Transmigrated as The Forgotten Extra-Chapter 133 Rest.
A voice, somewhat childish, cold, and faintly tactical, echoed in Cain’s ears. He stared at the massive monitor before him, watching the floating emoji widen its eyes in apparent confusion.
The silver-haired boy stood there with his mouth agape, yet every word he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
Ignoring Cain entirely, the emoji blinked. The hollow pupils of its eyes glowed white before its body began to glitch.
The familiar sound of a computer filtering data echoed throughout the space, snapping Cain out of his daze. The screen before him flickered violently, displaying an overwhelming flood of data and countless human faces.
After a while, the emoji, previously buried beneath layers of stacked information, reappeared in the corner of the screen. Its eyes were narrowed, as though deep in thought.
{Data inconsistency detected. Human, your face does not exist in the records stored within my memory.}
The emoji paused, its expression twisting and glitching before settling into a deep frown.
{Based on my analysis, you originate from outside. A person who should not exist in this place. How is this possible?}
The moment it finished speaking in its robotic tone, tinged with a strangely feminine, childlike cadence, a red warning light flared to life. The monitor was instantly flooded with caution panels.
Cain’s expression hardened as countless exclamation marks filled the screen. Alarms blared, drawing the attention of his five companions who had been fixated on the river moments earlier.
"Cain!?"
Luna shouted, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing directly in front of him, gripping the hilt of the sword at her waist.
The other four followed suit, positioning themselves a step behind Cain, faces tense and ready for the worst.
Cain gently patted Luna’s shoulder and carefully pulled her back. Peeking past her shoulder, he locked eyes with Rika. The red-haired girl nodded and lowered her weapon.
Seeing this, Abel, Louise, and Peter exchanged glances before reluctantly easing their hostility.
Cain let out a short breath, lightly patting his chest before speaking.
"Relax. This AI doesn’t mean any harm; it’s just surprised to see us suddenly show up here."
{Correction. I was merely asking a question. You are the ones who reached conclusions too quickly.}
"Huh?"
Rika’s deep voice cut in sharply, freezing the atmosphere around Cain.
Before things could escalate further, Cain raised both hands high, drawing the attention of both humans and machines alike.
"Hi, nice to meet you, ARCHES. My name is Cain. I indeed came from outside, and I discovered this place by accident."
The emoji in the corner of the screen went silent, its expression flattening before it responded.
{Impossible. Only internal personnel possess access codes to this facility. And this place is not a ruin, it is a massive water storage complex constructed by the Azure Dragon Corps, under the command of...}
"Okay, stop right there!"
Cain cut off ARCHES before it could launch into a lengthy explanation. He gave a wry smile and walked closer to the monitor, staring straight at the emoji with wide eyes.
"Let’s put aside the origin of this place for now. ARCHES, what year do you think it is?"
The moment the question left his mouth, not only the AI but all five of Cain’s companions turned to stare at him.
{...}
The AI fell silent. A large question mark appeared beside the emoji’s blank expression. Shortly after, the emoji drifted toward the centre of the screen and spoke in its robotic tone.
{Apologies. I have been in hibernation mode. My final record before being shut down by my creator was Year 2310, XX months, XX days.}
Hearing this, Cain nodded, touching his chin as he sank into thought. But the AI continued.
{Throughout this time, all water circulation and filtration processes have been conducted automatically following precise calculations. According to my projections, the water in this facility could remain viable for up to half a millennium under autonomous supervision. Now that I am active once more, that duration can be extended even further...}
Cain held his breath briefly, swallowing to moisten his dry throat as he looked back at the emoji on the massive screen.
Crossing his arms over his chest, the silver-haired boy listened as the AI continued its explanation, clearly proud of its own achievements.
Yet because of that pride, Cain hesitated to reveal the truth.
That the world ARCHES knew no longer existed.
That most of the people who once lived and worked here had likely evacuated, and that the majority of them had probably lost their lives in the end.
It wasn’t surprising.
No matter how advanced technology had become, and no matter how this place promised nearly limitless clean water, humanity could never overcome its own biology, its need for food.
Persisting here would have only meant waiting for death.
That was why the researchers and residents of the ancient ruins had chosen to follow the government instead, taking shelter under a single massive banner, within one of the cities that had once been a global superpower.
A city that had since been erased by the cruelty of time, leaving behind not even a name.
Only a record, or data, Cain had once found in ruins during his very first mission.
{...Allow me to explain the system in further detail...}
"ARCHES."
Cain interrupted, his voice low, as if restraining something. He took a long breath before speaking.
"The world you know is gone. And the current date is Year 323 AC (After Calamity), XX months, XX days."
