*noises from multiple people

*sound of crackling fire

Opening his eyes, albeit blurry, he saw two feet tied by a rope in a pole.

IT WAS HIS OWN!

He cannot move his entire body, aside from his feet his both hands are also  tied in the back.

He had no strenght to even struggle or let a voice out.

"Death! Death!"

--"HOT!" 

Is what he first felt and  thought of.

He can see the fire around his feet rising and getting closer.

It is burning through his skin and flesh, but he was too weak to even let out a cry or whimper.

He turned his head to his right and he saw a man, however he can't make out it's face due to the fire around him.

The man spoke , and he heard one word..

"TRAITOR!" 

---------------------------------------

Isug woke up from the sound of a crackling fire from the fireplace.

The first thing that welcomed his vision is the rock concrete ceiling. 

It is emitting an orange-reddish light that lit the room. 

On the wall at the head of bed is also a stone glowing with the same color.

The room felt warm.

--" They are called the Cor Stones. They would have been enough to cure any patient from the Australis Kingdom as long as it's not a major injury or life threatening. But because you are human, we we're taught that you lot need heat from actual fire to get better properly."

He heard a femine voice near his ears.

Isug looked on his left side and saw the face of a woman beside him.

The lady had half of it's face with a metallic markings that lined until it's neck down.

The markings had intricate patterns that covers from it's right ears to it's right cheeks, lining up to her chin and going down.

They are glowing bright orange-red and Isug can feel the warm encapsulating his body.

Thus with that sensation, he checked his body under the bed sheets.

And it surprised him more than seeing a lady lying beside him in his bed!

His body was covered in root like patterns like blood vessels running from his foot to his arms.

Although he can't see it, but that same warm sensation is something he can feel in his neck and face, suggesting it probably runs in his head as well.

The body of the lady feels like a warm metal , it is positioned in a way like she is hugging him on his left side.

However, the point of contact of her body in his skin looked like a fused molted metal that branched out like roots towards his body.

The lady looked like is fusing on him!

--" Do not panic. I am an Onic. This is part of my ability, and I have been doing this everyday to heal you from your nearly dying state"

Is what the lady stated.

The memories of what happened in the forest suddenly flowed through Isug, and he realized he was inside what looked like a hospital ward. This thought made him calm down.

He had no idea what an Onic is or where he was.

With pain in his throat, he asked the lady beside him.

--"Where am I?"

The lady seeing his calmed demeanor, started explaining.

--" You are in Australis kingdom, and this is a private healing ward. I was the one tasked with making you recover"

--" Have I been here for too long?"

--" 2 months. Aside from the Cor Stones that emits the vitality energy for your recovery, I had been by your beside for atleast 2 hours everyday to asisst your recovery. You had been gravely injured when you first came here, we thought you'll never recover."

-- " I see. Thank you very much, I haven't asked your name yet?"

The glow of the metallic markings on the lady's body and it's root like structure wrap in Isug stopped.

In an amazing way, the roots slowly retracted and returned to her body. 

Her arms and feet returned to normal, the metallic patterns slowly disappeared as well.

Despite being stark naked, both she and him, the lady stood up from the bed.

Isug can see her thin waist and voluptous hips and her short silver hair.

The lady grabbed what looked like a exquisite gray robe with from the stand and put it around her shoulders.

She tied the string in her waist and buttoned the robe and looked at him..

--" I am Ferram. Nice to meet you and congratulations for your recovery."

---------------------------------------------------------------

A lot of things happened after Isug woke up.

The healer/nurse Ferram went to call the main doctor and reported about his condition. He was led to a separate room where a lot of tests and check-ups were done to him. He had no idea on most of the things done to him. After a thorough examination, he was led into a room by the doctor. Before entering the room, the doctor looked at Isug and placed his hand on his shoulder and said..

--"It's unfortunate, but I did everything I can. Now, the rest depends on how your conversation inside will end up."  The doctor said with a fait smile after patting my back a little.

Isug's face shows a lot of questions, but he knew there was no time for it.

He entered the room in front of him.

Inside are two people who wear gray leather jacket buttoned up to the neck, and a turtle neck inside clothing that is also buttoned from the top. Their uniforms had sigils and markings with hanging medallions. They are both wearing black gloves, a straight cut gray pants with what looked like a white combat boots. Isug cannot see their faces properly due to the cap that they are wearing.

