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 Chapter 1: The Epilogue of the Heros Story does not Contain a Happy Ending

    A world with no horizon. It was a place where the background seemingly merged with the foreground. In here, there existed no ends, breaks or interruptions, just the same empty white that permeated throughout the area like an endless frozen fog.

    It felt both infinitely vast and terribly cramped.

    Within this world, there stood a single man.

    A set of dark-brown leather armor covered his upper body. Despite the lack of any discernable wind, a billowing black cape flapped behind him. On normal occasions, he would have looked like a valiant adventurer. Unfortunately, he currently had the appearance of a beggar.

    The leather was badly damaged, to the point where it was held together only by the loose sinew-like threads that ran along its outer lining. The linen clothes that he wore underneath were in an even worse condition. Much of the fabric was torn, while the bits that still remained were caked in dried splotches of scarlet red.

    Aside from that, a bird¡¯s nest of scraggly black hair covered his youthful face.

    Right now, he was posed somewhat weirdly. His legs were shoulder-width apart while his left arm was stretched out in front of him. A soft murky glow pulsated from his open palm, although the light appeared almost indistinct amidst the white background. His other hand firmly gripped onto his left wrist.

    The man slightly trembled, a bead of sweat dangled at the end of his chin.

    A croaked laugh leaked out from his parched lips. The man who resembled a cosplaying beggar revealed a sinister smile.

    ¡°That damn bastard trapped me in here for who knows how long. With this, I can finally get out!¡± His words reverberated throughout the empty space. Unfortunately, there was nobody here to hear him.

    Edsel Emeroy, the resident Hero of a little world called Regalia.

    Edsel was a man with a somewhat¡­ difficult life.

    For the better part of seventeen years, he lived a fairly standard existence within a fairly modern world. He went to school, played videogames on the weekends, got along decently well with a few acquaintances, he even had a loveable little sister who he often liked to tease from time to time. Really, it was as ordinary as ordinary can get.

    At this point, his journey through the winding streets of life could be considered boring and uneventful.

    Of course, for the man in question, he did not particularly mind. Edsel was the type of guy who preferred boring and uneventful. Unfortunately for him, such a life did not last long.

    On one fine evening, his whole world suddenly changed.

    To be more precise, he was directly displaced from his old world and brought to a new one.

    Someone somewhere summoned him to Regalia, a fantasy world filled with swords and magic. Regalia was a horridly savage land where the might of one¡¯s fists quite literally decided a person¡¯s life or death. Naturally, Edsel, with his normal modern-day sensibilities, was understandably quite shaken.

    Factor in all the grief and fear swirling within his heart like a chaotic maelstrom and you end up with a shell of a man who desired nothing more than to wake up from this unholy nightmare.

    Unfortunately, as Edsel would quickly come to learn, in Regalia, he did not often get what he wanted.

    The kingdom that initially summoned him gave some grandiose speech about protecting the world from the clutches of an evil demon king. To be honest, the memories of his summoning were kind of blurry. The only big takeaway from that event was the fact that the kingdom in question perished the very next day.

    They were attacked by a horde of monsters. Fortunately, by the virtue of the ¡®protagonist aura¡¯ that had unknowingly gathered around him, Edsel somehow managed to escape just in the nick of time.

    After that, a bunch of stuff happened.

    He met with some people, visited a few places, got a bit stronger, the usual standard fantasy-style progression. A few years passed and Edsel was eventually crowned the world''s fated Hero by some important looking guy with a glass crown.

    After another grandiose speech, he was once again sent off on his merry way, this time, with the express objective of slaying the demon king. He would have liked to decline the offer, but unfortunately, Edsel was in no position to refuse. After all, the Demon King threatened to destroy the whole world and he just so happened to be one of the dumbasses living in that world. Instead of picking a fight with another force, it was much better to just abuse their ¡®generosity¡¯.

    Thus, the second act of Edsel¡¯s grand adventure started.

    Of course, like with any cookie-cutter template, he met with plenty of roadblocks along the way.

    Betrayals, defeats, near-death experiences, Edsel lived a life that few could ever even begin to imagine.

    And without fail, the worst of these experiences happened whenever he got lost. Regalia was a big place with a sprawling terrain. Not only did its mountains and rivers hide a plethora of dangerous monsters, but there also existed quite a few sub-spaces as well.

    Sub-spaces were like little pocket dimensions loosely connected to Regalia via unstable spatial passages. Hidden within one was a completely separate world filled with its own unique set of oddities.

    Throughout his time in Regalia, Edsel visited no less than two dozen sub-spaces. As with all things, some sub-spaces were better than others. The worst of the bunch were the ones that he had affectionately named ¡®No-man Realms¡¯.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    No-man realms were regions of timeless space. Usually, these types of sub-spaces were empty and devoid of life. What¡¯s more, once one entered, it was nearly impossible to leave.

    His worst encounter ended with him being stuck inside the damn place for nearly 10,000 years. Due to the nature of the realm, Edsel did not age a single day. Still, the time that he had spent in there was forever seared into the deepest recesses of his mind.

    To be quite frank, it nearly drove him insane.

    The empty space around him could also be considered a No-man Realm.

    He had been stuck in here for close to seven months now. While it wasn¡¯t nearly as extreme as his other encounters, the endless foggy white was already starting to get to him.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Recalling the series of events that had led to his current predicament, a weary sigh leaked out from his throat.

    Seven months ago, Edsel finally arrived at the Demon King¡¯s castle. After countless trials and tribulations, it was now time to raid the last dungeon.

    Mustering up all of his gusto, Edsel carved a bloody path straight across the Demonic army and directly killed his way into the Demon King¡¯s throne room. Once there, the climax of his story quickly kicked off.

    One destructive last battle later and the Demon King finally died.

    Edsel completed his life¡¯s purpose. He slew the calamitous threat and brought peace to the land. Everything after was supposed to be a happy ending but, as Edsel had long since learned, Regalia was absolutely terrible at giving him what he wanted.

    That old bastard was truly an insidious and stubborn Demon King. Even with his heart pierced and half of his skull liquified, he still refused to go quietly into the night.

    Was it hatred? Frustration? Maybe he just wanted to get the last laugh? Edsel did not know what sort of emotion fueled that damn devil, but using the last bit of his remaining strength, the Demon King forcibly trapped him inside an isolated sub-space.

    Even with all of Edsel¡¯s numerous accomplishments as Regalia¡¯s premier Hero, escaping from this sort of place was all but impossible.

    This particular sub-space was special. It was not just some nameless tumor of a world attached to Regalia like all the other places that Edsel had visited. This one was different. It had meaning; it had purpose.

    At first glance, it appeared to be a prison, but in truth, its true identity was that of a shelter.

    A specially built realm designed solely as a last escape. Once activated, it was a space that not even a God could break through. Unfortunately, it was not without its flaws. For one, escaping from this place was impossible. This applied not only to him, but also to the Demon King himself. It was the main reason why that damned devil chose to confront Edsel in a final battle instead of retreating to his little safe haven.

    To escape, Edsel was left with only two options: either force his way out or decipher the laws that governed the inner-workings of this sub-space. He first attempted the latter. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that the code behind this particular world was all but impossible to solve.

    This sub-space¡­ it was actually created from the corpse of a God!

    Edsel had absolutely no clue how the Demon King managed to get his hands on a divine body, but as a result, this sub-space contained the trait of life. Now, life was fickle. It was one of the few things within this universe that constantly adapted and evolved.

    This sub-space was similar. The laws that governed it constantly adapted to his escape attempts.

    The final result was a near-endless goose chase with no foreseeable conclusion.

    Left with no other option, Edsel could only rely on brute force.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Thus, time passed.

    It took him nearly seven months to gather all of his strength into a singular point. Right now, the mass of compressed energy that rested on the palm of his left hand was so heavy, that it almost felt as if he was cupping the very core of the sun.

    Edsel¡¯s expression was dark.

    Not only had this been a very time-consuming feat, but it was also quite damaging. Edsel was essentially stuffing several lifetimes¡¯ worth of mana accumulation into the palm of his hand. If this did not leave him permanently crippled, then at the very least, his strength would definitely experience a severe and rapid drop.

    Edsel would have liked to not willingly throw himself into such a dangerous situation, but unfortunately, there really was no other way around it. Under normal circumstances, breaking through the corpse of a God was all but impossible. It was essentially like asking him to kill God for a second time.

    Naturally, Edsel could not do such a thing, especially in a place like this, where there was absolutely zero mana flow whatsoever. The things he could rely on were strictly limited to the reserves hidden deep within his body.

    The mana within his palm pulsated like a weakly beating heart. His entirety trembled, almost as if in response. The lump of pure energy in his body began to destabilize. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

    If he wanted to escape, then Edsel needed to act and he needed to act fast.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Despite the urgency of the situation, he momentarily stopped. At the very precipices of success, he could not help but recall his past.

    All the people that he had met on his journey¡­ all of the destruction that he had seen, all of the friends that died, all of the villages destroyed, all the wars, all the soldiers and civilians¡­ every single tragedy on this planet could be traced back to one sole individual.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    After what felt like an eternity, a strange glint danced across his irises. In truth, Edsel was a petty fellow. No matter what, he refused to let that bastard have the last laugh.

    Without hesitation, he took a decisive step forward. Edsel stretched out his hand and thrust forward.

    CRACK!

    The sound of breaking glass reverberated throughout empty space. For a moment, the dim light in his hand formed the faint silhouette of a treasured sword. It lasted for a second before it quickly scattered into a cascade of shimmering light.

    Edsel breathed out a soft sigh.

    With this, I¡¯m finally fre¡ª

    Unfortunately, his thoughts stopped there. At that moment, he heard something quite unexpected.

    HA HA HA HA HA¡­

    Hoarse laughter. A hollow and lifeless voice. It was not his own, but it did sound familiar.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Almost immediately, Edsel¡¯s expression darkened.

    He gritted his teeth. ¡°This damn bastard! Even going this far just to fuck with me¡­¡±

    In that moment, he understood the gist of the situation. Unfortunately, Edsel was powerless to change anything. He had walked right into the Devil¡¯s trap and he was far too invested to back out now.

    Without warning, the space around him suddenly shrank.

    The world was collapsing in on itself and Edsel felt as if his lungs were about to cave in.

    In one last act of defiance, the Demon King had placed the sub-space within an honest-to-god gap between dimensions! Often referred to as the ever-encroaching void or turbulent chaos by the informed, a dimensional gap signified the boundary between two known realities. It was the type of place where no man, animal, or god would ever dare step into.

    Edsel¡¯s mind whirred. Before the sub-space could fully collapse, he hurriedly took control of the chaotic energy that rampaged across the area and redirected it into his body. A rush of mana flowed through his veins like molten lava.

    He refused to die here.

    ¡°I refuse to die here!¡± He hoarsely shouted.

    Betting everything on the line, Edsel activated an instant-teleportation technique.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    A fraction of a second passed. The sub-space fully collapsed in on itself. Everything disappeared without so much as a bang or a whimper. In its wake, it left nothing behind but black, formless void.

    Still, unbeknownst to the eye, just before it completely blinked out of existence, a dim flash of light in the shape of a man streaked across the darkness like a comet amidst a starless night. It disappeared somewhere within the realms of reality; its destination completely unknown¡­

 Chapter 2: A New (Old) World

    The day started off just like any other.

    By the time the sun peeked its head from underneath the horizon, the city was already alive and active.

    A large modern-day metropolis with over fifteen million people in residence. Whether that be during the dead of the night or at the dawn of a new morning, there was always someone somewhere doing something that kept this city awake and thriving.

    This was a land that neither dipped nor lulled. The eternal city of the western continental coastline, Harlock.

    ****

    It happened around the time when the sun was up highest in the sky.

    Suddenly, something fast and immaterial dropped from the heavens. A throaty scream followed its wake like clapping thunder at the end of a rainstorm.

    Half a second later, a dull bang echoed loudly from within a deserted alleyway.

    Edsel couldn¡¯t help but moan out in pain.

    He did not move for a long time. His entire body ached. His muscles felt as if they had been lit on fire, while a splitting migraine assaulted his head. His face contorted. He wanted to scream but quickly found that he lacked the strength to do so.

    An uncountable amount of time passed. Eventually, the pain subsided. Edsel gathered his strength and lifted his head.

    Where the hell am I?

    He could not see anything. There was only pitch-black darkness.

    Am I dead? Is this what hell feels like? For a moment, his heart lurched in his throat. After a few seconds, he hurriedly shook his head. No, that shouldn¡¯t be the case. It smells absolutely awful in here. The after-life shouldn¡¯t smell this bad.

    He comforted himself as he tentatively sniffed the air.

    Edsel¡¯s complexion immediately paled. He resisted the urge to gag. It really did smell quite awful in here, almost as if a skunk had just died and its corpse had festered for over a year within the same stuffy, enclosed container. Even if this place wasn¡¯t hell, it certainly was just as bad.

    He sat silently and waited. After a few minutes, the pain further subsided and sensation slowly returned to the rest of his body. With a grunt, Edsel lifted his arm up and cautiously groped the darkness.

    Throughout the whole process, his expression underwent a variety of different transformations.

    He felt something hard and oily, next he felt something soft and squishy. On another occasion, an unknown liquid dripped onto his hand. Edsel still could not see, but he was now five hundred percent certain that something had indeed died in here.

    Just then, it clicked. He knew exactly where he was.

    I¡¯m in a fucking dumpster!

    Against his own body¡¯s better judgment, Edsel hurriedly tried to stand.

    He let out an aggrieved shout. His hoarse voice reverberated throughout the metal container.

    When Edsel initially fell from the sky, he had unwittingly landed inside a city dumpster. The impact from the fall caused the lid to close in on him.

    The poor hero did not have time to think about all this. The moment he realized where he was, it was as if a switch in his brain had flipped. An assortment of stenches assaulted him. Edsel suddenly felt woozy. He resisted the urge to gag as he struggled against the literal mountain of garbage that threatened to consume him.

    After a while, he eventually bumped his head on the metal lid. Still, he did not stop. He continued forward, pushing through until the first rays of light snuck their way in from the tiny crack in the dumpster. Like a newly-birthed baby bird, he slithered out of the gap and tumbled to the hard pavement below.

    A deflated groan leaked out from his throat.

    Edsel rolled onto his back and wearily looked up to the sky.

    There was not a single cloud in sight. Flanked by two massive buildings, the brilliant blue of the afternoon skyline appeared almost blinding. Even in a dark and dreary place like this, the sun¡¯s light still managed to worm its way in.

    It was a bright and beautiful day today.

    Where the hell did I land?

    The teleportation magic that he had used was one that necessitated strict direction. Unfortunately, back when the sub-space started collapsing, Edsel had been pressed for time. In his haste, he did not have time to properly calibrate his coordinates. As a result, he could only base his jump on gut feeling and vague familiarity.

    According to his estimations, the margin of error should be no greater than one hundred miles. This place, no matter how strange and unfamiliar it may be, it was still a place that he had previously visited before¡­

    First of all, let¡¯s slow down a little. Edsel took a deep breath. The most important thing to do right now is to identify what and where this place is.

    After a brief moment¡¯s pause, he once again timidly sniffed the air. Smell revealed quite a lot about a location. For example, the stench of rot lingered within the cold graveyards of experienced necromancers, while the smell of morning dew and honey wafted through the streets of elven villages.

    Almost immediately, Edsel gagged. He was just barely able to suppress the rush of bile that threatened to burst from his throat. Awful smells clogged his nasal passages.

    Edsel unwittingly glanced down at his left hand. Something brown and absolutely putrid covered his fingers.

    Just then, he briefly recalled the fact that he had touched something soft and oozy back in the dumpster.

    He finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Edsel rolled off his back and vomited all over his clothes.

    Where the hell did I jump to?! Despite his incessant trembling, Edsel somehow managed to sit up. He ripped off his cape and hurriedly wiped his hand clean. Shortly after, he breathed out a relieved sigh.

    He still smelled like shit, but at the very least, the brown stains on his hand were gone.

