บท 7: Which one should we choose?
"..."
"..."
"Why is no one talking?"
The one who broke the awkward atmosphere was Madison. At the moment, they were in the middle of cleaning Edison's room with all the blood on the carpet and floor.
The corpse had already been taken care of. Apparently, Madison had a 'good method' of cleaning up dead bodies, though that didn't seem to bother the trio as they continued scrubbing.
"Madi, maybe because someone died."
Her mom replied with a bitter smile as she squeezed the bloody towel into a bucket full of water.
"Mom, we're used to it?"
"Being used to something doesn't mean we can't find disgust in doing said action, Madi."
"But this bitc-"
"Language, Madison."
"This off-brand version of you tried to kill brother! How can I stay still? Heck, someone managed to penetrate this building and even made it to my brother's room! Actually, why are we even being so calm about this, shouldn't we at least tighten our security measures, and you know- do something about this shi-problem?"
Edison looked at Madison with his usual deadpan expression while their mother seemingly listened to her daughter's rambling.
His mother sighed at her before giving a reassuring smile.
"We'll try our best and look into it. Obviously, security measures have already been tightened to the extreme, however, we also have to take into consideration the other build-"
"So, our assets are more important than Edi?"
Madison looked at her mother with a piercing glare.
However, this time she didn't back down and equally glared back.
"Madison. Don't you dare bring this into our conversation."
"I'm honestly speechless, mother."
With a disappointing voice, she got up and left the room, though not before glancing at Edison with a warm smile.
"Don't worry, Edi, big sis is here for you!"
Then, she left.
Edison nodded back and watched his mother clean the last stains on the carpet.
"..."
"..."
Silence filled the room, as the tension from before slowly disappeared only to be replaced by awkwardness.
Not able to stand it any longer, his mother stood up and sat on his bed beside him.
"You know I care about you, more than anything else."
"..."
"And...no, Edi, how was your day today?"
"...chaotic."
After pondering a bit, he decided on his answer but continued looking at his phone.
"Getting addicted to your phone now are we?"
"...no?"
"Hmm, you've been preoccupied with it a lot today. Well, that's what I heard from Madi."
"Some stuff came up."
With slight suspicion, she looked at his side profile.
"Are you perhaps..."
She couldn't even finish, as Edison looked at her with his deadpan expression.
"I have no contact with anyone."
"...I have a feeling you do."
"Such things are an inconvenience."
His mother tried to look deeper into his expression, searching if there was even a hint of slight mischief present.
Sensing such an intense gaze, he slowly focused on something else and habitually scratched the back of his head.
"I don't lie."
"...oh, but you just did."
"No."
"Hehe~ yes you did! Don't lie to your mother."
Edison grumbled, before standing and walking away.
"Wait, Edi!"
Looking back, he stared at her with a frown, seeing obvious hesitation on his mother's face.
"I-I'm sorry...for leaving Madi and you alone again."
Her shoulders had slumped down, her smile was depreciating.
"It's been hard, right? All those years, along with...his death. To be honest I'm having a hard time trying to understand our situation, even to this day."
"We're well off, no?"
Edison indifferently said, seeing no issue.
"NO! I-...That's the problem! What difference would it make if...we're not living happily, Edi?"
"..."
"I'm barely hanging on by a thread...aren't I? The absence of being unable to feel anything as much anymore...like a hollowed-out vessel of emptiness. But...might as well carry a smile so you don't need others' sympathy, right?"
She mockingly said while tears started to come out.
"Thing is...I don't think I can hold this smile any longer, Edi. I feel like this isn't living anymore...the death of your father, the struggle of climbing through the social ladder, and years of seeking help from professionals...I thought to myself, that if I made it through it all, I could find satisfaction and forget the pain I had to go through..."
Suppressing the urge to cry out in grief, she continued to struggle with her words.
"Yet...yet, why is it that I only feel emptiness? It hurts...so much. Sometimes I would pour those pills down my throat only to wake up in the morning feeling numb. I even tried to...end it all, but the pain of leaving my children alone again outweighs everything else...still, I can't help but think I failed, as a person and as a mother..."
Edison quietly looked at his mother's drastic change in expression and complexion. A complete contrast from before. After pondering a bit, he decided on his next words carefully.