The two people inside the room turned their gaze towards Isug. It was then that he had a clear picture of the two.

One was lady around the age 25 whose with golden hair tied inside her cap. She had emotionless eyes. One of her eyes had golden snake eyes pattern. She had a modified mask covering half of her cheeks.

The other person is a man who looks like in his 30's, a strong chiseled jaw and a wide frame but lean strong looking body. Half of face is lined with silver marks . One of his eyes is colored black with a bright yellow iris. Despite in a sitting position, Isug can conclude that guy stands around 6'5" tall. 

The man saw Isug, scanned him from head to toe. His hands is crossed in his chest and without emotion or expression, he told greeted Isug.

-- "Looks like you already woke up after 2 months. The others already went ahead, how are you?"

Isug is lost at what to answer, with the most neutral statement he uttured:

--"Right now, I think I am fine, thank you"

--" YOUR AUDACITY KNOWS NO BOUNDS!!"

A loud, angry voice shattered the room. In a blink of an eye, the lady which was standing earlier beside the man, is in front of him. She had both of her hands tucked behind her while there are three floating scales shaped like a pointed drill all aimed at him.

She was glaring at him intensely. 

He didn't moved from his position, and he was clueless from where the rage of the lady was coming from.

-- "I apologize If I offended you in any way" Isug said in a very formal voice

-- "It is basic courtesy to first show honorifics and ask the name of the person you are talking to, before you begin your conversation. Especially if you are a foreigner, nonetheless in front of your benefactor as well. I didn't know Borealis Kingdom warriors are this uncouth!!"

The lady in front of him is looking at him with despise, and the floating scales had intent to harm him. Isug realized his mistake. Bowing his head slightly and putting his right hand in his left chest, he apolized sincerely:

--" I apologize for my earlier behavior. I acknowledge my mistake, please forgive me. I want to take this opportunity as well to give my deepest thanks for everyone for saving me and taking care of me. I might not be worthy of it, but please let me know your names, esteemed gentlemen and my lady?"

The lady was stunned. To think that Isug was able to deliver that calm apology after she showed aggression to him was worthy of praise.

*Clap *Clap *Clap

The man who was sitting and observing the two stood up to break the encounter.

--"Patra, that's enough. I am not too much strict with formalities. And you, I believe your name was Isug. Come and sit. Let's have a talk"  the man said while gesturing for Isug to sit in one of the couch chairs beside adjacent to him.

-- " I am Thor Fei, one of the Ada Eral of Australis Kingdom. This lady right here with me is Onel Patra Nova. You will learn soon about what this honorifics mean, but let's say we are both part of the high ranks in Australis Army. Neverthless, this is not the reason we are here."

After shaking hands, Isug and Ada Eral Thor sat on the couch. Onel Patra remained standing behind the man.

-- " I'll get straight to the point and please forget about being formal. Do you remember anything from before you were brought here?" Thor asked.

Isug paused for a while and tried searching his memories. The wrinkles in his forehead is showing.

-- " All I can remember is I woke up in the middle of the dark forest feeling so much pain. There was a lot of scattered weapons, and debris around. I'm not sure exactly but if I am not mistaken there were a few who were barely alive that time" Isug explained.

--" I see. Do you know the names of those ''few" that you mentioned were barely alive?"

--" I don't know, or more like I don't remember."

--" Can you please elaborate?"

Isug put his hands in his head. Like a person going insane, his eyes are full of questions and panic. He tried to shrug off that reality but now that he is being forced to deal with the idea, the horror haunts him back.

--" I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. WHO AM I? WHERE DID I COME FROM? WHERE AM I? I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!!! IT'S LIKE BEING ALIVE AND DEAD AT THE SAME TIME!! NOTHING COMES TO MIND, NO REGRETS, NO DREAMS, AMBITION, NONE OF IT!!! AM I EVEN ALIVE??"

Isug became frantic and is on the verge of breaking down. His eyes is unstable, his voice rattled. Tears roll down his cheeks while he was pulling on his hair. The problem that he tried to ignore became a nightmare once he was pushed to remember it for that moment.

But Ada Eral Thor and Onel Patra was not surprised. In fact they expected this to happen.