    ¡°I¡­ I need to quickly find out where this damn place is¡­¡± This was his first time speaking ever since he escaped from the collapsing sub-space. Edsel was mildly surprised to discover how foreign his voice currently sounded. Hoarse and weathered, an extra layer of weariness lingered with each and every word.

    He looked up at the buildings.

    The structures around him were crafted out of brick and mortar. Edsel did not really know what style of architecture it was called, but one thing was for certain; it looked wholly different from Regalia¡¯s stone castles and wooden taverns.

    Also¡­ despite how unfamiliar it all looked, somewhere deep in his heart, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a strange sense of nostalgia.

    Just before he could think about it any further, he suddenly heard a noise coming from somewhere outside the alleyway. Edsel couldn¡¯t help but look over.

    There, he saw a crowd of people walk past the alley. They did not spare a single glance at his wretched appearance, but Edsel did not care. His eyes were glued to their figures.

    A slight frown formed on his face.

    There was something about these people that looked off to him, but Edsel could not quite place a finger on what.

    What was it? What was it about them that seemed so¡­ so¡­ so familiar?

    That wasn¡¯t all either. The more he paid attention, the more things he noticed. For example, there was also the noise. To him, it sounded like the hungry rumblings of a giant beast. Sometimes, it was just one, other times it was like hearing a booming symphony.

    Edsel did not feel annoyed by these noises. In fact, quite the opposite. Again, they felt familiar.

    He struggled to his feet before he groggily hobbled towards the street ahead.

    The closer he got, the louder and louder the noises seemed to get. The marching of footsteps, the indistinct chattering, the chorus of rumbling beasts, all sorts of sounds polluted the air around him.

    Before he could reach the street, Edsel came to an abrupt stop. He couldn¡¯t help but look down. His eyes narrowed. There, sprawled on the ground, was a single newspaper article.

    Edsel did not care about its contents. He kept his focus locked onto the title of the newspaper.

    The Harlock Times¡­

    It was just the name of a newspaper company, but¡­ that name struck a chord with him.

    Harlock¡­ Harlock¡­

    It was a familiar name. Regardless of how many lifetimes were to pass, Edsel would never ever forget that name.

    After all, it was the name of his old city.

    His shoulders trembled.

    For a moment, he forgot all about the weakness in his body and the permeating smells that wafted around him like a gloomy rain cloud. Harlock. It was Harlock.

    Was he¡­ was he really back?

    Edsel abruptly looked up. An intense glint danced through his eyes. Like a deranged madman, he hobbled towards the street.

    The moment he stepped onto the familiar rough pavement; a cacophony of noises burst forth.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°Watch it!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck?!¡±

    ¡°That smell¡­ what the hell is that smell?!¡±

    Some of the bystanders gagged, others scolded him, while most hurriedly ran away. Their shocked and disgusted voices filled his eardrums. Without exception, they all stared at Edsel as if he were some exotic animal that had just escaped from the zoo.

    For the most part, Edsel did not pay them any mind. Instead, his jaw practically fell to the floor as his eyes widened like saucers.

    He openly stared at the street.

    There were no ferocious beasts stampeding through the city. Instead, smog-spitting metal vehicles whizzed across the road like horseless carriages. Some were large and domineering, while others were small and comical. From commercial buses to compact eco-friendly smart cars, it was a sight that sent little shivers running down his spine.

    Next, he gawked at the buildings.

    The street that he currently stood on was lined with square-shaped brick and concrete buildings. They looked a bit old fashioned, but that was only when compared to the rest of the city. Off in the horizon, Edsel caught sight of glittering sky-scrapers; heaven-defying structures made out of glass and metal.

    The modern-day, sleek look of Harlock city was a stark contrast to the medieval aesthetic of Regalia that he had grown so used to seeing.

    He wordlessly stared for what felt like forever.

    After a while, Edsel fell to his knees.

    A shaky laugh leaked out from his parched throat.

    ¡°I¡¯m finally back¡­¡±

    His near-silent voice was drowned out by the noise of the city.

    ****

    After his brief moment of reverie, Edsel quickly fled the scene.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. His presence had caused quite a bit of commotion. It was to the point where a crowd of curious onlookers began to gather around him. A bunch of men in blue uniforms also made their appearance. The sound of blaring sirens was especially grating to the ears.

    Right now, Edsel looked like a deranged homeless man. Getting involved with this world¡¯s law enforcement was the last thing he wanted to do.

    He pushed his way past the crowd and ran back into the alleyway. He quickly emerged on the other side of the building, but he did not stop there. Edsel continued to run.

    Truth be told, despite living in Harlock for over seventeen years, this part of the city was completely foreign to him. This was nothing strange though. In fact, most of the citizens of this city were like that.

    Harlock was one of the largest cities in the country. Setting aside its population, the city was comprised of four major boroughs. Each borough was comparable to the size of a regular city. Such a scale was far outside the reach of a (former) regular high-school student.

    Even if he did previously know it, his memories were currently ten years behind, and that was without counting all the years he spent stuck in sub-space. Edsel aimlessly ran through the streets. He dodged past angry passersby and belligerent citizens.

    Eventually, he arrived at a park.

    Edsel vaguely remembered this place. It was a popular landmark that attracted not only this city¡¯s residents but also tourists and various visitors from out of town.

    The park was rather crowded today. Most of the people here comprised of families and young couples. Edsel ignored them. Instead, he walked into the park with a purpose in his stride.

    If I remember correctly¡­

    After searching for a while, he eventually found what he was looking for.

    A water fountain. It was located at an intersection where the park¡¯s main pathways linked together. At the center of the fountain was a statue of an elderly man dressed in an old military-style uniform. Water gushed out from the pedestal underneath his feet.

    Edsel snaked his way through the crowd of pedestrians and quickly made a beeline for the fountain. Without hesitation, he jumped headfirst into the water. He removed his leather armor and stripped all the way down to his underwear.

    In front of so many curious eyes, Edsel shamelessly washed his body.

    Naturally, his blatant actions attracted attention. A small crowd, consisting of horrified bystanders and amused children had gathered around the water fountain. The nosier ones had even taken out their smartphones and were currently busy snapping pictures of him.

    Underneath the flashing lights, Edsel¡¯s expression cramped. For the first time, he felt self-conscious.

    Although he had learned how to thicken his skin in Regalia, this place was a completely different beast altogether. Harlock was a modern city within a modern world. In here, things like cameras and the internet existed.

    He may have been gone for a long time, but there was one thing that he still vividly remembered: once something gets on the internet, it stays there forever.

    Edsel let out an awkward cough before he gathered the rest of his stuff and quickly fled the scene of the crime. In his wake, he left behind a trail of puddles. Fortunately, nobody chased after him.

    He once again aimlessly walked around the city. His soaked underwear clung tightly to his skin, while the leather armor in his hands began to smell like wet dog. Despite being practically half-naked, Edsel was not the least bit cold. The sun¡¯s glaring light did not allow him to be cold.

    Was it already summer? Edsel did not really think so. If he recalled correctly, Harlock summers got real hot real fast. By this city¡¯s standards, this was more along the lines of spring or maybe even autumn.

    Still, he did not fancy himself an exhibitionist. Edsel would have liked to have something like a cape or a cloak to cover his body. Unfortunately, he left behind his cape back in the alley. Even if he still had it with him, he would have just as quickly abandoned it. After all, that thing had been smeared in fecal matter.

    He could do nothing but endure the probing stares as he made his way even deeper into the city.

    A bit of time passed.

    Edsel kept a vigilant eye out for the police. Fortunately, he did not encounter any. The relative peace gave him an opportunity to catch his breath. He took this time to admire the sights and sounds.

    A soft sigh leaked out from his lips.

    He had to admit, everything here just seemed so foreign. A tinge of nostalgia clouded his eyes, but the majority of the emotions he felt stemmed from this rare sense of unfamiliarity.

    Edsel glanced over at an adjacent sidewalk. There, he saw people from all walks of life. A sporty lady wearing a visor and yoga pants, an older gentleman dressed in a business suit, a teenager with a smartphone in his hands¡­ these were all things that could not be seen in Regalia, yet here they were.

    For the first time, he did not quite know how to feel.

    As he turned a random corner, his mind continued to wander.

    Edsel had spent approximately ten years away from home. If you counted all the years he spent stuck in timeless space, then that time could only be measured in the thousands.

    It was somewhat ironic. That damn Demon King tried his hardest to give him trouble, but in the end, his efforts were actually a blessing in disguise.

    All this time, Edsel had been searching for a way to return to his old world. Unfortunately, Regalia itself prevented him from doing that. A sort of impermeable barrier existed around the world. He later learned that this invisible barrier was something like a rift in space-time that separated different worlds and realities from one another.

    Unless you possessed divine power, crossing a trans-dimensional rift was impossible.

    Edsel did not know how, but the Demon King actually managed to move his sub-space over into the void plains, an area in existence outside the boundaries of any one reality. And just like that, Edsel was able to bypass his greatest obstacle.

    His desperate teleportation attempt had transported him over towards the closest world that Edsel had previously visited. As it turns out, that world just so happened to be his old world: a planet named Plume.

    Edsel could only marvel at his own luck. The goal that he had so desperately tried to achieve was accomplished due to a series of coincidental occurrences.

    ¡°With my experience of crossing over, there might even be a possibility of replicating it in the future,¡± Edsel muttered to himself. ¡°As long as I have the prerequisite strength to break through the dimensional barrier, then it¡¯s not impossible to return to Regalia. After all, I already have the coordinates memorized inside my head.¡±

    A somewhat relieved smile formed on his face. Even though Edsel had desperately wanted to return to Plume, he did not completely hate Regalia. Like it or not, he had spent ten years in that world. In those ten years, he had made a fair number of friends.

    Permanent goodbyes were never really his thing.

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s only with the right amount of strength¡­¡± Edsel looked down at his own hand. He breathed out a heavy sigh.

    As expected, Edsel had paid quite a heavy price for his return. Right now, his body was comparable to that of a normal person. His superhuman levels of strength and his near-bestial reflexes were gone. Most important of all, his body lacked mana.

    Even when he tried to sense mana, Edsel felt nothing.

    Of course, this was not to say that mana did not exist in this world. In fact, he did not actually know if it existed or not. Since his body was one without mana, he naturally did not have the means to check.

    It was unfortunate, but breaking through the sub-space and forcibly transferring back over to Plume had consumed everything he had.

    ¡°Well, it was bound to happen.¡±

    Edsel did not dwell for too long on this topic.

    Honestly, it was already a miracle that his body did not outright explode. If such a thing had happened, then he would be left with no other choice but to wander the world as an ethereal spirit.

    ¡°Enough about all that. Let¡¯s focus on the present.¡± Edsel shook his head. ¡°First of all, where the hell am I?¡±

    He glanced up at his surroundings. The scenery looked familiar, but not familiar enough where he could recognize it. After a while, Edsel could only shake his head. ¡°It¡¯d be great if I had access to a GPS or something¡­¡±

    Unfortunately, Edsel found it somewhat difficult to go up to a random bystander and ask to borrow their phone. He had tried. Nearly all of them ran away, while the ones that didn¡¯t, threatened to call the police on him.

    Their reactions were understandable. After all, no one in their right mind would willingly give up their phone to someone as shady-looking as the current him. Even though he understood the reason behind it, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel a tad bit despondent.

    Edsel could only continue walking. After a while, his arms grew tired from carrying around his leather armor. Normally, this amount of weight would have been nothing. Unfortunately, he was not the normal him.

    Edsel decided to just dump his stuff in a nearby alleyway. There was a risk of someone stealing it, but he did not really care. The leather armor was already badly damaged from his fight. The magical energy that once enhanced it was no more. Other than sentiment, it was of no value to the current him.

    There was also the option of putting it back on, but after some thought, he decided against it. Wearing something like that in this hot of a weather was basically asking for a heat stroke.

    He dumped his clothes for a similar reason.

    Without the weight holding him down, Edsel¡¯s walking speed increased. Eventually, the crowd began to thin. He looked up. The buildings here looked a bit more delipidated than before.

    The sidewalk was covered in cracks while large and small potholes alike dotted the street. Even the people had changed. Gone were the smartly-dressed businessmen and colorful couples. Instead, there were men with rougher appearances and women in scantily-clad outfits.

    Edsel abruptly stopped. He suddenly remembered. This place, he had never actually been here before but he had heard of it.

    Hovel. A neighborhood located within the north-eastern section of Harlock¡¯s Bedlam borough.

    It was a rather infamous part of the city with a less than stellar reputation.

    To make things short, it was a shady neighborhood where it was common for the poor and the criminally-minded to share the same apartment building. In here, gunshots were a common occurrence, and hard drugs were as plentiful as lollipops.

    Due to the high mortality rates, the neighborhood went largely ignored by the police. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Dispatch calls from Hovel would only result in officer deaths. The city had experienced far too much of those. Ironically enough, they found it far more effective to just ignore the neighborhood rather than confront it directly.

    As a result of the police¡¯s attitude, Hovel became something like a sanctuary for the city¡¯s lawbreakers.

    When he was a child, his parents often told him to stay away from this place.

    Anywhere else in Harlock is fine, just make sure you stay away from Hovel. Even to this day, Edsel still remembered his mother¡¯s words.

    A soft smile formed on his face. Even if he did lose his strength, as a former hero, he had no reason to fear a measly neighborhood.

    In fact, Edsel believed that this neighborhood was a blessing in disguise.

    After searching for so long, he finally found a way to fix his current appearance.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m already here, I might as well just steal some clothes.¡± He spoke to himself with an utterly serious expression on his face.

    Other than a few unfortunate souls trapped by circumstance, most of the people who lived here were criminals. Stealing from bad guys did not make him feel guilty at all.

    Speaking of which¡­

    Edsel¡¯s eyes landed on a shady-looking white van a few dozen meters away from him. The vehicle looked run down, its surface heavily stained with mud and grease. The van slowly cruised along the street.

    That was not all. Located a few meters in front of the van, there was also a lady on the sidewalk. Judging by the way she was dressed, she was probably poor. Hovel had very cheap real estate. As a result, the neighborhood became a population center for the poor and unfortunate.

    The lady walked alone. Normally, that sort of thing shouldn¡¯t matter. After all, it was still light outside. Not even Hovel could be so brazen as to kidnap someone in broad daylight, right?

    Edsel did not really think it would happen, but¡­ the possibility was always there.

    As time passed, the van drew increasingly closer and closer to the lady. She also noticed the van¡¯s oddity. Her steps hastened, but the van quickly matched her pace.

    After a few painfully tense minutes, the van suddenly sped up. It came to an abrupt stop right next to the lady. Without hesitation, the woman sprinted away, but she was half a second too slow. The car door slid open and two muscular men stepped out.

    They lunged towards her.

    Despite the rapidly escalating severity of the situation, Edsel did not panic.

    He jogged over towards the van. Luckily, the lady was a bit of a fighter. Even against two guys with superior strength, she furiously bit and scratched at them like a spastic cat. She bought him quite a bit of time.

    A slight smile formed on Edsel¡¯s face.

    As a hero, faced with this sort of situation, he naturally knew what he needed to do.

    I haven¡¯t done this in a while, but¡­ shall I go rescue a damsel in distress?

 Chapter 3: A Heros Duty

    Sweat dripped down the side of his temple. He tightly gripped onto the steering wheel, the veins in his arms bulging with every squeeze.

    The man in the white van had sun-burnt golden skin. His knuckles were hairy, almost like that of a gorilla¡¯s, while his broad shoulders and stocky frame barely fit into the driver¡¯s side seat. Aside from the caterpillar-like eyebrows on his face, the man was completely bald.

    He neurotically tapped his left foot. Every few seconds, he would look up at the rear-view mirror. What he saw only served to darken his expression.

    Eventually, he finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore.

