108 The Trial
"John, you face a trial, if you pa.s.s, you will come back stronger." Said master
"I'm guessing I have to jump down the edge into the dark abyss huh" Asked john
Without saying anything, master nodded.
"Wait, isn't this dangerous...? This might not be a good idea..." Asked Ariel
"Yeah, john, It's fine if we turn back, I'm getting a bad feeling, coming from down there..." Said Serena
Master didn't stop them, she only looked at John, as if saying, it was his decision. Although master's brother kept glaring at John with a look which seemed to be saying 'I better not have waited 2 weeks here for nothing...'
"It's fine... I'll do it, but in case I don't come back, I want to say something. Master, thank you for making me your disciple, the year and a half we spent together, was painful, honestly I hated it, but it was fun."
Master who heard this looked conflicted on how she should feel towards what she had just heard
"Ariel, you were always a great party member, and something as close to me as family, I'm glad I got to meet you"
Ariel looked really worried, she looked as if she wanted someone to stop me
"Serena... Well, let's skip this"
"What!?" Said Serena seemingly annoyed
"Haha, I'm joking, Serena, you were also a gr-eat party member-"
"What was with that pause?" She asked
"Although we weren't always that close, and usually argued I feel like recently, we've been progressing. I'm also glad I got to meet yo-
Serena suddenly walked up to john and began to push him back and forth on the edge
"Stop acting as if you're going to die! If you don't believe you're going to pa.s.s the trial, then don't try it! Where's the arrogant john that I know!?" Asked Serena as she continued to shake him
Her eyes slightly teared up as she stared straight at him
"Arrogant john... Is that really what you thought of me? And that was ages ago, people change over time, you know. And Don't worry, it was a joke. I remembered a scene like this from a book I read long ago" Said John
Serena's face became flush red, she was embarra.s.sed, after all she had said, it all turned out to be a joke on his part
Without saying anything, while embarra.s.sed, she walked away from john
After she stopped, She kept her back turned to him and didn't bother to look. John was sure that she was sulking, but he deserved it.
Although he said that it was a joke, he genuinely believed that he was either
"Well, I'm off" He said as he jumped down
"Ah wait!" he heard Ariel shout but by then it was too late
He suddenly jumped as the more time he'd waste staring at it, the less he'd do it. the more he'd want to not do it, so he thought he should get it over with
"Now that I think about it, that cool speech that I gave... Didn't the protagonist who gave that speech in the book die? Did I just raise a flag...? Oh s***"
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Serena turned around when she noticed that john wasn't gone, she had stopped sulking and was now visibly worried.
Ariel herself had become quiet, but also visibly worried
Master didn't say anything and just leaned on the wall with her eyes closed, while her brother looked over the edge to see if he could see john, but he seemed to have no luck.
"Believe in him, he'll be fine" Said master
"Yeah..." Replied Ariel with a forced smile
Meanwhile Serena just kept quiet
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"John... John...! Doctors he's waking up! He's waking up!!" Shouted a familiar voice
As I opened my eyes, the bright ceiling lights felt like they would blind me. The sound of a beep resounded in my ear every few second. And the soft sensation of a bed filled my back.
As I looked around, a familiar face which felt like I hadn't seen in years sat right next to my bed. Before I even realised it, tears started to pour down my eyes
"Aunty...?"
My aunty who had taken care of me with my uncle was right then and there. Without saying anything, she hugged me and I cried into her arms
"Aunty... I always regretted not being able to say goodbye to you... Thank you... Thank you and uncle, for taking me in... Thank you..."
"It's okay... it's fine now..." She muttered
Shortly after, I stopped and wiped my tears... I looked outside of the window, buildings, apartments and a stadium could be seen through them.
As I continued to stare outside, I began to wonder if everything was a dream, meeting ariel, serena, master, will, everyone. All my training, suffering, happiness... My recently discovered crush... Was it all just in my head?
"Hey, aunty... Where's uncle? And what happened to me?" I asked
"Calm down... I'm sure you have a lot of questions now, but you're tired... Get some rest..." She said
Rest...? Ah, now that she mentioned it... I am pretty tired... Maybe I should sleep...
My eyelids, felt heavy, I started to feel very drowsy, and began to doze off. When all of the sudden, I heard a voice
[Don't fall asleep... John...]
It was a familiar voice, Ah... That's right, it was the girl who saved me after taking over my body... Ah I really owe her one... I nearly fell asleep
Without saying anything, I got up and began heading towards the door
"J-John? Where are you going? Come back..." Said Aunty as she stretched out her hand
"You know aunty... Even if anyone were to tell me otherwise, even if there were no evidence, these feelings that I'm feeling right now. Sadness, Frustration, Hope. They're real. I'm glad I got to get off what I wanted to say to you off my chest, but I have very important people waiting for me to complete this trial... I'm sure you and uncle must have suffered a lot after I died... And it hurts... It really does... I... I'm sorry... I'm very grateful for everything you two have done for me... Goodbye..." I muttered as I wiped my tears off my face
As I opened the hospital doors, to leave, I turned back one last time. Aunty, showed me a smile, even without her saying any other words, just that one smile was enough.
"Thank you..." I said as I walked out and slowly closed the door, while clenching my chest.
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