"You went through what most would call hell, mother. The cycle of continuous negatives without positives, and having the will to still fight on is...astonishing. You said you failed, yet here you are still trying your best to live on...however, what you said was right, I won't deny. You're not living for yourself anymore at this point but for us...be that as it may, every end has a beginning so why don't you start anew?"
"..."
"In a corrupted world, where hierarchy and the rules of society are slowly changing, mankind will naturally succumb to the massive wave known as development."
Edison calmly voiced out his thoughts.
"Problem is, you're letting it get into your head, so you try to keep up with them. All those years of mental fatigue trying to do everything to make our lives easier, in exchange, making it harder for yourself. But, when was the last time you enjoyed yourself, a quiet time for you alone?"
Sighing and shaking his head, he continued.
"Life's too short to be picky about everything. Try to find some joy in it instead of slaving yourself, believe in hope and you're halfway there. If you focus on these small aspects of life, over time, it'll turn into something you can find happiness in."
After seconds of silence, Edison quietly finished what he had to say about this matter.
"However...if you must look back on yourself, do so forgivingly."
"W-what about you?"
His mother wiped off the remaining tears with her sleeve, waiting for an answer that'll soothe her fragile heart.
Hearing this question, it felt like a bullet firing off from a gun. Despite that, he continued without hesitation.
"...I think I'm getting there."
Looking at her son with a relieved smile, she slowly sat closer and whispered the words out from the bottom of her heart.
"Thank you, Edi."
Closing her eyes, she gave him a peck on the cheek, before quickly leaving.
Momentarily loss for words, he sat there on the spot, looking at her disappearing figure with a slight smile etched upon her face.
'I'm a hypocrite.'
Thinking so, he went over to close his door, only to grab nothing but air.
'Right.'
His sister had broken it down when she came in barging through it.
Sighing, he exhaustingly plopped down on his bed, slowly turning over to look at the ceiling.
'It was my incompetence and impatience to ignore the words of my mother which had accumulated over time into this unfortunate situation...what would have happened if it didn't turn out like this?'
The thought of his mother leaving the world, made him feel a pang in his heart for the first time in a while.
However, he shook those thoughts away.
'I can only look forward, and pray for the best, and be present in the present.'
"I'm distracted."
With a frown, he suddenly thought of another matter he had ignored for a while now.
'This case is annoying.'
Said case, being that one intruder who somehow managed to breach their security.
Sure disguising as the owner of the building would surely help, but even then you'd still need to go past several checkpoints.
'Unless.'
He looked outside his window.
'Climbing. But still...'
Possibly a crazy thought he might have, but people like 'them' who had done things much crazier than this, it seemed like the most likely possibility.
'Whatever.'
Taking out his phone, he saw the DCG app.
In all honesty, there was still a hint of skepticism inside of him. However, seeing a mystery box magically appear on his lap earlier today was definitely 'some voodoo shit' as Madison would have said it.
Without further ado, he clicked on it.
--------
[Advocate of Vengeance is online!]
[History's Strongest Loser is online!]
[Lover of Free Food is online!]
[Admin is online!]
[0 unread messages, looks like you caught up!]
Edison was a bit confused why it was so quiet. Though upon further examination, seeing an exclamation mark near the Quest button, he promptly understood.
{Quest pending: Choose wisely the worlds you wish to start in.}
{My Hero Academia: A tainted soul who had done countless evil in their past life, had reincarnated into a world of heroes and villains, where technology has advanced to a far greater degree than Advocate of Vengeance's planet Earth. It has been approximately a few days since it arrived and with the gift from the Outsiders, the Lost One has the potential to threaten the balance of the multiverse.}
{Slimeverse: An ancient immortal from a different plane fled with the remaining fragments of its soul into a different universe, thus landing in a world similar to Admin's. This quest requires an investigation of whether the immortal has any intention to destroy the balance of the Slimeverse.}
{DC Universe: ...We recommend not to choose this one. But, if you do have warrior blood flowing through you, we still won't recommend it. FYI, a God in this Universe is just 'decent'. A reincarnator who has been blessed with the ability to perfectly control the Four Elements, reincarnated into a city named Gotham. Despite this planet having many similarities with Advocate of Vengeance's Earth, it conceals many complex things.}
{Fateverse: This universe has many dangers that could potentially erase your existence, however with Lover of Free Food's guidance, who is vastly more familiar with this universe, you may end up in success. With that being said, a teenager from a different planet in another universe, transmigrated into the body of a young Japanese boy in Japan. Some Outsider had bestowed this Lost One a blessing that could threaten other Multiverses. A System, something that'll grant quick growth with little to no drawbacks whatsoever. This kind of blessing differs, but generally has the concept of an RPG game. Advocate of Vengeance's knowledge regarding this System might be limited to some degree due to his circumstances, though it could certainly help.}
{Difficulty:
1st Quest: C-S grade.
