The Slums

"It's already midnight. Should I still go and settle this matter?" Aiden wondered as he walked while gazing at the moon.

"I was cooped up since the sudden emergence of fire. I have to question the guard about what had happened and it appeared it has been going like this for two days straight since yesterday. After a careful investigation. It seemed the cause was Draven trying to leave the high school gate by gaining the attention of the guard."

Aiden's fist tightened, he could still vividly remember the guard's haggard face while his skin was distinctly affected after it was exposed from the fire. The Fire was by no means ordinary, it was destructively hot, as the heat was so intense it could rival the sun's rays to the human without the ozone layer.

Aiden felt pity for the man and after a long talk with him. He realized he was also abused by Isabella because he was so tired that he ignored her momentarily. Whenever Aiden remembered what the Guard had gone through, he could not help but feel his heart tighten.

"Tsk! I will not let Draven ignore this matter lightly. Thankfully, the Guard's daughter was actually doing well in her academics, so I decided to give her a scholarship, and other financial support for the father and daughter."

Aiden smiled while his reddened fist loosened. He was in a daze as he remembered the Guard's smile and even promised he would do his job without slacking off. Aiden even wondered if he was slacking off though.

"Anyway, I'm nearing the slum. I can't enter the slum in my car, since that will bring me trouble. Hence, I have to walk for three hours, sigh."

Aiden could not help but sighed in frustration when he finally entered the slum. The slum and the road where he came from. There were no noteworthy changes, aside from the broken road, unrecognized houses, and broken buildings. There, an average condominium stood out the most, and it seemed there was a recent fight that happened at the top because of the distinct hole crack at the middle top.

Aiden stopped wondering about the condominium when he spotted some people lying on the street sufferings from famine. There was even a mother who was cradling a child as it seemed the child had died long ago. The lips lost their vitality since it was already purple, while the child's body was not even moving.

However, the Mother's love was still showering on the child, as Aiden could see the care and tenderness from the Mother's eye while a tinged of regret mixed within. If only the world were not cruel to them where they could have a paradise to live happily without someone bothering them.

Regretfully, there was no such a place that existed in the current world, since the cataclysm brought an enormous change, where peace could not be seen even at the end of the earth.

Aiden walked past them, as he closed his eyes trying to shut his senses. This was the first time he entered the slum, and now he regretted not suggesting to his father about improving the situation of the slum. Food and water should have been enough for them because it was evident the child must have died of famine. Now it would not be long before the mother would be next to die. Aiden tried arduously to ignore the Mother and the child while regretting not bringing food with him.

"I prayed for the God of Light in the West to take care of the Mother and child's soul and give them ample time where they could enjoy each other's company."

Aiden silently prayed with all his heart filled with sincerity and pleading. Meanwhile, before he realized he reached his destination. His mind continued to revolve around the heartbreaking scene of the slum.

He does not want to remember it anymore, as he tried to bring back his grudge towards Draven causing him to momentarily forget the scene he saw earlier.

"Tsk! I should check every door, then. Knocking and calling Draven's name should be enough. It's impossible for others to live in a condominium, where their lives are at stake. Like who would live with a high-risk building where a single slap of a Dimensional monster would reduce to a piece of rubble?"

Aiden wondered how Draven could have the heart to even ignore his safety. However, since he was not Draven, he decided to ignore it. He still tried to take a countermeasure though, in case they would battle in the building.

He entered the building and he could not help but cough as the dust filled the air. It was unhealthy to live in such a place, while Aiden frowned as he covered his nose and mouth with a towel. The ground cement was covered with dust, and he could barely see a mark of a footstep, which made him filled with relief.

"As expected, Draven should be the only one living here. There is a trace of footsteps going in and out, and all pairs of them had the same shape, so it could only be Draven's foot. Anyway, I should follow this trace to find where room Draven lived."

Aiden traveled through the floor and found out the foot trace entered the stairs going up to the 2nd floor. Aiden did not hesitate to follow the foot trace, and once again, after he ended up on the end path of the 2nd floor, other stairs had been marked by the foot trace.

Aiden was annoyed by how the building was created, as though it was on purpose that the stairs were created each opposite sides of each floor. Hence, this continued until the seventh floor. Draven who had a physique trained and enhanced found himself lacking breath, and was surprised at how unsightly he became.

"So this is the reason why Draven could Rank 3 in the Physical fitness assessment? He really had a huge boost if he entered and exit the building every day. Imagine the physique he had over the couple of months he had been here. So it was not surprising he could go toe to toe with Elliot when it comes to strength and speed."

Aiden was astounded by Draven's home, as it could serve as an exercise that could considerably enhance his body and stamina. It was no wonder he could have the strength of Elliot who had been spoiled by Enhancement body Serum since he was still a kid.

"If only Draven lived here for more than a year. I wonder what would be the outcome of his physique then. His vitality assessment might have been equivalent to the Superhuman stage in the breathing technique stage!"

Aiden was about to knock on the door when he saw through the cracks that Draven was currently lying on the ground as though he fainted. Aiden's eyes widened, and all the thoughts he had immediately diminished while he was filled with relief.

"Finally found him! That Guy deserved to get beaten up!"

Aiden violently kicked the door, and it immediately broke into pieces. Aiden was about to smack Draven's head to wake him up, but he halted as he gazed at the Goddess who was staring at him filled with hostility and resentment.

After all, Aiden disturbed her meditation as he violently smacked the door without hesitation as though he was a burglar. Selena was stunned as she thought it might have been the neighborhood passing by since she had already sensed his presence long ago. Only now did she realize Aiden came into trouble.

"How gorgeous."

Aiden was stunned witnessing Selena's beauty, while everything aside Selena blurred from his vision, while the central subject was Selena. He was stunned by her beauty, and he even wondered if she was some unknown Goddess who descended from the mortal world. She was as beautiful as a moon, and unreachable and could only admire from afar like a moon.

Aiden, as much as he wanted to get close to her and have physical contact. He knew he had to hold back and he manageably thus, while closing his eyes and coughing to clear his mind.

"Who might you be?"