Tap tap tap

  Large and long pale fingers rapped against the surface of the dark wooden table, the watch on his right wrist glistening in the light like it was dancing to the sound of his tapping. The sound echoed in the quiet of the room but nothing was able to gain his attention. Nothing except for the paper in his other hand, his eyes refusing to leave it for a moment.

  Darren sat in the reception room of the hospital director’s office and reviewed the documents about Grey’s condition. He meant to go through the rest but he stared at the report from the Yang Hunter who had used his abilities to enter and examine Grey’s mind.

  —---

  Date: 20XX/05/13

  Examiner: Yang Hunter Troy Evans

  Patient: Grey Acero

  Notes: Newly awakened Yin Healer

  Report Notes:

  Yang Hunter Troy Evans reported at 3:34 PM at Emerald City Hospital on May 13th, 20XX. The patient shows symptoms of severe memory loss. Internal Inspection requested to assess extent of damage for treatment purposes.

  Examination:

  After entering the unconscious of the patient, the space within was empty, void and completely blank with only a small newly formed core. Core size approximation to be 10mm. Nothing else found within. This is the first experience of witnessing such an situation. There were no traces or remnants of past memories left within the patient's newly formed core. Core contains memory starting from the moment of consciousness within the hospital. *Please see personal log report for a more detailed analysis of the examination.

  Treatment / Special Notes::

  There is no treatment available. Recommendation is to request personal history from those the patient trusts to rebuild their foundation. Monthly examinations will take place to research phenomenon. Research help and invitation sent Globally.

  *This report should be marked and studied....

  —----

  He must have reread the report a few dozen times already. But no matter how many times he looked at it, the words and their meaning did not change.

  So it was true.

  The Grey he had known for years was essentially dead and gone. Never to return, without a trace and without a sound. It was a… pathetic ending.

  He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands, laying the reports on the table and leaning back within the chair his eyes closed towards the ceiling.

  The Grey he had just met couldn’t be seen as anything even remotely pathetic. He seemed as if he wouldn’t bleed blood after being stabbed, he felt strong and unfamiliar. Even after losing his memories, he didn’t seem shaken at all. As if all of this was just the same as usual and he couldn’t be bothered to panic over something so trivial.

  It was an interesting feeling. They should theoretically not be different as they were in fact the same person, but no matter how much he thought about it, he just couldn’t seem to think of them as similar. They were so different. There were no traces of his former self. Even his expressions and mannerisms seemed to have changed.

  Maybe he had been possessed by some spirit or demon. Either way, it wasn’t a bad thing. He was finally getting rid of him.

  His fingers tapped against the surface again. The sound echoing in the quiet room, finally catching his attention so he pulled his hand back to cross his arms against his chest. He sighed once more and rolled his shoulders. What was he doing?

  Knock, knock.

  He sat up and looked at the door.

  “Come in.”

  A man in a plain navy suit, his assistant, walked in and handed over the envelope he had been holding.

  “Sir, here are the papers you requested. I apologize for being late, he wanted to make sure there could be no loopholes.”

  Darren accepted the envelope and opened it with an indifferent face. His assistant stood before him, glancing down at the table, catching glimpses of the reports of Grey’s condition.

  “So it’s true.” He softly murmured to himself.

  “So it seems.” Darren answered, hearing the soft murmur as if it were spoken out normally. He looked up at the man still standing before him, flinching as if caught doing something wrong.

  “He was the one who requested an end to this engagement.”

  “Wow. That is quite shocking considering how he normally acts.” His assistants eyes widened in surprise.

  “Yes, I had assumed he was faking it but since Yang Hunter Troy did the examination, there is no doubt. He has no memories of me and our situation. The families might protest, however since he was the glue that held the engagement together, no one can say anything when he ended it with his own mouth and now-” He held up the contract “His own hand.”

  He paused, “But... Put a tail on him.”

  “Yes, sir. That would be smart.”

  “Yes, I just need to confirm that he isn’t up to anything. Call Yang Hunter Troy here.”

  "Ah, I thought you might want to speak with him so he is on his way here now."

  "Good. Call him in."

  His assistant opened the door and ushered the much older tall and bulky man inside. He was covered in scars and he had his salt and pepper hair cut tightly to his head, his posture and demeanor giving off a militaristic vibe. He nodded his head as he saw Darren and took the seat across from him.

