[Start Of Arc 0 - Genesis]
[The Eastern Continent, Ryomania, Piasu County, Havok City. 3:00 AM, Monday, January 5th, 2010]
A newly built hospital had just opened a week before this night. Rain battered the hospital windows as a heavy storm had set in. Paramedics rushed a sick, pregnant woman into the hospital.
The woman coughed violently, each spasm leaving her weak and clammy. It was terrible timing that she was sick on this night.
Doctors rushed her into the newly opened 'Genesis Ward' of the hospital, specifically built for births, abortions, and featuring a large nursery.
She screamed.
"Heart rate's dropping! Prepare for an emergency C-section—" a nurse called out.
The lights flickered out, leaving the room in darkness, broken only by the monitor's fading beeps.
When the lights turned back on, at 3:33 AM, I was born.
"Oh, he's beautiful! Congratulations, ma'am! His eyes are... unusual, to say the least. But he looks healthy," another nurse said.
My mother, Eleanor, snatched me from the nurse, cooing gently.
"Oh my dear baby boy... He's so beautiful! Honey, what should we name him? He's... perfect."
My father, Alexander, who quite literally fell from shock, peeked over the edge of the hospital bed at me in my mother's arms. A gentle smile crept onto his face.
"J-James... James Karawei!"
The head doctor then entered the room, smiled, and took his stethoscope off.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Karawei! A healthy young boy... Though his eyes are most unusual, like two stars. It could be a mutation; we can run tests if you're interested, but I think he'll be okay... I see a bright future ahead of him! Alright, I'll be back in a second."
The doctor chuckled and stepped outside the room, almost bumping into someone else.
"Oh, excuse me... Boss," the doctor said, brushing past a strange man, bowing politely, and heading down the hallway into a utility closet.
The man said nothing in response.
Only the stranger seemed to notice the doctor disappearing into the utility closet — nobody else did.
That man.
The one who always wore a crimson business suit, a crimson fedora, and a sleek black surgical mask made of silk. A strange gold 'S' badge stood out on his suit jacket, just above his heart. A golden 'S' with a red eye at its center.
The first thing I laid eyes upon after being born wasn't the ceiling, the nurses, any object, or even my parents.
I looked out the viewing window and locked eyes with him.
With time, I'd learn that people call him The Boss.
He was intensely watching me from outside the operating room. Our eyes locked onto each other.
Now, I wouldn't learn of any of this until years later, but I remember every word he said.
"James Karawei. One to one... Oh, we'll have so much to talk about one day, my dear boy. One day indeed..." he said, turning away from the window.
Nobody else saw him.
As a baby, I had no idea what was even happening. He just caught my eye, and I caught his.
The Boss turned to someone next to him — a shorter, chubby man who was leaning against the wall outside the room to his left, enjoying a sandwich. The man wore a sleek black business suit with a matching black fedora. He too had the golden 'S' badge on his suit.
"Come along, Obie, you're about to be a father soon too, don't you have business to attend to?"
The chubby man quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as the other man turned to him.
"Eh? Sorry, Boss, you're right… We have things to do. But hey, you know, I've been meaning to start that diet, it's just these genetics that I can't shake! My Uncle Pete was built like a keg too—" Obadiah rambled.
The Boss sighed and crossed his arms, nodding — a casual yet annoyed gesture.
"Ah, right, the door, sorry, Boss... You know how chatty a good sandwich makes me! Haha... Hey, is the kid born, by the way?" Obadiah chuckled nervously, feeling the pressure of The Boss' stare and suddenly growing self-conscious.
"Yes. We will go through with everything as intended, and you, just like everyone else, will begin training."
He paused, looking back into the nursery at me. My eyes were still locked onto his, despite my father's best attempts at getting me to look at him or my mother.
I didn't want to look away. I didn't really want anything.
"I sympathize with what his mother said… Although, I'm not sure I agree fully. We haven't seen his true potential yet."
The Boss paused. A hint of a smile could be seen just above his mask, the corner of his mouth crinkling.
"I heard some of The Saints call you Fat Man yesterday. Apparently they did not appreciate losing against you. You're not as heavy as a nuclear bomb, are you, Obie?"
The Boss started tapping his foot impatiently, arching an eyebrow as he looked upon Obadiah, awaiting his response.
The smile on his face seemed to disappear as Obadiah looked away. He turned to the side to glance at two nurses talking next to a water cooler.
The Boss followed his gaze.
They couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"—This new hospital is state-of-the-art, but I don't know... There's been strange things happening here lately. I think everyone's just a little paranoid with the terrorist attacks and all," the nurse on the left said, glancing over her shoulder towards the exit.
"I don't know, Jessie, what if it's real? I mean, have you looked at the head doctor lately? Like, really looked... He doesn't feel like himself, he looks different too. I swear his hair wasn't curly and gray yesterday! But his face looks the same… I must be losing it here, it's probably just the crappy coffee and loneliness."
"I know, right?! I think I'll transfer soon, this place isn't right for me."
The Boss turned again to look at Obadiah, scratching his chin.
"Ah… It's the newbie, The White Rose. Of course he'd mess up. Five agents down from what was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission. Clearly they couldn't find it."
Obadiah put his hands in the pockets of his suit pants and pressed his back harder against the wall.
"Well, that's how new hires are... We should cut him some slack. He lost basically everything."
"And you didn't?"
The Boss cleared his throat and moved closer, this time tapping his left hand on the wall.
"I'm sorry, let's just go. The door, Obie. I still haven't found Reality yet. The host is nearby though, we have them pinned down to this city. We'll be monitoring it until we find it."
He turned and also put his hands in his pockets. Both of them now looked forwards into the nursery again, watching my parents try to cheer me up.
I kept staring at The Boss.
"All these years… We're here. It's hard to describe, really. This is our Genesis. His Genesis, Obie."
"Right… Hey, you know, we should get out of headquarters more often. I really, uh, like our talks. Outside? You know... Watching the people go about their lives..."
The Boss narrowed his eyes, and Obadiah got the message.
"Right, sorry, Boss..."
Obadiah flipped his hand. A small wooden door appeared over his sleeve and the sandwich suddenly vanished into his arm. The door was gone.
Then, he lifted his hand and a similar door formed on the wall right next to them, adjacent to the door into the operating room.
It was made of pristine mahogany with golden markings along the edges.
The Boss stepped back from the wall and turned to face Obadiah and the door.
"Fine, we'll get out more. It'll help you lose that weight. Now come on."
Obadiah also stepped away from the wall to face the door.
"So... other than training, we're just improvising? Just... waiting around? To be honest, I'd rather just go back to Donlon. I mean, I have a family to raise, Boss. I'm about to have another child in a few months…"
The Boss adjusted his tie calmly.
"No. We won't just wait. We plan, we proceed, we take control. This is the way the world has operated from the beginning, Obie. Now come along."
Obadiah took a deep breath.
"Right as always, Boss. Right as always…"
They opened the door, revealing an empty, dark concrete hallway on the other side. They both stepped through and vanished — and so did the door.
As they disappeared, I quickly began looking around the room.
I had been so focused on The Boss and his existence that my own didn't register.
It came flooding back.
I glanced between the faces of my parents as they held me, and a strange feeling bloomed within my chest.
That's when I began to cry.
But you must know —
This is my message to you, on behalf of everyone.
I don't know what I was then.
I'm not sure who I am now.
But I remember the day it started.