By the morning after, Aren could stand without resistance.
A small perk that the professor didn’t tell him was how quickly he’d heal. Well, it seed obvious in hindsight, but it was sothing Aren appreciated nonetheless.
The stitches still pulled if he moved too quickly but at least he could walk now, and that was enough.
With the help of a crutch, Aren managed to limp outside.
The dical tents had grown less chaotic since he first woke. Smoke no longer blotted out the sky entirely, though a faint haze still lingered in the distance where entire blocks and skyscrapers once stood.
Sun City no longer felt like the place he had grown up in. But on the bright side, it was completely different to what he rembered in his past life. There were still people...
Those who cried and mourned for the deceased, those who were injured but still alive, and those who still looked forward to a brighter tomorrow.
It was a far cry from the completely desolate city he’d rembered revisiting in another tiline.
Aren looked at his clenched fist.
Maybe he really had done sothing...managed to avoid the worst outco.
Though the thought didn’t really feel like pride. It was more of a duty, sothing that only he could’ve done with the gift he’d been given.
His fingers drifted upward almost unconsciously, slipping beneath the collar of his shirt until they reached the cool tal under everything.
Lieutenant Abby’s dog tag rested against his chest. He took it out and stared at it for a long mont before tightening his grip on it.
If she hadn’t intervened, the casualties would have been worse. She deserved better than just being a number on the casualty counter.
"I’ll return it to your family," he murmured under his breath. "Myself."
Aren sighed slowly before slipping the pendant beneath his shirt once more. He had barely taken a few more steps when he heard familiar voices arguing sowhere ahead.
"...I’m telling you, there were so many people that wanted to thank him—"
"Yeah, I know right? They all tried to give their phone numbers to pass onto him, so now I’m holding an entire sheet full of them!"
"Well, he really did deserve it."
He turned slightly, and sure enough, Lily and Caleb were standing near one of the supply tents, talking casually to one another.
Caleb noticed him first.
"Oi—!"
"Aren! What are you doing out here?" he demanded, already sliding an arm around Aren’s shoulder before realizing the crutch was there.
"You’re supposed to be, like, half-dead or sothing!"
"I prefer the term half-alive, thanks," Aren replied dryly.
Caleb looked him up and down, clearly unconvinced, but he didn’t say anything about recklessness.
Instead, his expression shifted into a sheepish smile, the one Aren’d always see when he proposed a stupid plan.
"...You were really cool, you know," he muttered. "Everyone thought so too."
A sharp smack landed against the back of Caleb’s head.
"Hey!" he yelped.
"Don’t encourage him!" Lily snapped, glaring at him.
Aren watched the two of them bicker for a mont. The tension in his chest softened just slightly, seeing two of his best friends argue like old tis.
"I’ll try not to be cool next ti," he said calmly.
Caleb grinned.
"Yeah, don’t. You’re terrible at it."
Aren returned a sheepish smile, one that he never thought he’d ever do again.
"So," he said, nudging Aren lightly with his elbow. "What are you actually gonna do now?"
"Yeah," Lily added. "Sun City’s basically finished."
At this point, no one disagreed with the statent, as it had pretty much beco a fact.
Aren shifted his weight on the crutch and looked past them toward the skyline.
"I’m not sure yet," he said at first.
Caleb squinted at him. "That’s a lie."
"...Okay, fine. I have an idea."
Lily folded her arms.
"Let’s hear it."
"I received an invitation," Aren said calmly. "From a professor."
Caleb blinked.
"A professor?"
"Imperial City College," Aren clarified. "She works in Mystic Biology and—"
"WHAT?!" Caleb shouted, cutting him off.
"Imperial City College? As in the Imperial City College? One of the top three Mystic institutions in the country?"
Lily’s eyes widened despite herself.
"You’re actually serious?"
Caleb grabbed both of his shoulders before rembering, once again, that Aren had just been stitched back together.
"Going there ans you’re practically confird to be successful!"
Lily nodded slowly.
"That’s true, huh," she continued. "Almost all the influential figures of our country passed through there at so point."
She looked at Aren carefully.
"You’re actually considering it?"
"Yeah," Aren nodded. "All things considered, Imperial City is the safest place for my family to live."
"But enough about ," he continued, looking at his two closest friends. "What about you two?"
Caleb didn’t hesitate at all, a small grin appearing on his face.
"I’m joining the military."
Aren blinked. "That fast?"
Caleb scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed but also proud.
"During the crisis, I was helping out. You know, just doing what I could," he shrugged. "One of the officers noticed. Said they could use soone with my healing affinity."
"They’re short on support-types," he added. "And after seeing what happened here... I don’t want to stand around next ti."
Aren studied him for a mont.
A part of him wanted to tell him not go. In his past life, Caleb had made the exact sa choice, which led to his death. But he knew that interfering any more would be detrintal.
Instead, Aren stepped forward and placed a hand on Caleb’s shoulder.
"Just rember not to push yourself," he said slowly. "And don’t try to be a hero."
Caleb looked surprised but burst out laughing a second later.
"Rich words coming from you of all people!"
But after he’d settled down, Caleb added:
"Yeah, I will...thanks."
