Pilot and Angels

Chapter 23: Fractured Mind

You feel yourself lying on the ground as your mind comes to. Your eyes slowly fluttered open, yet it did not feel like it. It was dark. To the point that there were no differences between opening your eyes and closing them. The silence was suffocating. You could even hear your heartbeat drumming in your chest.

You stood up with a groan. "I see that The Plague is up." You heard a voice that sent chills through your spine. Rotating your body quickly, you saw the white figure that visited you before. His body seemed to glow gently, a stark contrast to the jet-black color that surrounded you. "Or is The Pestilence more to your liking? I prefer The Plague, it's shorter and rolls off the tongue." The figure said in a mocking tone. You frowned heavily in response.

"That man is dead." You simply stated the fact.

"And yet, here you are." He shrugged his arm.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, you know who I am." He said. It caused you to ponder who this figure is. Though that tone, and voice... it sounded so... familiar. "Now, let's look at a little something, shall we?"

"Since we're gonna be here for a while, why don't you grab a bag of chips or two?"

"What the fu-" You were cut short as he suddenly snapped his finger. As he snapped, a bright light came out of his hand in all directions. The sudden flash caused you to flinch and close your eyes.

As you opened your eyes, you found yourself in a small snow-dusted town. The skies were dark, but it wasn't night, merely the disposition of the atmosphere. The streets were crowded with chattering people. Warm light spilled from every building's windows.

A nostalgic feeling crashed over you as you saw the snow that slowly fell from the sky. Bellows of smoke rose from the nearby factory town. You closed your eyes and reminded yourself of where you were.

An IMC-owned planet, somewhere in The Frontier. The name of it, along with many things, had long been lost from the corner of your mind. Yet, there was one thing you remembered from the place you used to call home. The everlasting winter that never receded once.

"I see." He nodded to himself. "You don't even remember the name of this town, do you?" You opened the palm of your hand to catch some snow, only for it to pass through your hand. "Don't bother, this is only your memories, after all. Or, what's left of them, anyway." As he said that, you noticed something. It was neither hot nor cold. You couldn't feel anything.

"...Why are you showing me this?"

"Who knows."

"..."

He clapped his hand a single time. The two of you were suddenly teleported to another place. You looked around and found yourself in a certain neighborhood. Your chest tightened and your breath hitched as your mind remembered.

Then, you heard a voice. Multiple of them. They sounded like... cheers and laughter. You slowly turned your head back. Tears threatened to spill out of your eyes, but you had to seal the dam shut.

An orphanage. A small one-floor building, colored brown. In front of it, was an empty lot where snow piled high. Children were playing in the snow. Some of them built snowmen, others threw snowballs at one another. They had a big dumb grin on their faces as they ran around. The scene brought warmth to you as you wistfully sighed.