Now, let us recall the events from August all the way to February 10th, the time that Simon spent searching for freedom to his heart's content.
Hello, my name is Saber-Cry Abyrion-Iscaria Soul-Trapped-Blood, and I will tell you the story of Simon Crest, the Bird Who Fell From Grace. The Master I wished would succeed.
The memories are both sweet and bitter, an odd flavor that is hard to make out as you swallow a handful of candy with no context of what they are. Yet, Simon cannot deny that these memories are the things that have allowed him to delude his motives this far.
...If you can call it delusion.
Whether he was right or wrong, it doesn't matter; the only thing that matters is that he made the decisions and got 6 people killed. Their blood is on his hands; the guilt must be unbearable, if he can even feel at this point.
I'm getting off topic, aren't I? Sorry, it tends to happen every now and then. To put this into perspective, it all started at the start of May, the start of his descent into madness. That was when his desires were reshaped, but never forgotten.
The date is August 12th, and Simon is leaving for his first day at the Cognitive Hollow World Enforcement Bureau. It was a particularly normal day, the sun rose high like a beam that threatened to burn right through his skin. Normally, recruits would have to undergo several protocol tests and even more to ensure they understood both the stakes and the deformed surroundings of the hollow world, but Simon had his guardian, Naomi.
Naomi was a veteran officer who served both before and well after his birth, only having quit five years ago due to physical issues. He waited at a stop sign, cars and taxis moving effortlessly yet vigorously to get to their destinations.
The people walking on the sidewalks were surprisingly peaceful, but some of them were shouting at each other in anger—mornings in New York were always like this...
Beep! Honk! Beep!
Every building surrounding him was a skyscraper, or just eye-widening tall apartments. There were a few small shops here and there, but the only greenery that the eye could see was just bushes in front of those high-rise buildings, or fake plants.
"I shouldn't have chosen black... Wait, actually, it's not like I have a choice; it's the uniform, and I refuse to get my clothes dirty. Whatever, as long as I can wear it to work." Simon thought to himself as the sign finally signaled him to walk.
He was heading towards Heaven, the headquarters of the Cognitive Hollow World Enforcement, or at least the one in New York. The luxurious building looked like any old office building from the outside, but inside, it was the complete opposite of the Hollow World.
The walls were white, adorned with gold as a substitute for metal. All this gold was easy to get; it was easy to mine inside the Hollow World, and the secret about it couldn't get out, so anything harvested must be used by the government.
The floor was an elegant white marble, and the roof had custom lights that shot out a blue hue. As Simon entered the building, most of the people around him were in the same type of suits, except his didn't have a tie. However, some opted for regular clothes, but he couldn't blame them for that; it was probably nice to add your own touch if you didn't need to go into the Hollow World.
He waited in line to swipe his card to get past the scanners, a simple yet effective function to keep intruders out. There were other precautions, of course, for example, a gun packed with lead made out of Hollow Beasts if it detected an unregistered Signature that dared to get that close to it.
Simon finally got through the line, quickly swiping his card and walking into the rest of the building. The minute he took a right to get to an elevator, there was already a pack of five women in front of him.
"Wow! He's way cooler looking in person..."
"Mhm, mhm, I didn't expect his eyes to look so cold. I thought people were joking."
"He is the Onyx Ace. What more did you expect when you heard that name?"
"Hehe, maybe you're right, but still I agree with her, it's much different than what they describe."
They whispered among themselves, clearly too loud as he could hear them even from the start of the hallway. He ignored the women, putting haste into his pace as he made his way to the elevator, having had enough of their chat already. That was until one of the women approached him, a short brunette with her hair in a ponytail.
"Hey, I saw you from over there and thought you were pretty cute. I was wondering if I could get your number—"
"What does this ugly girl want? And why does she look like a blobfish?" Simon asked himself in his mind, his head tilting slightly.
"Stop it right there, Mani!"
Someone called from behind her. As Simon looked past her to see who it was, he saw a woman with a coat clearly two sizes too large, so large that you could barely see her tiny extended hand as it pointed a finger towards Mani.
Her jet-black hair was chaotic, in tangles and knots, which gave it a distorted beauty, as they moved like spirals across her back. The woman's eyes were green like beautiful jade rocks, and her socks were strangely mismatched, one being red and the other brown, contradicting the navy blue and dark violet coat.
"If you're going to ask a recruit out, at least state your name, or better yet, ask for theirs." The coated woman said with a shake of her head, adding a sigh before continuing, "Plus, you have more work to do. Why are you even down here? Actually, no, you're on break, aren't you?"
Mani's face turned a bright red as she squirmed in place, her eyes flickering between Simon, the other girls at his right, and the woman accusing her.
"S-sorry, Ms.Evelyn, I'll get back to work immediately."
With that, she ran off past Evelyn, Simon just staring at both of them as he watched the scene unfold. Once she was far out of sight, Evelyn turned around, smiling at Simon.
"..."
"I'm Evelyn Lewandowska, Captain of Squad Seven. Your Captain."
"Nice to meet you, Captain."
"You don't seem that excited to see me. I wouldn't want to not get along with my newest recruit."
"Sorry, it's nothing personal. I always get told that I'm not entirely friendly with the new people that I meet."
"Really, well, let's change that!"
She walked forward and past Simon, urging him to follow, and he did. The ride up the building was rather smooth; the only sound filling the air was Evelyn humming along to some random background music. The minute the elevator opened, Evelyn nearly jumped out.
Ding!
Just as she did, a woman with rather short hair was sharply turning a corner. Compared to Evelyn, her ash grey hair was neat, with bangs that covered her forehead. Her eyes were steel-blue, like a sea of Topaz gems, and she wore the same uniform as Simon, but hers was silver and white, and it fit her so perfectly it was as if it were sculpted to her figure.
When the woman noticed Evelyn hopping out toward her, she elegantly stepped to the side, making her fall face-first onto the ground.
"Ow... You were supposed to catch me, Alina."
"No," Alina said softly, but somehow still commanding.
"Maybe you shouldn't have expected her to catch you." Simon couldn't help but snarl out as he tried his hardest to cover his smile, hand over his mouth.
"Agreed."
"What?! She does it every morning, though!"
Simon stepped out of the elevator after Evelyn, stepping to the opposite side of Alina as she stared him down. Alina looked at him, right in the eye for a moment longer than necessary, almost as if she was lost in his eyes. Simon was oblivious to this until he looked up with a sigh as he held back laughter. Alina's glare suddenly turned down as Evelyn jumped up from the ground.
Evelyn looked between the two, laughing before grabbing Simon by the wrist, walking with a sense of pride, somehow, even after she had just embarrassed herself.
"Don't worry about her, Si, she stares at everyone like that."
"You sure? Wait, did you just call me Si?" Simon's gaze was locked onto Alina as Evelyn pulled him away, but it was quickly redirected toward the ladder as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know, like Super Intellectual. What do you want me to call you, Mr.Crest? No, no. That's way too formal. Anyway! Let's get you to meet your new squad members!"