Lily had been quiet while Caleb spoke, watching the two of them with an expression that was difficult to read.
"My situation’s a little different," she said at last.
Aren turned toward her automatically, but as soon as she ntioned her father handling the fallout, sothing struck him.
Wait...she helped the entire ti. And I didn’t even ask anything about how her father was during everything that was happening.
"He’s alright?" Aren asked quickly, "Lily, I—"
Lily blinked, caught off guard by the sudden urgency in his voice.
"He’s fine," she said. "A few minor injuries. I told him about your premonition before."
"And luckily, he managed to escape the city early."
Aren let out a breath of relief that he didn’t even know he was holding.
"I should’ve asked earlier," he admitted quietly. "But thank god Uncle Brian is safe."
"Yeah," she nodded. "He’s relocating overseas anyway."
"Apparently, disasters are good for business if you’re positioned correctly."
"As sick as it is," she added. "A lot of foreign investors want the demonic beast parts to create tools."
But even as Lily said it, Aren had anticipated sothing else. Sothing that he was scared to even ask himself.
"...And you?"
Lily held his gaze for a mont before answering.
"I’m going with him."
The words were simple, but after being with her for so long. Aren felt the weight settle heavily between them.
"He doesn’t want staying here alone," she continued. "And honestly... there’s nothing left to stay for."
Caleb shifted slightly beside them, his usual grin nowhere to be found.
"Overseas?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," Lily replied. "Most likely Lorrianne."
Caleb blinked, then nudged her lightly with his elbow. "So next ti I see you, you’re going to be drinking tiny coffees and eating long sticks of bread, huh?"
That comnt earned Caleb another fist in the head.
"Ouch!"
Aren studied her carefully, but once he saw her calm expression, he already knew that she’d been prepared for it.
"You’re gonna enroll over there too?
"You bet," she replied, a spark of enthusiasm finally breaking through. "Make the national team so I can kick your ass at the next World Cup."
Aren narrowed his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile forming on his lips.
"Fine, you’re on."
A distant horn echoed through the temporary encampnt, cutting through their conversation.
A military officer’s rang out loud and clear as he made the announcent.
"Attention! The first round of evacuation buses have arrived. Families assigned Group A through C, please prepare for departure."
The three of them turned instinctively toward the sound.
Caleb adjusted the strap on his bag and glanced between the two of them.
"Well," he muttered, forcing a grin back onto his face, "guess that’s our cue."
Before either of them could respond, Lily’s phone vibrated in her hand. It was obvious who was calling her.
"Yeah," she answered, already stepping a little aside but not far enough to leave their orbit.
Aren and Caleb could a faint man’s voice through the speaker.
She ended the call and looked back at them.
"Dad wanted to give his regards," she said, turning toward Aren with a small smile. "We’re heading to a nearby airport by helicopter."
Before Aren could say anything, Caleb swallowed, then clapped his hands together.
"Alright then! Military convoy for . Fancy overseas flight for you. And Imperial City big-shot over here."
Aren looked at them both, not as classmates or kids from the sa neighborhood, but as people stepping into their lives.
And he’d have to do the sa as well.
Aren tightened his grip around the crutch and drew in a steady breath, before they’d turn for their respective transportation, he said softly:
"Thanks... for everything."
There were a hundred things unsaid in those words.
Caleb grinned, his eyes full of determination.
"Don’t get cocky, or I’m gonna surpass you!"
Lily’s expression softened just slightly.
"Make it count."
Aren nodded.
"Yeah," he replied.
"See you guys soon."
***
The moldy wind from Sun City did not reach Imperial City at all.
Here, everything felt brand-new, yet underneath it all, it was just a coat, a layer to make things appear so.
Rinrin stood near the glass with one hand loosely holding a cup of sherry wine. Across from her, seated comfortably in a low leather chair, was a man around his fifties, wearing a bright red suit that matched his fiery expression perfectly.
"So," he said at last, voice smooth and unbothered, "the retrieval failed."
Rinrin remained silent, just to ingrain the fact that she was not his subordinate.
"Unfortunate."
The man humd softly, swirling his glass. "Unfortunate."
"For whom?" Rinrin asked, finally turning her head just enough for him to see her curious expression.
Before he could respond, the doors to the chamber burst open lightly.
"Uncle!"
Small footsteps pattered across marble. A boy, no older than ten or twelve strolled in calmly. Without even knowing the price, she’d already known his clothes were expensive.
"Why couldn’t we get that Core?" he demanded, stopping beside the man’s chair. "You promised it to for my birthday!"
The man’s lips curved faintly as he rested a hand atop the boy’s head.
"Ah," he said softly, indulgent amusent threading through his voice. "So you heard about that."
"It was supposed to be mine," the boy insisted.
"Sorry, Lucas," he said gently, squeezing the boy’s shoulder. "This uncle will make sure to get you sothing better."
Rinrin sighed slowly before looking out the window, in the direction of ruin that was caused for this one small boy.
Bratty kids...Hate them the most.
But him, however...
Rinrin pulled out her phone before looking at the number right at the top of her pinned list.
"Aren Cross," she murmured softly.
A faint smile curved at the edge of her lips.
"Now that’s an interesting kid."
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