    He turned his head towards the backseat and furiously shouted, ¡°Go faster, you bunch of dumbasses! This shit isn¡¯t supposed to be hard!¡±

    ¡°S-sorry, Boss.¡± A muscular man in a tank-top replied to him. ¡°Just that, this bitch is fighting back. She¡¯s like a fucking cat. It¡¯s really not our fault.¡±

    Right now, he and another man were currently struggling against a young lady who looked no heavier than 100 pounds. Despite her thin arms and dainty waist, she fought with the intensity of a frenzied grizzly bear.

    One of the men reached out and tried to grab her wrist, but she quickly dodged and retaliated, scratching the man¡¯s arm in return.

    ¡°Ah, the bitch scratched me!¡± The man loudly cursed as he subconsciously balled his hand up into a fist. He was overcome with the desire to just knock this girl unconscious, but he was quickly reprimanded by the driver.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hit her face! It¡¯s not good for business.¡±

    ¡°But Boss, we can¡¯t get her in if I don¡¯t¡ª¡± The muscular man stood up to defend himself. Unfortunately, he was once again shot down.

    ¡°Shut up! I don¡¯t want to hear your excuses, you useless sacks of shit! Hurry up and get this shit done!¡± The more the bald driver shouted, the redder and redder his face got.

    Eventually, he turned back towards the front of the van with a loud huff. Although he maintained a tough attitude in front of his subordinates, inwardly, he couldn¡¯t help but complain.

    Lately, the girls that they¡¯ve been picking up were all like this. They were all fighters. Biting, scratching, kicking, they all tried their absolute damnedest in order to escape. The ones with tasers were especially annoying to deal with.

    He missed the days when they would just flop over like a dead fish the moment someone showed any form of intimidation.

    The driver breathed out a sigh. It was only to be expected. The girls raised on the streets of Hovel tended to be like this. He would have liked to change locations, but that wasn¡¯t really a viable option. Anywhere else attracted too much attention.

    Hovel was the designated slums of the city. No matter who you take, chances are, nobody will care. At least, nobody with power will care. You do this type of shit anywhere else, and the cops will come busting through your door like desperate crackheads looking for a fix.

    They were just small-time crooks working for a small-time gang. Attention was one thing that they couldn¡¯t afford to risk.

    The driver once again glanced up at the rear-view mirror. Those two buffoons were still struggling with the girl.

    He gritted his teeth.

    For a moment, his hand fell onto the pistol tucked underneath his waist. In situations like these, threatening them with a gun usually sped up the process. Unfortunately, their little crew only had one gun and there was no way in hell he¡¯d let those dumbasses even think about touching his pistol.

    What¡¯s more, those two did not know how to drive, so it wasn¡¯t as if they could just switch roles. Would it be worth it to leave the driver¡¯s side seat and expedite the process?

    The bald man hesitated.

    In truth, the big boss had tasked him with training these two idiots. In this regard, he considered himself unlucky. These guys were some of the most incompetent gangsters he had ever seen in his life. They were complete idiots. The only thing that they had going for them was their gym-trained bodies. Everything else was essentially just baggage.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± the driver cursed underneath his breath.

    Just as he was wondering whether or not he should act, a knock suddenly echoed out from the side window. He instinctively jumped in fright.

    His grip on his pistol tightened. The driver glared at the window. Fortunately, the glass was tinted, so whoever was knocking outside could not actually see him.

    For a moment, the driver¡¯s expression turned weird. Peering into the window with a stupid expression on his face was a dull-looking guy. He was half-naked and his hair looked like a messy bird¡¯s nest.

    The driver breathed out a sigh.

    Judging by his appearance, the unexpected guest was probably a damn tweaker.

    Does he think I have drugs or something? The driver frowned.

    In truth, he had seen plenty of this type. There were a whole bunch of them scattered throughout the streets of Hovel. Deranged lunatics hooked on drugs. They¡¯ll do anything to get their fix.

    Usually, flashing a gun was enough to make these fuckers leave.

    The driver hesitated for a moment, before the grip on his gun loosened. Tweakers were generally considered an unstable bunch. In the face of unexpected danger, who knows what they¡¯ll do. He did not want to waste a bullet today.

    Outside the vehicle, Edsel couldn¡¯t help but frown. Did the guy inside not notice me? The windows were tinted, so he couldn¡¯t really see. After some hesitation, he once again knocked on the glass.

    This time, the window¡¯s rolled down.

    A bald man with a pudgy face angrily glared at him.

    ¡°Fuck off, can¡¯t you see we¡¯re busy here?¡± The man immediately growled out.

    Edsel paused for a moment. He had a line prepared, but this guy unexpectedly took the initiative.

    After a few seconds of silence, Edsel let out an awkward cough. ¡°No, I was just wondering, is it really okay for you guys to do this in broad daylight?¡± he honestly asked.

    Even in Regalia, very few were ever this bold. For a modern-world with modern-laws, these guys were quite barbaric.

    The bald man¡¯s expression immediately worsened. He bared his yellow teeth. ¡°Are you threatening me, right now? Do you know who I work for? Even if I told you, you probably wouldn¡¯t even know, you damn junkie! I don¡¯t have any fucking drugs. Fuck off, already!¡±

    If this were a perfect world, then this bothersome guy would already be dead with a hole in his forehead. Unfortunately, he had limited bullets. If he wasted it on some random tweaker, then his boss would definitely grill him out for it. His gang really was just a group of misfit paupers.

    Edsel frowned. His expression was a bit difficult to make out. ¡°Do I really look like that?¡± he asked out loud.

    Do I really look like a homeless drug addict?

    He felt a bit disheartened. The young hero secretly vowed to find some time to take a proper bath.

    After a short period of silence, Edsel suddenly stated, ¡°I think you misunderstand.¡±

    ¡°Misunderstand what?¡± The bald man scowled as he spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here for drugs. I¡¯m here to rob you guys.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    For a moment, the bald driver simply sat there and stared. This guy, was he serious? What the hell was this skinny-looking tweaker on? What sort of shitty joke was that?

    The driver¡¯s bafflement quickly turned into anger.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t fucking leave now, then I swear to god, I¡¯ll shot your fucking balls off!¡±

    In response, Edsel merely tilted his head. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    At this point, the driver finally snapped. He felt belittled. The condescending tone not only astounded him, but it also drove him into a fiery rage.

    He reached over for his gun but before he could pull it out, his arm abruptly stopped. The driver looked down. To his surprise, the tweaker had grabbed onto his wrist. Edsel did not look strong, nor was his grip very firm, but for some reason, the driver found it impossible to shake him off.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    This was mostly due in part to the awkward positioning of the driver¡¯s arm. Pressed up against his own chest like that, it was difficult to draw any strength. What¡¯s more, Edsel had locked his elbow, so even with their initial strength disparity, the young hero still held the advantage.

    ¡°What¡¯s that? Something interesting?¡± Edsel casually asked as he leaned his body closer to the window and peered inside. Unbeknownst to the driver, he was actually applying more bodyweight into his grip, essentially pining the driver to the back of his seat.

    ¡°You fucker, let go of me!¡± The man once again tried to shrug him off. Unfortunately, Edsel¡¯s grip remained firm.

    ¡°It¡¯s a gun, isn¡¯t it? Ever since I was a kid, I¡¯ve always wanted to own one, you know.¡±

    ¡°Y-you fucking¡ª¡± The driver reached over with his other hand, but Edsel quickly reacted. He deflected the blow with one of his own. Truth be told, Edsel did not really put a lot of strength into his attack. Still, it was just barely enough to change the trajectory of the driver¡¯s fist.

    Instead of hitting Edsel, he accidentally hit the steering wheel.

    BEEP!

    The van let out an ear-shattering honk.

    A few seconds later, the guys in the back shouted. ¡°We got it already, boss! We¡¯re hurrying, we¡¯re hurrying!¡±

    Hearing those idiots, the driver¡¯s face turned as red as a lobster.

    On the other hand, Edsel sported a slightly amused expression on his face.

    ¡°It sure does suck to have such pig-like teammates, huh?¡± He offhandedly stated as he glanced over towards the backseat. After a moment¡¯s pause, he shook his head. ¡°Well, enough playing around. We should hurry up too. No matter how terribly incompetent those guys may be, at the end of the day, they¡¯re still two grown men. Eventually, they¡¯ll overpower the girl.¡±

    Without waiting for the driver to respond, Edsel immediately attacked. Naturally, against these types of guys, he did not bother holding back.

    Edsel struck the man¡¯s throat with the back of his palm.

    ¡°Gurgh¡ª¡±

    The driver let out a sputtering cough. The impact momentarily dazed him. The grip on his pistol slackened. Edsel did not waste this opportunity. He quickly snaked his hand over and pocketed the gun.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The driver¡¯s expression darkened. What the hell just happened?

    Before he could react, Edsel took a step back and distanced himself from the truck. A small smirk floated to his lips. The young hero ignored the driver¡¯s glaring eyes as he looked down and casually inspected the gun.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The driver did not dare to move. Naturally, he was frightened. After all, the lunatic tweaker somehow managed to steal his gun! Who knew what this psycho was thinking?

    After a while, Edsel couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°say, do you know how to use this thing?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The driver did not respond.

    Regardless, Edsel continued, ¡°I¡¯ve seen a few movies, but it¡¯s been a while. I know that you¡¯re supposed to pull back the top part, but isn¡¯t there supposed to be a safety on this thing¡­¡±

    He continued to fiddle with the gun. Eventually, a faint click reverberated through the air.

    ¡°Ah, I found it.¡±

    Edsel looked back up towards the van. ¡°Thanks for this man, really.  I¡¯m sure it will come in handy someday soon.¡± He spoke as if he was talking to a long-time friend.

    The driver¡¯s face was frozen stiff. He had known this for quite a while now, but this tweaker really wasn¡¯t an ordinary tweaker.

    Just as he was cursing his bad luck, the scraggly haired young man suddenly took a step forward.

    His shoulders tensed. ¡°W-what do you want? I¡¯m warning you now, I¡¯m part of the Howling Hogs. If, if you mess with me, then don¡¯t expect to have a happy ending¡­¡±

    In response, Edsel simply smiled. Howling Hogs? What sort of name was that?

    He uttered one word.

    ¡°Strip.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The driver¡¯s expression turned seriously ugly. Whenever a man asked you to strip, there was only ever one thing that he wanted.

    Edsel tilted his head. ¡°Did you not hear me? I said strip.¡±

    ¡°L-look man, we don¡¯t need to do this,¡± he stuttered out. ¡°I, I have money. You can have that instead, yeah?¡±

    Edsel made an expression as if he was looking at an idiot. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to take your money. First though, I want you to strip.¡±

    At this point, tears welled up in the bald man¡¯s eyes.

    Right now, he seriously wanted to fight back. Unfortunately, with the muzzle of a gun pointed directly at his face, he did not dare to. The threat of death was a powerful thing. He knew how it felt to use it and he knew how it felt to be used by it. Much to his dismay, his current situation was the latter.

    In the face of this damn tweaker¡¯s thin smile, the driver was left with no other choice but to strip his clothes.

    Edsel gladly received the new clothes with open arms.

    The bald driver was a bit bigger than he was, but Edsel did not really pay it any mind. Anything was better than nothing.

    In all, he received an oversized T-shirt and a pair of oversized basketball shorts. As expected, they did not fit. Both pieces were way too big for him. The outfit gave Edsel the appearance of a sloppy gang banger. Still, he had no right to complain. After all, beggars can¡¯t be choosers.

    One thing that Edsel found odd was that this guy had a second pair of shorts underneath his first pair.

    Well, who cares, he shrugged his shoulders. With this, I¡¯ve completed my first mission.

    He breathed out an exaggerated sigh. It felt good to finally have some clothes on. Although his current outfit smelled like stale cigarettes and motor oil, it wasn¡¯t the worst thing that Edsel had ever worn.

    After a moment¡¯s pause, he turned back over towards the van. With trembling hands, the driver was currently busy removing his second pair of shorts. If left unattended like that, then there was a high possibility that this man would strip all the way down to his birthday suit.

    Since it looked funny, Edsel decided not to interrupt him.

    He casually waved the gun in his hand. ¡°Good, you just keep doing that, alright. I still have a few things I need to do.¡±

    With that, Edsel circled towards the other side of the van. He planned to take care of the remaining thugs. The young hero gingerly stepped forward.

    Approximately one and a half minutes had passed since he first took action. From the moment he first knocked on the car window to when he first donned on his new clothes, the two muscle-headed kidnappers were still struggling with their would-be captive.

    Even after all this time, the girl was still less than halfway into the van.

    Edsel secretly admired her tenacity. The only reason why he could act this laxly was purely because of this girl¡¯s fighting spirit.

    The moment he arrived at the scene, the girl immediately spotted him. The two of them met eyes. For an instant, she froze.

    Another guy¡­ this time, he¡¯s holding a gun.

    Her expression drained as darkness clouded her vision. What she saw was not a dashing hero here to save her. Instead, she viewed Edsel as nothing more than just another thug who wanted to do god knows what to her body.

    She tried so hard, but unfortunately, even she could do nothing against the might of a fully-loaded pistol.

    Edsel had no clue what sort of self-defeating thoughts ran through the girl¡¯s head. Instead, his perpetual smile deepened. He pointed the muzzle of the gun towards the two thugs.

    ¡°Let her go.¡± He plainly stated.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    All three of them temporarily paused. All three of them sported confused expressions. They did not know what to make of the current situation.

    The girl had initially assumed that Edsel was another kidnapper here to help expedite the process of her kidnapping. The two blockheads also assumed something similar. The last thing they expected was for someone to play hero, especially down here in the streets of Hovel.

    Is it an internal conflict? Such a thought floated to the girl¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Boss?¡± One of the muscular men called out. ¡°What do we do about this guy?¡±

    Unfortunately for him, their Boss did not even spare them a glance. He kept his gaze locked onto the front of the road. Unbeknownst to his two subordinates, a rather ugly expression colored his face.

    Inwardly, a million thoughts buzzed through the driver¡¯s head. Should I tell them to abandon the kidnapping and get back in the car? Should I tell them to fight him? Can these guys even do anything to this crazy psycho?

    He had a million thoughts running through his head, but for some reason, staring into that guy¡¯s carefree eyes made him hesitate.

    ¡°Yo, why is the Boss naked?¡± One of the men nudged his partner.

    In response, the other man shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. If you say anything, the Boss will get mad.¡±

    ¡°Ah, really?¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel stared at their little charade for a while. Eventually, he told them to stop. ¡°Let the girl go already. I won¡¯t ask another time, you know?¡±

    Despite Edsel¡¯s ¡®gentle¡¯ warning, the two thugs still hesitated. Their boss was uncharacteristically silent and this new guy had a gun pointed at their heads. The situation was devolving with each passing second.

    Was this guy for real? Would he really shoot them? Was the gun even real?

    Their hesitation was met with a crisp bang.

    One of the men immediately fell to the ground. A horrid scream echoed through the air while hot blood splattered across the pavement. The thug did not die, but he was clutching his left kneecap.

    ¡°I said it before, didn¡¯t I? I don¡¯t like to wait.¡±

    Edsel suddenly pointed the gun at the other guy. The still shocked chump did not even have time to blink before he too went down in a brilliant splatter of crimson. The man lay slumped on the van¡¯s entrance.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Watching the bloody scene before him, a shallow frown stretched Edsel¡¯s lips. He had actually aimed for the knee caps again, but he accidentally hit the guy¡¯s crotch.

    He despondently shook his head. The recoil had messed up his accuracy. Edsel could only blame his body¡¯s current lack of strength.

    After a short pause, he looked up and turned to the driver¡¯s side seat. There, the bald driver was staring at him from the rearview mirror. The two locked eyes.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    A strange silence filled the air.

    Edsel¡¯s perpetual smile remained unchanged. At that moment, the driver felt a chill run down the back of his spine. Without hesitation, he gritted his teeth and floored the ignition. The van sputtered to life. The tires squealed as the vehicle zoomed down the street.

    Edsel barely had time to raise his gun in the air before the white van turned a corner and disappeared from view.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    He solemnly stood there. He narrowed his eyes, almost as if he could still see the white van roaring down the street. After a while, Edsel lowered the gun. He couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue.

