I don't know when exactly I got out of the wheelchair, but by the time I exited that room, I was walking.
Outside, I met the man who had wheeled me here. Vellinson. I think.
To be honest, I was still shaking from what had just happened. My heart hammered against my ribs. My forehead was beaded with sweat.
That guy… he's cranky. He's fucking cranky.
"I guess Section Chief's little persuasion worked?" Vellinson asked as he looked at me. Everything was written on my face. I was terrified. That was enough to tell him everything.
"Which corridor did he show you?" he asked.
"I… I don't know… I… I don't want to think of that anymore. Please. Give me some time…" I muttered.
Vellinson shrugged.
"If you say so. Let's go there. You can sit," he said, pointing at a waiting bench not far away. Probably for the section chief's visitors.
I sat down heavily, my heart in disarray, as I stared at the card in my hand.
"You know, you're not the only one," Vellinson suddenly said.
I looked up at him. "What do you mean?" I croaked out.
"I mean, you're not the only one who's… persuaded," he said, chuckling awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck. "Even I was pressured when I first came here. Heck, half of CADE-C has probably been 'persuaded' by him in the same way. Chief Warolk is as old as the company itself. Plus, he has quite a few Class-10 anomalies under his control. Rumour has it that one of them is an immortal type, which explains… well, a lot about why he's still around."
"Wha… what do you mean by that?" I asked, puzzled. I thought back to the corridor that had been shown to me. Those anomalies… he had stronger ones like that under his control?! What kind of monster was this?!
"Oh, right, you don't know yet… Well, things will clear up at orientation. Don't worry. Let's go," he said.
I said nothing, just sat there staring at the card, letting my emotions settle before nodding and standing.
For some reason, I felt more… in control of myself ever since I died. Like I could sense everything within me with extreme precision.
Vellinson led me through twisting corridors and hallways. Occasionally we passed someone. Vellinson would exchange pleasantries, explain who I was, and I'd receive pitying looks. Apparently, Warolk's reputation for persuasion—or intimidation—preceded him.
Finally, we stopped in front of a peculiar door. It had the CADE-C logo like every other door we had passed, but this one, instead of a room number, had a name on it.
"Cai?" I asked.
Vellinson grinned. "Come in, and I'll show you," he said, opening the door and flipping on the lights.
The room was white. Pristine white. The walls seemed to stretch slightly under the glare of bright, overhead lights, giving it an almost clinical but oddly futuristic feeling. Rows of chairs were aligned like soldiers standing at attention. I sank into one, letting my legs absorb the weight of the moment, while Vellinson closed the door and began setting up a machine.
Beep!
A resonant beep echoed through the room as the machine booted up, each tone vibrating faintly in the floor.
"Watch, learn, enjoy," Vellinson said with a grin as he retreated to the back of the room and took a seat.
The machine shivered, almost as if it were alive, its metal surface gleaming under the lights.
Before my eyes, the round, metallic orb began to stretch and contort. Limbs sprouted from its body—long, jointed arms, spindly legs that clicked delicately against the floor, creating a rhythm that somehow made my chest tighten in anticipation.
A soft, almost musical hum filled the air, and a bluish hologram flickered to life above it, coalescing into a face. Its eyes glowed with a curious, intelligent light, scanning me with eerie precision. The faint outline of a mouth curved into something that could have been a smile… or a challenge. Every movement felt natural, fluid, almost alive.
"Well, hello there! A new recruit! How fabulous!" it spoke, the voice surprisingly human, bright and cheerful, yet with a mechanical undertone that hinted at its artificial nature.
"I'm CADE-Cai! Celestial Anomaly Detection and Elimination Company's AI! You can call me Cai!" it said happily, bouncing slightly on its articulated legs.
I swallowed. This… this was amazing. For a moment, I forgot all about the blackmail and the Section Chief, just staring at the bot. It was small but intelligent, every movement purposeful, every gesture exaggerated just enough to feel personable.
"I take it you're here for the orientation, aren't you—OH! I didn't see you there, Vellinson!" it exclaimed.
Vellinson chuckled and gave a lazy salute.
The bot's eyes lit up brighter, and it jumped onto a chair facing me. Behind it, the wall transformed into a holographic display. Layers of data, maps, and glowing schematics unfolded in midair. Streams of light connected planets, stars, and entire galactic clusters, rotating gently as if the display had its own gravity.
"Alright! Let's start, shall we? First, let's see… Ahhh! You're Alex Pearson, right? An Earthling from the 21st century? Fabulous! You were a victim of the Stabber Incident… Oh! And your girlfriend dumped you just a month prior. Your early education was at Apple Nursery, then middle and high school in Kyoto, before moving to the US to live with your parents! Wonderful!"
I blinked, shocked. "Wait, how do you know all that about me!?" I asked, suddenly feeling exposed and insecure.
The bot chuckled, a sound like metal chimes layered over a synthetic giggle. "Oh, just a bit of data lying around in our database! We'll get to that in a second!"
The display behind Cai expanded dramatically. A massive structure floated in the center of a glowing galaxy, orbiting stars and planets like a jewel in space. Streams of light arched across the void, connecting various points in a dance of information.
"This is CADE-C HQ," Cai said, its tone excited. "The very place you're standing in now. It sits at the heart of the Quetrify Galaxy, the center of the ever-expanding universe!"
The display zoomed out, showing neighboring galaxies—each labeled—and then further out to reveal clusters of universes. Cosmic filaments stretched between them like veins of light.
