Chapter 14: “The Silver-Haired Youth”
Chapter 14: “The Silver-Haired Youth”
—From the Memoirs of Oliver Jones
⸻
Section 1: The Submersion Mission
The sea that day was eerily quiet.
I was diving through the deep ocean on my Harley.
Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it?
But it’s the truth. That amphibious machine entrusted to me by Burnsdan—with its hydrogen-electrolysis engine and automatic buoyancy control system—without it, I never could have gone searching for Rafaela.
One year had passed since Rafaela’s disappearance.
With special permission wrung out of Gifted Academy, I set out to re-investigate the Crystal Gate at the ocean floor.
Above me, Emile manned the boat. Lilica, Fei-taro, and Hachiko waited with him.
“Depth: 450. Communication stable.”
Emile’s voice over the comm was calm.
I recalled Katie’s words: “Plants remember.”
So I drove a probe into the stump of Saint Tosgorn, believing the “record” of when the barrier had been raised still lingered within.
But—
⸻
Section 2: Memories of the Deep
That’s when I saw it.
Amid the crushing pressure and silence, the shattered remnants of the Gate stood alone.
I dismounted the Harley, laid my hand upon the ancient stump—said to be over 2000 years old—and drove in the inspection probe.
That’s when it hit me—
as if “memories” themselves were flooding back.
My mother’s last voice.
The night Zeus and Dan stayed behind.
That place where I had been powerless.
“…I’ll never go back. Not to the me of those days.”
The words slipped from my mouth, echoing inside my helmet.
⸻
Section 3: The Accident
…The Gate flashed.
It was only an instant. A surge of runaway energy.
Mud entangled the propellers, throwing the Harley out of control.
Oxygen warning. Darkness.
The next moment—everything was cut off.
From there, I can only recall it as fragments of a dream.
⸻
Section 4: Shards of Consciousness
In the darkness, I heard my mother’s voice.
“You were born to live—and to bear witness.”
Then Rafaela’s smile appeared.
…and then, I woke.
No—that’s not quite right.
Later, I realized that I had merely been told I had “woken.”
⸻
Section 5: The Rescue
I only learned the details later, from Lilica.
I had lost consciousness underwater, my suit torn, oxygen depleted.
That was when Emile dove to save me.
No equipment.
Just trusting the performance of his Honda-built clone body, he plunged alone into the depths.
Enduring the pressure, the freezing cold, tearing aside debris—
And yet, he never faltered.
(That’s just like him, really.)
But the Emile of that moment wasn’t just a “youth.”
He was remembering—recalling the time he had nearly died protecting the young Maharaja, the memories of being a captain of the guard.
Even as he carried me back, those fragments returned to him.
⸻
Section 6: Awakening Silver-Haired ✨
Breaking the surface, he lifted me in his arms.
Hachiko barked, Fei-taro leapt, Lilica nearly cried as she rushed to treat me—
and Emile collapsed to his knees, exhausted.
“…I was a guard. That was who I was.”
Murmuring that, he slipped into sleep mode.
Lilica, trembling, gave me artificial respiration.
She cried “Idiot!” even as she forced the medicine into me to restart my heartbeat.
When I regained consciousness, the first thing I noticed—was the color of my hair.
Silver.
In the mirror, I hardly recognized my own face.
“This is the mark of the survivor. It appears only in those who have seen death, and chosen life.”
Lilica’s words carried a weight I couldn’t ignore.
⸻
Section 7: Report and Resolve
A few days later, I brought the log data to the Maharaja’s private residence.
The waveforms pointed to Rafaela’s coordinates. When I showed him, he simply said:
“…Our debts are settled. So—you’re going?”
“Of course.”
My silver hair shimmered faintly in the sunlight pouring through the window.
The Maharaja noticed it, but said nothing.
(Rafaela, I swear…)
That vow I made that day—I have never forgotten.
⸻
To be continued…