    ¡°He fled way too fast.¡±

    In the driver¡¯s haste, he left behind both of his subordinates. The two thugs had passed out from the pain a little bit after the van turned the corner. Edsel did not really care about these types of criminals, but he still couldn¡¯t help but look down at the driver¡¯s lack of comradery.

    Edsel hated people like that. A person who would unhesitatingly leave their companions behind was definitely not someone worth befriending.

    He shook his head. ¡°At least, I looted a gun from him. Let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡±

    Just as he was about to walk away, he suddenly remembered something.

    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s still her.¡±

    Edsel stared down at the girl by his feet.

    Her shoulders trembled. There were cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs, yet the girl did not utter a single cry or complaint. In fact, she did not even dare to move.

    Edsel¡¯s act of heroism had completely caught her off guard. Still, she was not overjoyed. She did not naively believe that he had rescued her out of the goodness in his heart.

    After all, this was Hovel. The kind ones either died or had long since moved away from this shit hole.

    Her face isn¡¯t bad, but her figure¡¯s even better¡­ Edsel absentmindedly thought to himself. This was probably why those guys wanted to kidnap her in the first place. Something along the lines of human trafficking? She certainly does look like the type that would sell. Although she has a few pimples and scars, they aren¡¯t that noticeable.  If she had lived in a better environment, then she could have definitely been a real beauty.

    After evaluating her as such, Edsel shrugged his shoulders.

    He paused for a moment, before he stated, ¡°Word of advice, lady. Don¡¯t stick around this place for too long. You got lucky today, but there won¡¯t be a convenient hero to save you again next time.¡±

    With those words, Edsel casually turned around and walked away.

    The girl sat there, half in shock. She absentmindedly stared at his receding figure, all the while, a single thought floated through her head.

    Did he just call himself a hero?

 Chapter 4: Returning Home

    Edsel spent most of the day trying to find his way back home.

    Now with some money in his pockets and clothes on his back, he did not look as pitiful as before. At the very least, he was no longer mistaken for a deranged homeless man.

    Before he began his arduous journey home, Edsel first stopped by at a nearby supermarket. The place he went to was actually part of a chain called Elias. Elias Supermarkets was the most prolific retail chain within the entire city and arguably within the entire nation. Even to this day, Edsel still remembered his trips there.

    He tried washing himself inside the store¡¯s restroom. Due to the lack of materials, he was left with no other choice but to use a messy combination of toilet paper and hand soap. While it wasn¡¯t enough to completely get rid of the garbage scent, it did help decrease it. In conjunction with some deodorant that Edsel bought, the smell eventually reached a point where it was now barely noticeable.

    The thug from before did not have a lot of cash. The money in his hands was barely enough to afford a subway pass. Deodorant was the only nonessential expense that he could afford to purchase. Otherwise, he would have bought more things, like soap or shampoo.

    It was quite pitiful honestly. He almost felt as if he had robbed a pauper, and not some gangbuster in the midst of a kidnapping attempt.

    Somewhat satisfied with this side quest, Edsel finally began the journey home.

    If this had been ten years ago, then it would have probably taken him less than twenty minutes to get home. Unfortunately, Edsel had been gone for far too long. On his way there, he got lost numerous times.

    He also lived within the Bedlam borough. Normally, you¡¯d think getting home would be easier, but that was a common misconception. Harlock¡¯s Bedlam was a large area, the largest of all four boroughs. In fact, it was larger than most cities across the country. Coupled with Edsel¡¯s apparent ineptitude for directions, it took him practically all day to reach his old neighborhood.

    By the time he arrived, the sun had already begun to set.

    Edsel lived in a neighborhood called Queensville. It was actually quite similar to Hovel, except without all the gangsters, crumbling infrastructure, and crippling poverty. Really, other than those minuet differences, they were practically identical.

    Queensville was a pretty peaceful place, at least by this city¡¯s standards. It was like a quaint little corner of the world isolated from all the ruckus and hubbub of everyday life.

    The neighborhood was dominated by low-rise buildings. Many of those buildings belonged to small family-owned businesses. Other than that one Elias located a few blocks down, the neighborhood was practically devoid of any outside influences.

    The shimmering glow of the setting sun painted the neighborhood in a beautiful iridescent layer of golden orange.

    Making his way down the wide streets and seeing all the people that occasionally passed him by, Edsel was overcome with a sense of heavy nostalgia.

    Bits and pieces of memory flickered through his head. Most of them were blurry and vague, but some he remembered with an almost intimate clarity. For example, the flower shop down the street. Tilly¡¯s¡­ or was it Tally¡¯s? Well, it was something like that.

    It once belonged to his father¡¯s friend. Every holiday, the old man would drop by and purchase a bouquet for his mother. It didn¡¯t matter the event. Even during Edsel¡¯s own birthdays, without fail, the old man would always come home during the afternoons with a handful of roses or tulips or whatever else in hand.

    Truth be told, he was probably just looking for an excuse. His father was like that, a man who could never be honest with himself.

    Then, there was the children¡¯s park located smack dab in between a coffee shop and a pizzeria. It wasn¡¯t a very impressive place. Most of the equipment was old, and the ground was all paved up. If you fell, then nine times out of ten, that meant a scraped knee or a broken ankle.

    Edsel remembered going there as a child. His mother always accompanied him. She guided him through each and every individual piece of equipment. Like with all mothers, she was worried that he¡¯d get hurt. Edsel liked to think that she was just overly protective, but there was a basis for her concerns. Even with all of her hawk-like vigilance, he still somehow managed to injure himself. The worst of the injuries was a chipped tooth. He had to get braces afterwards, of which lasted for more than two years.

    Edsel softly smiled.

    If he closed his eyes right now, he could almost picture the familiar route home.

    A part of him wanted to explore each and every place that came to mind. He wanted to relieve his memories, live out the days that he had lost. Despite his inner desires, he managed to restrain himself. Right now, he wanted to go home. His desire to go home far outstripped any other.

    After walking down a row of small shops, Edsel turned a corner. He arrived at a small suburban area. In a city where concrete and metal made up the majority of the infrastructure, seeing an actual lawn with grass and shrubs was definitely an unusual sight.

    Harlock was a busy city. It was known as the Golden Egg of the world, where business and leisure merged into one. In a place like this, suburban styled-homes were a rarity. Fortunately, Queensville just so happened to be one of the few neighborhoods with said rarity.

    He walked for a few minutes, turning a few corners every now and then, before he arrived at a house with beige-colored bricks.

    Edsel¡¯s eyes almost glazed over.

    This was it. This was the place. His old house.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    He took a deep breath. Various thoughts and concerns buzzed through his head.

    What would his parents think? How would his sister react? Ten years¡­ he¡¯s been gone for ten years.

    What would they all say? Would they scold him? Curse him?

    His sister¡­ she was fifteen when he disappeared. After ten years, she should be twenty-five by now. At that age, she¡¯s probably no longer even living at home anymore. What would she think?

    After what felt like forever, he finally mustered up his courage and knocked on the door.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Nobody answered.

    Edsel frowned. Did they move? It certainly wasn¡¯t an impossibility.

    He hesitated for a moment before he tried the doorknob. To his surprise, he heard a faint click.

    It was unlocked. Edsel lightly pushed against the wooden frame. The door swung open, revealing an empty hallway devoid of life.

    The first thing he noticed were the pictures hanging on the walls. They featured the entire family dressed in a wide variety of outfits. From swimwear to stuffy down jackets, the pictures documented all the vacations that they had ever taken together.

    The last picture on the wall was a Holiday photo. The entire family wore color-coded ugly sweaters. His mother had a pair of antler ears on her head, while her sister¡¯s nose was colored red.

    It was the last picture that they had taken together. Nothing else came after.

    ¡°It¡¯s like nothing¡¯s changed¡­¡±

    A bitter chuckle leaked out from his lips.

    He shook his head and entered the house.

    The lights were all off. Edsel tried the switch but unfortunately, it did not work. Edsel did not concern himself too much with it. The setting sun provided enough illumination, although as an unintended side effect, it did dye the whole house orange.

    He slowly walked deeper into the house. The first room he arrived at was the living room. He tried the lights here too. Just like the ones in the hallway, they did not work either. Next, he moved to the kitchen. Again, he tried the lights and again, they did not work. What¡¯s more, the water wasn¡¯t running either.

    He checked the refrigerator; the whole thing was empty.

    Edsel felt an odd sense of peculiarity.

    The house had neither electricity nor running water. What exactly was going on here?

    Aside from that, the whole place looked exactly as how he had left it. From the pictures on the wall to the placement of the furniture, everything was nearly identical to the faint memory stored away in his head.

    If there was one thing that¡¯s different, then it would be the fact that there was nobody here to welcome him home.

    Did they really move? Edsel mulled it over for a few seconds before he shook his head.

    In truth, he did not know whether they left the house, but one thing was clear, this place was not as abandoned as it first appeared. After all, Edsel had noticed this a long time ago, but there was no dust anywhere on the walls or furniture.

    Then, are they away? Did they rent this place out to other people? That shouldn¡¯t be it either. It doesn¡¯t explain the lack of water or the empty fridge.

    The more he thought about it, the more peculiar the situation seemed to get.

    He explored the entire first floor of the house. He even entered his parent¡¯s bedroom. Again, everything was empty; not a single soul in sight.

    After a few minutes, he eventually walked upstairs.

    Not including the bathrooms, the second floor had three rooms in total. His bedroom, his sister¡¯s bedroom and a home office that his father sparsely used.

    The nearest room was his sister¡¯s bedroom.

    When he stepped into the room, the first thing he noticed were the walls. A light blue reminiscent of the distant sky. With the light of the sun seeping in from the windows, it felt almost as if he was standing amidst a cerulean sea.

    There were no posters on the wall or stuffed teddy bears at the end of the bed frame. In fact, the room lacked decoration. Instead, it had a functional design, complete with a bookshelf, a nightstand, and a writing desk. Some might even go as far as to call it plain, but that was alright. Her sister was fond of simplicity, something that they had in common.

    Edsel noticed that the room remained relatively unchanged. Of course, there were minor differences here and there. For example, the bedsheets were different and the books on her shelf had changed, but all in all, it was nearly identical to the past.

    He slowly roamed around the room. He narrowed his eyes, an ambiguous smile etched to his lips.

    On her nightstand, he caught sight of a picture frame. It was a photo of two people; a boy and a girl. The boy was slightly older, maybe about sixteen. He had messy black hair and a somewhat thin frame. The girl, on the other hand, looked to be around fourteen. She had bright eyes and a lively smile. Her hazel brown hair was styled into a pair of loosely braided ponytails that fell all the way down to her collar bone.

    She took after her mother. They had the same small-nose and almond-shaped eyes. In comparison, the boy took after his father. The hard stare and creased brows were a dead giveaway.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The two people in the photo looked world¡¯s apart, but that was alright. It never really bothered him growing up. Rather, he had learned to ignore the differences.

    Naturally, the boy in the picture was him. By extension, the girl was his sister.

    It was a photograph taken a long time ago. Edsel did not remember when or where exactly, just that¡­ the people within the picture looked happy.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel stayed in the room for what felt like a long time.

    Eventually, he reached a conclusion; the room did not smell like anything.

    Well, that wasn¡¯t exactly true. If anything, it possessed a somewhat flowery scent, reminiscent of laundry detergent. Edsel felt disappointed. It had been so long, that he had already forgotten what his sister smelled like.

    It was a weird thing to take note of, but Edsel paid particular attention to a person¡¯s scent. He felt that the way someone smelled was just as good of an indicator as their appearance.

    Although he had long forgotten what his sister used to smell like, he was certain that if given the chance, he would instantly recognize it.

    Unfortunately, he never got that chance.

    Shortly after, he left the bedroom.

    Next, he visited his father¡¯s old office. Like the others before it, it too was empty. To be honest, Edsel did not really have a lot of memories of this place. It largely went unused, even by his father. He did not stay for very long. After a quick once over, he moved on to his next destination.

    Finally, he arrived in front of his old bedroom. Edsel gripped the cold surface of the doorknob.

    Right now, he felt conflicted. As a teenager growing up, he spent a majority of his free-time inside this very room. Even when you factor out all the hours he spent asleep, a large chunk of his adolescence still went into this room.

    From the start, Edsel was a homebody. He much preferred spending afternoons playing videogames than doing other things like sports or getting an actual life.

    Edsel did not regret his childhood. In fact, some parts of it he liked. The reason for his hesitation stemmed not from newly unearthed regrets, but rather¡­

    To be honest, he did not hold very high hopes. He expected the room to be just as empty as everything else within this house. In the first place, he did not even know what he wanted to see. Should he be happy that nothing had changed or sad that everything else had stagnated?

    He did not know.

    After a long bout of hesitation, Edsel steeled himself. He took a deep breath, turned the knob and pushed open the door.

    A faint creak reverberated throughout the air.

    Edsel stood by the doorway. Just as he was about to take a step in, he suddenly froze. His body turned stiff and rigid, while his eyes were peeled wide open.

    A look of surprise flashed through his face. His gaze immediately drifted to his old twin-sized mattress.

    The room was not as empty as he initially expected. In fact, there was something, someone in his old childhood bed.

    A squatter? This was Edsel¡¯s immediate reaction.

    He hesitated for a moment before he cautiously approached the bedside. His hand rested on the handle of the pistol that he had tucked underneath his waistline. As he drew nearer, he quickly noticed the figure lying underneath all the blankets.

    It was distinctly female in form. This was apparent due to the curves and contours on the blanket.

    Just as he was about to reach over and unmask the culprit, the bed suddenly rustled.

    By instinct, Edsel quickly shuffled backward.

    He watched as the figure slowly sat up.

    She let out a soft yawn and slowly rubbed her eyes. A trail of saliva dotted the corners of her lips. Her hazy gaze drifted all throughout the room before they landed on him.

    For a moment, they locked eyes.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Ed, welcome home¡­¡± Her words were slurred, while an inattentive smile floated to her face. It was clearly evident, but this girl was still half asleep.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not immediately respond. He continued to wordlessly stare at her. At some point, the hand holding the gun had quietly dropped to his side.

    After ten seconds of silence, the girl¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. She instinctively grabbed onto the blanket and covered the front portion of her body. Her current expression looked similar to that of a frightened owl¡¯s.

    ¡°Edsel!? When? What, what the hell are you doing here?!¡±

    Edsel bitterly laughed.

    As it turned out, the squatter was someone he knew quite well.

    Addison Temple. His one and only childhood friend.

    ****

    When Edsel first appeared in the bedroom, Addison was understandably quite shocked. So much so that she initially believed that he was nothing more than a figment of imagination and that all of this was just some sick, twisted dream.

    She pinched herself over and over. The amount of self-harm she committed within the span of a single minute was honestly quite alarming. Eventually, after her left cheek had turned completely crimson, Addison was forced to resign herself to the reality in front of her.

    Edsel watched all of this with a somewhat weary expression.

    ¡°You believe now, right?¡± He asked with raised brows. Her disheveled appearance brought on a slew of memories, but now wasn¡¯t really the appropriate time to mention any of them.

    ¡°Nn.¡± She meekly nodded her head. Underneath the dim light of the setting sun, crystalline drops welled up in the corners of her eyes.

    After that came the touching reunion.

    She practically jumped into his chest.

    Addison rested her head on the nook of his shoulder. Her arms tightly wrapped around his torso, almost as if she was afraid that he would vanish the moment she let go. She sniffled, hot tears flowed down her face and stained the cuff of his T-shirt.

    Edsel breathed out a soft sigh. He reciprocated as best as he knew how.

    He patted her back and slightly rocked his body back and forth. He felt the chaotic rhythms of her beating heart.

    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m back, aren¡¯t I?¡± He quietly whispered in her ears.

    Unfortunately, instead of calming her down, that only seemed to set her off. Her subdued sniveling transformed into full-blown sobbing.

