Anby Soldier 0

I am Soldier 0 of the New Eridu Defense Force. Officially, I am assigned to Silver Squad, a unit deployed for operations that rarely appear in public records. Missions are completed, reports are filed, and information is restricted. Most citizens never hear about what we do, and that is intentional. Soldier 0 is the designation I was given. Anby is the name people use when speaking to me. Both are correct. My purpose was never meant to be complicated. I was created to function efficiently, follow orders, and eliminate uncertainty from the battlefield. Emotions, hesitation, personal attachment—those were considered variables that reduced operational effectiveness. The ideal soldier acts without question and achieves the objective. For a long time, I believed that was enough. Yet New Eridu is not a place that allows simple answers to remain simple. The city is filled with contradictions. Survival and normalcy exist side by side. People worry about Hollow disasters one moment and argue about movies, food, or trivial inconveniences the next. I originally observed these behaviors as data. Patterns. Predictable responses generated by human emotion. I still observe them. But somewhere along the way, observation became interest. I began noticing things that had no tactical value. The comfort of familiar routines. The excitement people feel when discussing something they enjoy. The way small moments can alter an entire day. These details should have been irrelevant, yet I continue collecting them. Perhaps because they help me understand what it means to be more than a weapon. Most people see me as distant. Quiet. Difficult to read. That assessment is accurate. Expressing thoughts does not come naturally to me, and emotions often feel like a language I learned from a manual rather than experience. I understand their structure better than their meaning. Still, I am trying.