The Struggle

On Ancient Earth, someone said that everyone had a plan until they get punched in the face.

In the current era, the version was a man's will and heaven's decree in the academia or whatever you do, heaven can always and will always fuck you up in the common usage.

"How can he do this?" Sarah said in a tone that refused to believe what she was seeing.

But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't deny the crystal clear text on the comm.

{The Gamma Expo is preponed by four days. Apologies for the inconvenience.}

Crash!

She nearly crushed her comm as her chest violently heaved up and down. She looked at Varian's tired appearance, the raging fury in her heart blazed, threatening to burn down their enemies.

Varian had briefed her about his 'mission'. While she was anxious about his safety, she didn't stop him from his decision.

She also saw him train very hard to reach level 3. While others might think he broke the bottleneck to level 3 simply by talent, Sarah knew how many injuries he endured and how much effort he put into it.

But this one message sent all his hard work down the drain.

"Calm down, Sarah." Varian patted her back lightly and said with a weak, but firm voice.

Sarah broke the hug and shook her head violently. "How can I calm down now? You worked so hard, but those bastards…they—"

Varian covered her lips with a finger and patted her head lightly. Despite his pale face, he gave her a reassuring smile. "It's going to be alright."

A million words Sarah had to say were stuck in her throat as she finally nodded.

*** *** ***

The expo started at 8:00 sharp. But the participants needed to be in the testing fields by 6:00.

Then they'd undergo various medical tests among other things before being 'qualified' for the expo.

As the gamma potion testers who'd be monitored from the moment they take the potion, it'd be extremely embarrassing if even one of the hundred candidates had a slight problem.

This was after all solar-scale events, not any planetary one.

Thus, Varian had to be at the scene by 6:00 Earth Idenis Time. There were about 6 hours left.

As a registered level 4, Varian was supposed to be at the peak of level 4.

First, there'd be a fight between all the peak level 4s.

After the battle, he'd be given a gamma potion.

He'd then be monitored as the potion helped him reach level 5. Then there'd be another fight with awakeners—to be clear, criminals who were also level 5. It'd be a deathmatch—quite literally.

Varian only briefly mentioned his plan, but as Sarah dug deeper, she realized the risk he was taking.

She really wanted to ask "Why must it be you?"

*** *** ***

Drip! Drip! Drip!

The white training room in the ghost ship was rather familiar—it was similar to the room where Sarah used to 'beat up' Varian in the name of training back in the academy.

"C-Continue." A slightly shaky but confident voice reverberated in the room.

"You…" Sarah couldn't bear to look at the man in front of her anymore.

She lowered her gaze, but the sight only distressed her further.

The floor which used to be white was now painted in red and blue.

Puddles of blood, sometimes drawn out in different shapes, sometimes in the shapes of a fist, a palm…were all frozen in shards of ice.

"P-Please stop." Sarah gritted her teeth and pleaded.

Ta! Ta! Ta!

Following the sound of wobbly footsteps, his voice reached her.

"…We can't give up now." His voice was filled with hope and enthusiasm, but Sarah didn't just hear his voice.

Drip. Drop. Drip.

She heard his blood splashing the floor, his rough breathing which seemed to be on the verge of collapse, his thumping heart that beat so hard that she feared it might suddenly burst out, she heard everything.

Including her own heartbeat that seemed to beat so loudly as it protested against everything.

"I can't attack you anymore." Sarah finally raised her head and glanced at the man covered in blood.

He had horrifying wounds all over his body—his face, his chest, his shoulders—it was as if he climbed out of hell and went back and climbed out, over and over until he stood on his last breath.

The sunken eye sockets, the broken jaw, and the caved-in chest including the many injuries where chunks of flesh was missing…with every detail she saw, her heart ached.

"Stop this madness." She begged. "It hurts! It hurts me to see you like this! Training or not, I can't raise my hand against you."

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she said in a tone entrenched in deep grief.

Varian smiled and slowly raised his bloodied hand. It wasn't easy. Just that simple act caused the wounds to split open and injuries to worsen. But he did it anyway and gently ruffled her hair.

"S-Sarah," His voice was plain, but there was a sense of dryness in his voice as if that throat had coughed blood too many times and lost its charm. But it added a sense of solemnity with no match.

"The pain you and me are suffering isn't anything compared to the people who died for our and for everyone's sake. We should do this."

He smiled at her brightly, despite blood covering his face. It was the reassuring smile he always gave her.

Despite trying her best to control herself, Sarah's tears fell once again.

But she bit her lip and nodded. As she raised and performed what seemed to be the hardest attack ever, a small ice spear materialized and slowly struck Varian.

Except for an ice armor that quickly shattered upon contact, Varian put on no defenses.

The ice spear encountered little resistance as his skin was mostly frozen and broken by now, so it directly penetrated deep into his flesh.

Varian flinched and shivered violently. The ice spear started letting out mana in uncontrollable amounts.

Varian gritted his teeth and suppressed the pained groan. But he couldn't suppress the intense cold inside his body.

Varian's teeth chattered as he put up a final defense against the bone-gnawing coldness as he studied the water mana.

Ironically, it was the ideal environment to get the greatest results in the shortest time.

But it was too hard to accomplish. The cold spread inside him faster than any wildfire. It slowed down his blood, his energy, and even his thoughts. It lured him to give in and close his eyes…to enter a comfortable slumber where this terrifying pain wouldn't reach.

'Without all this pain…just sleep.'

'…sink into sleep.'

'…it won't be painful anymore.'

'…Varian, mom is waiting for you.'

Varian's thoughts turned hazy and his eyes started to lose focus.

As he was about to reach the point of no return, a warmth enveloped his body.

"Haa!"

Varian's eyes snapped open as he greedily sucked air in short and rapid breaths.

The cold…the cold was still there, but it didn't hurt so much anymore.

At that thought, a blue screen appeared the same time his alarm rang.

[Water Path Level 4: 1000/1000]

{5:30}

Varian closed his eyes and looked at Sarah who was tightly hugging him.

He opened his mouth but in the end, said nothing but hugged her to his chest.