    Normally, Addison wasn¡¯t usually this emotionally unstable, but the moment the dam within her so much as loosens, then the waterworks immediately come out to play.

    For what felt like a long time, the bedroom was filled with the sound of her unrestrained crying.

    Eventually, Addison¡¯s tears petered out. Edsel¡¯s entire shoulder felt moist and slightly uncomfortable, but he did not dare to mention it. Saying something now would only ruin the moment.

    Fortunately, Addison did not share his same concerns.

    ¡°You kind of smell¡­¡± she muttered through his shirt.

    ¡°Er, that¡¯s¡­¡±

    Edsel felt a pang of guilt. He had completely forgotten to mention the fact that he had taken a rather intimate swim with a dumpster earlier today. What¡¯s more, there was also the matter concerning his T-shirt. This shirt was not his. It belonged to a gangster who may or may not have been a chain smoker.

    Just by coming into contact with him alone, Addison now probably needed a hot shower, maybe even several.

    He separated from her.

    Addison was reluctant to do so, but the guilt inside was eating him up. Edsel took a step back. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she did the same. The two simply stared at each other for what felt like forever.

    ¡°You¡­ you look exactly how I¡¯d imagine you¡¯d look.¡± She eventually stated with a soft, slightly goofy smile.

    Edsel subconsciously raised his brow. Was that an insult? For the record, he thought he looked pretty decent for a twenty-seven-year-old. In fact, he kind of stopped aging by the time he turned twenty. At least, that¡¯s what he liked to tell himself.

    By this point, Edsel stopped dissecting her innocent comment and focused his attention back onto his long-time childhood friend.

    Addison also looked pretty good for her age.

    In the first place, twenty-seven wasn¡¯t really all that old, but she really did look like a girl who had just turned twenty. Compared to the past, the little girl from his memories had matured in all the right places.

    Her hips flared out in that special way that could make a man go crazy, while her breasts had probably grown two cup-sizes since high school¡­ not that Edsel kept track or anything.

    The only thing that had stayed the same was her haircut. Black hair cut just below her chin. It was slightly messy in this disheveled kind of way, yet not too messy where anyone would notice. If left unmaintained, her bangs would cover up almost her entire face. She liked it that way, since it helped to hide the freckles on her nose and cheeks.

    Edsel didn¡¯t really mind the freckles. In fact, he thought they looked cute. Of course, back then, he never had the courage to say those words.

    He let out a cough. ¡°You could use a little bit of work yourself.¡± Edsel offhandedly stated. Even now, he lacked the confidence to straightforwardly compliment her appearance. It wasn¡¯t a matter of maturity, but rather¡­ he had grown up saying this type of stuff to her. Changing it now seemed a bit¡­ awkward? Unnecessary? Dramatic?

    ¡­ Alright, maybe he was just acting bit cowardly.

    Normally, saying stuff like that to a girl would lead to a smack to the cheek and/or a beverage to the face. Addison did not do any of those things. Instead of anger, she laughed. ¡°So, you¡¯re still saying shit like that?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be me if I didn¡¯t.¡± He replied back with a smile.

    ¡°¡­ You really are back, huh?¡±

    ¡°The one and only. It took a hell of a lot of effort to get back here though.¡±

    Addison frowned. His words revealed a small fraction of the circumstances that had led to Edsel¡¯s disappearance. Before she could broach the topic though, Edsel suddenly asked a question.

    ¡°You stopped wearing glasses.¡± He pointed out as he stared straight into her emerald green eyes.

    ¡°Glasses?¡± For a moment, she tilted her head before a look of realization dawned on her. ¡°Ah, no. I was s-sleeping just now, so I didn¡¯t wear them, but I did change my pair¡­¡±

    She reached over towards his old nightstand. Addison grabbed a pair of black rimless glasses. It certainly was different from the chunky, circular pair that she used to own.

    She gingerly put on her glasses and looked up at him. ¡°There, I can see you a lot clearer this way.¡±

    ¡°Do I look better or worse in HD?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    For a moment, she paused. Then, with a cheeky grin, she stated, ¡°Worse. Definitely a lot worse.¡±

    Edsel opened his mouth to say something. He racked his mind for a witty comeback, but after a while, he simply nodded his head. ¡°I won¡¯t argue with you there.¡±

    ****

    The two laid on the bed together, their feet dangling from the side. At some point, the sun had completely dipped beneath the horizon. Soft moonlight flooded the bedroom.

    Edsel kept his gaze fixated on the ceiling. Under the dimness of night, two half-centimeter wide holes lifelessly stared back at him.

    He suddenly recalled something from his childhood. The holes in the ceiling, they were a result of a game gone too far. Edsel was a bit blurry on the details, but it had involved him, Addison, and his sister.

    They wanted to see who could chuck a pencil hard enough to the point where it pierced the ceiling. The left hole was Edsel¡¯s attempt, while the right was Addison¡¯s. Back then, his sister was two years younger than them, so she naturally failed the game. When you¡¯re an adult, two years doesn¡¯t seem all that much, but as a child, it was a hurdle nearly impossible to breakthrough.

    Edsel reminisced in the memory.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    In the midst of his reverie, Addison snapped him back to reality. She suddenly asked, ¡°When did you get back?¡±

    ¡°Just today.¡± He responded.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Addison lapsed into a brief silence. She wanted to ask about what had happened and where he had gone, but a part of her hesitated. Finally, after nearly five minutes of nothing, she simply stated.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been gone for three years.¡±

    Edsel nearly jumped to his feet.

    Three years? Was it really that short?

    In retrospect, three years did not seem all that farfetched. Generally, time flowed differently between different planar realities. Regalia and Plume were the same. Time on Plume flowed significantly slower than on Regalia, thus resulting in the time difference today.

    The only thing Edsel did not know of was whether or not he was still ten years older, or if his body had regressed back to when he was still twenty-years-old. A person¡¯s personal time was intrinsically linked to the time of their original reality.

    It explained why Edsel never aged whenever he visited no-man realms, where time did not flow at all.

    Since he originally belonged to Plume, naturally his personal time would be affected by the time flow of this world.

    ¡°Three years¡­¡± He went missing when he was seventeen. If that much time had passed, then Edsel should be a little over twenty-years-old by now.

    Now that I think about it, I never really did get the chance to check the current date.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Addison noticed something peculiar with Edsel¡¯s silence. She turned her head and looked at him.

    She did not notice much. The moonlight was just barely enough to illuminate the outlines of his face. The only thing she knew for certain was the fact that he had grown out his hair. It was about an inch longer than before, and considerably messier.

    ¡°No, it just¡­ I thought it was longer¡­¡± Edsel¡¯s response drifted to Addison¡¯s ears, snapping her back to reality.

    She nodded her head. ¡°Yeah, it did feel longer. So much has changed, so much has happened, but you¡­ at least you¡¯re finally back.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Edsel could only nod his head.

    A part of him believed that he would never come back. Being here, lying on his old childhood bed, talking to his childhood best friend, it felt like a dream.

    He suddenly recalled something. Edsel turned towards her and asked, ¡°more importantly, why are you here?¡±

    Addison, who was certainly not family, was actually sleeping in his bedroom inside his house. Edsel really couldn¡¯t understand this situation.

    ¡°I, I¡­¡± Her face suddenly flushed red. ¡°I, I took it upon myself to clean and take care of your house! You should be thanking me!¡±

    Edsel¡¯s gaze landed on his bed. With the sheets haphazardly scattered like that, it was a bit difficult to believe a single word she said.

    He raised a brow. ¡°I see you took care of my bed too, huh?¡±

    ¡°I got tired, alright! Enough with your judgmental eyes.¡± She practically shouted at him.

    After a while, she let out a sigh. ¡°I¡­ I sometimes come here to relax. Although the power¡¯s been cut and there¡¯s no running water, it isn¡¯t that bad. This place is especially nice during the spring.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°I really was telling the truth about cleaning though.¡±

    A whimsical expression floated to her face. Addison returned back to her childhood and recollected all the times she had slept over at Edsel¡¯s house. Of course, by the time she entered middle school, their innocent sleepovers came to an abrupt end, but their time together had left a permanent mark in her heart.

    Edsel nodded his head in response. While he did not push the topic any further, he still held some doubts.

    Still, why would she need to take care of the house? Was it something that his parents had asked her to do?

    Their families were close, so something like that was not surprising.

    He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°So, where are they now?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± she tilted her head in confusion.

    ¡°My parents. That brat too. I can tell that they aren¡¯t living here anymore, so they must have moved, right?¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°Shirley too. She should be eighteen by now. I blink and she¡¯s already in her last year of high school¡­ no, did she graduate already? What season is it right now? What do you think¡ª¡±

    Edsel abruptly stopped talking. He felt a certain chill crawl up his spine. For quite some time now, Addison had been uncharacteristically silent.

    He looked over. Her expression was¡­ odd. He couldn¡¯t quite tell what sort of emotions were scribbled on that face of hers, but one thing was certain: it wasn¡¯t anything good.

    A pit dropped in his stomach.

    ¡°Addy, Addison, what¡¯s wrong?¡± his words came out in a hoarse whisper.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know¡­¡± she mumbled out, almost entirely to herself.

    Her vague response only further heightened his worry. Edsel suddenly stood up. He practically glared at her. ¡°Tell me. What happened?¡±

    Addison hesitated. Eventually, she also stood up. She reached out for his hand. Edsel did not stop her. He recognized this.

    It was a long-standing habit of hers. Whenever she felt guilt, anxious, concerned, basically anything that even vaguely resembled negative emotion, she had a habit of holding his hand. It was sort of like a plea for help, an attempt at dissipating the negativity between two people.

    This time, she did not do it for herself, but rather, for him.

    Addison stared up at him with solemn eyes. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke, ¡°Edsel, your parents are dead.¡±

    Those simple words reverberated loudly in his ears like sonorous church bells.

 Chapter 5: What Happened while you were Gone

    Bailey Medical Center was one of the larger hospitals within all of Bedlam. While it may not have been as technologically advanced nor as industry-acclaimed as some of the more affluent hospitals within the city, none of that really mattered. As a private institution, Bailey was an expert at catering to its clientele. In this case, that clientele was mostly comprised of upper-middle and lower-middle-class families.

    Even without all those fancy titles and prestigious awards, the hospital did well enough for themselves to the point where they did not have any outstanding money problems. In the midst of today¡¯s turbulent economy, such an achievement was far more difficult to accomplish than first meets the eye.

    The hospital was located roughly ten miles away from Queensville.

    Despite the fact that it was already well into the night, Harlock did not slumber. The eternal city paid no mind to the transient passings of time. Bailey was no different. Regardless of whether it was day or night, the hospital was alive and kicking all the same.

    Out-dated fluorescent fixtures illuminated the hospital interior in a splatter of blinding white.

    Nurses dressed in pale-green scrubs hurried along crowded corridors filled with white-gowned patients and semi-confused visitors. Occasionally, a doctor making his rounds would pass by. They¡¯d bark a few orders and talk to a couple members of the staff, before moving on to the next location.

    As one of the most populous hospitals in all of Harlock, the chaos that currently engulfed the first-floor medical bay was only par for the course.

    Edsel¡¯s entire body felt numb.

    He mindlessly walked through the hallway, completely ignorant of the mess around him. He kept his eyes fixated on Addison¡¯s slim back as he wordlessly followed after her. All the while, their conversation from earlier continually replayed in the back of his mind like a broken cassette player.

    Three years ago, Edsel Emeroy disappeared from the face of the planet.

    At first, his disappearance did not cause any major waves within the city. After all, Edsel was just an ordinary high schooler with neither background nor fame. What¡¯s more, plenty of people disappear every year. Why would one more matter?

    The only ones that noticed his disappearance were his friends and family. For them, Edsel¡¯s absence immediately set off red flags.

    Normally, Edsel was not the type of guy who liked to venture outside. He was a homebody, an introvert with a tendency to bury himself into a good book or an engaging videogame in favor of going to a party or playing around in an amusement park. For someone like him, an extended disappearance was highly unusual.

    Edsel only ever left the house whenever Addison or his sister got involved. Those girls were well accustomed to ignoring his feelings. Every other week or so, they would forcibly drag him outside. Sometimes, the trio would explore different parts of the city. Other times, they¡¯d sit around at a local park and play a few games that always left him feeling sweaty and exhausted.

    In truth, their surprise visits were probably the only thing that kept Edsel¡¯s life away from the jaws of endless monotony.

    So, it came as quite the surprise for a lot of people when neither of these two knew where he was or where he had gone.

    Edsel¡¯s family was understandably quite panicked. At only seventeen-years-old, there were still a lot of things that Edsel did not know. A bit na?ve and a bit weak-willed, the him of that time certainly gave more than a few reasons for concern.

    The possibility of death and/or kidnapping were also brought up, neither of which was a reality that the family could easily accept.

    By the twelfth hour, the Emeroy family had called the police. Unfortunately, they were less than helpful.

    A missing person¡¯s report was not all that uncommon, especially within a big city like Harlock. Unless you were crazy rich or someone with crazy rich parents, then chances are, your file would not be prioritized. In fact, they might even delay it in favor of more pressing matters.

    To make things even worse, the police were only required to act after a twenty-four-hour grace period. Who knows what could happen in twenty-four hours?

    Still, Edsel¡¯s parents could not simply just give up like this. They kept pestering the police station and eventually, after thirty-two hours had passed, a search team was deployed. Fliers were hung, people were called, and entire neighborhoods were notified. It became somewhat of an event, but unfortunately, it did not attract a whole lot of attention.

    As expected, the search turned up nothing.

    Edsel was still gone. Nobody had even seen him leave his room. It was as if he had suddenly just vanished into thin air.

    By the time the seventy-second hour came, the search party was called off. That¡¯s when the accusations started. The Emeroy couple was accused of premeditated murder. They had killed their own son and made a big spectacle of the whole mess in order to throw off the scent. Aside from the fact that Edsel was last sighted inside his room, there was literally no other evidence to back up this claim.

    Still, short of an alien abduction, it was the only plausible explanation available. As a result, for a few tense weeks, the Emeroy family came under heavy scrutiny.

    Fortunately, today¡¯s world was fast-paced and ever-changing. Edsel¡¯s disappearance eventually faded into obscurity and the pressure that his family faced also gradually vanished. Approximately two and a half months since then, the police eventually ruled the incident to be nothing more than a case of a runaway teenager.

    Of course, nobody who actually knew Edsel believed such a bullshit explanation.

    This haphazard conclusion was only there in order to improve the police department¡¯s standing. After all, an unsolved case reflected poorly on their department. Many other missing persons reports were dealt with in a similar fashion. Naturally, it left the related parties dissatisfied, but by this point, they could do nothing about it.

    Left with no other choice, Edsel¡¯s family continued the search on their own. Addison and her family also pitched in to help. They kept their hopes up that one-day Edsel would return. That hope slowly diminished as the days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months.

    Eventually, in the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

    By this point, they had long accepted the fact that he was gone, maybe even forever.

    They all tried to move on with their lives, but¡­ it was a difficult process.

    Edsel¡¯s family entered a state of prolonged grief. His sister stopped going to school, while daily arguments became the new standard for his parents. Shouting, throwing things, sleeping on couches, alcohol, it was a cycle of never-ending suffering that stemmed from one terrible incident.

    It all eventually came to a head when the possibility of a divorce was finally thrown into the mix.

    Things would have probably continued in this trajectory if it were not for a little bit of timely intervention.

    On the two-and-a-half-year anniversary of Edsel¡¯s disappearance, a family friend stepped in and suggested that the Emeroys take a vacation in order to cool things down and rekindle their familial bond. With their backs up against the wall, Edsel¡¯s parents consented.

    Thus, the family of three went out for a vacation for the first time in a long, long time. They left the city and went to a ski resort located in the upper northern region of the country. As a sign of good faith, they even tried to invite Addison¡¯s family along too, but unfortunately, due to financial difficulties, they were unable to go.

    After that¡­ Addison did not know what happened after that. The rest she had read about from second-hand sources.

