"Extra-large pizza, a bucket of Slop chicken wings, a generous serving of fries, three Slop-beef burgers, and don't be stingy with the sauce," a dark-haired young man with dark shades of exhaustion around his eyelids recited to the gruff, middle-aged owner of the 'Night Rush' food truck. The air hung thick with the scent of sizzling synth meat and frying oil.
"Having some kind of celebration today, Noll?" the owner asked as he readied the order.
"Yhh, something like that," Noll answered. "Celebrating a change in my life's direction."
"Wow," the middle-aged owner, Mr. Gruff, gasped as he spread the sauce. "You got promoted at the construction site? Congratulations! I always knew that would happen soon with all the overtime you take."
Noll's eye went to the glove he wore over his right hand. He brought it up to eye level, fisting and unfurling it several times before he replied.
"Not exactly that."
"So what is it then?" Gruff asked as he began to add the toppings.
"Want to leave it as a surprise to…" Noll stopped midsentence as Mr. Gruff suddenly shushed him, his face slightly flushed.
"It's the usual toppings, right?" he asked, his eyes pleading. "Syn tomato, bell pepper, red onion, beef patty and all that, right?"
"Yhh," Noll replied. That was just the way Nana liked it. He really needed her in a good mood for today.
Gruff visibly relaxed as he slid the pizza expertly into the oven.
"So what's the celebration?" he asked again.
"Not saying," Noll replied instantly. He didn't want to think about it more than he had to.
"That's harsh," Gruff put his hands over his chest dramatically as he began to prepare the burger.
Noll rolled his eyes.
Watching as Gruff added Slop-beef, A.K.A. Synthetic Beef, he couldn't help but imagine how he would be able to afford real meat if he succeeded.
[-103 Credits | New Balance: 627 Credits]
His Comm-Brace beeped as he scanned it over the P.O.S.
It was a heavy expense but a necessary one. He really needed to play this right, not for his sake, but to make sure the impression he left today was as perfect as it could be.
Maybe it's actually for his sake, his mind chastised him, as he saw the selfishness in his thoughts. What about what she really wants?
"Congrats again, my stubborn friend," Gruff waved as he left. "Don't forget me when you are at the top, man."
"I won't," Noll shouted back at him as he waved back.
Azure District Hospital, a facility he had been at for every single day in the last month.
"Hey, Noll."
"How are you today?"
"Hope you are resting enough."
Greetings flashed around as he was flagged through checks. In minutes, he was in front of her ward.
"Hey big bro," a young girl with black hair that matched Noll's and a cute face that even her sunken eyes and whitish face could not hide greeted Noll.
"Hey, Mouse," Noll greeted her as he began to unload his arsenal on Nana's bedside desk. The aroma of food quickly dispelled the antiseptic smell of Nana's room.
"Wow," Nana gasped as she rapidly shot up, her eyes glued on the extra-large pizza package. "What's the occasion, bro?"
"Our life just changed for the better," he answered with a smile. "Just enjoy, sis. I got your jam."
"Verde Patty-Beef Pizza, and extra-large at that."
"Wow," Nana gasped again as she grabbed the pizza box and opened it to really confirm.
"You are fhe bewfft froo," she muttered in between a hearty bite.
"Haha," Noll could not hold back a chuckle as he observed the glutton. He unwrapped a burger to dig into. That was more his jam.
As he made to sit, his eyes caught hastily tucked-away pages peeking out of Nana's pillow.
He pulled them out before she could react.
"SnowHeart Mystical Aliment Foundation," he read the title aloud.
"You are applying again?" he asked, his voice more hurt than annoyed.
"Yes, duhhh," Nana answered, her face flushed. "It has been a month already since we sent our last application. It's time we apply again."
Noll wanted to tell her that she shouldn't bother; the foundation only really cared to advance their network among low-level Awakened.
There was no value in aiding Ungraded citizens like them. He had learned it the hard way when he went to their office to make a sincere plea.
He just tucked the documents back under her pillow.
"Make sure to include the fact that mum was a victim of the Summoning Phenomenon."
"Yhh..Yhh," Nana nodded as she took another heavy bite.
"So what's up, Bro? What's the celebration?" Nana asked. "A girl finally agreed to your pleas for dating, or what?"
Noll rolled his eyes. "Just eat. The news comes later."
He tried his best to keep his mind only on his creamy burger as he dug into it, but it still wandered.
Just how would their life be if he managed to return from the Origin Realm? He would be easily able to afford the high-grade Mystic medications his sister needed. They could afford not to live in a dung-ass public housing. His life would be so much more exciting than it is now, and if he managed to even become a Lord…
Just how great would that be? He could afford real chicken and beef in a blink, he could afford full immersive game pods, he could buy Nana the best of apparels.
"Heyy…Heyyy..Heyy," Nana snapped her fingers, calling back his attention.
