15 A past to not forget(TW: PTSD)

When he logged off from the game, Cyrus didn't even have the energy to remove the game helmet from his head.

Instead, the scarred man laid down on his bed, as moisture gradually accumulated inside the electronic device.

__________

-12 years ago-

"Let's try out this drone, it can take great pictures, apparently."

A man dressed in casual clothes spoke fondly to a woman and a child.

The child was clearly the offspring of the two and had taken features from each of them.

His face looked more like his mother, while his hair color, eyebrows, and eyes seemed to come from his father, who had more eastern features.

"YES~~~Can I try the drone later, dad?" The child had a high-pitched voice and joyfully asked his father to play with the drone, as any child would want to do.

The man went down to his knees and rubbed his child's hair, "Of course you can, Cyrus."

The woman, who was his mother, also crouched, and softly said, "You know, you have such a beautiful smile, it's just like your father's."

The man beside her blushed, and became somewhat agitated, "W-well, let's take the picture, shall we?"

His wife chuckled, and they stood back up.

The two held Cyrus up in a hug, while the drone took a picture of them, and the beautiful cathedral in the back.

Thanks to the Swerige Buffer Zone that separated the Norge Region of Almania from Suomi, the latter was a place of peace and happiness, and the only remaining independent country in Europe from the EEF and Almania.

After they took the photo, the couple reviewed it and showed it to Cyrus.

"So~~~gorgeous~~gorgeous."

The child had just learned the word gorgeous when he heard his father call his mother with it, and he was obsessed with the word ever since.

"So, where shall we fill the void in our stomachs?" The man asked his wife.

She unhesitantly replied, "It's not every day we can come to a place with such good and well-prepared fish, I think we should get seafood."

"Yeah, didn't Brother(In-law) tell us of a good place around here?"

"I'm drooling already, let's walk there."

They then asked for Cyrus's opinion, and the child was excited to try out new varieties of fish that were considered extinct in the EEF.

The three of them walked through the gigantic, yet empty square, searching for the restaurant in question.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot rang out.

Cyrus, like many of the children of his country, was taught to know the sounds of war, so he immediately turned to his parents to tell them to escape.

However, what he didn't know, was that the gunshot hit closer than he thought.

Blood was staining his father's white coat, and his mother was breathing heavily.

Then, a second gunshot rang out.

When Cyrus opened his eyes, he saw a wide torso in front of him.

This was his mother.

On the other side of the square, a child held a pistol in his hands.

Smoke came out of the pistol from the two consecutive shots, yet the child seemed completely unaffected by the recoil of the gun.

"Albert! I told you to wait," A man wearing a dark-green uniform shouted at the child.

"I couldn't resist, and hard, moving targets are the best training for marksmanship."

This was a child that was at most, ten years old, yet the gun seemed to fit perfectly in his little hands.

"I'll be reporting this to the Inner Party, Albert, you are too impulsive to remain in the army, even if..."

The soldier mumbled the end of the sentence to himself, 'the result of some unethical soldier nurturing program...'

The child simply smiled back.

He had hit two of the three targets, and that was enough for him.

Out of a sudden, an alarm rang out in the entire square.

The alarm was in Suomese, and it said, "Enemy attack! Please immediately go to shelter!"

At that moment, the invincible tool of destruction and war marched through the square.

The tank.

From the tank rose a flagpole, and the flag at the end of it had the recognizable black eagle of Prussia, over a white-and-red striped flag.

This was the flag of Almania.

Meanwhile, Cyrus was shaking profusely under the weight of his parent's bodies.

"G-gorgeous?" The child was muttering to himself uncontrollably.

They were mumbling something, but the gunshot had pierced through their lungs and heart, and articulating was an impossible task.

*Whooosh*

A helicopter flew above the square.

Since it was a cold day, most citizens were already in their homes, but a few army officials had the job of evacuating any unlucky individuals.

"HALT! HALT! I see a child.."

Through his telescope, he saw a shivering child, under the bodies of two people.

'They...must have sacrificed themselves for him...'

The official looked at the approaching tank, and exclaimed, "Please go down quickly, we need to get a child to safety."

Fortunately for them, the tank was quite slow, and its armaments were not yet ready.

____

*Ding*

A notification from the smartwatch awoke Cyrus from his nightmare.

(Uncle: Cyrus, are you awake?)

'I'd prefer not to be alive right now, much less awake,' Cyrus saw thick blood flowing down his palm.

He accidentally dug his nails into his skin.

(Uncle: Well, it doesn't matter much, you'll see this when you wake up anyways.)

(Uncle: As I was searching through my belongings, I found an old picture, and I don't think you have any copy of it.)

(Uncle: I hope you remember this ;) *Image Attached* )

Below the text was an image.

There were four people in the image.

They were sitting on a large cloth, and various food items were presented on it.

The surroundings were green and lush, and behind them, an extremely wide river covered the background.

'Of course, I remember...' Cyrus bit his lips.

The river behind them was the Volga River, and on that trip, everyone was there.

His parents, his uncle, and him.

It was long before the catastrophe in Suomi, and one of the happiest memories he had.

(Cyrus: Thank you for sending this, Uncle.)

(Uncle: You're actually awake! I have a surprise for you....you'll have to wait, though.)

Unfortunately, Cyrus wasn't able to see the last message.

His eyesight was a blurry mess, and no matter how much he tried, the tears wouldn't stop flowing.

The entire apartment was soundproof, as was customary in this age, and no one would ever hear him.

Though, deep down, he truly wished someone would knock right now, and ask him if he was doing well.

_________

-Toerbol Swamp, Paragon Online-

"You're using way too many bullets, and the commotion you're causing is too loud!" A man was reprimanding another man.

"You promised me ten thousand bullets a month, and you didn't tell me how to use them, did you?" The man retorted.

Then, he smiled cunningly and said, "Unless you want to fire me~~~?"

'Fuck, these immortals are too arrogant, but this guy is a genius in marksmanship, we can't give him up just yet....' The other man thought to himself as he grit his teeth.

"You even joined a guild? How do you think Jego will react to this? It goes against the very principle of our organization."

The gun-wielding man replied with a gesture of pretending to pull the trigger on the gun.