?1460 Arion Delmar.
After he took the case, he went to meet up with his squad, and they started their day shift with working on some old cases.
When they were done, Felix and Ravager were rewarded with a bit of points for their performance, but nothing too far-reaching like in the rescue mission.
Receiving six thousand or more overall from such an insane achievement might seem little, but it was the highest amount possible to be given in that scenario.
That''s because each squad had a limit on how many points they could give out to the contestants in each mission to avoid biased favorism.
So, it was impossible for Felix and Ravager to be set for the entire duration of thepetition from a single mission, which helped the girls catch up to them through an insane quantity of solved cases.
After the day shift ended, Felix updated Ravager about case epted as they walked towards one of the interrogation rooms.
He was informed that the lost spirit was brought in for a while now, and he was waiting just for them.
...
In a short while, Felix and Ravager were standing behind a see through ss window with their arms crossed.
Their foreheads were creased as they observed the lone figure sitting on the other side.
His eyes, empty and distant, were fixed on a point on the wall. He seemed lost in an abyss of his thoughts, unaffected by the physical world around him.
''He does have the characteristics of a fallen specter.'' Felix thought.
He had never seen a fallen specter before, but he was told by Miss Sanae some of their features.
One of the infamous characteristics was the silent absentmindedness of the spirit, remaining in this condition until he gets an order from his master.
''His condition resembles my sister greatly.'' Ravager narrowed his eyes, ''Does he have a rtion to the people who have harmed my sister?''
"Is something wrong?" Felix asked after seeing his sudden shift of emotions.
"Nothing important." Ravager brushed it off before saying, "I think it''s time we find out his identity."
Felix knew that something wasn''t right, but he decided to ignore it for now.
Felix walked in with Ravager by his side. The door shut behind them with a soft click. The spirit did not acknowledge their entrance, nor did he shift his gaze.
Ravager cleared his throat, his voice gruff. "Hey!" he eximed, trying to catch the spirit''s attention, but to no avail.
Felix approached the table, his footsteps deliberate and slow. He leaned forward, trying to find a hint of consciousness in the spirit''s eyes. "Can you hear me?" he asked calmly.
Silence.
Felix tried a different approach. He reached out, cing a hand on the spirit''s shoulder. At the touch, a fleeting ripple of energy moved across the spirit''s form, like a stone disturbing still water. But his vacant stare remained unchanged.
Ravager, his patience thinning, mmed his hand on the table, creating a resounding noise.
"Snap out of it!" He roared.
But the spirit remained unmoved, his world seemingly far removed from theirs.
Felix stood upright, taking a step back. "It''s as if he''s trapped in his mind," he murmured. "His consciousness is somewhere else."
"I guess we can only run his identity through the system and figure out more about his past from there." Ravager said.
"Take care of it."
Felix watched on with intrigue as Ravager approached the man, aiming the device towards his arm.
At first nce, there was nothing. But as the crystal device emitted a soft, blue glow, an intricate barcode-like pattern emerged from the spirit''s forearm, previously invisible to the naked eye.
"Got it," Ravager announced as he began the scan. Lines of mysterious code and data streamed from the spirit''s barcode into the crystal device, illuminating it with fluctuating colors.
Ravager observed the information, then ryed it to Felix in a structured manner:
Full Name: Arion Delmar
Age: 233 Spirit Years
Origin City: Luminara
Last Known upation: Luminara''s Gambling Den Manager.
Status: Current Dark color/Peak Color, Golden.
Memory Status: Compromised//
Even though there were more information to be read, both Felix and Ravager were taken back when they saw that he was a golden-ranked spirit.
"How is it even possible to fall this significantly in rank?" Ravager frowned, "He was even a gambling den manager. They are known to be swimming in Lumus."
It would have been more understandable if he fell to blue, green, or even indigo if he was presented with hundreds of unfortunate circumstances...But dark color?
Everyone avoided dropping to this rank akin to a gue, and there was no way a golden spirit would allow himself to fall to such a low point.
''He is most definitely a fallen specter.''
Felix was more certain now than ever.
"What do you think about this?"
"The protocol in this situation is to take him to the reformation center and attempt to recover any of his lost memories. If everything was erased, give him a new identity fit of his current rank." Felix uttered calmly.
The spirit, Arion Delmar, remained distant and unresponsive even at the sound of such a terrifying statement.
"Mmm." Ravager opened his mouth, but soon closed it. Then, he nodded in approval.
''I can''t ask the Traveler to break the protocol and start investigating him without exposing him to the system.''
Ravager wanted to utilize the information acquired from the barcode to begin his investigation on the spirit''s past and find out what caused him to be like this.
But, he could not do this if the case wasn''t approved first by their squad''s captain. That''s because the case Felix epted would end the moment the spirit either had his memories restored or received a new identity.
Whatever happen next would be considered as a new case with a different rank to it.
''Let''s hope we get something from his memories.''
...
Inside the vast halls filled with sophisticated machinery and luminescent chambers, Felix and Ravager walked side by side, guiding the vacant-eyed Arion. They were led by Specialist ra, the center''s leading memory technician.
Since they were considered newbies, they needed monitoring while running the machine.
"Put him there."
Upon reaching a central chamber, Specialist ra gestured for them to ce Arion on the chair and put the helmet on his head. Once Arion was settled, ra initiated the process.
The chamber hummed to life, pulsating with a rhythmic energy. Streams of light and shadow intertwined, seeking, searching for the lost fragments of Arion''s memories. The minutes felt like hours as Felix and Ravager waited with bated breath.
Finally, the hum subsided, the chamber''s light dimmed, and Specialist ra approached them with a heavy heart.
"My apologies, but It appears that Arion Delmar''s memories have not just been suppressed or locked away. They have beenpletely and permanently deleted."
"Is there no other way?" Ravager asked with a upset tone.
ra shook her head. "The process we use is the most advanced in the realm. If his memories were merely fragmented or locked, we could have pieced them together. But deletion... it''s final."
Ravager leaned against a console, annoyance evident on his face. "Who would go to such lengths? And why?"
"That''s on you to investigate." ra uttered calmly, "For now, it''s best to give him a new identity, so he could be functional again."
"We will do so, but not now." Felix stopped her just as she was about to press the button, "We still need to run some tests on him."
"As you wish." ra shrugged and took off, not too bothered.
Felix nced at the mindless Arion and thought to himself, ''We may not get information from him, but the fallen specters'' cartel doesn''t know that and will try their best to recover him.''
Felix was certain that the cartel wouldn''t allow Arion to roam the streets and if it wasn''t for thew enforcers picking him first, he would have already been taken aback by them.
So, he nned to send him back outside again as a bait and see who would bite on it!