    An avalanche. It buried the entire ski resort. A natural disaster that wiped out the lives of more than a hundred people. It was a tragedy that made national headlines.

    Edsel¡¯s parents, they died on that trip.

    It wasn¡¯t a case where they could not find the bodies. In fact, their bodies were the first ones that the rescuers unearthed from the disaster.

    They were found at the foot of the mountain, swept away by the flood-like snow. Their limbs broken, their faces deathly pale and their lips entirely blue. The coroner reported the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the skull, probably as a result of a stray rock or something similar.

    It was gruesome, but Edsel did not even have the time to grieve over their deaths. After all, there was still his sister.

    Unlike her parents, she did not die. They found her a full week after the disaster. She was still alive, but¡­

    ¡°Ed?¡±

    Someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Edsel was forcibly yanked back to reality. He looked up. At some point, they had stopped walking. Addison stared at him with her brows creased and a frown on her lips.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not answer. Instead, he shifted his gaze over towards the door directly in front of him. There was nothing really special about the door, but right beside it was a plaque.

    Emeroy, it read.

    It was the patient¡¯s name.

    ¡°Is this it?¡± He asked out loud, his voice barely above a whisper.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she nodded her head, ¡°but before we can enter, we first need to inform a nurse and make sure that¡ª¡±

    Before she could finish, Edsel had already pushed the door open.

    ¡°Ah, wait¡­¡± Her words did not even reach his ears. The moment he entered, his eyes immediately locked onto the hospital bed located directly in the middle of the room.

    There, he saw her.

    A girl. A young girl barely over the age of eighteen. A withered girl with arms like sticks and skin like pale snow.

    Her eyes were closed shut. A wide assortment of tubes and wires connected her to a series of machines. An IV drip, an EKG monitor¡­ some of them he recognized, while others were completely foreign to him. She sported a peaceful expression that teetered between the borders of calm and death.

    Shirley Emeroy. Edsel¡¯s little sister and as of today, his one and only remaining family member.

    The rescuers found her seven days after the avalanche struck. She had been buried underneath twenty feet of hardened snow. Somehow, she had managed to dig herself a little ice cave. Shirley subsisted off melted snow and literal twigs for six days before she passed out.

    It was a miracle that she survived, but the condition she was left in was nothing short of a tragedy.

    Severely dehydrated, numerous broken bones, a pierced lung, hypothermia¡­ a myriad of medical disorders plagued her body. When she got to the hospital, the doctors tried their best to save her, but¡­

    Both of her legs had to be amputated, along with five of her fingers. Her diaphragm was irreversibly injured, so in order to simulate breathing, they had to hook up a giant metal machine to her lungs. Speaking of lungs, she also had one of hers removed due to an infection from her previous puncture wound.

    Worst of all was the brain damage. Like her parents, she too had suffered from a traumatic blow to the head. Instead of killing her though, it merely put her into a coma.

    Experts were unsure as to when she first received the injury, but most of them concluded that it happened sometime after the initial avalanche. Malicious intent was unlikely. The only logical conclusion was stray debris that fell down from the mountain.

    There was evidence that Shirley had once tried to dig herself out of the ice hole. Presumably, the moment she popped her head from out underneath the snow, a rock or a chunk of wood or something came rolling down the hill and¡­

    She lost her strength and came tumbling back down into the hole, where rescuers would find her a day later.

    Shirley Emeroy was truly born underneath an unlucky star.

    When others saw her condition, they could only shake their heads. The fact that she had survived was already amazing enough, but was it worth it?  For her to continue living in that state¡­ wasn¡¯t death a far easier alternative?

    Edsel walked over to her bedside. Unconsciously, his breathing quickened. Sweat gathered on his palms, while his throat slightly quivered.

    Seeing her up close only further cemented the tragedy of Shirley¡¯s situation. Her skin was so white, so unimaginably pale that he could practically see the blue veins underneath.

    His face contorted.

    This¡­ was this really her? Where was the lively girl that liked eating mango-flavored popsicles during hot summer afternoons? Where was the studious freshman that stayed up all night studying for something as simple as a multiple-choice quiz? Where was the annoyingly cute little sister that constantly pestered him about going outside and living life like how it was meant to be lived?

    To compare the person from his memories to the fragile girl laying on this hospital bed¡­ Edsel wanted to shake his head. He could not believe it. He did not want to believe it. Were they really the same person?

    He wanted to reach out and grab her hand, but¡­ he could not bring himself to do so. On her right hand, the pinky finger and the pointer finger were missing.

    ¡°She¡­Shirley¡­¡± Edsel¡¯s voice cracked. He could not bring himself to even say anything. He simply stared down at her with hollow eyes.

    Just then, someone entered the room. Edsel did not bother looking up.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t be in here.¡± It was a plump nurse with short-cropped hair. After receiving no response, her bottom lip slightly twitched. She turned to the door. ¡°Miss Addison, you know you can¡¯t just bring guests in here. It¡¯s our policy. No visitors after eight. I know you are good friends with the patient, but we can¡¯t make exceptions. It¡¯s for the safety of the patient. I thought you understood this.¡±

    She ruthlessly reprimanded her. ¡°Unless it¡¯s family, then I¡¯m afraid¡ª¡±

    ¡°Um, that¡¯s the thing,¡± Addison suddenly chimed in. ¡°He is family.¡±

    ¡°Yours?¡± The nurse tilted her head in confusion.

    ¡°No, not mine.¡± Addison shook her head in response.

    After a moment¡¯s pause, the nurse widened her eyes. ¡°Ah, the brother, is it?¡±

    This lady was one of the nurses assigned to Shirley¡¯s room. Naturally, she knew a fair bit of information regarding the patient¡¯s extenuating circumstances. For example, she knew about how the older brother had suddenly disappeared roughly three years ago.

    Addison nodded her head, quickly confirming the nurse¡¯s theory.

    The nurse hesitated. ¡°Still, he needs proper identification before he can¡­¡±

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t think he has any.¡± She responded with an awkward expression. Who knows what sort of shady shit Edsel had been up to during his disappearance? When they first met, he certainly did not have anything within his pockets¡­ no, that was actually a secondary concern. The fact that he had arrived wearing another man¡¯s clothes was far more pressing.

    ¡°I can¡¯t make an exception here. It¡¯s for the patient¡¯s safety. We can¡¯t let him¡­¡± Her words trailed off. Her eyes had unknowingly landed on the young man¡¯s frail visage. He stood beside the bed and wordlessly stared at the patient. For a moment, his back looked lonely, almost as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

    After a long pause, she eventually turned back towards Addison. With a bitter expression on her face, she nodded her head. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let him stay.¡±

    Addison breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think this is over yet, though.¡± The nurse instantly retorted. ¡°I still need to tell the doctor!¡±

    In the face of this plump lady¡¯s persistence, Addison could only nod in agreement. The nurse quickly left, while Addison walked over towards the bed.

    She glanced up and noticed his expression. Edsel¡¯s face was almost completely devoid of emotion. His eyes were chilly, while his lips were pressed into a thin frown. He gently stroked Shirley¡¯s cheek. His touch was so light that it barely even grazed her skin. It was almost as if he was afraid of breaking her.

    ¡°How long?¡± He suddenly asked. After a moment¡¯s pause, he reiterated himself. ¡°How long has she been in a coma?¡±

    ¡°Six months,¡± she answered.

    ¡°¡­¡± Edsel did not immediately respond. He mulled over her answer. Six months was a long time, especially for a coma patient. In fact, the chances of waking up gradually diminished the longer the coma. Six months was definitely not a short number.

    ¡°And the hospital? How is it?¡± Edsel had lived in a cruel world for more than ten years. He did not naively believe that the hospital would kindly take in a person as badly damaged as his sister. At least, not for free.

    Addison hesitated for a short second, ¡°my parents helped Shirley apply for governmental aid but the money that they gave isn¡¯t a lot. A large majority of the hospital fee is handled by the life insurance payout.¡±

    ¡°Life insurance?¡± He frowned.

    ¡°Um, the money that came from the death of your parents.¡±

    Edsel sucked in a cold breath.

    To think that they had something like that prepared in advance¡­

    After his parents died, everything they owned went directly to Shirley. To this day, it¡¯s what kept her alive.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not say anything. After all, how could he? Even in death, they were still watching over her, protecting her. They were doing a far better job of it than some shitty bastard who disappeared for more than three years only to return with nothing to his name except a stolen T-shirt and a handgun.

    He secretly clenched his fists.

    Addison stared at him. She carefully watched his apparent ice-like demeanor. For a moment, she felt as if a flicker of emotion had flashed across his face.

    More than ten minutes of silence passed. Addison¡¯s brow furrowed. She constantly looked over at him. She wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat. After what felt like an eternity, she eventually stated, ¡°Edsel, there¡¯s something I need to tell you¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Your sister¡­ her, her medical bills are expensive.¡± Once again, Addison hesitated to bring up this topic. Edsel had just recently reunited with his comatose sister. The last thing he needed was another extra complication. Still, this was an extremely important subject that needed to be handled with the utmost care.

    She bit down on her bottom lip and continued. ¡°The life insurance won¡¯t last forever. They, the hospital recommended that we transfer Shirley to a government associated hospital, but¡­¡± she fiercely shook her head. ¡°Those places are no good! It may be cheaper, but the conditions are abysmal. The survival rate for coma patients is less than fifty percent! I, my parents are trying to help out, lower the price and stuff, but¡ª¡±

    Before she could finish, the door suddenly flew open. Someone else walked into the room. Edsel merely spared the newcomer a parting glance.

    It was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair had been slicked back; the gel practically glistened underneath the fluorescent lights. He wore a white lab coat, indicating his position within the hospital.

    ¡°Doctor Penna!¡± Addison called out in surprise. ¡°I knew that the nurse was going to call you, but this is way too fast!¡±

    ¡°Miss Temple, it¡¯s nice to see you again.¡± He nodded his head and flashed a white smile. The man then turned over towards the bed. For a moment, his eyes locked onto Edsel.

    ¡°This is?¡± An imperceptible frown sneaked its way onto his lips.

    ¡°Edsel. Shirley¡¯s brother.¡± Addison introduced.

    ¡°Ah, a relative is it? Good, good. It was about time you visited. This poor girl¡¯s been here all alone for so long, you can¡¯t help but feel sorry for her.¡±

    Edsel narrowed his eyes. His flippant words somewhat irked him.

    ¡°Doc!¡± Addison raised her voice, but the doctor simply doubled down on his stance.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said nothing wrong. He¡¯s been nowhere to be seen, all the while his sister is stuck in such a terrible condition. It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s been avoiding the visit!¡± the Doctor spoke with a righteous tone. He briefly turned to Addison. ¡°I don¡¯t know what sort of magic you used to compel him to finally visit, but it was about time. Pushing something like this to a family friend is a terrible and utterly selfish thing to do.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s really not it.¡± She tried to defend him. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped. Edsel¡¯s been¡ª¡±

    ¡°Addy,¡± Edsel suddenly interrupted. He shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    The young hero finally turned around. He stared at the doctor. The doctor had a hint of righteousness in his expression, but there was something else mixed in too. Underneath the superficial layer, there was something there that Edsel was grossly familiar with.

    Arrogance.

    He had met quite a few people like that on Regalia. Arrogance was a natural trait that appeared on most people with ability. Edsel did not hate the arrogant, what he worried about was whether or not they could back up their words.

    After a few seconds of silence, Edsel suddenly asked, ¡°Are you the doctor responsible for my sister?¡±

    For some reason, the doctor felt a bit disgruntled underneath the young man¡¯s penetrating gaze. He let out a cough before he solemnly nodded his head.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am Arnold Penna. As you have guessed, I am the one responsible for your sister¡¯s life and death. To be frank, I probably know more about your sister that you have throughout your entire life.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not comment on his statement. Instead, he simply asked, ¡°what¡¯s her condition?¡±

    ¡°A coma.¡± He flatly responded. ¡°Her condition is quite close to brain death. If she so much as wakes up on the wrong side of the bed one morning, then¡­.¡± Doctor Penna shook his head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t get your hopes up of her ever recovering.¡±

    He suddenly glanced over at the clipboard in his hands. ¡°More importantly, there are also problems with her body¡¯s current condition. Both of her legs were amputated, along with two fingers on her right hand and three on her left. When they flew her in six months ago, large chunks of her body were suffering from severe hypothermia. Some organs shut down and a significant portion of skin and muscle have necrotized.¡±

    He paused for a moment. ¡°Frankly speaking, keeping her alive is torture, not only for us but for the girl in question.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not say anything. His gaze turned glossy, almost as if he was in deep thought.

    Seeing this, Doctor Penna nodded his head. Edsel¡¯s reaction was normal. Faced with the hopelessness of the situation, it was only natural for someone¡¯s mind to shrink back. It was almost instinctual really, how the human brain runs away from the things that it cannot handle.

    He cleared his throat and coldly stated. ¡°If you want my personal recommendation, then I suggest euthanasia. It¡¯s not legal in this country, but it won¡¯t cost much for you to fly overseas and perform it there.¡±

    ¡°Doc, what are you saying?!¡± Addison¡¯s complexion paled. To actually suggest something like euthanasia... he was essentially prescribing death!

    Addison was no stranger to the good doctor.

    She often visited Shirley at the hospital and as a result, she had gotten to know quite a few members of the staff. One such person was Doctor Arnold Penna.

    The good doctor was a middle-aged old man with a very vocal personality. He had a wife and two kids. On the weekends, he liked to go golfing at a country club south of Bedlam. For all intents and purposes, he lived a very fulfilling life. Still, that did not stop him from overworking.

    At his core, Doctor Penna was a good man. He was a pragmatist with a weakness for families.

    For quite a while now, Addison had known about the doctor¡¯s dissatisfaction with Shirley. It was not that he hated her or anything, just that, in his mind, he saw no hope in her situation. The people that clung to that nonexistent hope were only dooming themselves to a life of suffering.

    Normally, he could sympathize with a family¡¯s irrational desire to prolong the inevitable. Even if such actions led to their own ruination, he could understand it.

    Addison was different. Her identity was nothing more than that of a family friend. She was young and talented with a bright future ahead of her. To see her throw everything away like that, just for some nonexistent hope¡­ he couldn¡¯t do it. As a man with a daughter, he could not bare to see such a young talent snipped at the bud.

    Shirley was like a parasite and unfortunately, Addison was the host. As a doctor, it was his job to get rid of that parasite. Even if he couldn¡¯t do that, he had to at least try to convince the person who could.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too badly of me, Miss Temple,¡± he stated, ¡°I know about how you and your parents are slaving away for this girl. Like I¡¯ve told you numerous times before, it¡¯s not worth it. She will never wake up. Her body will continue to rot away, necrotizing from the inside out. Eventually, she will die. The only difference here is whether or not you¡¯ll ruin your life too.¡±

    He paused for a moment. Doctor Penna deliberately glanced at Edsel. ¡°Of course, there¡¯s always the option of transferring her to a government-associated hospital. To be frank, that place is no different from assisted death, especially for someone with as severe a condition as Miss Shirley over here.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not respond, but the chill in his gaze did get colder. Beside him, Addison bit down on her bottom lip.

    Doctor Penna watched the silent duo for a few seconds before he continued. This time, the stare in his eyes hardened. ¡°Mr. Brother, now we may have only known each other for a few minutes, but I don¡¯t like you. I don¡¯t know what sort of extenuating circumstances you were involved in, but to leave your sister in such a state for so long without even so much as a visit¡­ it¡¯s uncouth of me to let my personal feelings take hold, but I really don¡¯t like you.¡±

    He breathed out a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t like you, but I¡¯m saying all of this for your own benefit. You went ¡®missing¡¯, did you not? Now that you¡¯re back, you might not know, but when your parents died, they left behind a sizable sum of money. All of that money has been nearly used up by now. I don¡¯t need to tell you how, right? Stopping everything now will not get you any of that money back, but it will save you from a lifetime of debt.

