Back Home

The system was silent for about a minute, which made for an awkward moment for both Magnuses. The original shifted about slightly, unsure whether to repeat what he had just said to the system. Magnus 2.0 didn't make a sound, but anticipation wafted out of him like poisonous gas from just the feeling he gave Magnus.

'The suspense is killing me,' Magnus 2.0 finally broke the silence.

[The hosts have been given two options regarding their current stats.]

"Fucking finally!" Magnus celebrated.

'Oh, did you hear that? The system recognizes me as a host, too!' Magnus 2.0 pointed out.

Magnus also realized that fact, but he didn't get a chance to say anything about it as the system soon spoke again.

[The first option is to enter the seventeen-year-old body of the hosts smoothly and without any trouble by giving up all the powers the hosts have accumulated over the years. The second option is to transfer all of the hosts' stats into their new body gradually which will result in extreme pain that lasts for a period of time.]

If Magnus 2.0 had a body right now, the two Magnuses would be looking at each other's eyes and raise their eyebrows, as if saying, "That's fair, I guess."

"How long will the pain last?" asked Magnus.

[Approximately two to three weeks, depending on the hosts' resistance and physical endurance.]

Without hesitating, Magnus immediately said, "Then let's do that."

'Dude, wait a minute,' Magnus 2.0 chimed in. 'I feel like we're missing something here—'

"Sshhh," Magnus interrupted, as though shutting up that one student who always wanted to remind the teacher about homework. "I feel like whatever you were gonna say could sway my decision. Listen, I've been through too much not to be able to withstand a little bit of pain. At worst, it would feel like pins and needles."

Magnus 2.0 couldn't refute that, as he too would like to retain all his stats. Wouldn't want to have to lose all those years of hard work that had caused him great sufferings. So, even though he was still feeling like he was forgetting one important fact, he let his original make the final decision. Besides, how bad would a couple of weeks of stats transfer be?

---

"PINS AND NEEDLES, MY ASS!" screamed a scrawny seventeen-year-old boy who was writhing in pain on his bed. His whole body was drenched in sweats, his short blond hair was fully wet as if he had just taken a shower and his worn-out white T-shirt was stuck to his skin. The edges of the bed sheet were yanked out of the bed corners as he rolled around erratically.

It had not even been more than five seconds since Magnus was sent back into the past, back in his old bedroom in his family apartment in north side of Chicago, and he already regretted his reckless decision.

Well, he didn't regret the decision per-se, he was just upset with himself for not accounting for the fact that he might've had been able to bear with any pain all these years due to his maxed-out [Pain Resistance]. He had forgotten about the fact that he was now but a weak teenage boy who lacked exercise. Without the [Pain Resistance] passive, he was definitely in for one hell of a torment. Thankfully, his parents had been out the moment he was back in his younger body. If not, he wouldn't know how to explain to them his sudden bout of girly screams.

It was a pain like no other. His blood was boiling, his muscles being shredded and recovered and ripped apart again and again, all his bones constantly cracking and being shaped anew, and he kept shedding his skin over and over like a reptile. Not to mention his head felt like it was being compressed and then expanded and then stabbed from all sides with a thousand needles.

After a couple of hours of initial torture, he finally managed to get used to the pain, albeit barely. He reigned in his sensory perceptions and focused on his breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

"Fuck, man. You should've told me…the passive…shit," Magnus muttered in a trembling voice.

'Dude, I forgot about that, too!' Magnus 2.0 retorted.

'Shit, at least you don't have to go through this pain. Lucky bastard,' complained Magnus.

Hours passed, though Magnus felt like it had been days. Soft orange light of the sunset beamed through the window, and the room slowly was getting dark. A few minutes later he could hear the sound of the front door opening. Despite the pain, a smile crept up Magnus' face.

He could already feel the [Pain Resistance] settling in, its level slowly rising. At least the pain now had got to the point where it was slightly bearable. He knew the pain would last for a couple more weeks until the passive skill's level maxed-out, but for now, he powered through it while getting up and walking up to the door of his room.

He changed his shirt and pulled his hair back so as to not look too miserable before opening the door. He trudged toward the kitchen and there, standing by the island and putting on an apron was a woman in her early forties. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail, the faint wrinkles on her face showed fatigue. Despite that, she still moved about with great vigor and a light smile on her lips, excited to prepare dinner for her husband and son. She was not skinny, but her body was on the lightweight side. She was also quite tall; a trait Magnus inherited, as he himself stood a full 185 cm tall.

The woman noticed Magnus' arrival and her smile widened. "Sweetie, sorry I was a bit late. I got held back by Mrs. Atkinson. She wanted me to—" she stopped after noticing the state Magnus was in. Her face showed a worried expression as she asked, "Honey, are you okay? Are you feeling sick?"

Magnus didn't even pay attention to what she was saying when his mouth involuntarily muttered, "Mom…" He could feel a lump in his throat and tears welling up in his eyes. He could barely hold it back before a tear dropped down his cheek. At the moment, the pain from the stats transfer felt more like an afterthought.

There, standing before him, was Fiona Helvig, his beloved mother. The last time he had been graced with that lovely and motherly smile had been before he set off on his journey, following his 'yellow light'. And then one day, while out and away, he received the news about the decimation of half of north side of Chicago as a result of a big battle between a couple of Protagonists.

He had been in the middle of completing an Objective on the other side of the country, and he'd had to wait a few months before being able to go back home, being half-devastated and half-hoping his parents had survived. News traveled fast, but details of casualties would always be omitted. The only way for one to know if their loved ones were alive was to go to the camp near the site of destruction.

He couldn't have known at the time before he went on his way across The States, had he brought his parents along, they would've been able to escape the collateral zone. And most importantly, they would've still been alive.

Without Magnus noticing, his mother was already standing in front of him, touching his cheek and then gently pressing the back of her hand on his forehead. Her brows furrowed, seeing the glistening sweats on his face and feeling her son's high fever. "Go and lie down in bed," she instructed in a soft tone. "I'll bring you some medicine. Take a nap while I prepare dinner."

Magnus blinked a few times, realizing he had been out of it while leaving his mother worried. Seeing the expression on her face, his empathy flared up and he could instantly feel her worry, now intensified into anxiety. His heart tightened for a bit before he tried to redirect his thoughts to manipulate his emotion.

'I can feel her worrying about me being sick, and that means she's really here right now, alive and well. That's all that matters.'

He gave her a tender smile and said, "I'll do that. But don't worry, mom. I'll be fine."

He so wanted to hug his mother right now, but his body was full of sweats and reeked really bad. So, all he could do was grab her hand that was still pressing on his shoulder in worry, and then gently squeezed it to let her know that he was going to be alright. "You don't have to bring dinner to my room, mom. Just call me when it's ready. I'll have dinner with you and dad," he said before turning around to head back to his room.

He entered his room and closed the door behind him. The room had little light left after the sun had completely set. He stood still facing the window, overlooking the evening view of high rises, their windows lighting up like stars in the night sky. The busy streets below were packed with cars and pedestrians going about their day, unaware of the looming disaster that was approaching the city a few years from now.

He could still recall the devastating state of the city that he saw once he had finally arrived from his journey. His home had been no more.

Magnus placed his hand on the window glass, the expression on his face gradually shifting from solemn mourning to one of determination. 'Don't worry, mom. I'll make things right this time,' he swore to himself.