  "Yang Hunter Darren Stur. It's been a while."

  "It has. I didn't know you had taken a position in the hospital?"

  "I'm old now, kid. I should step aside and let you young ones get some hits in."

  Darren smirked at the old man in front of him. It was odd to even consider the man before him old when the only thing that even told of his age was merely the sprinkling of silver throughout his black hair. His face and body certainly didn't show it and the massive amount of Yang energy flowing from him certainly was just as energetic as his own. Calling himself old might as well have been a joke, he was stronger than most of those he referred to as "Young Ones."

  "If you're old than we need a new definition made in the dictionary for those who can barely get around."

  Troy laughed loudly and then sighed, he leaned back in the chair and put his hand to his chin to rub the stubble starting to show. "So, you wanted to hear about your fiancé's condition? I hear he just awakened... at 38 too. I'm sorry about what happened."

  Darren stared at Troy and didn't bother correcting the assumption that he was his fiancé. It wasn't wrong since, at this moment, it did pertain to him as they had yet to sign the papers so he merely nodded once and Troy continued on, "Awakening that late is such unique situation but his condition... I've never seen anything like it before."

  "Could you tell me more about that?"

  Troy frowned and scrubbed a hand over his face, turning his head to look out the window before turning to look back at Darren.

  "For you to better understand the situation, let me tell you what the normal is. When I touch someone, a sort of room appears, a space. There are no walls or floor, of course but it is a room nonetheless. In that room, tree like branches are everywhere and all connect at a core so to speak. The core is where everything sprouts from and the size depends on age, the larger the core the longer the life they have lived. Cores form the moment the brain finished development and actually becomes functional, that is when the memories begin to sprout and branch out. Many of those memories are colorless because the consciousness of the person hasn't been established yet so there was no substance, or "color" to fill them with yet.

  So as you go up the branches, the colors are vibrant and the ones that are the brightest are the ones with the most clarity. You could consider those memories to be the most special to that person, whether they be good or bad memories. Those are what I would call the "knots" of the tree as they are main basis of a person's personality. When those core memories are damaged, people could change drastically or become depressed as if they have lost something important. Those with suicidal tendencies are the ones whose knots have been damaged. Or If someone experiences trauma, they may cut the branch from the core as a way of protecting themselves. Even those with multiple personality disorders, they are people that have created multiple cores and taken branches from the main and placed them on those cores-all of this done unconsciously. It's interesting. So..while branches may be cut off or broken down into "dust", it is still within that space. Does that make sense?"

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Darren nodded so Troy continued on.

  "So usually when I go in, I can take the branch and trim it or slowly put sections of that branch back onto the main core. There are times when the branch is so damaged that it has crumbled to pieces but usually I will still see the "dust" of the memory and can actually separate and gather those that match and repair them to an extent. I don't usually have to do too much work as most people don't want the full memory anyway, just the summed up version.

  But when I entered Grey's mind. There was nothing. The space was empty except for one small core. It was barely the size of a marble the size of my thumbnail. And the only memories it holds is from the moment his eyes opened in the hospital. There were no cut branches, no dust, nothing. I could feel absolutely nothing except for that tiny little particle that could barely be considered a core.

  I had shivers. I have fought gates for over 50 years of my life and for the first time, I actually felt fear. What kind of damage must one take in order for their entire being to be completely wiped? Everything. Every part that made them who they are. It was gone."

  "If there was nothing there, how could he talk and function like normal?"

  Troy shook his head, "No, no. That part, like bodily function and education, those don't reside in that space. I guess you could say the space I am able to access is an imaginary area that my ability creates that lets me see just their memories. I can see the memory of them learning how to talk and walk, but that ability learned is not in that space. That is not something I have access to. For me to control minds, I change something in the memories that will make that person choose to follow me but that effect is also temporary. The moment I release my ability, the memories return to their original state. For treatment, I can mend the broken bits but I can't change the content. I can trim part off, but I can't change what it is permanently. But Grey's memories are definitely gone. What he had learned and retained, is stuff that becomes part of the body, I guess you could say. Like muscle memory. It is why he can talk and eat just fine, but didn't know who he was or even what Yin Healers, Yang Hunters or gates were."

  Darren stared at Troy for moment and then nodded, "I see. So the place of his memories was empty."

