Gun of Ashes

With the arrival of dawn, the air was filled with a freshness and dampness. Eve tilted her head up, letting the fine rain drizzle down her face, dispelling the heat as she gazed at the lead-gray clouds, which seemed to twist and turn, as if alive.

Eve was the only one in the activity area, standing alone on the grass, allowing the wind and rain to fall upon her. Many couldn’t understand what this girl was doing, but to her, it simply felt exhilarating.

Yes, exhilarating, that was the pure and seemingly absurd reason.

The wind surged around her, as if an invisible giant hand had gripped her, and it seemed that she would be lifted into the air like a swift at any moment.

”The heavy rain is coming.”

A shadow enveloped the boy’s face, and he spoke softly.

Owes didn’t expose himself to the rain like the girl—somewhat foolishly—but instead sat in a wheelchair, sheltering from the rain behind a building.

Behind him followed a silent nurse, her face completely obscured by a mask, making it difficult to discern her features.

”Come and chat, doesn’t it seem foolish for me to talk to myself here?”

Owes uncharacteristically cast aside his indifference, proactively seeking communication, which surprised the nurse. In their eyes, Owes was like a delicate, fragile glass doll, and glass dolls didn’t speak.

Most of the time, the boy remained silent, no matter what you said to him or did to him. He maintained that silence, like a rigid, lifeless object.

”What’s your code name? Do you work exclusively for Black Mountain Hospital?” Owes asked.

The nurse was slightly taken aback, while the boy turned to look at her with a smile.

”I thought I hid it well,” the nurse said.

”Not bad, though since your appearances are all covered up, it’s hard to tell who’s who. But I can feel it, that every time someone follows me, it’s a specific person.”

”Feel?”

”Yes, you don’t seem like a nurse. Even though the disinfectant smell on you is strong, I just feel you aren’t.”

”Is this some kind of intuition?”

”Maybe, so you also know my identity?”

The nurse nodded and continued.

”Code name Swift, appointed directly by Arthur to protect you... Actually, I didn’t expect the mysterious Lancelot to be just a child.”

”Surprised?”

”More like impressed.”

The two exchanged words, staying under the building’s shadow, the drizzle falling steadily. The girl ran with her head covered under the building, her bright red hair so striking in this gray world, like a flickering flame.

”So, what do you want to ask? You must have known my identity for a while,” Swift asked.

”Yes, but is something going to happen at Black Mountain Hospital? Although you’ve concealed it well, I felt it last night, the subtle tremors on the ground...” Owes said.

”You don’t have the right to know right now.”

”Is it the Armor of Original Sin? You’ve mobilized a lot of armor here, haven’t you?” Owes directly asked.

Swift looked a bit puzzled at Owes. Since entering Black Mountain Hospital, apart from retaining the title ”Lancelot,” he seemed completely disconnected from the Purification Mechanism. How did he get such information?

”So it is the Armor of Original Sin...”

Even though Swift showed no reaction, Owes seemed to have understood her thoughts.

”How do you know?” Swift found it strange. Although she had been observing Owes for a while, he was now filled with an unfamiliar feeling.

”Have you ever piloted the Armor of Original Sin?”

Owes asked with a smile, while Swift shook her head. Before the Third Generation Armor appeared, piloting the Armor of Original Sin was extremely dangerous, and only the Knight Commanders were qualified.

”It’s quite a wonderful feeling; the Armor of Original Sin is the body, and the pilot is the brain. Through armor technology, consciousness is linked to that body...

I really enjoy the moment of piloting armor when my nerves connect to it. I can clearly feel my body being extended, no longer this fragile mortal shell, but a creation of steel and flesh.”

Owes gently turned his palm, his pale skin like crystal, beneath which lay faint blue veins.

”At that time, I felt my soul was free, escaping from this weak body. But when I dismounted the armor, I was imprisoned again, and since then, I’ve always felt a strange sensation.

I seem to be connected to the armor.”

Swift suddenly felt an inexplicable chill. She looked at Owes, whose gaze remained fixed on the girl frolicking in the rain. Swift thought Owes might like this lively girl, but when she saw his pupils, they were filled with yearning.

Owes longed desperately, not for the girl, but for the freedom to run like her, not to be bound in this wheelchair.

”Dean Abigail also explained to me, saying this might be a kind of phantom limb syndrome, feeling a limb that doesn’t exist. And now I feel it, Swift.”

”Feel what?” Swift asked.

”My armor, it’s here somewhere in Black Mountain Hospital.”

”What are you all planning to do?”

Owes asked in confusion, but just then, cheerful footsteps quickly approached, as Eve, carrying the dampness of rain, dashed under the building.