On Earth, at the age of 22, Aeren had become a doctor and now stood before the massive hospital. He took a deep breath and entered through the main doors.
The sprawling corridors unfolded before him—rooms filled with monitors, nurses moving precisely along their invisible tracks. His ID badge hung around his neck, a symbolic weight pressing against his chest.
Aeren began walking to find his senior doctor. When he spotted him speaking with a patient, Aeren approached and waited for their conversation to end.
Once the patient left, Aeren stepped forward and said, "Good morning, Doctor Charles. I'm Aeren, and I'll be joining you as an assistant surgeon starting today."
Doctor Charles looked at Aeren carefully. They had met before, and Charles found it hard to believe the young man was only 22. He looked more like he was in his thirties, and his body appeared unhealthy.
"Good morning, Doctor Aeren. I'd like you to meet our patient, Miss Freda."
Aeren turned to the woman and said, "Good morning, Miss Freda. I'm new to the hospital and will be assisting Dr. Charles."
After introducing himself, Aeren began his work, following Dr. Charles everywhere and running errands while learning about the hospital's surroundings. They traveled throughout the entire facility together.
After hours of orientation, Aeren entered the operating theater where they performed surgery on patient Freda. The operation took four hours and was successful. Although Aeren only played a minor role in the surgery, it helped him observe techniques he needed to learn.
Every morning, Aeren would wake up, exercise, go to the hospital, and assist Dr. Charles with surgeries. This routine continued for a month. Aeren became a surgeon with immense talent and began performing his own operations in less than a month.
His physical condition improved day by day. Aeren hadn't harmed himself in months and didn't overdo anything. He began to look handsome in others' eyes.
Aeren worked for an entire year.
One day, he caught sight of himself in a mirror. A handsome young man stood opposite him, staring back with disgust expression.
Aeren looked at his reflection and felt disgust. He had never wanted a life where he felt comfortable, but this face was evidence of his comfort—proof of his slavery.
He looked at himself again and whispered, "I've hurt myself physically. Now it's time for mental pain."
Aeren surveyed his house with its white marble everywhere and the few people who worked for him, treating him with kindness and respect. He thought about his research into death and realized he hadn't made any progress toward finding a cure. This was just his first step toward finding freedom.
"The first step is always the hardest. I became a doctor to find a cure for death," Aeren said to himself in the mirror, anger rising in his voice.
He looked at all his employees and shouted, "From today, you're all fired! Leave my house and take all the money you want."
Aeren handed bags of money to his employees. They happily took the money and left.
Aeren looked at his house one more time and set it on fire. He had tried everything at the hospital but hadn't been able to find anything useful, so he decided he no longer needed to work there. Aeren resigned from the hospital.
Standing alone on the street, Aeren watched the people around him. They were all enslaved in their own ways throughout the earth, and their consciousness refused to believe the truth. Looking at himself, Aeren understood their slavery.
With no money and no house, Aeren was left with only his body and mind. Wanting to get closer to death, he looked toward a bridge. He walked to the bridge, stood at the top, and jumped into the water below.
Aeren sank deeper into the water, unable to breathe, but he didn't resist going further down. He began to see only darkness, and finally lost consciousness as the water swallowed him.
A woman who had come to kill herself saw Aeren jump into the water before she could act. She jumped in to save him, pulling his body from the water and giving him CPR. Aeren vomited water from his mouth and opened his eyes.
He looked around and saw the same surroundings he had seen before, then noticed a woman with an ugly, scarred face—half burned with one eye that looked damaged.
She glared at Aeren angrily and said, "What were you doing? Don't throw your life away like it's nothing."
Aeren looked at her and said, "Thank you for your help."
Disappointed that he hadn't discovered anything through this suicide attempt, Aeren left the area. The woman followed behind him.
Curious, Aeren asked, "Why are you following me?"
She looked at him and replied, "I'm just making sure you don't try to kill yourself again."
Aeren nodded and walked to where homeless people gathered like beggars, sitting there and waiting for something cruel to happen to him.
To his surprise, nothing happened. Days passed with nothing occurring.
Aeren continued waiting, experiencing hunger for food, thirst for water, and longing for shelter. He wanted to feel everything harsh that life could offer. One day, he saw several people collapse on the street instantly. Aeren went to see what had happened to them.
He approached one person and treated him within seconds. The man looked healthy again, and Aeren gave him some food to aid in his recovery. Aeren began living as a homeless person for several months, never desiring food, clothes, or water.
Wherever Aeren went, he would ask for food and clothes. People gave them to him after much begging. His body had already adapted due to his past years of training, so he only needed to eat once a week. The same applied to water, and he never cared about his appearance. Eventually, he thought that begging was much better than his previous slavery as a doctor.