"Just what is wrong with you, bro? You zoned off, burger in mouth, man."
"Just thinking of the hottie I snagged," Noll answered.
"Really?" Nana retorted. "Is that the good news?"
Noll laughed at her silliness. "Seriously, dude."
Nana dropped her pizza. "So what's it? I am kinda filled right now already, so spill the beans."
Noll dropped his burger. He wasn't really picking up the taste and juice as he would like.
He shut his eyes, centering himself. He had come to the decision some days already, just never found the fire he needed to let it out.
It was already too late; it couldn't be any later now.
He undid the strap of his right glove and pulled the glove off.
At the back of his hand was a tattoo that looked like a circle that had an opening at its bottom layer. The tattoo was made of hundreds of tiny glyphic markings that endlessly transformed, giving the tattoo an otherworldly feel.
Silence.
Nana stared at Noll, with her mouth ajar and frozen in place.
Seconds dripped away as she continued to stare in shock.
"Come off it already, girl," Noll swore as he dropped his hand back.
"Noll," Nana called in a trembling voice. "You are Marked."
Noll nodded. He understood her reaction. This was how mum left them.
"How long has it been?" Nana asked.
"Today is the 6th day," Noll answered.
"So it will be gone soon."
Noll didn't answer.
The mark was the first step towards becoming an Awakened. Once it appeared, one would start to feel that instinctive draw to a Spire. Obelisk-like structures that appeared over 300 centuries ago and served as the awakening trigger and channel to access the Origin Realm.
If one did not make contact with a Spire within a week after receiving the Mark, it would most likely disappear.
"I intend to Awaken it," Noll forced himself to get the words out.
Nana just sat silently and interlocked her fingers, making angel wings.
She rarely ever did that, Noll observed. It was the ultimate form of her in stress.
A smile touched his lips as he recalled how she often did that when she was much younger.
"Why?" Nana's voice dispelled his thoughts.
"For adventure, and to walk the path of legends and become a being more powerful than—"
"Shut up!" Nana barked, her face purple with anger. "Be serious, Noll. Don't recite that garbage government ad to me."
"You know as well as I do how much that whatever realm has taken from us," Nana raged on. "We did not receive any elite training in our free education. The survival rate for Ungraded folks like us is less than 5%."
"That's 1 in every fucking 20, Noll."
"Manners," Noll corrected her, trying to keep his voice upbeat, but failing terribly at it.
"Why, Noll, why are you considering this?"
Noll really felt tempted to yell back, to tell her that this was really the only way they could afford to really treat her. No one that caught a Mystic Illness survived past a year without receiving the needed Mystic treatments.
It's already 9 months since she took ill, and his balance has not gotten any closer to a thousand credits, talk less of the hundred thousand of credits he needed to afford the treatment.
He fisted and unfurled his hands, repeating the motion to calm himself.
"Maybe I just want to have a better life, Nana," he answered. He didn't want her to think that she had any role to play in his decision.
He was definitely not going to die in that realm, but he didn't want her to feel guilty at all just in case.
Nana just sat still as tears trickled past her cheeks silently.
"What will I do if you don't come back, Noll," she spoke with effort. "How do you want me to live?"
Noll took her hand in his. "I will come back, Nana."
"And our life will change drastically. No more synthetic meat, no more waste-dripping roofs, and definitely only the premium of pizzas, Nana," he consoled her.
"And if somehow, I don't come back, my ghost will traverse back from the Origin Realm and ensure we get that grant for the treatment."
Nana squeezed his hand back. Soft and slightly chilled.
"You are all I have, Noll. Don't do this."
He searched her eyes. They were honest, sincere and so very cute. She meant the world to him too.
He couldn't bear a life where she wasn't, and that's why he must do this.
"I promise you, Nana, I will be back," his voice came out much firmer than he thought it would.
I will come back, he repeated in his head.
"Now work on that pizza, mouse," he spoke as he wiped her tears. "It cost me a head and one leg to get."
Nana didn't smile, not until he dangled the pizza endlessly in front of her lips, until she just had to bite it, maybe out of pity for how awkward he must have looked.
The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing on old memories and him intentionally doing his best to ensure Nana had a good grasp of how to go about ordering meals for the week.
He left when she dozed off in between their talk.
The revelation definitely hit her hard, and he was shitty for telling her at the last possible minute.
As he made his way to the Awakening Center in Azure City, he caught himself second-guessing his decision for the first time since he made it.
What if he doesn't return?
Nana will survive with the hospital meal and there was a good chance the hospital would finally take it on themselves to see that she gets that medication.
It wasn't so bad, he thought.
He balled his hands as his hour-long trek finally came to an end.
The Awakening Centre.
A building that was built around the awakening Spire.
The last structure he would see until he returns from the Origin Realm.
"No need to overthink it," he reminded himself as he walked past the gate of the center. "No need to overthink it. I'll return. I have to."