that would cost us our lives because of our own incompetence, such actions wouldn't be allowed on a real battlefield. I'm always been told to get the job done and go home, I never had any consideration for my teammates, because the hunting missions I was sent on with a team were so small, it was nothing on this magnitude. Here, I must build trust in each and every one of them, even if it's small, it's enough to get through the mission. If any of the higher-ups were here, I would be scolded on the spot.

Before I could process the situation around me, Yuro yelled at me, telling me to stop, I did as told and stopped in my tracks. I look at him in confusion, he points up in the air. Xiu jumped a good fifteen feet into the air, holding her Keyblade to her side, what was she aiming for? Is it...!?
I gasp in realization, and looked at the Heartless, lines of smoke was apparent on the back of it. She was aiming for the core, the centerpiece of the Heartless. She's betting everything on raw luck. Once I reached that conclusion, I, of course, screamed.
"Diving Attack Technique, Swan Descend!" Xiu screamed, descending down with her arm extended.
She landed on the back of the Heartless, stabbing it from the pressure and force of gravity that aided in her descend to the ground. The Heartless wailed in pain.

"Is she aiming for the center? Is she for certain that'll kill it?" I said, with my mouth open in surprise.
Scarlet laughed, "Hahaha... of course, we had a few theories to support this."
"When did you...?" I turned to Scarlet.
"We were suggesting it to her when you were busy with the smoke machine display. We noticed there seems to be a glowing pattern as it regenerates, a pink highlight that covers the entire body as it heals. This pink highlight expands from the center of the Heartless, and it covers the entire body and repeats until the healing is complete. This boss Heartless has a humanoid body shape, so figuring out the center wasn't that tough, " she explained in a dramatic tone, "reaching that conclusion, Yuuki, we intend for her to be our last resort!"
"You're an idiot," was my initial response, but I decide to hold my tongue.

"...! Firaga!" Xiu yelled in desperation, casting a spell while her Keyblade was still impelled into the Heartless. From where she was standing, a fire erupted from the wound her Keyblade made with the strike. I could smell the smoke from here as it invaded my nasal system and burnt the inside of my nose. The horrid smell made me cover my nose with my left hand.

Is this the bond I missed while I was in my room? I ask myself. I look at the others behind me, they're cheering with happy expressions, the burnt marks on their faces and uniforms were apparent. Despite that, they cheered with their eyes filled with trust. They trusted that Xiu will get the job done, but what am I doing? I don't know a thing about them, except Yuro. I'm just a stranger to them. No motivation, no drive, and no trust. The only thing I can do is cheer like the rest.

"Xiu! Do it!" I cupped my hands and screamed. Xiu heard me, she nodded and stood up.
She dragged her weapon across the skin and out of the shoulder blade of the Heartless' body. She looked at us in anticipation, she expected us to finish it, I could tell by her sudden serious expression in her eyes.
"Yuuki! Rose sisters! Lakewood!" she yelled out dramatically.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Selena responded confidently and jumped on the body of the Heartless along with her sister, leaving me and Yuro in confusion.
They held out their hands to us, "Aren't you coming with us?" they wholeheartedly welcomed.
"..." Yuro and I nodded to each other and grabbed onto their hands and supported us in getting on the back of the Heartless.
"Now do you see? We didn't need a plan... that argument before was pointless," Selena said, looking at me and Yuro.
"...I suppose," I hung my head.
"Why are you so down? We supposed to be a team, right?" Scarlet said to reassure me, her welcoming tone struck me like an arrow to the chest. For some reason, it was satisfying to hear.
"... You accept us?" I asked. I referred to both me and Yuro, as we were unsure. Since to them, we must be strangers intruding on their territory.
"Of course, we do," Scarlet smiled, her soft voice and tone piercing me.
I nod sharply in response, "Let's finish it up, then."

We summon our Keyblades again and stab the Heartless' jet black skin. From the cracks that we made with our weapons, clouds of dark smoke begin to rise from the body. We run across the back, dragging our weapons through its skin. Jumping off it, Xiu was waiting on the other side to finish the job.

"Haah!" she screamed, slashing it multiple times at blinding speed. We landed on the ground behind her, standing up and looking back.