  "In a sense, he is worse off than a newborn. Even his core, is extremely small. I honestly can't explain how he has such a sturdy personality. It isn't in his core and there are no key knots for branches. How he can make such a strong impression... I can't explain it. And I have no answers. This is a first and I am completely at a loss. He will be coming to me for treatment and I have contacted other Yang Hunter's globally and invited them here to help study this situation but... It is something I don't know how to treat or explain."

  "Is this... situation dangerous?" Darren asked.

  "I don't know. I don't have any data to back up facts, but I can give you my opinion. He will be fine. Maybe more than fine. He seems to have a strong and steady will so I don't think he is in danger, mentally at least."

  "I suppose that is a relief."

  "I'm sorry I can't give you something more definitive. It's just, there is no such case as his before."

  "No, I understand. Thank you for taking time to handle this situation. Could you keep me informed of your findings?"

  Troy smiled and nodded, standing up and reaching his hand out which Darren took and shook. "Of course, kid. He's your fiancé so I'm sure you must be worried."

  ".... Right." Darren let go of his hand and then watched as he turned to leave.

  "I'm off, no need to see me out. I'll contact you later. Take care, kid."

  "Yes, Yang Hunter Troy."

  Darren sighed and picked up the envelope while his assistant, cleaned up the medical records and returned them to their folder.

  "Let's go get these signed."

  Darren and his assistant made their way back towards the VIP section. He slid the door open and frowned, the sight that unfolded before him was a blank faced Grey sitting up in his bed and eating his dinner. No, more like picking at it.

  Darren stepped into the room as the assistant shut the door behind them with a soft click.

  Does he have the appetite of a bird?

  Looking over his shoulder at the man, he gestured to Grey and the man nodded and stepped back out from the room.

  Hearing the door open, Grey glanced in his direction with an indifferent face before returning his attention back to pushing the food around on his plate.

  Darren clenched his fist in his pocket, angry at himself for nearly bristling at the action of him ignoring him and walked steadily towards Grey and sat at the chair at his bed side.

  Grey sighed and finally pushed his plate away, causing Darren’s face to scrunch at the lack of food consumed.

  “Are you protesting or something? Why aren’t you eating?”

  Grey rolled his eyes as he shook his head, “Whether I protest or not, it’s none of your concern. Just hand me those papers and give me a pen. I’ll sign it now so you and yours can leave quickly.”

  "So you are protesting? Why are you acting like a child throwing a tantrum? Don't you know you have to eat to actually get better?"

  Grey sighed, "I'm not protesting or throwing a tantrum. The food... is not edible."

  Darren nearly laughed at the sight of his pout. He always knew that Grey was beautiful. Anyone with eyes could see he was radiant, quite possibly the most attractive human he had ever seen but because of his ridiculous personality Darren could only see him as a pest and had never actually been able to appreciate his face. In this moment, he found himself staring at the plump pink lips pouting and felt his throat go dry as he swallowed hard.

  How would those lips feel if he bit them?

  He shook his head and the thoughts from his mind and spoke, "The food is meant to be eaten by patients. You are a patient and have only recently woken up. It's not like you can just eat whatever you wish. It would make you sick."

  "Yes, Dr. Darren. I do understand that food needs to be easily digestible for patients. However! Just because something is easily digestible does not mean that it is edible. Everything tastes like cardboard."

  "I didn't know you had a habit of eating cardboard?" Darren said barely managing to contain his smirk.

  "Apparently, since that's exactly what this food tastes like. But why are you still here? Is aggravating me a new hobby of yours? I sincerely hope not, as I do not wish to see you after signing the contract. Speaking of, hand it over."

  Grey scrunched his face, holding his hand out waiting for the papers and wiggling his fingers for emphasis to hurry. Darren, stared at the small pale hand in front of his face. It was the first time he realized just how small those hands and wrists were. Even if he had been unconscious for 4 months, that shouldn't affect his body that much. Why are they so small?

  He sucked in a breath and placed the envelope on those tiny fingers.

  Grey pulled out the contract and held out his hand expectantly. Darren pulled the pen from within his jacket and again placed on top of the small delicate pale hand and watched as he practically twirled it and then read through the contract, nodding his head and moving to the next line. Seeming to agree with everything, he quickly signed his name.

  He put the papers back within the envelope and then handed both the pen and envelope back to Darren.