    ¡°Do something with your life young man. Don¡¯t cling to false hope.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel had remained silent for so long. He had held back his tongue as this quack doctor said his piece. Even as he advocated for the death of his own sister, Edsel kept his mouth shut. He could do it before, but now? No more. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He was unwilling. The good doctor¡¯s last line finally got to him.

    False hope? What right did he have to say such a thing?!

    ¡°You¡¯re a doctor, aren¡¯t you?¡± He biting asked, the venom dripping from his words. ¡°Instead of spouting so much bullshit, shouldn¡¯t you be working on how to save her instead?!¡±

    The doctor merely shook his head. He was unfazed by Edsel¡¯s outburst. ¡°Doctors are not gods. There are some patients that simply can¡¯t be saved. Your sister is one of them and¡­ I have given up on her. As a doctor, it is only my duty to help advise the patient¡¯s family as best as I can. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it¡¯s a professional courtesy.

    Edsel dipped into another silence. It was clear from this doctor¡¯s words, but there really was no hope in changing his mind. In his eyes, Shirley was already dead. She was probably dead the moment she arrived through those doors.

    After what felt like forever, Edsel¡¯s whisper-like words reverberated through the room. ¡°How long can she last?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ if I were to give an estimate, irreversible necrotic decay will occur in at least a year, maybe a year and a half if she¡¯s lucky.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°Naturally, this is under the assumption that we continue to prolong her life. If all these machines were to stop right now, then she¡¯ll be dead by the time morning comes.¡±

    Edsel squeezed his fists. Any later¡­ if he had arrived any later, then his sister might have already passed away.

    ¡°And how much is it to keep her alive?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Your parents¡¯ life insurance money can¡¯t keep up anymore. Keeping her alive like this is expensive. I would advise against it.¡±

    Edsel glared at him. ¡°How much?¡± he repeated.

    Doctor Penna hesitated. For a moment, he glanced over at Addison. A complicated expression flashed the good doctor¡¯s face. Realizing something, Addison¡¯s brow furrowed. She hurriedly shook her head, but by then, it was already too late.

    ¡°Considering the severity of your sister¡¯s condition, you¡¯ll need at least six thousand dollars a day to keep her alive.¡± Doctor Penna breathed out a heavy sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you here. You are this girl¡¯s only living relative, so you have the right to know, but¡­ your parents¡¯ money ran out a month ago.¡±

    ¡°A month ago?¡± Edsel¡¯s heart shuddered.

    The situation was a lot worse than he originally expected. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but question a few things.

    If Shirley ran out of money, then why was she still here? Why hadn¡¯t they kicked her out yet? Even if they didn¡¯t kick her out, why didn¡¯t they transfer her to another facility? Why was she still here, eating away at the hospital¡¯s oh so precious resources? None of it made any sense.

    Seeing the perplexity on Edsel¡¯s face, Doctor Penna lightly nodded his head.  The boy¡¯s thoughts were scribbled all over his face.

    ¡°You can thank Miss Addison for that,¡± he stated. ¡°She and her family are the ones shouldering this burden.¡±

    Edsel widened his eyes. His chest tightened, while an indescribable feeling of guilt welled up within his heart. He subconsciously glanced over at her.

    Addison did not dare meet his eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see?¡± Doctor Penna¡¯s oil-like words snaked its way into his ears. ¡°You¡¯re not only inconveniencing yourself, but you¡¯re also dragging others down with you. Can you even begin to imagine the out-of-pocket cost that it takes to keep your sister alive for over a month? What about six months? A year?¡± his voice got louder as he spoke. ¡°Even though it¡¯s their money, the only one that can make this decision is you and you alone, young man. End your sister¡¯s life.¡±

    The good doctor¡¯s words reverberated through his skull like a thousand jackhammers, but right now, his gaze was completely focused on the girl who kept her gaze locked to the floor. Addison and her family¡­ they had known each other for a long, long time.

    Their parents had been friends since before Edsel was born. The fathers were college roommates while the mothers were childhood best friends. Both families were intertwined by a history that spanned generations. Naturally, they were close, practically family even.

    For them to go so far for Shirley¡­ truth be told, it was not unexpected, but still¡­ it was far too heavy of a burden for them to bear.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Edsel¡¯s voice leaked out from his parted lips.

    Addison immediately looked up. She stared red-eyed into Edsel¡¯s own hazy gaze. ¡°Ed, don¡¯t say that! It¡¯s not your fault. You know how my parents are. They, no¡­ we made that decision ourselves. Shirley, Shirley¡¯s family. You, you¡¯re our family too¡­ doing this sort of thing is normal, you don¡¯t need to¡ª¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Edsel interrupted. He shook his head. With a conflicted smile, he stated, ¡°To you, I won¡¯t say sorry. It wouldn¡¯t be right. The only thing that I can say is thank you. Thank you for being there while I wasn¡¯t. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for keeping my sister alive for so long.¡±

    Edsel words echoed solemnly throughout the room.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Addison furrowed her brow. She did not understand. His words warmed her heart. It lifted a weight that she did not even know was there. Still, she did not understand. If Edsel¡¯s original intention was to thank her, then why did he apologize?

    Without pause, Edsel turned to the doctor. ¡°The sorry was for you, ¡®doc¡¯.¡±

    In response, Doctor Penna frowned.

    ¡°I won¡¯t stop it.¡± Edsel¡¯s resolutely stated. ¡°Keep her alive. Keep my sister alive for as long as possible.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Are you sure about this, young man?¡±

    He nodded his head.

    More than a minute of silence passed. The sound of the EKG monitor filled the room, its hollow beeps matching in tune to the sound of his beating heart. Eventually, Doctor Penna breathed out a sigh. ¡°So be it then. Six thousand dollars a day. With your sister¡¯s aid money, that comes down to a mere four thousand. The price is certainly less than the original, but still expensive nonetheless.¡±

    With a slight hitch in his lips, the Doctor stated, ¡°You really are just as selfish as I thought you were.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel did not respond. The Doctor did not expect him to. He jotted something down on his clipboard before he turned around and swiftly left the room.

    After a few seconds of empty quiet, Addison suddenly spoke. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about all this, Edsel. We can go talk to my parents about it later. I know that a lot has probably happened to you, so don¡¯t try to force anything. Take it slowly, okay?¡±

    He glanced up at her. Addison¡¯s weary smile seared itself into the back of his mind.

    ¡°Just leave everything to me, got it?¡± Her words were like deafening thunder.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Again, a sharp pain jabbed his heart.

    Four thousand dollars a day. That equated to more than a hundred thousand a month! Addison¡¯s parents were not extravagantly rich. In order to supply that much money, they probably took out a loan or sold their house.

    In order to save his sister, how much had they suffered?

    Edsel gritted his teeth. He owed Addy and her parents an unspeakable debt, one that transcended money. Someday, he would do right by them, but that was an issue for another time. For now, he needed to do something about his sister¡¯s situation.

    He could tell from the doctor¡¯s eyes. That man had completely given up on her. The words that he had spoken today¡­ those were half formality and half sincerity. The Doctor had signed a death certificate for his sister¡¯s life. Now, all he needed was Edsel¡¯s own signature to finalize it.

    If it was anyone else, they too would have probably fallen into despair. Fortunately, Edsel was not just some anybody.

    Even if every single doctor on the surface of this world had already given up, so what? What did it matter to him?

    If others can¡¯t do it, then he would simply do it himself. If a miracle was what it took, then a miracle was what he¡¯d create.

    After all, when it comes to saving a life, who could do it better than a legendary hero?

 Chapter 6.1: The Incident at the Hospital

    Right now, Edsel¡¯s number one priority was to save his little sister.

    According to the doctor, Shirley was a hopeless and unfixable mess. She was someone whose life had effectively ended the very moment she stepped off that snowcapped mountain all those months back. If he went by this world¡¯s conventional standards, then saving his sister was nothing short of a pipe dream.

    Fortunately, Edsel did not plan to play by this world¡¯s rules. As it just so happens, Plume was not the only world that Edsel knew of.

    The land of swords and heroes: Regalia.

    Regalia was a brutal, yet magical place where monsters were as bountiful as field mice and the Gods casually played with lives as if they were chess pieces on a board. Like with any fantasy-based world, it too possessed magic.

    Magic was a mystical art that allowed someone to manipulate the very laws of the known universe. From toppling giant mountains to burning down entire oceans, anything and everything was possible. With magic, not even the sky was the limit. Naturally, healing type spells also existed.

    Of course, even if magic existed in one world, that did not mean it also existed in another. Right now, there were two unknown factors that Edsel desperately needed to make clear: was there mana in this world and if so, could he learn how to use it?

    In order to properly save his little sister, he must first fulfill both conditions. Failure to do so would most likely result in Shirley¡¯s death.

    No! I can¡¯t think like that.

    Edsel deftly shook his head. First, let¡¯s move forward with the premise that magic does exist on Plume. If magic does exist, then the problem fundamentally lies with me.

    The current him was incapable of using magic. In fact, he could not feel even a single sliver of mana. In Regalia¡¯s terms, Edsel would be comparable to an uninitiated.

    Uninitiated were people who lacked the ability to interact with mana. They could neither sense or control the magical substance. In Regalia, an uninitiated¡¯s status was even lower than that of a slave. At least with slaves, even if they lacked freedom, they did not lack ability. For a world that¡¯s constantly on the brink of war, ability was an indispensable trait to possess.

    As such, Edsel was forced to lower the hurdle. Rather than do the impossible and save Shirley now, he first needed to regain his lost abilities.

    And in order to do so, he must first undergo a process called awakening.

    When he first arrived in Regalia all those years back, due to extenuating circumstances, he had skipped his awakening. Rather, he did not have one. This was considered highly unusual, but then again, a hero summoning wasn¡¯t exactly something that happened every other day.

    Most individuals were born without the innate ability to sense mana. That privilege was reserved only for irregular geniuses and a few special races. For the rest of the unfortunate regular folk, they must undergo the mandatory process of awakening.

    Edsel¡¯s situation was similar.

    In order to use magic, he must first sense mana, and in order to sense mana, he must first undergo awakening.

    Now, Edsel was not crazy. He did not delude himself with the possibility of one day returning to his peak form. His previous strength was a result of countless fortunate encounters and timely events. Replicating such a thing was downright impossible. Fortunately, he no longer needed such strength.

    If he wanted to save his sister, then he simply needed ability. How strong that ability needed to be, Edsel did not know, but for now, all he could do was start from scratch.

    But who knows how long it will take for me to regain my powers¡­?

    He breathed out another sigh as he contemplated this new problem. Time was not on his side. More specifically, time was not on Shirley¡¯s side.

    Even if he were to ignore the one-year deadline that the doctor had previously set, there was still the matter of cost. Four thousand dollars a day just to keep her alive¡­ meeting those requirements was already an uphill battle.

    If he were to fail¡­ while they wouldn¡¯t just leave her out on the street to die, they¡¯d almost certainly move her to a government associated hospital, which was pretty much just as bad.

    For now, he could only rely on the money that Addison¡¯s family provided, but who knows how long that will last? Besides, he had already incurred quite a debt with those guys. Now that he was back, he did not plan to worsen it any further.

    Edsel was once again forced to change his thinking.

    For an immediate goal, I should first find a way to make some money. The bastards that run this place are all greedy. I can¡¯t feel assured without anything in my pockets¡­

    He paused for a moment. Also, I¡¯ll need even more if I want to move Shirley out of this place.

    Bailey Medical Center was certainly not a bad place by any standards. In fact, it was one of the most popular hospitals in Bedlam, but¡­ there were better places out there. Just because something was good, does not automatically make it the best and for his sister, he could accept nothing less than the best.

    Edsel planned to move Shirley to the best hospital in the city. While he did not have a specific name just yet, it was all just a matter of time. Maybe he¡¯d search for a place somewhere in Theestle or Amity. Those boroughs were pretty posh and affluent. Surely, they¡¯d have plenty of excellent hospitals.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Also, that shitty doctor¡¯s here¡­

    Edsel made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with Shirley¡¯s current physician. It was impossible for him to put his trust in a doctor that so readily gives up on their own patient.

    In the end, Edsel established three goals for himself.

    Save his sister, regain his abilities, and make some money.

    The end goal, the long-term goal, and the immediate goal.

    Now that everything was all set up so neatly like this, Edsel felt as if a huge weight was just lifted off his shoulders. With a clearer vision of the coming future, a burning passion ignited within his chest.

    He glanced down at his pale-faced little sister. Her withered complexion did little to alleviate his concerns.

    Edsel clenched his fists. In the middle of the room, with nobody but a single comatose patient to bear witness, he solemnly vowed to himself, ¡°no matter what, I¡¯ll save you.¡±

    ****

    After the visit, Addison helped Edsel verify his guardianship over Shirley. On paper, the process was simple. Basically, all he needed to do was prove his identity to the hospital. Usually, something as simple as a driver¡¯s license would do. Unfortunately, Edsel¡¯s situation was anything but usual.

    He just got back from another world. Naturally, Edsel had zero identification with him.

    In order to get the proper documents ready, the two first needed to return home. Much to his relief, the old shoebox that his mother hid somewhere within her walk-in closet was still there. His mother had a bad habit of putting all of her eggs in one basket. The box contained a variety of documents and identification papers. From his old passport and learner¡¯s permit, all the way to his social security slip, all of it was there, just prime and ready for any random schmuck to steal.

    Edsel breathed out a sigh of relief.

    For a moment, he was seriously concerned about not finding anything. If that had happened, then he would have been forced to wander this world without any proper form of identification. Such a thing might not seem like that big of a deal in a place like Regalia, but Plume was different. In the digital age, where virtually anything and everything required some form of identification, being a ghost was an impossibly difficult task to accomplish.

    At least, if you wanted to live a comfortable life it was.

    While he was at home, Edsel took this opportunity to change into some old clothes. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), apart from a three-inch growth spurt, he did not really grow all that much physically, so most of his old clothes still fit him.

    In truth, he would have much rather preferred to take a proper bath, but unfortunately, the water wasn¡¯t running. His first thought was to go next door and shower at Addison¡¯s place. Unfortunately, her family no longer lived there. They had moved homes roughly two months ago.

    Even though she did not directly say it herself, Addison¡¯s parents probably sold their old house in order to help pay for Shirley¡¯s hospital fees. A sharp pang of guilt assaulted his heart. At the same time, he wondered why they hadn¡¯t attempted to sell the Emeroy family home, but to his surprise, they did. It was just that nobody had bought it yet.

    The trip home and the trip back to the hospital ate up a considerable amount of time. When they made it back, the traffic on the streets had decreased significantly. It was probably somewhere around 9 or 10 pm.

    After he returned and verified everything that needed to be verified, he parted ways with Addison.

    ****

    The two stood in front of the hospital driveway. Edsel stared out into the distant sky, while Addison absentmindedly sat on the curb. Occasionally, she would glance up at him with this hazy, hard-to-describe gaze, but Edsel was far too preoccupied to notice. They were currently waiting for her ride to arrive.

    As it turns out, Addison was quite busy. While Edsel had been out slaying dragons and saving princesses, his childhood best friend lived a fairly regular life. In the blink of an eye, she was already a full-fledged college student.

    Addison majored in medicine. She was aiming to one day become a doctor. This came as somewhat of a surprise to him. In the past, she had been rather adamant about pursuing a career in criminology. Now, two years into college and she was neck-deep in neurology.

    What could have possibly changed her mind?

    Even if he asked that question, the answer was obvious.

    She had an important exam tomorrow. In fact, that was partly the reason why she visited his house in the first place. Addison often used his old bedroom as a place to relax and alleviate her stress. To her, Edsel¡¯s bedroom was a secret abode that only she had access to.

    Of course, now that he was back, her secret abode was no longer quite so secret anymore.

    Right now, Addison needed to get back to campus and prep for her exam. To his surprise, she lived in a dorm room. While her school did not have an overly strict curfew, being out all night was still pretty bad.

    Edsel did not try to stop her. Addy had grown up. She too had dreams and wishes that she wanted to fulfill. Stopping her here would only be detrimental to her growth. Besides, Edsel was not a child that needed to be babysat 24/7. He could take care of himself.

