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Al didn't know how he got home.

He vaguely remembered limping to the teleportation station, and the dirty looks he had gotten from others as they saw his disheveled state. No one really paid attention to the blood, though, as it had already become a common sight in society, at least in the part of the world he was going to.

The blood loss had made him woozy, but his legs knew the way better than his mind. They lead him down the small road between identical buildings that each had numerous small, one-bedroom apartments inside, and up the elevator of one of them. One of the janitors on the way cursed at him due to the droplets of blood he was leaving behind, but he remembered just staggering past him until he reached the door that had the name 'Arstans' written in bold letters.

Raising his hand, he traced each letter like he had done every time he thought about the father he had never known. The memory brought him back to the present, and all at once, he froze, thinking about was waiting for him inside.

He had promised his mother that he would come back with the healing ward that would wake her up. If anyone else heard him, they would call him foolish as she was in a coma, but his very sanity hung on the belief that she was always there for him, listening, caring for the boy she loved so much.

'I… I failed, mom. I thought I had it in the bag…but I still failed.'

He contemplated the idea of waiting for old man Joseph to return from his shop, but knowing the time, he could tell he must've gone to sleep on the floor, drunk, as he was wont to do. Taking a deep breath, he decided that waiting would not help him in any way… so in one smooth motion, he opened the door with a wave of his hand and entered.

Everything was the way he had left it. The bed surrounded by medical equipment was clean even though the metal parts had rusted and the rest had seen rough use. The sheets had stains and their color had faded, but they had been washed only a day before. And beneath them, his mother's eyes were still closed, but each breath that made her chest rise and fall seemed to give him life, replenishing everything that had been beaten out of him by the hero and his underlings.

With another deep breath, he fell to his knees again and launched into a retelling of the events. A few of the tears that were still left also flowed from his eyes, and when he was done, he looked up like he always did with the hope that she might have moved even an inch… but no such thing happened.

Getting up, he went to her side and took her hand in his. Her wrinkled skin was rough, but to him, it felt like the softest thing in the world. He kept holding it for what felt like a long time, and the more he looked at her face, the more he saw the features that he shared with her.

Sharp nose, big forehead, a sharp chin. Apart from them, he also had high cheekbones and sunken eyes, but if the woman in front of him was awake, she would still call him the most beautiful boy in the world. He almost smiled at the thought of the last time she had said that, but it stopped on the way to appearing on his lips as the wounds were still fresh.

'It was only the first odyssey. I'll not make the same mistakes again. But there isn't too much time… no! It'll be enough! It has to be…'

That last thought made him sweat. Wiping his forehead, he stood up to clean himself so that he could go about his duties.

In the bathroom, he saw that his entire body was bruised. There were cuts and scrapes, too, which he bandaged as best as he could. As for his face, it was a wreck with blood all over, but a thorough washing revealed that his nose wasn't broken, which was a blessing.

Coming back to the hall, he saw that the bags that collected her excretions had to be changed, and the house needed to be cleaned. It was small enough that the latter only took half an hour, and after he was done, he switched on the only gadget in the room that was more a luxury than a necessity: an old TV with a cracked screen.

The kitchen was behind his mother's bed, so as he made dinner, he listened to an interview that was going on between an attractive female reporter and a middle-aged man with a long beard and a helmet with horns. It was a repeat of the show he watched every day, without fail, even though they recycled the topics more often than not. Even today, the topic of the interview was something he knew about, but he listened all the same, even timing his movements to the opening music.

"Today we have with us rising hero 'Lifesbane'. Known as one of the only followers of the God of Chastity, he has made his name known far and wide for being merciless in his odysseys. The topic today is the odyssey system, which is one of the most important things to understand for anyone who wishes to enter the world of heroes and villains. Mr. Lifesbane, please give the short summary of what it is, and the way it has shaped our new world."

Leaning forward, the man adjusted the lion fur he was wearing on his shoulders and began to speak in a deep voice.

"Of course. In the words of my deity: 'For great strength, the heavens demand great sacrifice.' This is why the God of Chastity advocates-"

"Umm, sir? The section to promote your God is at the end, not the beginning."

"Oh? Very well, then. The odyssey system. In a way, it is the cornerstone of this new world! When the gods descended, they killed our leaders in one go. Historians might say that it was this sight that convinced humanity about the fact that resistance was futile, but according to me, it happened when mortal men and women suddenly found themselves teleported with their belongings to the new cities that popped out of nowhere. The gods reshaped the world, creating all kinds of areas filled with adventure, treasure…and danger. Why did they do all this? To give us a way to devote ourselves to them, of course! Their words are famous, so I won't go over them again. They wished for us to undergo journeys, that is, odysseys that they can watch from above. To help us, they left behind the odyssey system. Under the command of their most devout followers, the venerable demigods, the odyssey system directly provides goals and a staging ground for odysseys. It all comes down to how we accomplish them! It also gives out the rewards. We can even choose the amount of risk we are willing to face! The least level ends with all participants healed, and of course…the greater the risks, the more magnificent are the rewards! The God of Chastity-"

Frowning at the abrupt change in topic, Al shut off the TV, knowing that the man would be launching into an advertisement for his Church. The food was also ready; a pack of instant noodles for him, a refill of the feeding tube for her.

He narrated the finer details of the day as he ate. After cleaning up, he retired to the only bedroom in the house and sat down in front of an empty table.

Rummaging under the false bottom of one of its drawers, he took out a small book with a velvet cover. Under the dim illumination of the single tube light above him, he flipped through the first few pages.

They held the pictures of the three individuals he had remembered before, along with a few others. The hate that had filled him then came back, but he swallowed it down and turned to an empty page.

A half-hour later, he dropped the pencil he was holding and admired his handiwork. He had managed to reproduce the face of the hero almost perfectly, so with a satisfied nod, he began to write down all the details he knew.

It was a short list, but he hoped to flesh it out later. In the same way that it had happened before, all the loathing and anger that he felt seemed to bleed through him into the ink, staining the paper with his wrath as he let go of all his emotions.

'My time will come, but until then…only this book can know of my enemies.'

When he put away the book, he also put away all thoughts of revenge. By the time he got on his bed, a smile was on his face, and as he drifted off to sleep, the last thought on his mind…was that he pitied the next hero who was going to come in his way.