CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42: AND YOU ARE....?[GTG]

A young man with ink-black hair, like a raven’s wing, and piercing ruby eyes hurried down the brightly lit hallway.

A bandage, worn like a faded headband, circled his head, a stark contrast to the crisp white t-shirt he wore beneath a red-and-white striped pair of pants.

His academy blazer, emblazoned with the prestigious Military Academy emblem, hung loosely on his frame. Hands shoved deep in his pockets, his mind raced, a whirlwind of disjointed thoughts and unsettling images.

It was Ryan, and he was currently headed for the dormitory.

He had been discharged from the infirmary after confirmed to be in good condition, but he was still given the day off as the lessons were already underway.

So right now he was an an enormous building which was built with the sole purpose of housing the students of the prestigious academy.

He stepped in the hallway and he suddenly remembered something.

He had no idea were his dorm was.

"Fuck,"

Suddenly, a voice, raspy with a hint of urgency, broke through the fog clouding his mind.

"Oh my god, is that really you?"

He spun around, his gaze meeting a young man with hair the color of the deepest ocean and calm, sea-green eyes. This young man was dressed identically, except for his neatly buttoned blazer.

A flicker of recognition sparked in the newcomer’s eyes, but Ryan’s own mind was a frustrating blank.

"Ryan?"

The young man muttered, this expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Ryan! It’s really you!" he exclaimed, launching himself towards Ryan in a full-bodied hug.

But at the last second... He sidestepped.

*Thud*

The man crashed to the floor with a pained grunt.

In this world, where his memories were literally been kept from him, he trusted no one, not even those who seemed to know him.

’What a pain,’ he thought.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?!" the man winced, clutching his throbbing head. "Shouldn’t this be a reunion or something? Why are you acting this way?" His gaze pleaded for an answer.

"And who are you?" Ryan finally managed to ask, his voice rough with disuse.

"Who am I? Wait, are you serious right now?" The man’s bewilderment was palpable. "It’s me, Luke. Luke Scott. Don’t you remember me?" His arms spread wide in a gesture of harmlessness.

Bluntly, Ryan replied, "No"

Disappointment clouded Luke’s face. "I... I’m your roommate, don’t you remember?"

"I don’t"

"Did you loss your memories or something,"

"....,"

"So you did loss your memories.... I honestly don’t know where to begin..." he looked at Ryan in disbelieve as he spoke.

Wait...

This was actually too convenient a situation.

Ryan thought as a smile tugged his lips.

"Roommate, huh? Maybe you can point me towards my dorm room?"

Realization flickered across Luke’s face, and a shadow of concern lingered. "Yeah, sure," he mumbled, ushering Ryan towards the elevator.

"So... you really don’t remember anything?"

"Not a thing... Can you tell me something, anything, about myself?" Ryan replied without much thought.

Luke chuckled, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Well, we’re in mandatory service, that’s a given. First years, haven’t done anything noteworthy yet. But, if I were to describe you, I’d say you hardly the quiet type, much-much more of a talker than I would ever be..."

’Ugh, shouldn’t have asked,’ Ryan thought with an irritated look in his eyes.

"You were... okay, I guess. Not your everyday manic," Luke continued, "...but... if there was something about you, I just didn’t get, it would be your OBSESSION with certain classmate of ours... and I mean the ladies when I say that,"

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Obsession?"

"Yeah, that word fits the description perfectly," he made an "O" with his thumb and index fingers, "Whenever I asked, you just blow me off with some nonsense about life and death, but I knew the truth, you just wanted a harem, haha!" Luke’s laughter echoed down the hallway. But Ryan, a cold dread settling in his stomach, understood the weight of those words.

"But... you stopped after what Lyra did to you in the cafeteria. It was a whole new angle of brutal, man. Since that incident, you blew off some steam on the constant wooing."

"However... two months ago, you and your group were sent on a green gate mission, you guys wanted to get some training done and snag some points in the process. Easy stuff, considering your team’s abilities. But..." Luke trailed off.

"But...?" Ryan pressed, a sliver of his forgotten past yearning to be pieced together.

"You never came back," Luke said, his voice thick with emotion as he pressed the elevator button.

The doors slid open with a soft ping.

"Just like that?" Ryan asked, stepping into the metallic chamber.

"Everyone else returned, badly injured. Turns out the gate was a trap, it was high-jacked. Probably them... the gate sealed shut the moment your teammates escaped."

Ryan clenched his fists.

"What else did they say happened?"

"Something about encountering a powerful creature, tier five they said. Impossible for first years, obviously. Apparently, you told everyone to retreat while you distracted it. You were always proud of your speed, that I can attest to, but selfless? It just wasn’t something you would normally do. They said you told them to get away, that you’d catch up – you were the fastest in the group after all," Luke finished, his voice strained.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a brightly lit corridor lined with identical wooden doors.

"This is it," Luke said, a weak smile playing on his lips.

"Are we the only ones living here?" Ryan asked, the enormity of his amnesia settling in.

"For now, yeah," Luke confirmed.

"Dorms usually hold three, but our... ROOMMATE," he said, his expression hardening slightly, "got promoted recently. Took down a high-ranker and snagged his own room."

"What’s his name?" Ryan inquired, a flicker of recognition sparking in his own mind.

"Lucas," Luke said, his gaze intense. "Lucas Quinn."

’Now that kind of sounds familiar.’

[Of course it does, he is a child of destiny- or as you like to call him- the protagonist]

"Gotta go," Luke announced, checking his watch.

"Combat class. But I’ll be back before four."

With a wave, he disappeared down the hallway, leaving Ryan standing before their dorm room.

His voice faded as he sprinted into the elevator.

After a moment of thinking, Ryan reached for the doorknob, but as his fingers brushed the cool metal, a harsh reality slammed into him.

"What the hell?!" he roared, frustration boiling over. "He didn’t give me the fucking key!"