Splash!

Ascan, who had lost consciousness after being suddenly doused with water, woke up.

His entire body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton—due to repeated, unscheduled injections of sedatives forcibly suppressing his inner strength.

The man standing before Ascan, clad in a white lab coat, asked:

“What’s your name?”

“…A…s…can…”

“Where are you?”

Unable to answer, Ascan rolled his eyes and looked around.

He… couldn’t remember.

Why he was tied to a chair, who the man in front of him was, or where this place was—it was as if his mind had been wiped blank, nothing came to him at all.

Watching Ascan’s shocked expression, the man asked again:

“No. 13, answer me. Where are you?”

“…Don’t know.”

“How old are you?”

“Can’t remember.”

The man smiled with satisfaction at Ascan’s confused answers.

The questioning man walked over to his colleagues standing at a distance and spoke with them. Thanks to his sharp hearing, Ascan could faintly overhear:

“We’ve confirmed it multiple times over several days. He’s definitely lost his memory.”

“He kept causing pointless rebellions—this is actually convenient.”

“Exactly.”

Lost his memory?

He could sense their conversation was related to him—but that was all.

No matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind except his name.

The only faint traces lingering in his head were memories of water torture, electric shocks, and brutal beatings—that was all.

Returning after speaking with his colleagues, the man untied the ropes binding Ascan and quietly ordered:

“Take No. 13 to his room.”

Two burly men standing by the door grabbed Ascan’s arms—he was limp from the sedatives—and dragged him somewhere.

Even as he was dragged along the floor, Ascan remained utterly bewildered.

‘Where is this? Who… am I, exactly?’

It felt like he’d forgotten something important, and his heart pounded anxiously.

Soon, having apparently reached their destination, the two burly men shoved Ascan into a room.

Inside a cage-like space enclosed by iron bars, a boy around Ascan’s age was already there.

The boy, with ashen eyes and dull blue hair, was strikingly handsome—but his expression was cold, as if pricking him with a needle wouldn’t draw a single drop of blood.

Ascan eyed the boy warily and asked:

“Who… are you?”

“Huuu—”

In response to Ascan’s question, the boy immediately let out a sigh.

Frowning, he spoke to Ascan in a low voice:

“I think this is the seventh time I’ve heard that question.”

“Seventh time?”

“Yeah. A few of those times, they beat me up for not answering properly—caused quite a commotion.”

As if to prove his point, the boy lifted his shirt to reveal bruises.

“This time, I really hope you won’t beat me like a dog.”

Though Ascan still couldn’t fully drop his suspicion of the boy, the story didn’t feel entirely implausible, so he softened his expression and asked again:

“So, what’s your name?”

“No. 164.”

“No. 164?”

“If you mean the name I used outside, please call me Bill.”

“Bill…”

Ascan fell into thought for a moment—but it was as if his memories had been surgically excised; nothing came to him.

Yet, apparently, losing memories didn’t erase emotions. His heart kept pounding uncomfortably.

“Bill, do you know where this place is?”

“I feel like I’ve explained this several times already, but if you want to hear it again, sure. This is the Human Weapon Research Lab of the Calua Empire.”

“Research lab?”

“They’re experimenting on us—inserting special powers into our bodies. Supposedly to turn us into human weapons.”

Ascan recalled the only faint memory that had surfaced earlier: scenes of being tortured in various ways.

Truthfully, it felt less like a memory and more like the pain from that time had been branded permanently into him.

“Is that experiment dangerous?”

“Of course it’s dangerous. Assume most people die.”

Die…

As soon as Ascan heard that, he inexplicably felt repulsed.

He didn’t want to die—not yet. For some reason, he felt like he still had something left to do.

Ascan looked at Bill and asked again:

“Do you know anything about me?”

“Of course I do. You’re quite famous in this lab. You’re the first person who ever successfully escaped. No. 13—nobody here doesn’t know that name.”

“I escaped this place? So I was recaptured?”

“Yes. Many were disappointed when they saw you—the one with the greatest ability in this lab—brought back in. It felt like hope had vanished.”

“Do you know what I did after escaping?”

“No idea. But I do know you attempted to escape again several times after returning. Thanks to you, this place nearly collapsed.”

Following Bill’s finger, Ascan saw blackened scorch marks on the building’s inner wall.

Since he had no memory of any of this, it felt like listening to someone else’s story.

Watching Ascan lost in thought, Bill continued:

“Your repeated escape attempts are why they wiped your memory. Truly despicable people.”

“Do you happen to know why I kept trying to escape?”

“We’re not close enough for me to know something like that. But I did overhear you muttering ‘young lady’ in your sleep a few times.”

Young lady?

If he’d called out a name, maybe—but just “young lady”? That was far too vague to be a clue.

Ascan couldn’t understand why he’d been so desperate to leave this place.

Was it simply because he wanted to live?

It felt like he’d lost something profoundly important—and it left him deeply unsettled.

Bill studied Ascan’s expression and spoke cautiously:

“Still, today you’re the calmest I’ve ever seen you. Usually, after losing your memory, you’re always furious.”

“Was I…?”

He couldn’t recall why he’d been angry.

Even now, he felt anger rising in his chest—but since he’d forgotten the reason, he couldn’t take it out on innocent people.

Suddenly struck by a thought, Ascan looked at Bill curiously and asked:

“Why do you speak so politely to me? Am I older than you?”

“You are one year older, yes—but last time, you beat me senselessly because you didn’t like my tone.”

“Oh…”

Truly, he remembered nothing.

Seeing Ascan’s embarrassed expression, Bill chuckled.

