Return Research Organization

CHAPTER 1

A young child and his mother are walking at the park, hand in hand as a gentle breeze pushes on the child lightly. Tall green pine trees swayed along the child hopping from side to side, landing on the brick pavement with a thump.

The young child stops in his tracks and lifts his head, raising his arm straight up to the sky with his pointer finger to something that appears to be floating.

"Mommy! Look, a bubble!" The child exclaims to his mother.

But the mother grabs his wrist, gently yanking it to face her instead. "Vic! You shouldn't ever point with your finger, okay? Do this instead."

The mother extends her arm with her palm open to the bubble's direction. "See the glowing ball in the center of the bubble? It means it's someone's soul."

The child named Vic looks at her, his head tilting to the right "Soul? Why is it floating?"

His mother crouches down to his level, a gentle smile on her face "Because that soul is going somewhere very far away. You'll also go there one day, mommy too."

Vic's mouth stretches into a smile, "Will me and mommy go together?"

His mother's smile faded slightly, "Not together, but we will see each other when the time comes."

The child's head lowers "Why can't mommy go with me?" His hand was tugging at the hem of her shirt.

His mother stands up, still holding onto his hand. "Mommy will tell you later at home after your nap, okay? Come on, it will be dark soon."

"Awh... Okay.."

The mother and son walk together, going in the direction of their home while discussing what they should eat for dinner when they get back.

A man around his early-twenties sits down at a grey couch, his weight making the soft cushions on the couch dip slightly even with his slender frame. Another man sits on an arm-chair across from him, holding a folder with papers, with only a glass table separating them. There were no windows but curtains were draped on the beige walls for an aesthetic appeal, a wooden desk located on the back of the room and a black office chair paired with it.

"EN[1]: 1649, Victor, is it?" The man seated on the arm-chair says.

"Yes, that is me." Says the man on the grey couch, fixing his glasses.

"Great. Nice to meet you. I am Levis, the supervisor for this research team. Today, I will be telling you the goals of this organization and your role for this team."

Levis places down the folder of papers on the glass table in front of them.

"As you probably already know, our goal is to find a way to resurrect the dead. We have yet to achieve that but we discovered that maybe, if we are fast enough and arrive before it pops, we can capture the soul and return it back inside the body."

Victor raises his eyebrow. "But what if the person's body is beyond repair?"

"Then we will let the soul pass peacefully. We do not intend to use this method on everyone, especially if the subject's body has been greatly affected by aging and no longer able to contribute to our society."

Victor just nods at the answer, but a lingering thought remains at the back of his head. What a strange way to call the elderly.....

"To continue what I was saying, once we find a way to resurrect the 'dead', rest assured that it will only be used on the young who have much to live for. You will learn more things along the way the more years you stay."

"I see... so only for the wellbeing of the youth..." Victor mumbles to himself.

"What was that?"

"No, nothing. Excited to start working with you." He puts on his professional smile.