The Heartless began to struggle, as Xiu deals the last strike, the body of the Heartless explodes into a cloud of black smoke. It cleared up almost instantly as if someone placed a fan in the clearing to blow it away as soon as we defeated it. In the center of the clearing, the materials it dropped appeared. I walked over to grab them; twenty Dark Shards, one unidentifiable material which appeared to be colored in cobalt blue, and five Dark Gems.

I relay the material count to Emigrace over my earpiece, I switch the microphone off and return to the group waiting at a nearby boulder.

"Good work," I say to them.
"That's all you have to say? Despite the traces of doubt, you had for us back there?" Selena said, seemingly annoyed.
"That's right. I'm sorry for doubting your strength. I'm just not used to interacting with others yet."
"Oh, that's completely fine," Xiu said, forgivingly.
"It is?" I said, clearly taken aback.
"Yeah. You're pretty infamous for being socially awkward at school anyway. Also, I heard from Selena that you never show up to the meetings, so it's understandable that you're hopeless in communication," Yuro said, laid back as usual.
"The way you say it makes him seem like a lost pup," Selena said in a low tone.
"It's fine. Yuro isn't too far off," I said, scratching the back of my head.
So I lacked in communication, huh? I thought. Maybe what I was missing from my life was interaction with others, and I haven't really felt like a person before. But now that I'm talking to them, I'm having fun spending time with them like this, it's completely different than the times I would do solo missions. It started because of Ayako because I interacted with her in my first mission into the Enlightenment Academy in the Light Faction, I wasn't really a person, just a "robot who does as he is told," as others describe me. Because of my interactions, my emotions are swelling up inside me, now I'm a mess of conflicting emotions and act like completely different people. It's confusing and frustrating, honestly. Since I have a lack of knowledge in this field so I can't go far in depth with this, only as far as the lessons I'm taught in class and ones from Emigrace herself. Even from my observations as a bystander, I can tell a few things about everyone I meet after a few days or hours of meeting them. Yuro, a happy-go-lucky idiot whose morals motivate others to succeed. Selena, a serious individual who is quite reckless. Scarlet, a more matured version of Selena, but is more on the happy side of things. Xiu, a clumsy girl who doesn't hold back when she needs to do what she needs to do to aid in the victory of her friends. This group is certainly a bunch of interesting people, clearly with their own negatives and positives. My observations might not be on point, but I have been told many times by Emigrace that there is more to a person than what they portray themselves as. I may not know much about myself, but I feel like I'm welcomed in this strange group of people who are so different from me. Well, hopefully, I'm not too influenced by them like others in fictional novels.
I felt something cold drop down my shirt. I rubbed the back of my blazer in reaction, then feeling more drops, on the top of my head, I look up into the cloudy sky. The moon wasn't in sight anymore, it was completely covered up by the dark gray clouds as the cold downpour of rain doused us.

"...We should find shelter, quick," I suggested, shivering.

We all nod in agreement and dash back into the woods and trail to a nearby cave in the mountains.
The dirty water splashed beneath our feet as we ran through the wood, seeking shelter from the sudden downpour. We were already tired from the long day of hunting, and we have to deal with this. I suppose it's a trail of endurance that we must face as soldiers. To be correct, student-soldiers.
I could hear the ragged breath of my teammates as we desperately ran through the leaves of the surrounding wildlife. Our shoes weren't made for such terrain, so naturally, we had a few slip and fall face-first into the muddy dirt, but we stood back up as much as we had to.
The sound of thunder echoes in the distance, illuminating the sky.
"..!" Scarlet yelped in panic.
We were cold, tired, and most of all, hungry. It really is a tough time for soldiers on a hunting mission. We had to bear with it, a pain we didn't ever want to experience. But that was expected to happen eventually when we enrolled into this school.

We finally manage to get out of the forest, there was a small cave ahead of us, with the rain coming down harder on us. We have no choice but to duck in there and rest up.

Once we settled in, we gathered around a single oil lantern for warmth. Despite our wishes for warmth, it would never come from an oil lamp. So we sat there, in cold silence. A few stomachs growling for food, I was about to open my mouth to suggest we start eating, but Selena opens hers first, "Hey," Selena called out, breaking the silence.