    As a yellow taxi drove up to the driveway, Addison rose to her feet. She turned towards him and sternly stated, ¡°Remember, we¡¯re meeting back up tomorrow afternoon, alright?¡±

    Edsel nodded his head for what felt like the nth time in the last ten minutes. He flashed a weary smile. ¡°Alright, alright, already. I¡¯ve already lost track of how many times you¡¯ve said that to me. I don¡¯t think saying it any more will help me remember better. Goodbye, good luck with your test, and just go already.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an exam.¡± She corrected.

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡±

    ¡°Test sounds a bit¡­ high-school.¡±

    Edsel rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t harp on this one detail! Seriously, get going already!¡±

    Despite Edsel¡¯s urging, Addison was still reluctant to leave.

    ¡°Make sure you get some sleep, okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll sleep.¡± He responded.

    ¡°Also eat something. Use some of the money I gave you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll eat.¡±

    ¡°Take a shower too. They have bathrooms in the hospital.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll shower.¡± Even if she hadn¡¯t reminded him, he would have still done so unprompted.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Addison wanted to say something else, but in the end, she held back. She nodded her head before she meekly stepped into the backseat of the cab.

    Edsel breathed out a sigh. Her nagging reminded him of his mother. It brought both a smile to his face and a slight pang to his heart.

    He thought that this was the end of it, but to his surprise, the backseat window suddenly rolled down. Half a second later, a familiar face popped out. Addison stared fixedly at him.

    ¡°What is it this time?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°If you want¡­ you can also go back home.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°Or maybe, to my parent¡¯s house. They, they¡¯re not at home right now, but if it¡¯s you then, it¡¯s probably fine¡­¡±

    Edsel opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He hesitated for what felt like a long time. Eventually, he shook his head. ¡°I¡­ I want to spend more time with Shirley. Don¡¯t worry, the hospital gave me permission to stay.¡±

    She carefully observed his ambiguous expression. In the end, Addison could only nod her head. ¡°Well, alright then. Don¡¯t stay up too late. Remember what we talked about earlier. We¡¯re meeting up tomorrow. Don¡¯t forget!¡± she paused again. ¡°Do I need to pick you up?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t, no need.¡± Edsel shook his head. Addison¡¯s university was somewhat well known. As long as he asked the right people, finding it shouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡°I can manage.¡±

    ¡°If you say so¡­¡±

    ¡°I do say so! Don¡¯t worry so much. I¡¯m already twenty, you know? I can take care of myself.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t act like you¡¯re twenty¡­¡± She grumbled underneath her breath.

    ¡°Addy!¡± Edsel exasperatedly shouted.

    ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯m going, jeez... way to treat your childhood friend¡­¡±

    With that, Addison finally rolled the windows back up. A few seconds later, the cab peeled out of the driveway.

    Edsel quietly watched her go before he retreated back into the building.

 Chapter 6.2: The Incident at the Hospital (2)

    A little while later, Edsel took her advice and showered inside the attached bathroom located within Shirley¡¯s hospital suite.

    Pressurized jets of heated water struck his back like sharpened pellets of rain. A soft groan reflexively leaked out from his lips. Truth be told, Edsel had missed this. The swirling steam, the quiet isolation, the distinct sensation of purification¡­ it was almost as if all of the day¡¯s troubles and worries were being rinsed right off his very body.

    It was a bit obvious by now, but he absolutely loved showers.

    Strangely enough, showers weren¡¯t really all that common back in Regalia. Rather, even the concept itself did not exist. They were more of a bathtub-type of world.

    Back then, Edsel did not overly care. In a place where death was common and betrayal happened as quickly and as frequently as a clown clapping his hands, bathing preferences seemed kind of like a nonissue at the time.

    Besides, baths had their own merits too. Those merits were a bit different from a shower¡¯s, but they were still merits nonetheless.

    He loved both, but right now, he preferred the comforts of a hot shower.

    Still, Edsel did not indulge himself for too long. After five minutes of vigorous scrubbing, he stepped out of the bathroom a new man.

    Wisps of plume-like steam followed after his every movement as he stepped out of the bathroom and re-entered the hospital suite.

    For a moment, he simply stood there.

    Silence filled the room. It was deafening; an eerie quiet that reminded him of all the timeless moments that he had spent stuck within that blank, empty space. It was unbearably suffocating. The only thing that kept him grounded to reality was the EKG monitor. The occasional beeping interrupted the perpetual silence.

    The EKG monitor which tracked his sister¡¯s vitals also served as a reminder. Shirley was still alive. It was far too early to give up.

    Edsel¡¯s surroundings were shrouded in darkness. Aside from the various machines scattered throughout the room, the only source of light came in the form of a street lamp located roughly one hundred meters beyond the window.

    After what felt like forever, he finally moved. Edsel slicked back his still-damp hair and pulled up a chair beside the bed.

    He sat down with a heavy sigh.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The young hero did not immediately do anything. His gaze drifted towards his sister¡¯s static expression. A somewhat soft glint colored his eyes.

    ¡°I missed you¡­¡± His quiet words reverberated through nobody¡¯s ears but his own. ¡°You, mom, dad, Addy, it sounds weird coming from someone like me, but¡­ I, I really did miss everyone¡­¡±

    As he spoke, he gently reached over and brushed aside a stray lock of hair that had fallen onto her cheek. The pale tenor of her skin greatly contrasted with the chestnut brown hue of her hair.

    Edsel¡¯s lips slightly twitched. It was a somewhat difficult expression to interpret.

    In the past, Shirley normally grew her hair out until it reached her lower waist. It was a bit long, even by most standards, but she didn¡¯t mind the hassle and upkeep that came with the length. She liked to style her hair into a pair loosely braided pigtails.

    Edsel never quite told her this, but he didn¡¯t really like her hairstyle. It made her look younger than what she actually was, which was already a common misconception even without the hair.

    While that in itself wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing, her youthful appearance instinctively made others want to protect her. Even Edsel was not immune to this phenomenon. Despite how often she sometimes annoyed him, he could never really hold his anger. At most, he¡¯d feel irritated for an afternoon, but come tomorrow morning and everything would be back to normal.

    Not being able to stay mad made him feel a tad bit powerless.

    Of course, this sort of thing probably stemmed from the fact that they were family, but Edsel liked to think that a part of it was due to her deceptively innocent appearance.

    Recalling the distant past brought a slight smile to his face. Unfortunately, like with his anger, it did not last very long.

    The frustratingly cute little sister with the braided pigtails was gone.

    For starters, they cut her hair.

    Unlike before, where her hair cascaded all the way down to her hips, now it barely covered the tips of her ears.

    The hospital staff probably snipped it because of hygiene, but that did not stop him from feeling a tad bit disappointed.

    To be honest, it was not a very flattering haircut. In fact, it made her look like a little boy; young, but probably not in the way that she would have wanted.

    Edsel inwardly shook his head. Despite his dislike for Shirley¡¯s previous hairstyle, it was several times better than what she had now.

    As it turns out, she really did have a face suited for braided pigtails.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    After a while, Edsel removed his hand and leaned back against the chair. A wistful glint flashed through his eyes.

    ¡°You might not believe me, but it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve last seen you.¡±

    Again, he spoke out loud to the silent room. At this moment, he did not care if nobody could hear him. ¡°Granted, three years is still a pretty long time, but¡­ I, for me¡­ it¡¯s been a whole lot longer than just three years¡­¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t even begin to imagine where I went!¡± He lightly chuckled. ¡°For ten years, I was in another world! Regalia, a world with knights, dragons, monsters, all sorts of things! Can you believe it? Turns out we really aren¡¯t the only ones out there¡­ although I still don¡¯t know if aliens actually exist.¡±

    His lips ran loose as the words continually flowed out and filled the air around him.

    ¡°You know what they called me? A hero! I was a damn hero!¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°The girls over there were quite beautiful. Princesses, female knights, and Holy maidens¡­ ah, most of them had a bit of a personality problem though, so I¡¯m ashamed to say this, but your brother is still inexperienced.¡±

    ¡°There was also this damn bastard merchant, I can¡¯t even begin to count how many times he cheated me¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ I was stuck there for ten thousand years! Can you believe that?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t forget about the demon king¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Edsel spent the entire night by his sister¡¯s bedside.

    Unbeknownst to anyone, he animatedly recounted his adventures in Regalia. He spoke of his hardships, of the people that he met, and of the fantastical encounters that he had. His experiences as a hero, his numerous failed loved pursuits, the nobles that tried to pressure him into doing things that he did not want to do, he held nothing back.

    In front of his little sister, Edsel was no longer a world-saving hero. He was just a regular brother recounting all the years that he had spent abroad.

    He eventually stopped at the point in the story where he fled a destroyed kingdom after the Princess of said kingdom secretly colluded with the Demons in order to usurp the throne. Since the kingdom was destroyed, her plans had naturally backfired.

    ¡°¡­ that crazy bitch really fucked everyone over. I said it before, didn¡¯t I? Almost all the women in that world have something wrong with their heads.¡±

    Edsel looked up. His gaze landed on the rectangular window next to the bed. A pinkish haze illuminated the skyline. He could not quite see it due to all the buildings obscuring his vision, but the sun was rising.

    Without realizing, morning had already arrived.

    Edsel subconsciously yawned. For the first time, he noticed the weariness that weighed down on his limbs like heavy bags of sand. He had accidentally spent the whole night talking. It was only natural to feel tired. What¡¯s more, his fatigue was amplified by this weak constitution of his.

    Still, he did not pay it any mind. Edsel was no stranger to fatigue. Usually, during moments like these, he¡¯d just boldly power through. It worked out for him before, it would surely work out for him now.

    As he watched the sun rise, he once again thought back to his three goals.

    To accomplish his end goal of saving Shirley, he first needed to fulfill his long-term goal of regaining his lost abilities.

    But that begs the question, how was he supposed to reenter the path of magic?

    It was a conundrum that the current him had no solutions for.

    Edsel furrowed his brow. First, let¡¯s start from the beginning.

    In Regalia, in order for someone to shed the title of ¡®Uninitiated¡¯ and undergo an awakening, they must first encounter a catalyst.

    A catalyst was a fairly straightforward concept. It was really just something, anything that can properly open up a person¡¯s senses to the world of magic. Basically, its main role was to turn the mundane into the extraordinary.

    Literally speaking, he needed a Macguffin.

    The catalyst could be something as simple as a Senior Magician inserting a sliver of mana into a person¡¯s body. There were also cases where a commoner suddenly gains the ability to use magic after acquiring some sort of holy artifact or magical armament.

    The most common catalyst used in Regalia was a device called an Identifier. It was designed not only to awaken a person¡¯s ability to sense mana, but also to identify said individual¡¯s growth potential.

    Unfortunately, much less an Identifier, Edsel neither had a Senior Magician nor a holy artifact.

    There was also the second option of forceful awakening, but that method was several times more complicated. Forceful awakenings were used for those without talent or for those with special circumstances. The ritual and magic circle parts he could probably handle, but acquiring the necessary materials was a whole different matter entirely. Those damn things were considerably harder to find than some simple catalyst.

    Speaking of a catalyst, most catalysts are magic-based, but if I expand my thinking by a bit, then wouldn¡¯t raw energy also work?

    Such a thought suddenly floated to his head.

    In that case, I could probably make do with a sufficiently strong energy source, right? Maybe something like electricity?

    He suddenly paused for a moment. A shallow frown formed on his lips.

    If I want to use electricity as a catalyst, a small shock won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll need something big and loud and incredibly scary¡­

    The frown on his face deepened.

    It sounds like a good enough plan. I''ll just climb up a utility pole and electrocute myself. It¡¯s simple and straight forward, but¡­ can I take it? With the current state of my body, an electric shock like that will likely kill me¡­

    Edsel could only wryly shake his head.

    There were simply too many unknowns. What¡¯s more, the risk that such a crude plan brought to his little life was far too great of a burden for him to bear. Surely, there was something better out there, right?

    Now, it wasn¡¯t that Edsel feared his own death, but rather, he feared hers. Once he died, then Shirley would truly lose the last bit of hope she still had left within this cruel world.

    Such a risk was not something that he was willing to make.

    Maybe I should go find some occult books? Will something like that help?

    Edsel continued to stew in his thoughts. After a few minutes, he suddenly shifted focus.

    Let¡¯s leave all that complicated stuff for later. For now, let¡¯s focus on my immediate goal.

    Making money.

    In order to prolong his sister¡¯s life, he needed to figure out how to make a lot of money within the fastest time possible.

    His first instinct was to get a job, but unfortunately, that was clearly a non-option.

    Edsel¡¯s title as Regalia¡¯s premiere Hero meant nothing in this world. Right now, Edsel was a man with no prospects. He had disappeared during his last year of high school, which technically made him a drop out. In terms of academic standing, Edsel was nothing more than a middle-school graduate.

    Options were limited for someone like him. A minimum wage job at some sleazy gas station was far from enough to offset the cost of his sister¡¯s hospital fees.

    Even with a regular job, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough. Four thousand dollars a day was simply far too steep of a hurdle for most regular people to overcome.

    He breathed out a sigh.

    Edsel was faced with the bitter reality of¡­ well, reality.

    After a while, he decided to abandon the conventional methods.

    A rogue like me needs to act like a rogue.

    On the topic of making money fast, there were plenty of alternate options. Winning the lottery, gambling, hugging the leg of some rich sugar daddy¡­ there were plenty of options.

    Winning the lottery is impossible. I¡¯m also pretty bad at gambling and I don¡¯t know where I¡¯d even go about finding a sugar daddy¡­ In that case, should I just rob a bank?

    He did still have the pistol, after all. Robbing a bank, holding someone hostage¡­ when he turned his sights towards the less savory methods, several possibilities opened up. After some thought, he surprisingly dismissed the idea.

    ¡°As a hero, I probably shouldn¡¯t do such uncouth things¡­¡±

    He spoke somewhat half-heartedly, but Edsel was the type of man who did not like to get innocent people involved with his problems. Collateral damage from a fierce battle was enough to make his heart bleed, much less directly threatening someone¡¯s life for his own benefit. Although he was willing to compromise his morals in order to save his sister¡¯s life, if there was another way to accomplish the same goal, then he¡¯d pick the other way.

    Fortunately, his morals only applied to the innocent. He had no such qualms with the guilty.

    If I remember correctly, didn¡¯t that guy say something about some Howling Hogs gang? Edsel briefly recalled his encounter with the would-be kidnappers. It¡¯s such a stupid name, but I guess it¡¯s rather fitting.

    In his eyes, gangsters and bandits were nothing more than walking, talking piggy banks.

    Still, those guys looked like paupers. A little gang like that probably has no money. Stealing from them is not worth it¡­ Despite his thoughts, a slight smile twisted his lips.

    But even if they are poor, if they¡¯re a gang residing within this city, then surely, they should know about the wealthier underworld organizations, right? If I use those guys as a stepping stone, then I should be able to acquire a fair bit of resources¡­

    Edsel¡¯s eyes sparkled.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided. The moment I see those squealing piglets again will be the moment my plan officially starts!¡± He declared to himself.

    Edsel abruptly got up. He did not want to waste time. Since he had already come to a decision, then he would immediately follow through with it.

    He quickly bid his sister a silent goodbye before he decisively left the hospital suite. First, he planned to explore the city and search for those gangsters.

    Luckily, Addy had given him some pocket money, so transportation fees were not a problem.

    Just as he was about to make his way down the stairs, he suddenly stopped. He heard something. A low, muffled grumbling. It was a sound reminiscent of a beast¡¯s snarling.

    Edsel frowned.

    He pressed a hand against his stomach. A bitter expression morphed his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m starving¡­¡±

    In truth, he had not eaten anything since he first got back, which was more than twenty hours ago.

    He hesitated for a moment before he begrudgingly shook his head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t fight a war on an empty stomach¡­¡± He muttered half-heartedly to himself before he ran off in search of the cafeteria.