"I think it's time I explained everything to you. About our group, the Lacrima, James's goal, and… what's about to happen to all of you."
"..."The children froze at Rex's words, their chatter died instantly.
Amy and Amon's eyes lit up with curiosity, innocent and eager, the youngest always wanted answers.
Sera, the oldest, wore a hard, serious expression. He rarely acted mature, but right now his silence said enough.
Rex's sapphire eyes landed on Amon, "Earlier, I told you we were just a small group. That wasn't the truth."
"This is a facility, and it isn't the only one. There are several spread across the kingdom… each dedicated to a single purpose." His gaze hardened, "Project Requiem."
"???"The name sent confusion across their faces.
"Project… Requiem?" Amy tilted her head, recalling faint whispers she'd overheard from scientists in the past.
Rex nodded, "It has two objectives." He raised one finger, "The first is to locate and capture children born with magic energy."
"Once taken here, they're given food, hot baths, soft beds… a month of comfort. Enough to let down their guard."
Amon's brow furrowed, He turned to the others,"Wait, you've all been here that long?"
Sera blinked as if realizing for the first time, "…Has it really been a month? Huh. Guess time flies."
Amon stared at him, "You're not even acting like a delinquent anymore."
"What!?" Sera's face contorted, caught somewhere between anger and confusion.
"Too loud," Amon muttered, covering his ears.
Rex's eye twitched, Were they even taking this seriously?
Out of habit, he let out a sigh then continued, "these children would later be referred to as 'child of the night'"
He sighed before lifting two fingers, "The second objective… is to fuse a Lacrima with a child's body, creating an artificial mage."
At once, all of them thought of the crimson shard. The same image Amon, Sera, and Amy had seen before.
"Why children? Wouldn't adults be stronger? More reliable?" Amon questioned with a neutral gaze.
A logical question. Most adults lacked magic energy, but those who had it were tougher than children.
Sera answered before Rex could, "Control. Kids are easier to manipulate. Easier to break if needed."
He knew because he'd seen it. The way workers avoided them like pests. The way they never spoke, never acknowledged them unless it was necessary. To them, he and Amy weren't people, they were experiments. And Alexander, lying lazily in the corner, only reinforced it. His job was to stop them from escaping, nothing more.
"But that's the part I don't get," Amon said, his eyes narrowing. "Why treat us like this? We're all human. We all want the same thing, a life where we don't have to fight to survive. Why look down on us like we're less than dirt?"
Rex's expression twisted with regret, "Because… that's how this world works. It isn't fair. It never will be. And there's nothing we can do about it."
'Nothing I can do about it…' he thought bitterly.
'I'm just one man.'
But his words struck something in Amon, a bitter taste rose in his mouth. A memory of his 'father' abuse flashed through his mind.
"Why are you so useless!? Can't you even fold clothes right!?"
"I'm sorry…"
Slap!
"If you're so worthless, then you don't need to eat for a while."
The echo of it made his hands curl into fists. His gaze slid to Alexander, lounging without care, eyes closed as if none of this mattered.
'They're the same… people like him. People who treat others like they're nothing.'
"!!!"Alexander's eyes shot open, a cold shiver had run through him. He didn't know why, but for a moment he felt fear.
He rolled over with a shrug, pretending it hadn't happened, pretending he didn't care. Too lazy to think.
"I don't get it," Amy said,"Why even build these facilities in the first place?"
Her voice carried the same curiosity Amon often had. It seemed the two shared a way of questioning everything around them.
Rex let out a low breath, moving toward a chair and sitting down with a tired grace. "Finding people with magic is already hard enough," he began. "And even when you do… teaching them to control it takes years."
"Most kids with magic show signs early on," Rex continued. "Those ones usually start training in childhood. But how fast they grow depends on a few things."
"Like what?" Amy asked, tilting her head.
"For one, the type of magic they're learning. Basic elemental magics—fire, ice, wind, earth—can be learned within a few years. But rarer, more complex forms?" Rex shook his head. "That can take much longer."
Amon's violet eyes widened, ' So I was right… there really are many kinds of magic'.
"Still," Rex added, leaning back slightly, "the process can be sped up. A skilled mentor makes all the difference. And certain tools… like Lacrimas."
He let the word hang in the air.
"For an average mage, it takes five to ten years just to become competent. The talented ones? Two to five, faster if they're lucky enough to have the right teacher."
Rex tapped ash from his cigarette, "But true mastery? That's a lifetime. Ten, twenty years at the very least… unless you're one of the chosen few."
Amon raised his hand like he was in school, "Uh question. What exactly do you mean by 'elemental'?"
"Oh! I can answer that," Amy jumped in quickly. She puffed out her chest, adopting a teacher's tone. "Most magics have an attribute. The four main ones are fire, water, wind, and earth."
Amon's eyes sparkled, "Whoa, you're amazing, Amy!"
"Heh~" Amy grinned, patting herself proudly, "Go on. Praise me more!"
"You're the smartest, your eyes are really pretty, and you're super kind!" Amon rattled off without hesitation.
"Umu, umu! Keep going!"
Rex pinched the bridge of his nose as the two carried on, looking more like bickering siblings than anything else.