"Our closest neighboring universe is the Adaima Universe, and the furthest is the Nevena Universe!"
The display pulled back further, revealing the Void—an empty expanse of darkness connecting the universes. Cai's holographic hands gestured toward silhouettes drifting within it. "This, my dear recruit, is the primary residence of most Celestial beings… or, as you humans call them, Gods!"
The room seemed to vibrate slightly as stars and celestial shapes rotated slowly on the display, giving the sense that the very cosmos had been folded into this room.
"Anyways, back to the main point! Here at CADE-C, like the name suggests, we handle the detection, elimination, and containment of anomalies appearing across different worlds and timelines!"
The display shifted, now showing planets, grids, and timeline flows branching outward, each anomaly represented by small, flickering nodes of color.
"Anomalies, you see, occur when a planet's timeline deviates from what the FATEs have established. If the timeline proceeds as intended, all is fine. But if a deviation appears… then our Anomaly Detection Unit is deployed, equipped with precise scanning technology to identify the cause."
The display zoomed in on a single world, showing a timeline with small spikes representing disturbances. Then, it visualized agents—represented by glowing avatars—entering the world, tracking anomalies, and deploying containment tools.
"And once detected, field agents like you are sent in to contain or eliminate, as necessary."
The display morphed again, highlighting different departments of CADE-C, with streams of light connecting each one like the nervous system of a living organism.
"Now, more about the containment department, since you're from there," Cai continued. "Containment officers handle anomalies that aren't far gone. We capture them using devices specifically made for this purpose."
A section of the display zoomed in to show the Vel Gear—sleek, metallic, and glowing with energy. The hologram rotated it, showing every intricate detail. "The Vel Gear bonds to its officer by the soul, allowing them to capture the anomaly and, if necessary, harness parts of its powers. Fascinating, isn't it?"
The display zoomed out one last time, showing the HQ, the galaxy, and the vast network of CADE-C operations across the universe.
"And… that's about it!" Cai said, its holographic face smiling. "Any questions?"
I hesitated.
The display was still there—galaxies rotating slowly, timelines flowing like luminous rivers—but my eyes drifted past it, toward the smooth, seamless wall to my left.
"…There was a window," I said quietly.
Cai blinked. Literally blinked. The holographic eyelids slid down and back up, as if surprised by the change in topic.
"A window?" it echoed.
"When I was in the medical bay," I continued. "Before I met him. I saw stars. Not projections. Real ones. Endless. I didn't believe it at first but..." I swallowed. "I wasn't on a planet anymore. I was in space."
The hologram paused for half a second.
Then Cai smiled.
"Excellent observational skills, Alex!" it chimed. "Yes, your deduction was correct. CADE-C Headquarters is not anchored to any planetary body. It exists in deep space, stabilized by multiple dimensional and gravitational anchors. The stars you saw were real. Maybe one of the stars you saw was probably Kelvar! The closest star system to the HQ!"
I let out a slow breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
So I hadn't imagined it.
This place really was that far removed from everything I knew. I was now in uncharted territory. Thrusted here without my consent with no chance of escaping.
My gaze shifted back to the display taking in the celestial body model's hovering in mid-air, then lowered it.
"…Another thing," I said.
Cai leaned forward slightly, its posture attentive.
"That corridor Warolk showed me," I said, my voice tightening despite myself. "The one with the… things inside. Were those—"
I stopped.
My jaw clenched.
"—were those the anomalies under his control?"
The room felt quieter.
Vellinson didn't laugh this time. He didn't even move. He stared at me pityfully.
Cai's smile didn't fade, but something about it sharpened.
"Yes," it answered. "Those were high-risk contained anomalies assigned directly under Section Chief Warolk's authority. You were shown a fraction of his containment wing. He has a total of around 800 Such corridors. His Vel gear is an entire spaceship!"
A fraction...
800...
A Spaceship sized Vel gear...
My fingers curled slowly into my palm.
"So the rumors are true...?" I muttered. "Class-10s. Immortals. Things that can tear worlds apart…"
"Confirmed," Cai said cheerfully. "Warolk has successfully neutralized or contained multiple entities that would otherwise destabilize entire timelines. His corridor serves both as a containment area and as a… motivational tool."
That was one way to put it.
I leaned back in my chair, staring up at the holographic universe. It all clicked into place—the confidence, the exhaustion, the complete lack of hesitation when he'd threatened me.
He wasn't bluffing.
He didn't need to.
For a moment, fear crept back in. Cold and familiar.
But then… something else stirred beneath it.
If I couldn't beat him.
If I couldn't run.
If this place, this organization, this man was unavoidable… Inescapable...
Then I only had one real option.
I straightened in my seat.
"…I see," I said quietly.
Cai tilted its head. "Oh?"
I looked down at the card in my hand. My name. My clearance. My new identity.
Then I closed my fingers around it.
"If I can't win against someone like him," I said, more to myself than anyone else, "then I'll stand on the same side."
Vellinson finally spoke, a low chuckle escaping him.
"Heh. Yeah," he said. "That's usually how it starts."
Cai's holographic eyes gleamed.
"A very efficient survival mindset!" it said brightly. "Aligning yourself with the strongest force available increases your projected life expectancy by a significant margin!"
I didn't smile.
But I didn't look away either.
"Then teach me," I said. "Everything. I don't care how long it takes."
The display behind Cai shifted—training modules, simulations, containment scenarios flickering into place.
Cai's grin widened.
"Excellent," it said. "Orientation complete."