"What?" Yuro asked, there is a noticeable shake in his voice.
"What are we doing?" she asked, curling herself in a ball on the ground.
"Good question. I don't have an answer to that," I replied silently.
"Do you think we should talk about a few things to break this gloomy tone?" Xiu suggested.
"Like?" Scarlet wondered, leaning in forward, interested.
"So anyone here has any love interests?" Xiu mischievously asked.
At that moment, I knew we wouldn't be eating for a long time.
"Don't put such forceful topics into this awkward situation!" Selena protested in an angry tone.
This whole conversation is growing increasingly awkward by the minute, I thought. I should just leave them be and spectate. This will be a learning experience for me, a chance to see everyone in their relaxed state. A tad bit earlier than expected, but no complaints.
"You wanted someone to break the ice, and now you're protesting? Talk about hard to please!" Xiu folded her arms and pouted.
"There are other ways to 'break the ice' your method was just uncomfortable!" Selena continued to resist.
"Is it because my sister has someone she likes?" Scarlet pressed the tip of her bottom lip with her index finger and narrowed her eyes on Selena.

This must be some form of "girl talk" as Emigrace calls it. In these conversations, girls would talk about the most random things and get fussy about sensitive topics, in this case, someone's love life. I don't even want to get myself wrapped up in this nonsense, but it does provide some sort of insight on who these people are. At one point, they're flat as a brick, but in another, they're booming with energy to the point of it being difficult to keep track of their true colors. People are amazing life forms.

"D-don't be silly, big sis!" Selena stuttered, a flustered look on her face as she waved both of her hands in front of her.
"I can read you like a book," Scarlet smiled.
"Is that supposed to be some sort of composure!? Because it's not helping in such a forced attempt at humoring us!" Selena wailed into high heavens.
"Selena is clearly a judgemental type of person," I said out loud and nodded to myself, "uh-huh. I certainly wouldn't want her in an espionage mission."
Of course, I said that on purpose. Since from past experiences, to name one, Emigrace, describing a person in a way they wouldn't want to be would anger them. For an awkward conversation, this is proving quite entertaining.
"No one asked for a robot's opinion!" Selena, who is clearly agitated to the point beyond disbelief.
"Too much protesting is suspicious," Xiu, who remained quiet up to now spoke up.
"Shut it!" Selena roared.
"You can tell your sister, I won't judge," Scarlet stood up from her spot on the cold stone floor to rest both her hands on Selena's shoulders. She locked her gaze on Selena, making her even more nervous with each passing second of silence.

Selena didn't say a thing, she was embarrassed but mostly angry. I have doubts that she likes someone, but as Emigrace did mention the fact we are teenagers in a school training students to be full-fledged soldiers. Teenagers going through puberty, as explained and lectured to us in class, a process that occurs to people between ages ten to twenty, where the body undergoes a complete change in preparation for adulthood. For males, testosterone hormone kicks in and hair starts growing in various places. Our voice gets seemingly deeper because of the change in our vocal cords, and we learn about the reproductive cycle-I guess I should stop there. Perhaps this is what people mean by me being a "robot," but I think I'm quite humorous... maybe.
"Don't you have anything to say for yourself!?" Selena pointed at me, trying to avoid her sister's gaze.
I snapped out of thoughts to reply, "nothing really, I'm just thinking about something Emigrace said."
That last part slipped out. I tend to say what was on my mind when I'm deep in thought.
"Emigrace? The Head of Recruitment?" Xiu asked, interested judging from her tone.
"Yeah," I nod, "she's my caretaker."
"Your what?" Selena leaned in, also interested.
At least this drew away the awkward atmosphere of people's love lives, I thought.
"My caretaker," I spoke louder. In response, everyone stood there like statues with open mouths.
As expected, this will draw attention from the others, but they get a chance to learn more about me.
"I dunno what to say to this," Yuro said, eyes wide open as he returned from the shadows that he was hiding in.
"You appeared out of nowhere," I said, barely showing any surprise to his sudden appearance.
"That's beside the point, what do you mean she's your caretaker?" Selena annoyingly demanded.
"As I said it. She's. My. Caretaker," I tried to talk slower to push it into their thick skulls.
"No, we get that. But explain how she took care of you?" Scarlet asked, more politely than her bashful younger sister.
Sheesh, right to the point. I hardly remember anything in my past, I thought.
"Well.. around seven years ago, she was on a scouting mission to find people to recruit, and she found me, and took me in to train and lecture. That about sums it up," I try to explain.

