A girl stood in front of the door, possessing yellow iris-blonde hair, silver eyes and pale skin. Her eyes in particular caught Raten's attention with their half dead look devoid of any emotion and an expressionless visage. "I said, 'let's go," She repeated with a low-set tone.
Early in the morning, the girl had appeared in front of their Living Quarters asking Raten to follow her. "And who are you?" He asked with an arched eyebrow and arms folded.
"My name is Sara Drill. I work at the Research Facility. My superior, Ms. Penny wishes to see you." His folded arms found release after she explained with her naturally depressing voice.
He paced behind her, arriving at the Research Facility and going through the door, the first thing he was greeted by was the radical waving of the carmine-haired girl that was Nalia Zedrich. He waved back albeit less vibrantly before being lead to a completely white, secluded room. The room was split into two sections; one was the smallest one covered in one way glass while the other was next to it, being connected by a metal door.
At the moment, they were in the latter.
"You're here. Great!" Penny turned around, twirling her lab coat with stationery in hand. "I think we have a solution to your amnesia problem."
He almost took a step back, his resting frown visage breaking into a stunned look. "R-Really?"
"Mm-hm. All you need to do is step into the other room." She instructed with all smiles, looking over to the girl by her side to see if her ever emotionless countenance had shifted which it had not. Raten stomped into the room, skeptical and shut the door behind him, prompting the mechanical revelation of a chair meant for relaxation in the middle of the room. He inched closer to it, noticing the straps across it.
"What's this for?!" He asked aloud.
Penny instantly realized he was referring to the straps, hearing him and seeing his actions through the one-way glass. "Oh, it's just part of the process. Don't worry, it's physically harmless so just strap yourself in. Hehe."
Raten strapped himself in the chair and a moment after, something else came up from the floor right in front of him. It was the shard of the black crystal Katie had retrieved. But he wasn't the slightest bit surprised. In fact, he was expecting it. "So what? I should just stare at it?"
"Just calm your mind and think of the crystal in front of you." Sara's voice came up this time in it's usual manner. "I'm going to release nitrous oxide gas culminated with other gases into the room. It will vegetate your mind and assist in the process of recollecting some of your lost memories."
"I have to warn you, though," Her voice grew the slightest bit tense, "your mind could go into shock if the memory's too difficult." Taking his silence as a yes, she pressed a button nearby.
Colourless gas filled up the room and sensing it was non-threatening, he inhaled. His body felt the effects relatively rapidly, growing placid as every tensed muscle became tranquilized. He also felt more serene, judging by how his face relaxed from his frown.
"Raten, don't let it take over completely. Think about the crystal and focus!" Penny yelled, prompting Raten to regain himself, not succumbing completely as he fixated on the crystal while keeping his mind tranquil.
'Remember, remember, remember.' He concentrated on the single word, repeating it in a calm manner and making it a top priority to every corner of his mind. His body fidgeted as it responded to the gases, naturally fighting against the effects but he battled his own instinct.
'I have to remember.'
"I think he's responding well to the gas," Sara commented, gazing at Raten's struggle without a hint of worry. Penny felt relieved, knowing she could trust her judgment.
The boy of topic's eyes widened and so did his jaw. He drawed in the air mixed with the gases. "I-I see something." Flashes played left and right in his head. Mischievous green eyes of a girl about his age were the first new image that formed. But he had no clue who she was.
He then envisioned a man with notable silver streaks in his hair, placing something into a cauldron of sorts filled to the brim with black liquid. He focused more, making the object out to be Element Ores. After a few more processes Raten didn't understand, the man had forged a black crystal as the final product.
"The Crystal."
"I think he's seeing something." The woman in the lab coat shouted once more, "Raten! Can you hear me? You can see something, can't you?!" Raten's fidgeting became turbulent, resembling someone having an epileptic seizure. Beads of sweat rolled down his entire body.
"He must be in shock. We might have to end the process," Sara advised her superior but she shook her head in resolution.
"He can take it. I know he can!"
Raten screamed as another mental picture formed. He was going against a strong soldier, one that had knocked him to the ground while the White Devil, his sword was placed standing. "Big mistake," Past Raten remarked as the sword was enveloped in growing white flames.
The memory transitioned into another one. He stood in a dark room wearing Black Spirit Armor much different from what he had worn when he first came to the Heart Base. Notably, there was a diamond crest surrounding the Black Spirit Symbol on his chestplate. Around him were five people clad in the same armor.
"AHHGHGHHGHH!!!!!!!!!!!" On the outside, he roared at the top of his lungs in excruciating pain, the sweat became as if he had been doused with a bucket of water. Penny started sweating from her forehead as well.
"Alright! End it, Sara!" She ordered. Sara pressed another button and the gases were extracted by vents in the room.
The memories darkened, starting to fade and he didn't understand what was going on. The memories he had gathered so far started banging hard on the walls of his mind. "They've stopped coming." However, one more recollected memory displayed itself before it all came to an end and this one felt like the heaviest one yet. He depicted a warrior around his age possessing wisteria-purple eyes held sword and charged at him.
*Gasp
Raten came into full consciousness with a greedy inspiration of the degased air just as Penny and Sara came in through the door. They quickly unbinded the straps that had kept the teenager restricted to the chair, allowing him to walk freely. He didn't anyone to tell him that he was a sweaty mess.
"Are you okay?" Penny asked, concerned for his well being first and foremost.
He shrugged his shoulders as if completely unbothered but his body language betrayed him. "I'm okay. T-T-The Crystal." He gestured to it with his hands on his knees, bending backwards and still gasping in air before continuing. "They create them by mixing Element Ores together in strange liquid."
At that moment, it was as if a firework was litted in the woman. "Element Fusion!" She exclaimed, instantly understanding what he explained. "Of course!" She internally facepalmed, feeling stupid for not guessing it herself. Element Fusion was a method applied by forgers to give weapons less than normal elemental attributes.
"Thanks again!" Penny waved Raten off as he walked out of the Facility, deep in thought. Staring at his own reflection in the mirror residing in his room, he recalled something that for some reason held so much importance. "The girl with those eyes. Her name... Was Jade, I think."