“It’s fine. I’m used to it by now.”

“I don’t remember much, but if I caused you trouble, I apologize.”

“No, it’s not that. I was the one who first made some unpleasant remarks about that ‘young lady’ you kept muttering. Still, having this kind of conversation with you feels… strangely surreal.”

Bill’s eyes sparkled as if amused by the situation, but Ascan felt an inexplicable emptiness and couldn’t bring himself to respond.

It kept feeling like he’d lost something precious.

Ascan adapted to life in the lab.

Truthfully, life here was so simple that “adaptation” was hardly necessary.

Eat at scheduled times, sleep when lights-out is announced.

When summoned by researchers, get dragged off by burly men to endure all sorts of experiments—days stripped of personal freedom.

Though he couldn’t compare it to the past due to his amnesia, he sensed the recent experimental intensity had sharply increased compared to before.

The children staying in the rooms beside Ascan’s had all died and been taken away.

Moreover, the lab’s population seemed to have halved. Judging by the reduced amount of food brought in, this wasn’t an unfounded suspicion.

His sharp instincts were sending danger signals.

‘Something’s wrong.’

From then on, Ascan began using his exceptional hearing to eavesdrop as much as possible on the researchers’ conversations.

“Have you heard how restless public sentiment’s become lately? Diplomacy with other empires has completely broken down.”

“I heard too. The Calua Empire’s human weapon experiments have become publicly known, so neighboring empires are ostracizing them.”

“The Calua Empire’s already barren as it is—now that diplomacy’s collapsed, villages near the border are full of people starving to death.”

“What on earth are they trying to achieve?”

Summarizing what he’d heard: The Calua Empire was facing diplomatic difficulties because its human weapon experiments had become publicly known to neighboring nations.

Ascan, being amnesiac, didn’t know—but this revelation had surfaced alongside the exposure of the Lazent Empire’s attempted kidnapping of Tanashia Brellof.

—the original story had diverged again.

In the novel, the Calua Empire had secretly continued its human weapon experiments till the end—but this time, unexpectedly exposed to the public, it was now struggling.

Since the Calua Empire had vast barren lands unsuitable for crops, severed diplomacy led to food shortages and countless civilian deaths.

“Could the human weapon experiments be discontinued at this rate?”

“No way that’d happen. Think of all the effort we’ve invested so far.”

“But how long can we survive with diplomacy completely severed?”

Listening to the researchers, Ascan realized the human weapon experiment might be terminated prematurely.

But if the experiment ended, would Ascan and the other children truly be safe?

Impossible.

An even greater danger than dying from experiments might be approaching. The dwindling number of children in the lab alone made that clear.

‘Are they reducing the number of test subjects to minimize food consumption?’

If not that…

‘Later, they might kill us all to erase any trace of the human weapon experiments.’

Ascan shared his findings with Bill, his roommate.

It wasn’t out of any special affection for him—simply because he felt kinship with the children here, and wished, if possible, for not even one more to die.

Bill’s cold expression twisted with anger.

“I knew it, but to them, we’re truly no more than lab rats—disposable depending on their circumstances.”

“Save the lamenting for later. Right now, we need to figure out how to act.”

“It’s not lamenting… I’m just so furious. Why must only we suffer like this? It’s so unfair I could die from it. I want those outside to suffer the same pain.”

Ascan’s feelings weren’t much different from Bill’s.

Probably, any child who’d suffered in this lab would feel the same.

Filled with rage and hatred toward the world, they felt they’d go mad unless they unleashed these emotions on someone.

But Ascan didn’t show it outwardly. Right now, planning how to respond was far more urgent than venting emotions.

“Whatever happens, the sharp drop in dead children clearly indicates they’re reducing numbers. From now on, don’t eat or drink anything provided here.”

If they decided to kill the test subjects, the easiest method would be poisoning the food.

Bill, understanding Ascan’s meaning without lengthy explanation, nodded resolutely.

The two endured by refusing to touch any food or water distributed by the researchers.

Since one couldn’t survive without water—even if skipping meals—they collected rainwater whenever it rained.

As expected, the number of children in the lab decreased at an alarming rate. Dozens of corpses were carried out daily.

Eventually, only about ten children remained—including Ascan and Bill.

The researchers gathered them all in one place: a room enclosed on all sides by solid iron, with only one wall made of reinforced glass.

The children stood inside the room while researchers observed them from beyond the glass wall.

One researcher, looking annoyed, opened his mouth to address Ascan and the children:

“We tested you to survive in any environment, but your lives truly rival cockroaches—unbelievably tenacious.”

Ascan stared expressionlessly at the researcher and said:

“What do you plan to do with us now?”

“Seeing how you’ve survived without food, I assume you already know. We’ve decided to kill you all here and terminate the human weapon experiment.”

Ascan realized the worst-case scenario had arrived.

At the researcher’s nod, sedatives began spraying into the space where the children were gathered.

They’d expected injections as usual—but apparently, to drain the strength of many children at once, they’d switched to airborne dispersal.

One by one, the children—including Bill—collapsed.

No one could withstand the sedative.

Except one.

Ascan, having received so many sedative injections, seemed to have developed a tolerance. He alone stood upright amidst the fallen bodies.

The researcher, unfazed by the sight, sneered:

“Hah, stubborn bastard. Should’ve dissected him while we had the chance.”

Ignoring what the researcher said, Ascan closed his eyes. To gather his inner strength, he needed to concentrate.

Whoosh—

Finally, flames began rising—one, then two—around Ascan.

Only then did astonishment flicker across the faces of the researchers, who had until now gazed at Ascan and the children with condescending amusement.