Chapter 297: The Distant Memories
Julian chuckled as he raised his hands dramatically.
“How could I not know her name? It’s Melissa Altros, a natural-born prodigy who was traveling with her parents to the Olympics. Apparently, she was so gifted that our country signed her up for every single competition. Can you believe it?”
With those words, Julian turned to Rael, his smile widening.
“God… I wish I could’ve at least gotten her autograph… but if I recall, she also had a brother.”
His smile faded, replaced by scorn.
“The other doctors said he looked like a junkie every time he entered the hospital to check up on her, but 14 years ago, he just stopped coming…”
A moment of silence ensued, which was soon broken by Julian slamming his fist on the table.
“Apologies… I got too emotional. Just thinking of that bastard is making me want to scour the world and beat him senseless.”
In the meantime, Rael felt as if his vision was turning blurry.
He had a suspicion that was the case.
His parents had died in a plane crash, that much, he remembered.
There was also the distant memory of his sister existing.
But that was it. Only the knowledge of her existing, nothing more.
He couldn’t remember her face or her name. He didn’t know what she liked or what she disliked.
Yet after hearing Julian’s explanation, Rael felt his mind swirl as memories began to flood back in.
Melissa Altros, his younger sister.
She was a warm person at heart, and the only one from their family who didn’t look down on him.
But she was someone who perfectly adapted to everything that was thrown at her.
Whether it was a sports competition or an exam.
She would nail them all without even breaking a sweat.
That plane crash… Rael’s brows furrowed.
She was traveling to the Olympics in a foreign country alongside their parents.
Rael was supposed to go too. However, they got into an argument on the day of the trip.
Rael clenched his fists in frustration.
I was jealous of her…
She didn’t need to study, but he did.
He studied hard every single day, and he was a pretty damn good student.
But not once did his parents praise him for it. All that praise went to his younger sister, Melissa.
Especially that day, he had been studying for his final exam that would give him the credit necessary to enter a high-class university.
And when Rael explained that to his parents, he was met with some harsh words from his father.
“Stay home if you want. It’s not like you’ll ever amount to anything anyway.”
Rael abruptly stood up.
“What happened to the hospital?”
“Hmm? It fell, I think,” Julian replied. “But I’m sure there are survivors. I saw a few of my peers scattered throughout the tunnels.”
“So you’re saying Melissa could still be alive?” Rael asked in a shaky voice.
Julian tilted his head. “Of course, there’s always that possibility. I truly do hope she’s alive.”
Rael nodded slowly and decided to introduce himself.
“My name’s Aster, by the way. I forgot to introduce myself earlier.”
The siblings tilted their heads in confusion, but with a slight hand gesture, he told them to be quiet.
He didn’t want Julian to know that he was the same brother who abandoned his sister.
“What will you do?” Rael asked. “I mean… now that you don’t have any thugs to worry about.”
“Hmm… I suppose I’ll go around healing people,” Julian replied. “I need to heal 5,000 different people to evolve my class, so it’s going to take a while.”
“What do you say to traveling with us, then?” Rael suggested. “I’ll be going around the tunnels for a bit to look for someone. You can tag along if you want.”
It seemed like Julian didn’t need a lot of convincing, as he simply puffed his chest.
“Well… if you insist. I don’t mind accompanying you three.”
“Uhm… Ra—Aster, are all the thugs outside really…” Jane trailed off.
“Yes, they’re all dead,” Rael replied flatly. “So you don’t have to worry… but just in case, watch your step when we get out of here.”
Of course, he wasn’t a janitor.
The tunnels looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Anyhow, they chatted a bit as Rael continued gathering his thoughts.
It didn’t feel like all of his memories were back yet.
After all, he still couldn’t visualize his sister’s face or the faces of his scumbag parents.
Regardless, they began moving out.
The moment they stepped outside, they were greeted with the rotten stench.
It was still dark, with only a flickering light visible in the distance.
So Rael told them to hold onto his shirt as they followed after him.
And a few minutes later, they finally navigated out of that area and began walking down the long tunnels.
Several hours passed as they took breaks every now and then.
They encountered a few people in some survivor camps along the way, and Julian healed them.
But that was when they all heard a loud ding.
“Oh? I guess we can speed up our pace then,” Rael commented, turning around. “Is everyone ready?”
They all nodded in unison and began sprinting through the tunnels.
A few minutes later, they encountered another survivor settlement inside the tunnels, and from the stench of blood, he could tell these people had a very fun time together.
But he wasn’t that interested in that as he saw the broken escalator ahead and ran up it.
Just in time, Part 4 of the Main Scenario ended.