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere froze solid. Only the roar of flowing water echoed through the space, a reminder that time still moved forward.
The AI fell silent, its emoji expression completely flat.
Several suffocating seconds passed before ARCHES finally spoke.
{Can you explain in greater detail? What happened?}
Cain nodded and began recounting everything that had occurred after the fall of the cosmic meteor. He didn’t just tell the story of what came after—it was interwoven with the researchers’ records he still remembered.
The spread of the virus. The collapse of continents. The near extinction of humanity.
Then he spoke of humanity’s resilience and the creation of four small civilizations scattered across the world.
These four were built to serve as bridges. As resistance against the cruelty of fate and the calamity embodied by the virus beasts.
Grotesque amalgamations of rotting flesh, metal, and cables that now roamed the earth.
Time passed unnoticed.
Before Cain realized it, he was sitting alone before the monitor in a lotus position, while his five companions explored the surrounding area.
{I understand now. So that is how it happened.}
After finishing his explanation, Cain pushed himself to his feet. His ears twitched as approaching footsteps echoed from the side.
"Welcome back. What did you find?"
Luna stepped forward first, her expression calm behind her visor, though the joy shimmering in her blue eyes couldn’t be hidden.
"This place is incredible. And the water, it feels endless."
Cain’s lips curved upward, his expression softening as he caught sight of a side of Luna she rarely showed. The silver-haired girl occasionally glanced back at the flowing water, looking almost absentminded.
Not wanting to disturb her, Cain turned to the other four. They gave him a thumbs-up, clearly agreeing with Luna.
"This is an unforgettable experience, to see this much water in one place," Rika commented, nodding with one hand resting on her hip.
"Um—um, Rika’s right. Seeing that current reminds me of a storybook that described rivers," Louise said softly.
She paused, turning her attention back to the moving water before asking,
"Is this what people call a river?"
{You are not incorrect, but not entirely correct either, miss. A river holds meaning beyond a single beautiful word.}
ARCHES’ voice drew everyone’s attention back to the monitor as images began appearing on the screen.
A healthy world unfolded before them.
Cities with towering buildings. Lush greenery. Vast oceans. And above all—shimmering rivers, crystal-clear, filled with fish and dancing reflections of light.
"Whoa, there are so many trees," Abel muttered beside them.
Cain barely managed to suppress a laugh at the blond boy’s innocent awe.
’As usual, Abel’s obsession with trees cracked me up.’
Meanwhile, Peter’s gaze was locked onto the technology of humanity’s golden age.
Following his line of sight, Cain nodded in understanding. He stared at vehicles he had never seen before.
’Damn, I’d love to ride one of those.’
A gentle tap on his shoulder pulled Cain’s attention away from the monitor. He met Luna’s gaze.
"Cain. What are we going to do now?"
The silver-haired boy looked at the monitor, the flowing water, and his four companions glued to the screen.
"We’ll rest here for the night."
Hearing that, Luna let out a soft chuckle, nudging his side as she whispered,
"...It’s been a long day."
Cain raised an eyebrow, recalling everything that had happened: the battle with virus beasts, the discovery of the ruins.
He glanced once more at the water, the monitor, and his companions before shrugging.
"Yeah. You’re right."
***
Far from the cool comfort of the spring, Chloe’s group, deep in the middle of excavation work, had entered their break period.
The blue-haired girl let out a long sigh as she leaned against one of the heavy machines at the site.
"Huff, damn it. If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve gone with Luna earlier and let the other three handle things here. It’s not like they’re that close to the two of us anyway."
The reason her group existed at all was purely formal, something imposed by the General. On top of that, it became another burden placed on Luna’s shoulders after she was appointed leader.
There were also ridiculous rumours.
Because Luna and Chloe were descendants of influential figures in the city of Babylonia, they became targets of malicious gossip and accusations that everything they achieved was due to their parents’ power.
Even when they worked harder than anyone else, the other cadets would always interpret it the opposite way.
If they showed exceptional strength, people would claim it was only because of support from wealthy families.
At the end of the day, everything felt like a performance inside a small cage called the training facility.
"Haa, this really isn’t like me, complaining like this."
Chloe shook her head and then noticed a large gathering in the distance.
A group composed of several third-year cadets, along with some from her own generation.
’What are they doing, gathering like that?’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Fatigue urged her to stay put, while curiosity pulled her forward. After a brief internal struggle, Chloe walked closer.
Her steps were light, leaving no sound, no presence. When she reached a suitable distance, she heard a voice.
"Good. Thank you for listening to me."
Chloe would never forget that soft voice, wrapped in trickery. Her brows furrowed sharply.
’That b*stard Adler, what is he planning this time?’
