Omega

2 Memories Unbound

    I stare at my employer, a confused expression on my face. "No one knows who I am. We're all blanks— people with blank slates and no memories."
    Ptolemus shakes his head. "My family has the right to everyone's memories as we are the highest noble family below the royal family. I can show you who you really are." He holds his hand out to me.
    "Why would I need to see my memories when I've lived most of my life without them?"
    "Come with me." Ptolemus takes my hand. He drags me to his family's mansion. Ptolemus takes me to a separate building behind the large house.
    I marvel at the sight before me. "Why have you brought me to your family's fancy garden shed?" I fill my voice with annoyance.
    Ptolemus rolls his eyes. "This is far from a garden shed, skilled assassin. Within these walls are crates and boxes filled with objects of everyone's pasts. Come." He pushes open the doors and leads me inside.
    I follow him silently. I feel like doing this is wrong. I shouldn't see my past. I am not allowed to.
    We stop at a crate in the center of the room.
    It is filled with old pictures, news articles, and baby toys. There is a sign on the front of it.
    Ptolemus wipes the dust away.

                         Omega Valentine

    "Is this my memory box?" I wipe the dust off the objects inside the box.
    "Indeed. These are your memories," Ptolemus picks up a picture and hands it to me, "and these are your parents."
    I hold the image in my hands gingerly.
    The picture holds a young married couple frozen in time. The man is tall with long, silver hair and green eyes. His eyes have cat-like pupils. The woman has brown hair and dark eyes. In the image, she looks like she is due with a child soon. Both seem like they are more than human.
    "Who are they?" I look up at Ptolemus.
    "Your parents. Ariadne Rhapsodos and Sephiroth Valentine. That child your mother carries in that picture is you."
    I place a hand on the picture. I know instantly that Ptolemus is right. "What else do you know about me?" I ask.
    Ptolemus smirks. "I'm your cousin. Your mother is my father's sister," he hands me a newspaper article, "The Jenova Project was what made our parents who they are. I'm not going to explain everything in detail. All you need to know is that you have Jenova cells in your body that make you superhuman."
I scan the article. "This practice must've been illegal. Why would anyone want to experiment on babies— or even pregnant women?" I toss the article back in my box of memories. I stare longingly at the picture of my parents. What I would give to see them again.
"No one knows exactly why. It is assumed that they wanted to create a pureblood Cetra. In truth, all they did was create super-human monsters. Some of their creations did, in fact, believe they were monsters," Ptolemus answers.
I finally meet his gaze. "Tell me what my parents thought. I need to know."
Ptolemus frowns. "Your mother was like my father. She was willing to live being what she became. Your father, Sephiroth, didn't think like that. For a long time, he had believed that Jenova was his mother because the scientists lied to him. They told him Jenova was his mother. At the time, he was enraged and believed that he was a monster. It took your mother, Ariadne, a long time to change his mind. And then she conceived you."
I slowly make sense of all Ptolemus tells me. I know that all he says is true. Maybe I am meant to be the Hero of Light. I know that I don't know the most important detail at this time. "Ptolemus, why are you choosing me?" I ask.
Ptolemus smiles proudly. "I believe in you. It's as simple as that. I know the truth of the prophecy. I also know that your memories prove the potential you have. I can't promise you that I know everything, but I can tell you that more of your memories will reveal themselves as your journey continues. Only a man with his memories can defeat the chaos that haunts us. There are many ways this could end. Before it does, you will learn who you are with the aid of your family and the past. Are you ready to become the Hero of Light or will you be the Warrior of Despair?" He reaches his hand out to me.
I think on his words. From what I know of my past, I am a warrior of despair. There is no possible way I can be the Hero of Light.
They claim that the Hero of Light has to carry the light of hope within him. They have said that an assassin is someone who steals that hope.
I am the very thing who steals hope. I am a thief who steals the light of hope from others. And I am being told that I will bring hope to the world. I meet Ptolemus' dark eyes with my bright green ones. "I ask again, why do you choose me?"
"Do you not trust me?" Ptolemus asks. He leads me out of the den of memories. Ptolemus takes me back to the entrance of his family's mansion. He gestures for me to look towards the garden entrance.
I look and find myself staring at a man I know I have seen before, I just don't remember where I have seen him.
He is tall and regal. He has short, red-brown hair that matches his amber eyes. The man looks nothing like Ptolemus. He wears a red jacket and matching gloves. A sword, no doubt it was a rapier, is sheathed at his side. The man smiles at me. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Omega. I'm Genesis Rhapsodos, your uncle, Ptolemus' father, and your guide while you are fulfilling the prophecy."