7 Realization

'Ah, so that was the twist'

Rhys thought somewhat coldly. It was because he wasn't Takahashi, but Rhys, a high schooler from the future. Takahashi's family were mere strangers to him.

[Continue working]

That was the prompt given by the system.

Yet, he felt like he'll never forgive himself if he were to not save them.

What should he do?

Should he just continue working as the system said?

Or save Takahashi's children?

Hearing the horrors through the phone made him want to puke. But it made him realize something.

He realized that his parents were disgusting.

Why did he let them do that to him?

Was it right? What did he do? It was simply because he was born.

But seeing, no, hearing the weeps of the powerless children made him finally open the eyes that his parents tried so hard to shut.

That nagging feeling was finally starting to diminish.

As his boss waited on him to hang up, he finally spoke up.

"I'll fire you if continue talking on that phone"

He used the ultimatum.

That was what kept Takahashi working here for so long in the first place.

'Am I in a reality or a simulation?'

The System, yet again, did not respond immediately like usual. The response was delayed.

'[A simulation]' It finally answered after a few moments in its typical robotic voice.

"Dad!"

The voices of his children cried out again.

And his boss was still waiting.

Being told that it was a simulation eased his nerves a little. But he was still very much nervous.

In the end, he hung up the phone.

Just like what the System said.

It was a simulation...

So it didn't matter...right?

But, he still felt a pang of guilt festering in his heart. He didn't understand.

He was Rhys, not Takahashi.

He was in a simulation, not a reality.

So why? Why did he still feel guilty?

'I just need to continue working...'

'I just need to complete the mission'

Rhys attempted to redirect his focus back onto the task, but he couldn't.

'System, can I opt out?'

[Host is requesting to opt-out of the Realm...]

[Request accepted]

A bright light flashed before his eyes, and before he knew it, he was back.

He jolted awake with his chest heaving up and down. Some of the injured students looked over at him, confused. But most squirmed in their beds like usual as the nurse attended to each one of them.

Ms. Garcia was a 'B' rank, capable, but not particularly extraordinary. In fact, if she were to be compared with the other B ranks, she'd be on the lower end.

There are 7 ranks in total, S, A, B, C, D, E, and F, with S being the most powerful and F being the weakest of the Powered.

Some say there exist SS rankers, but that is considered a mere children's fairytale. Thus, the SS rank is not officially registered as a valid rank, but rather an imaginary one.

Although Ms. Garcia was busy healing the students, she noticed Rhys jolt awake from the corners of her vision. She was curious about his reason for suddenly waking up, but she was in no position to muse about trivial things.

Though sometimes she wishes she could. But dreaming of such things was also useless.

This batch of students still has not been tended to.

Rhys was tired.

He needed time to process what had happened.

The System told him it was a simulation.

Yet, why is he still plagued with those thoughts?

He was disgusted...

Utterly repulsed...

By himself,

And everyone else.

He slowly laid his head back on the pillow.

Rhys was a busy person.

He never had the time to let loose.

But today, he wanted to rest. Just for this one day, he wanted to rest.

Please.

'Please...'

'I want to rest...'

But he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He looked over at the injured students.

They were disgusting, too. Just like his parents. Just like everyone around him.

The once envied became envious. The once admired became dirt.

He didn't know whether to laugh at his stupidity or cry.

The groans and moans of injured students were a constant in the background. It was a nuisance, but it was something he got used to as a frequent visitor.

Rhys was sure that the nurse would catch his obvious deception. Her face said it all when he first walked in. He wasn't actually sick or injured like the rest of the students. In fact, he felt a tad guilty for occupying the bed for so long.

But the fact that the nurse did not remove him from the office was strange. Either she noticed and didn't care, or she was just too busy. Thinking about it, it was most likely the former.

He let out a quiet sigh, continuing his feeble attempts to ease his panicked thoughts. He was familiar with the feeling of restlessness. He knew it all too well. But, this was a kind that he was unfamiliar with.

He never really thought much of others. The kids who adored him, and the people who he admired- All of them he never thought much of.

Perhaps it was because he never felt attached to any of them. And now, he felt that worry for others.

He closed his eyes, attempting to sleep. It felt as if time slowed down.

Each second, each moment become increasingly slower as time passed. But soon, he managed to get a grip on the cloaks of Sleep.

...

..

.

After an hour, Garcia arrived at where Rhys was sleeping peacefully. She finished healing the batch of students, and now she got to enjoy her 5 minutes of free time.

There was nothing to do within the pale white walls of her office, so she decided to feed her curiosity instead. She loomed over the sleeping body of the young 16-year-old, pondering what made him so jolty.

'He's always so stoic...'

She had no relation to Rhys, other than being his, and everyone else's, school nurse. She was seen as merely a tool. Even when students came in battered and bruised, she still envied them. But she never envied Rhys.

He reminded him of herself. Constantly busy, sad, and worked like a mule.

Ms. Garcia was a cold woman. Her job wore her down into the bitter person she was now.

But seeing Rhys, she felt her resentment for her life come to a brief halt.

For once, she felt something other than that foul resentment.

It was compassion.

She placed her hand on the boy's forehead. A bright green glow shined out from beneath her palm. Rhys looked no different before.

Garcia knew that he was fine. Physically, he was well.

Her healing ability merely healed back physical wounds. She wasn't stupid enough to not know her own ability.

But she didn't heal him to sow back his flesh and blood.

Her reason was stupid- a waste of her Energy. But it was how she expressed the small amount of kindness that had bloomed within the depths of her mind.

'Sleep well, Rhys.'