Interrogation

I was completely alone.

The silence of the room only made me more tense. The single light above flickered intermittently, casting long shadows on the gray walls. I had no idea how much time had passed. There was no window, no way to track the flow of time. Only my breathing, deep and uneven, reminded me that I was still here.

They had brought me here in silence. No accusations, no explanations. Just the cold, metallic walls and the echoing corridors illuminated by dim lights.

When the door closed behind me, the harsh truth struck me, I was a prisoner. And no matter how much I told myself this was a misunderstanding, the chains of fear wrapped tighter around me.

In the center of the room stood two chairs and a table. It wasn’t bolted to the floor, yet it looked as if it couldn’t be moved. I didn’t sit down. Instead, I paced back and forth, rubbing my arms to warm myself. My fingers trembled. I wanted to hold onto something, anything, that would make this moment feel less real.

The guard standing by the door remained motionless. It was clear that he was one of the elite. His silver uniform was standard issue, his sharp features enhanced by the blue holographic glow in his eyes, scanning me like an AI module embedded within him. His stance was rigid and strict. He was nothing more than an extension of the system.

But yet… something felt off. He was uneasy. I could tell. As if… he wasn’t entirely sure about something.

“I’m not a criminal,” I whispered.

No response.

Clearing my throat, I spoke again. “This is a mistake. I don’t know what I’ve done, but I don’t belong here.”

Silence. His face didn’t shift in the slightest. It was as if my presence didn’t matter.

I clenched my teeth, frustration slowly rising within me. “Are you even listening to me?”

His eyes never wavered. But… his fingers did. A tiny, almost imperceptible movement. But it was there. He wasn’t completely indifferent.

I took a deep breath, a small spark of hope igniting inside me. “You don’t know either, do you?”

A brief pause. Silence, but this time, it carried weight, as if suppressing an entire reality.

At that moment, I felt a strange vibration deep within my body. As if my existence flickered for a split second, dissolving into pixels before reassembling itself. My heart pounded wildly, racing like a machine gone out of control. It felt like my blood was flowing in reverse, an indescribable pressure weighing down on my chest. My vision blurred, and it was as if the world itself was being torn apart and reshaped.

This was the same terrible illusion I had experienced before coming here.

I leaned forward, locking eyes with him. “You saw that, didn’t you?” My voice wasn’t supposed to shake, but it did. “I look normal. But sometimes… I’m not.”

His jaw tightened slightly. A small reaction. But enough for me.

He had noticed it too that strange anomaly defying the rigid laws of reality. As a guard, he tried to maintain his composure, but the slight tremor in his gaze betrayed him. The human mind could only resist such distortions for so long. This was an anomaly beyond nature’s comprehension.

My breath came in ragged gasps, a nervous chuckle caught in my throat. “Even I don’t know what’s happening,” I whispered. “I wish I could explain it to you. Why does my body feel like it’s breaking apart and coming back together? But I have no answers.”

At that moment, footsteps echoed outside the room. They were getting closer.

My body tensed instinctively. The door slid open with a mechanical hiss, soft blue light seeping in as the engraved energy runes along its edges shimmered faintly. A figure stepped inside, their movements precise and disciplined, eyes scanning the room with unwavering focus. The glowing veins on their uniform pulsed gently, their silhouette becoming sharper under the dim lighting.

The guard beside me immediately straightened, his face hardening, his entire presence shifting into something colder, an automaton awaiting orders.

I held my breath.

The one who had come to interrogate me had finally arrived.

And the faint tension in the guard’s wrist told me that this moment would shape my fate.

                                                                              ***

 When Haru met Captain Hikari’s sharp gaze, the air in the room seemed to tighten. His rigid, authoritarian posture and expressionless face made it clear that this was not a simple procedural interrogation. As Hikari sat on the metal chair, he lightly tapped his gloved fingers on the table. The guard standing by the door remained silent, observing the interrogation.

“What is your name?” Hikari asked, his voice sharp and commanding.

Haru cleared his throat and swallowed. “Haru Akihara.”

Hikari nodded expressionlessly. “Where do you live? Where have you been hiding until now?”

Haru blinked in confusion. “I live in Tokyo, in Suginami. I’m a high school student. I was in class, attending a lesson… Then something happened, and I found myself here.”

Hikari furrowed his brows. “Tokyo? There is no such place. Don’t try to make up an answer.”

He tilted his head slightly and made a small hand gesture to the guard beside him. “Search Ethereon’s population records for this name. Find out if there’s an address, family, or any information about him.”

The guard nodded and entered a few commands on the holographic screen on his wrist. However, after a few seconds, he hesitated, then lifted his eyes and paused. “Sir, the report only contained this individual’s description and the location where he was taken into custody. No personal identification details were provided. There is no record of this name in the population database.”

Haru clenched and unclenched his fists. “I… I really lived in Tokyo. I don’t know how, but I ended up here. None of this makes sense.”

Hikari narrowed his eyes. “You just ‘ended up’ here, did you? No one will believe such a ridiculous story.”

Haru gritted his teeth. “I don’t know! I really don’t know! I’m not lying to you.”

Hikari stared at him for several seconds, analyzing whether the young man before him was telling the truth. Slowly, he leaned forward, his voice hardening. “If you’re not lying, then why are you here? Tell me the truth. What you’ve said so far is absurd. Don’t try to hide anything from me. I need to know who you really are.”

Haru shook his head, his jaw tightening. 

“I’m already telling you the truth! I didn’t live in this world. I was just an ordinary high school student in Tokyo, Japan! I had a normal life, hanging out with friends after school. Then suddenly, everything changed. I found myself here, and I have no idea how or why. But one thing I know for sure, this is not my world! In fact, you tell me, where am I? What’s going to happen to me?!”

Hikari took a deep breath, keeping his eyes locked on Haru as he spoke.

 “This is the Kingdom of Ethereon. You are currently in the Guardian Headquarters in the capital, Dravonia. I am Captain Hikari of the Ethereon Silver Guardian Unit. And in this kingdom, there is no such place as Japan or Tokyo.”

Though his expression didn’t change, doubt flickered within Hikari’s mind. He had never encountered a case like this before. Normally, when a suspect was reported, at least some basic information was provided, but this time, there was almost nothing, just a location and a vague description. Making an arrest with so little information was unusual. Either something was being hidden, or even his superiors had no idea what they were dealing with.

He looked at Haru for a moment. Could he be insane?

The desperation in his eyes, the anger within him, it was impossible to ignore. But what if this was all an act? What if this boy was trying to deceive them? Hikari’s mind raced through possibilities, weighing each one carefully.

Just as he was about to speak, the door to the room burst open. A guard entered, his face tense and urgent.

“Captain Hikari, we’ve received an urgent message. You need to come immediately.”

Hikari’s brows knitted together. Interruptions during an interrogation were rare. “What is it about?”

The guard hesitated, his eyes flickering toward Haru for a brief moment. “An incident has occurred at central command. The high council wants to see you immediately.”

For a moment, silence settled over the room. Hikari turned to Haru, his eyes drilling into him. Haru didn’t try to look away. He, too, could sense that something was happening.

“Keep him locked up here,” Hikari ordered coldly. “This isn’t over.”

As the door shut behind them, Haru took a deep breath, but even the air in his lungs felt restless. The silence that filled the room was suffocating, pressing down on him like a heavy shadow. His heart pounded wildly. Something was happening outside…

And whatever it was, he was right at the center of it.

He had been thrown into this mystery against his will, but one thing was certain, he wouldn’t leave this place without learning the truth.