  “Well, I would like to say it was a pleasure but it wasn't. I may have only know you for a short time today but I hope this will be the last time you and I cross paths. Learn to treat your next fiancé like a human and maybe seek therapy for your shit personalty, it's never too late. But you make me think some assholes can't be saved. Anyway, have a nice life AND you can fuck off now.”

  Darren licked his lips and a smile naturally spread across his face. “Right. Try not to get into any more trouble.”

  Just as he stood to leave, the shadow-like assistant opened the door and handed a brown paper bag to Darren. Darren nodded and took the bag only to hand off to Grey.

  “Eat. You need to get energy to ruin lives.” And exited the room.

  Grey stared at the door with his mouth open before frowning and opening the bag. It was soft but fresh and flavorful food that made his mouth water. He glanced at his plate that he had pushed away and barely touched and looked back into the bag on his lap.

  “Well the food didn’t do anything wrong. I shouldn’t waste it just because the person who gave it to me was a douche-canoe. Yes, let's not waste this precious food. The food is innocent.”

  And with that, he opened the containers and finally had a meal that filled his stomach for the first time in days. He felt so full and content he almost felt a small moment of positive emotion towards that jerk, almost but not quite.

  After clearing away his trash, he pulled out the notebook that Mel, his nurse had kindly brought him seeing as he didn’t have anything to do during his time there.

  He started and listed out everything from the story that he could remember, though to be honest, he barely remembered anything other than the main character’s name. He silently cursed his friend for writing such a shitty story.

  He sighed and focused:

  ------

  Main Character : Reo Maren

  Awakens at 22 and is then brought to the main branch of U.H.H.A in Emerald City (United Hunters and Healers Association) for testing. His power turns out to be S -rank and he is then assigned to the highest compatibility rates of the Yang Hunters. There will be five of those fuckers. Reo doesn’t stay at HQ but goes to the East Side where the fancy branch is, those Yangs follow him.

  Yang #1 - (asshole) can’t remember the name but this one is the main ML since he has the most interaction with MC, even confines the MC, chains and all. Think his power was telekinesis or something like that

  Yang #2 - (psycho) his ability is fire and he basically likes to burn and leave scars on the MC, he does heal the mc after but he's so traumatized after. P.O.S

  Yang #3 - (pervert psycho) this fucker liked to make weird contraptions with his ice ability and fill the mc with weird shit against the MCs will.

  Yang #4 - (narcissist/abuser) mind fucker, he liked to pretend to be nice and then beat the shit out of the MC and made up reasons for why he deserved to be beat. Don't remember power

  Yang #5 - (asshole) this fucker was married but stalked the mc and kidnapped him from #1 only to emotionally abuse him. Can’t remember his power, but he liked to force himself on the MC.

  Gates I remember:

  Lava - was in the beginning so like June or so after he awakened

  Underwater- Mid story, one tried to drown the MC cause the ML struggled in the gate

  Jungle - towards the end and Yang #4 gets injured one of the main catalysts for Reo choosing suicide as he had to take care of that injured fuck and the daily beatings crushed what was left of his will to live.

  All seasoned labyrinth - was the one where they find the item for returning to the past.

  —---

  Scanning his notes he sighed, he didn’t remember much at all. The only thing he could really rely on was just staying as far away from Reo as he could. Whatever branch he went to, Grey would go in the opposite direction. It was safer that way.

  He never wanted to get mixed up with any of those crazy fuckers. He felt bad for Reo but it wasn't any of his business and he didn't want to deal with any of that shit. It was hard enough just trying to adapt to the fact that he was no longer in his own body but now he was in a completely different world with fucking monsters and psychopaths every where.

  He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, if he ever got back to his world he would give his friend one good punch to the face. A black eye. Or a losing a tooth. He wouldn't be satisfied until he either lost a tooth or had a black eye.

  He leaned back in his bed, the notebook clutched to his chest. There was so much that needed to be done, but he was already exhausted. Well, if he had to look at the bright side, at least he didn't have to marry some stranger who was an asshole on their first meeting. He shook his head, he wouldn't have to deal with that fucker any more so he should just forget him.

  Grey tucked the book beneath his pillow and then pulled the blanket back over his shoulder. No need to worry, he would just take it one step at a time. There was no need to rush. He would be ok.

  He had to be.