Thor flicked his finger towards Isug and little bit of metallic object landed in Isug's forehead. He clicked the same fingers an electric shock ran through Isug's whole body. That shock brought him back to his senses and ended his bout of panic attack.

-- "As expected you had it too." Thor mentioned

Isug, now having calmed down asked Thor back.

--" What do you mean?"

--" It is what I just said. You had it too, the memory loss..."  (*Thor adjusted his seating position) " .....the rest of  the survivors who woke up before you are all the same. The only thing they can remember is their name.  "

Isug was surprised by that statement. He thought that he is the only one whose memories are empty. Thor seeing Isug's face full of questions continued speaking.

--" Apart from your memories, everyone had all their instincts , mobility , and skills retained to some degree. Their body and inherent abilities are also not affected as observed by the doctors and physicians." Thor explained.

--"I...I see" Isug replied.

--" However yours is different..." Thor gestured to Patra, Patra handed him a bunch of papers "...This is the results of the examination by the physician. The rest of your companions showed unique levels of Orgon in their blood, as well as highly evolved physical muscles."

Thor put down the folder in the small table, and he continued his explanation..

--"..Meanwhile, you are just an ordinary human. No abilities, no exceptional characteristics, just as normal as it can be." Thor explained with both his hands in his chin.

--"I-I'm sorry, I have no idea. Am I supposed to have one?" Isug asked.

--" Logically yes. Borealis Kingdom, the place where you humans reside, was attacked 6 months ago. It takes 3 months of travel from here to reach your Kingdom and we usually do it once a year only and by a Caravan group of elite warriors, merchants and Recon group highly specialized for combat and survival. Because of the call from your Kingdom, we made an exception and sent the Caravan with the intent to rescue or help in any way we can."

Thor paused and his face became slumped with negative emotion. And he continued speaking...

--" However, when the Caravan arrived on your Kingdom, it was already too late. The whole Kingdom of Borealis was a total wrecked with no survivors can be seen."

Isug face was painted with surprise. Although he don't remember anything, a whole Kingdom being annihilated is something inconceivable.

--" By wrecked, do you mean everyone is dead in the whole Kingdom?" Isug replied.

--" Not just wrecked or dead, it is literally what I've said. There is no remains of any living or dead people. The Kingdom became a Sea of Rubble. It looked like everyone vanished into the air."

Isug thoughts are in disarray after hearing it. The horror of that reality wrapped his entire body. He was lost in thought and Thor continued speaking.

-- " I think you realize by now what it means. Whether you recover your memories or not, you have nowhere to return to, and we also have no means to even get your life back on how it is before. You have to accept the fact that you will be starting a new life here, the Australis Kingdom, in the literal sense."

Isug can't process yet the reality of what's happening to him. He asked Thor about his situation.

-- " You mentioned about my companions. How come they survive and no one did?"

--" That's the reason why we are here to talk to you." (*Thor looked seriously to Isug) "... After the Caravan didn't find any survivors from your Kingdom, they tried going a different route to check if there had been any stray survivors nearby. Around 1 month after of journey going back, they found your group.

Four human survivors wearing the armors and robes which don't look like your average warriors, are in one place barely alive. All wounded and unconscious, almost on the brink of death"

Thor adjusted his sitting position, paused a little and continued.

--"...the odd thing? You were half a mile away from them, wearing a similar battle gear with one of the survivors and clasping a sword in your one hand. Logic tells us you are a warrior, yet the examinations done to you says you just a regular human.

Which brings us to the question, how come you survived that ordeal?"

Isug suddenly remembered the monster he encountered.

--" I have really no idea I'm sorry. All I know is I woke up beside them, and encountered those monsters"

Thor and Patra had surprised looks. They never expected an information about monsters.

--" Now, this is interesting. Tell me what you can remember" Thor said with an eager voice.

--" I can't remember much since I was in a really bad shaped then. But there were 8 monsters. seven of them are wearing the same blue outfit, all soaked in blood and blindfolded with bleeding eyes. There was a huge octopus head monster larger than the rest that looks horrific."

Thor and Patra's face changed from curiosity to fear and panic. A cold sweat ran through their faces. They both looked at each other for a second and gestured with a nod. Thor looked back to Isug and exclaimed..

-- " That's enough for now. Talk to the doctor for the next procedure."

Before leaving, Thor ended the conversion by saying

"We'll contact you again"