I hardly remember a thing, all I remember was that I was in the Light Faction and I was taken in by Emigrace at a young age. Any time between that and my first year in the Illusion Academy is a big mystery. Of course, I left out the Light Faction part, just in case it spurs any kind of resentment from the rest of them, which I wouldn't want, and certainly something Emigrace or Ace wouldn't want either. Yes, I would be lying to them with a small detail of my past, but it's better than possible resentment for being affiliated with the opposing faction in some way.

".. Anything else?" Xiu continued to persist, her eyes glittering with excitement.
"Nope. I don't remember anything else after that anyway," I say, shrugging it off as if it was nothing.

Truth be told, it's wasn't nothing. I want to remember what I did for the past seven years. But every time I try to recall my lost memories, my head starts hurting and I lose that thought. It may be better to live in ignorance about my past. After all, ignorance is bliss, as my English professor would say often in his lectures.

"That sounds kinda fishy," Xiu said, looking doubtful.
"It is what it is, don't blame me for not remembering. I have a bad memory, y'know?" I said sharply.
I guess these country slangs are starting to stick in my head now, sheesh. What a pain, I thought.
"Speaking of 'fishy' things," Yuro called from the corner he was idling in, "can we PLEASE start eating?" he groaned in pain, with both of his hands holding up against his stomach as if he's trying to push down his body's need for food.
"Oh... hahaha... I guess we were so caught up in that conversation that I forgot to unpack the rations," Xiu nervously said, playing with her fingers as usual.
"A forced conversation, I might add," I said coldly.
"I couldn't help it! Selena was asking for one!" Xiu shot back at me.
"That doesn't mean you had to open up with an uncomfortable topic," I said, again in a toneless voice.
"Just drop it, we need to prioritize our hunger," Scarlet ordered with her demanding voice and firm presence.

At that moment, Xiu nodded and started taking out the rations out of the huge backpack she was carrying all the way here. I thankfully take my share of a water bottle, a few energy bars, and canned meat. What surprises me wasn't the saddening contents of the meal itself, it was how much authority Scarlet has over us. I suppose that is expected since she is the first seat in the Elite Division. Not that I'm jealous or anything, I would rather have it this way. It's too tiring giving orders to others, but that's how I see things. I'm usually the one being ordered around anyway, so I don't see any real need to change my position. Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds depressing from an outside view, doesn't it? ... I shouldn't think about it.

Once we all got our share, we pulled off the lid of the canned meat. I think a few of us gagged at the poor sight of the oval tin can being stuffed with pinkish meat. Oddly, with yellow textures in it. I couldn't tell if there was any smell at all, probably because of the long day. At this point, I don't think we cared what we were about to eat, we were hungry. If one were to reject eating this, it would most likely be Selena, due to her easily disgusted and agitated attitude towards things and Yuro. Then, I must prepare myself if Selena comes after any of our heads for fresh, human meat-that might not happen since I know that girl is at least capable of gulping down this... horrible excuse for a meal. Despite the long pause, it took us to even begin digging in; we started gorging it down as if we haven't eaten in weeks. I suppose we all had the same thought process, "maybe if I scarf all of this down my throat, the disgusting taste won't register to my brain," or maybe I'm being silly since I didn't even reach that conclusion myself, I was just hungry. After all, whenever I had to eat something I didn't like, Emigrace would forcefully push it down my throat if I was being remarkably unreasonable. For some reason, horrible life lessons from Emigrace are embedded into mind, yet what I actually did is still a fuzzy mess. Well, because of that, I have the need to gorge down everything in front of me, or else she'll force-feed me. From what I recall from such an important experience, it was really painful, knowing that she was shoving her hand full of food into my mouth.