"What's a Lacrima?" Sera cut in, finally speaking up. His tone was quieter, but his curiosity was clear.
Rex leaned back and exhaled another plume of smoke. "Lacrimas are crystallized magic energy. The process of making them isn't always the same, but the purpose is to condense and solidify Ethernano particles."
"And what's… Ethernano?" Sera asked.
"Think of it as the building blocks of magic," Rex explained. "It's in every living thing, in the air, even in the ground beneath us. Ethernano is the fuel of all magic power."
"...."The room fell quiet. Amy and Amon, sensing the shift in atmosphere, sobered up.
"Rex," Amon said softly, "what's James's goal in all of this?"
Rex leaned further back, cigarette between his fingers, and studied the smoke curling above him. "James believes the next generation isn't just the future. They're the only hope against what's coming."
" He thinks they need to be forced into readiness, before the world swallows them whole."
His eyes narrowed, "Every generation of mages surpasses the last. Not because they're born stronger… but because they're forced to face worse battles. Children who endure trauma, war, life-or-death struggles. Those are the ones who awaken power older mages could never touch."
"...." the children said nothing in response, it was clear they were interested.
"James wants to accelerate that process," Rex continued, "Force evolution, by design rather than chance."
He flicked ash into the tray, lit the cigarette again, and made a small ring of smoke. "To him, you children are proof. The torch of power has to pass forward. The older generation is already obsolete."
For a moment, the only sound was the faint crackle of burning tobacco.
Rex finally said, "I've worked for him for six months. In that time I've found barely ten children with real magic. That alone should tell you how rare this power is."
He glanced at Sera, then at the others. "Some were orphans. Some left for dead. But all of them had one thing in common—"
He paused, letting the silence grow heavy.
"Their hunger for power."
He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling as if caught in memory. "But even with that, the project has its problems."
Amy and Amon exchanged a glance, their earlier playfulness gone.
Rex's voice dropped lower. "The first problem is time. Finding children like you isn't just difficult, it costs more money than you'd believe. That's the first obstacle."
He exhaled another long plume of smoke, "The second…" He tapped the side of his temple. "Is what happens when a Lacrima is implanted inside a human body."
In the middle of his explanation, Rex's face shifted through a range of expressions as if wrestling with the right words. After a long pause, he exhaled heavily and finally spoke.
"Although I can't say exactly why… there's always a chance that someone's body could die in the middle of bonding with the Lacrima."
At once, his earlier words echoed in Amon's mind.
'Maybe. Can't guarantee you'll survive, though.'
It wasn't just him, Amy and Sera felt it too. The weight of that possibility clicked into place, and silence stretched between them.
While they were still lost in thought, Rex slowly rose from his chair, the cigarette still hanging from his lips.
Step. Step.
The sound of his boots pulled the three back to reality.
"Amon…" Rex stopped in front of the boy, lowering himself down, until his tall frame bent fully in a bow.
"You have… my deepest apologies." His voice carried a heaviness they'd never heard before.
"...."The children froze. None of them had ever seen Rex like this.
"If I had found you sooner… maybe things could've been different. You could've lived a better life. Met Sera and Amy earlier. Ate meals like this. Slept in a real bed."
His bow sank lower, until his head almost brushed the floor.
"I can't put into words how sorry I am. If you hate me, I understand. If you curse me, I'll accept it. Even if you wish for my death… I won't hold it against you."
"...."The room fell into a heavy silence. Amy and Sera exchanged uneasy glances, then looked at Amon. His wavy black hair shadowed his eyes, making it impossible to read his expression.
Minutes passed before Amon finally spoke.
"Rex. Raise your head. Someone like you shouldn't bow to me." His voice was calm, but firm.
Rex slowly straightened, meeting Amon's gaze. The boy's violet eyes were steady, his face unreadable.
"When I agreed to come here," Amon continued, "I was ready to die. And I think I can speak for all of us when I say we didn't come here for comfort."
"We came here for one thing: to become strong."
Rex's sapphire gaze locked with Amon's violet one.
"We know what it's like to be powerless," Amon said, "To want something desperately but lack the strength to reach it. That's why we're here. Because we refuse to stay weak."
A brief silence followed. Then he turned his gaze to Amy and Sera.
"Whatever our reasons may be, they lead to the same truth: we all want to become something in this world. No longer zeros."
The words carried weight, genuine, raw, undeniable.
Sera's lips curved into a small smile. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
"Nice job, Amon." Amy grinned and rubbed her knuckles against his head.
Amon gave her a flat look. "…Why are you treating me like a kid?"
"Because you are one," she teased.
"You're only three years older than me."
"So? That still makes you a baby in my eyes."
"Tch." He clicked his tongue, visibly annoyed.
Rex watched the exchange quietly, warmth flickering in his gaze. Amon's words still echoed in his head.
'The sooner I meet these kids, the sooner I can start getting stronger'
He remembered Amon words from before, right after he took his bath
'Although he doesn't act like he didn't want to meet them, he unintentionally forms a bond with them.'
And just as the moment felt light again, Rex's voice cut through, bringing the weight crashing back.
"You have exactly thirty minutes until the process to become artificial mages begins."
"…Huh?"
...
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