Seishin had lost his sense of time. Had he? Had he ever possessed one? The journey felt like a three-day walk, but it was a few hours at most. The three men reached an old, crumbling warehouse. Surrounded by a high wire mesh fence, the warehouse was located in the center of town. The fence was rusty, torn, and trampled in some places. Akai bent down and pushed through a gaping hole. Hesitantly, Seishin followed him; Liam allowed Seishin to go first.

This place is run-down and shady. Where are they going?

Suspicion began to poison Seishin’s thoughts as a questioning expression marred his face.

A rusty door was present on the side of the building, which Akai pushed open with effort and strength. A thin layer of rust peeled off the door and stuck to Akai’s hands. Patting the dirt off his pants, he entered the dark warehouse. There was no way Seishin would have found the door in the darkness and rain by himself. He followed the other two into the obscurity of the building. The remaining light gave a brief glimpse of the bare concrete floor, where shards and all sorts of plastic garbage lay in places.

Liam slid the door shut behind him. It creaked as it scraped across the floor. There was a familiar smell in the air, but Seishin barely noticed it. The crunch of the shards under the shoes added to the bang of the thunder above them. The sounds echoed off the bare walls.

Seishin realized that this place was not like the other houses in town. “What is this place?”

Akai answered him, his voice seeming distant, “This was the first lab in Sozo City. The beginning of Project Nihilum.” Seishin didn’t dare ask any more questions. His heartbeat pounded in his ears; his breath rattled.

“A lab. I’m standing in the middle of another lab. I wanted to get as far away from all this as possible,” he whispered, stunned. Now he could recognize the familiar smell: blood, disinfectant, and metal. Many years seemed to have passed since then, but he was sure. The thunder sounded almost like screams. It seemed as if the past had become the present.

“Everyone who comes here is reminded of what once happened to themselves. This way, we never forget our story.” Liam’s words snapped the purple-haired man out of his thoughts.

This statement, however, immediately stimulated new thoughts inside his mind: “Are there more people like us?” Neither of them answered. Akai smiled briefly, then continued walking. Liam waited for Seishin to pass him before following him.

At the end of the hall, the black-haired man stopped. In front of them were three glass cylinders lined up near the wall. The metal bars around them held the cylinders up high, allowing Akai to effortlessly step under the glass cylinders. “Don’t think we’re so poorly off that we think this is safe. Things are often not what they might seem to be.”

Liam and Seishin imitated Akai to do the same. As Seishin stood under the cylinder, it slowly descended until it was airtight with the ground. Briefly, panic overcame Seishin, along with the feeling of cold sweat. He saw that the cylinders on Akai and Liam were also closed. However, he could not relax completely.

“Can’t we just take the stairs? The violin can get damaged,” Liam complained. He was standing in the cylinder on the left.

“I’m sure it won’t. That would be boring.” Akai’s usually friendly smile turned into a slight grin.

The black-haired man stood bolt upright and closed his eyes. Without warning, the ground beneath Seishin’s feet disappeared, and he fell. A scream escaped his throat before he gasped for air. The wind rushed around his ears as he fell. A wall lay between him and the other two. Had they fallen too? Was this supposed to happen?

I’m going to hit the ground! Akai is completely insane. Maybe he can fly, but I can’t! I’m going to die! Hit the ground and break all my bones!

Before he reached the ground, however, a gust of wind caught him. His fall was gently stopped. Surprised, he looked down and saw the ground to be barely an arm’s length away. “I’m floating?” Gleaming bright blue light was visible under the grid on the ground. A clicking sound followed, and then the bright light went out. The gust of wind died down. The metallic clang echoed up the shaft as Seishin hit the ground with all his weight. A short cry of pain followed before he dazedly struggled to his feet.

Then the glass door in front of him opened, and he staggered outside in amazement. A bright light blinded his sensitive eyes, and his nose told him that food was nearby. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he didn’t know where to look first.

In front of him stretched a huge hall, through which happily gossiping people strolled. Chatter and clatter gave this place a liveliness that Seishin had never known before. “Welcome to the TP – also known as the Treffpunkt. It is the meeting place for everyone like us.” Akai proudly spread his arms. “Welcome home.”

Liam was busy fixing his clothes. He looked as if he had been caught in a hurricane. Seishin took a few steps forward in amazement. Along the walls of the hall were a few small booths. It seemed as if this place was a kind of market. From food to weapons to clothes, almost everything was offered here.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” The black-haired man laughed, gesturing for Seishin to follow him. The hallway to his left was lit by warm light and looked like the hallway of a school. Seishin followed Akai, chattering all sorts of stuff that went through his head at the sight of his surroundings. Like a small child, Seishin explored everything.

Finally, they stopped in front of an inconspicuous door. The noise from the hall could hardly be heard here. Akai knocked and then opened the door, making a soft creaking sound. The room in front of them turned out to be a kind of waiting room with a cushioned bench, a bookshelf with slightly worn books, plants, a carpet, and all sorts of room decorations.

“Kenko? Are you there?” Akai asked into the small room, but didn’t get an answer.