Seriously, can I remember something meaningful about my past, and not something so unnecessary. Well, I suppose it reminded me that I was a picky eater, but that isn't as meaningful as what I would want to know. All of it frustrates me. Even though I couldn't express that on the outside, I felt it on the inside.

After finishing the meal, I placed on the ground next to me and grabbed the water bottle near me, twisting it open and enclosing my mouth all around the edges, holding up my head as I gulped down heavy amounts of water to refresh my body. I lowered my head and popped my lips off the top, sighing with relief, I take a short glance to the rest of my teammates. Who were still attempting to eat their canned grub. They haven't picked up on the fact that I've already finished, except for a half-full water bottle and two untouched energy bars. This group is certainly interesting, for having such a humorous conversation earlier, despite we almost died from that boss Heartless and had to trek in the heavy rain back there. It almost amuses me to think people can relax so quickly, well, this is a hunting mission, after all, on a real battlefield, I expect them to be tenser and on high-alert than this. We don't have any real problems to deal with at the moment, other than the lack of fire and soaked clothes. I guess they have no real problems at all, laughing and talking to each other as if it's a normal day at school. I focus my gaze on Yuro, who has been eating quietly for a while. It was weird. Normally, he'll be bursting with energy like he did a while back before we found the clearing. Now, he looks gloomy. I wonder if there's something on his mind. I walk over to him, slightly patting his back in a friendly manner, bending down to meet his eyes before speaking,

"Is something wrong?" I asked, still toneless.
Yuro gulped down a bit of water before answering in a lowered tone, "Yes."
So something is wrong. If I make one more push, maybe he'll tell me.
"Want to talk about it?" I try to maintain a soft tone.
He nods slowly and begins to talk, "the Calamity Project."
I look at him with a confused look, "what about it?"
"Is it really about building a utopia?" he asks, narrowing his eyes on me.

I froze up. What have they been telling them? Emigrace states it was for economic advancement and technological advancement, which is why we are fighting the Light Faction in the first place. It wasn't about the Yin Yang concept Ace mentioned, it was about our own advancement for the betterment of the human species. That's all they told me. But I didn't know they have been lying to the people outside of the Elite Division. What is this about a utopia? A utopia is commonly seen as "the perfect city," are they deceiving the public?

As soon as I was continuing deeper into these thoughts, I felt a sharp electrifying pain in my head. I grip my head with both of my hands, trying to regain control. Once I did, I forgot what I was thinking about. Frustrated, again, I ask Yuro what he meant, he replies,
"They intend to create the perfect utopia by combining the two factions, but what I don't get is why we have to fight them," his eyes continuing to pierce me, "you understand, right?"
I nod, "yeah," gripping the tip of my chin, I speak, "perhaps it's the belief of Yin and Yang."
"Yin and Yang?" he asked, oblivious to the term.
"It's the belief of two forces forever clashing, but will never join together. A force where both must co-exist. That's why we split up into Light and Darkness because our ancestors believed in that belief. The Light Faction wants to respect their ancestors and protect this balance, the Darkness Faction doesn't. The addition of 'Faction' to each of the forces came about when the Calamity Project started," I slowly explain in detail to him.
"So it's just a political war between the both forces?" Yuro wondered, hoping for clarification for his own thoughts.
"That's right. The Darkness Faction is trying to erase this belief to build a perfect utopia by joining together with the Light Faction," I say with a deadpan voice and stare.
What am I saying? These aren't my thoughts. Why can't I do anything? What happened to the free will I've gained a few days ago? Did it vanish?
I quickly snap back into reality, looking at the vision of Yuro staring at me with concern.
"Kazu, can I tell you something?" he asked, looking away.
"Huh? Sure," I nodded.
"It's something about my past that's been bothering me," he whispered.

The future has been torn by antimony. You'll be the one to change it, with your power and those who support you.

END

NEXT TIME:

THE STRUGGLE OF THE POOR

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello and happy July everyone! Please enjoy this fresh chapter I've prepared, and tell me on what I should improve on and what you liked. I'm open to criticism anytime.