2nd Quest: F-??? grade.
3rd Quest: S-??? grade.
4th Quest: S-SSS grade.}
[Lover of Free Food: 3RD ONE!]
[Admin: NO! Absolutely NOT! Have you gone nuts? A God is just 'decent' in that universe? We fucking pray for those in my world!]
[History's Strongest Loser: I do agree with you on that one...a God huh? It's interesting, to say the least.]
[Lover of Free Food: Whaaaat~ so aggressive. Hey, Vengeance, I need your help! The 3rd one sounds so fun!]
[Advocate of Vengeance: Do you value life?]
Lover of Free Food: Blurghh...! I value it so much that I'd run away from a swordfight if it means I'm dying. Honor? What is that, is it delicious?]
[Admin: Then WHY?]
[Lover of Free Food: Now that I think about...hmm. Dunno ¯\_( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)_/¯]
[Admin: What the fuck?!]
[History's Strongest Loser: A God...I feel like...]
[Admin: Please no.]
[Advocate of Vengeance: We should consider the other choices.]
[Admin: Yes! A rational person, now then what do you think?]
[Advocate of Vengeance: The 4th one is-]
[Admin is offline!]
[Advocate of Vengeance: -is out of the question.]
[History's Strongest Loser: He could've at least listen first.]
[Lover of Free Food: Right? How rude! Imagine not listening to another person speak by just cutting them off or just straight up ignoring them, tch!]
[History's Strongest Loser: What's with the irony?]
[Lover of Free Food: Right, right? Wait, you're talking about me? I don't do such things...ohhhhhh! That time was an exception, otherwise, I would've never done that...probably (❛‿❛✿̶̥̥)]
[History's Strongest Loser: Anyways, it's only a matter of time before the boy joins back. However, in all honesty, in my humble opinion, I'm leaning towards the 1st one. We at least have a guaranteed grading on that quest which is much better than the 4th one with S and higher, being the highest difficulty I'm assuming.]
[Advocate of Vengeance: Yes.]
[History's Strongest Loser: Are you perhaps waiting for further clarification because I'm out of words really. Don't get me wrong I'm going for the first one. Hahahaha!]
[Advocate of Vengeance: Yes.]
[Lover of Free Food: Fine! I'll choose a less 'absurd choice'. The second one...hahaha~ I'm kidding, just kidding! I'll also go for the first one. Vengeance, you too right? Of course, I know you'll choose this one, right?]
[Advocate of Vengeance: Yes.]
[Lover of Free Food: Hehe! Told ya, take that, rival friend ( ˘︹˘ )]
[History's Strongest Loser: I didn't even say anything...besides, I'm not your rival, well, not this version of you.]
[Admin is online!]
[Admin: For the love of go- Oh, looks like you guys were just joking before hahaha! Obviously, the first one is much better, however, what'll happen to our world if we leave?]
(Your Universes will not freeze in time. Regardless, fret not, as the time difference will be vastly different.)
[Admin: Ahh, so like a 1:1000 thing right?]
(Precisely.)
[Admin: I guess that's better than nothing. So we made our choices clear, right everyone?]
[Lover of Free Food: Yup! I'm getting excited!]
[History's Strongest Loser: Sure! Though, I feel like I can kill a Go-]
[Admin: Hahahaha! Good one, Kojiro-san! Say, Mr. Caddel, you in?]
[Advocate of Vengeance: Yes.]
DING!
{Confirmation affirmed. 4/4 out of the Chat Members have chosen the first one. Teleportation commencing...in 3 minutes.]
--------
Upon seeing the timer, Edison immediately went to grab a backpack and stuffed various kinds of tools in including the pills from the mystery box.
Finishing in less than 10 seconds, he opened the window of his room.
Opening his phone again, he went on Messenger and sent a message to Madison.
Edison- [I fight crime, close window, bye.] -11:41PM.
After sending the message, Edison deeply breathed in and jumped out.
...
..
.
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