“Too bad, too bad,” Liam regretted playfully, thinking that he probably had better things to do than showing Seishin around. “No one’s here. Let’s go home.”

“I’m here.” A voice called from the next room. Liam opened the discreet, narrow door for all three of them to enter.

“Akai and Liam, what brings you here?” A young man stood in front of them. His voice did not match his height. He seemed almost as tall as Liam, maybe the same age. He stood with his back to them, rummaging through a pile of papers. The blue and white cap pushed his unruly dark brown hair against his head, and the plain gray jacket was a little too big for him. His dark gray pants were stuffed into the black knee-high boots that almost slipped off his feet.

Then he turned around. The cap covered his eyes, but he didn’t miss a thing. “Oh, a newbie. It’s always nice to see a new face, isn’t it?”

“This is Seishin. We found him on our territory. Maybe he should drop by the doctor later. His hand seems to have some scratches on it.” It was only now that Seishin noticed the small cuts on his hand; he must have acquired them from the fall in the alley.

“Oh, yes of course. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Kenko, the second-rank organizer.” The warm, friendly smile made him seem sympathetic.

Akai took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and was about to light one when he heard Kenko. “Akai? What did I say about cigarettes in the office?” Kenko complained, shooing Liam and Akai out of the office.

Seishin stayed in the next room and waited, while Akai asked one last question, “When will the auction be?”

“The day after tomorrow. He’ll be familiar with all the rules by then.” Then the two left, and Kenko closed the door.

He returned to the next room and pushed the stacks of papers off the table with a flourish. Then he sat down in a chair behind the table. “Sit down if you want. We need to talk.” Seishin smiled tentatively and hesitantly sat down on a wooden chair.

“Seishin, right?” The brown-haired man picked out a few pieces of paper from a stack and placed them on the desk in front of him. “Can you tell me what kind of weather it is right now?”

“Thunderstorm?” he answered hesitantly, and Kenko laughed softly.

“It’s all good. It’s not a test; I am so rarely up there that I have no idea what’s going on.” He sighed softly. “Did you escape or were you abandoned?”

“Escaped.” Seishin couldn’t guess Kenko’s motive.

“The catchers are looking for you now. Where would you go so that they wouldn’t find you?”

A smile spread across Seishin’s face as he understood. “Here.”

“You catch on quickly. Are you familiar with the color system?”

“Color system?” asked Seishin, confused. Kenko smiled gently.

“Okay, I see. We’ll start from the beginning. I’ll help you understand it.” Seishin nodded. Kenko began to explain. “In the lab, they did bad things to you. After they noticed your abilities, they began watching you before classifying you. This classification shows what you are. Green means you’re harmless. Grey means you’re dangerous. And red, which is rare, shows that you’re very dangerous. Each Experiment has their ID tattooed on their upper right arm.”

“ID?” Seishin interrupted him.

“A number they can recognize you by. Underneath, they implant a chip with all the data. You’ve probably already noticed the tattoo. First a color, then a number. Three categories are judged. In the first category, they judge how strong and dangerous your ability is.”

Seishin thought about what other abilities there might be. He abruptly remembered Liam and his violin.

“The second category is called potential. The lab technicians determine how many more abilities you can develop by testing you.”

Seishin knew he could only switch between his male and female forms. Maybe he could do more than that? Flying? Teleportation? A little excitement sprouted in him.

“The third category judges your brutality. Do you not harm others? Maybe a bit after all? Or do you even kill?” Seishin replied nothing. He saw Kenko pull something out of the desk drawer. “A chip reader. Then we’ll know right away who you are and what you can do. Many of the Experiments here are noticeable and can’t go shopping. That’s why I do it for them. I manage the territories and keep track of the organizations.”

Kenko held the reader to Seishin’s right upper arm, putting it away after the data was acquired. He turned to the computer standing behind him after that.

“How old are you?” asked Seishin curiously.

Kenko smiled. “Eighteen. Most people say I’m not old enough for this job. To be seen in the world, you must look normal. I don’t have any spots or stripes on my face. That’s why I’m an organizer.” Kenko threatened to reboot the computer if it wouldn’t load faster. “Nineteen years old and from the South Lab. Limited shapeshifting: male and female. Experiment Red1406,” Kenko read out loud.

“Is that special?” Kenko saw curiosity written all over Seishin’s face.

”That’s rare. We have about seventy members; out of those, only four people are classified as Red. These four are a team. They take in only Reds, making them the strongest organization. They would take you in.”

“The strongest organization? What’s it called?” Seishin’s fingers tingled, and his heart beat faster. Could it be true that a team was waiting for him?

“The organization is called Red1105. Depending on what color the organization is, it has different rights.”

Kenko turned back to the computer and saved the data on the server. He put away some papers, then spoke to Seishin again, “You can choose an organization the day after tomorrow. I think that was enough information for now.” He stood up and took the key from one of the filing cabinets. “Come with me,” he urged Seishin.

Silent and lost in thought, Seishin followed him every step of the way. For now, he babbled no more.