Pick Me Up, Infinite Gacha

[Aaron Side Story Episode 28]

3. The first dream (12)

Aaron leaves the room.

I passed through the hallway and headed to the kitchen/dining room.

there was a boy

“Are you here?”

He is sitting on a chair with his feet on the table.

Poor attitude.

There is a certain light in those eyes.

“Did you know?”

“what?”

“About me.”

The boy lowered his raised foot.

“I was guessing. I should have met guys like you once or twice.”

“Like me…?”

“I did not know? Everyone who comes here has a disease in their heart.”

the boy continued.

“Did you say this was trauma? um i don’t understand Because our heroes didn’t die well when they died. There are many children like you who get sick without even knowing it.”

In the past, the boy’s words would have been dismissed as nonsense.

But now I know.

Aaron’s obsession with strength.

It was clearly a mental illness.

“Other people make fun of me for lack of mental strength, but I don’t think so. sickness is sickness You need treatment.”

“….”

“If you leave it alone saying it doesn’t matter, your heart will die.”

Whoops.

The boy got up from his chair.

Then he came to Aaron and said.

“Your goal was to get back to your sister, right?”

“yes. I think so.”

“Then can you explain why you are here?”

“Perhaps.”

“It’s just fine. Let me hear it.”

For a second, Aaron hesitated.

It is not easy to openly tell others about your inner circumstances.

‘are you okay.’

think about it soon

The boy is trying to help Aaron.

If I hadn’t thought of that, I wouldn’t have cared about it in the first place.

“…All right.”

Take a light, deep breath.

And Aaron started talking about his past.

An explanation based on facts, not mixed with personal opinions.

The story was over in less than 10 minutes.

“Oh, yes.”

The boy nodded and listened.

“You still look fine?”

“Because it’s been 100 years.”

“That’s right!”

The boy chuckled.

“You are too old to be sad. you and me too Too bad.”

“It won’t be anything special.”

Aaron said calmly.

In the first place, the death of two siblings is nothing but a cheap tragedy.

In the destroyed dimension, this must have happened thousands of times.

“So why are you here?”

“If we go back like this, we won’t see anything good, right?”

“Hmm?”

“If my brother succeeds, I will be able to go home. Maybe I can meet my sister.”

“Is your sister dead?”

“I’m dead too, but I’m alive like this.”

The boy burst into laughter at Aaron’s answer.

“It’s a good answer. so?”

“When you meet your sister… you have doubts about me.”

“What are you suspicious of?”

“Will I be able to face Nina properly?”

It’s not the end just because you meet your sister.

You have to live your life after that.

“…”

Aaron closed his eyes.

And I thought deeply.

The scenery in a dream I saw a while ago.

winding dirt road.

A small brick house over a dirt road.

Smoke billows from the chimney and the smell of baking bread permeates.

young man walking on the road

It is back home after a long trip.

Go ahead and knock on the door.

I’m back.

But the door doesn’t open.

The windows don’t even open.

A young man cannot return home forever.

‘This is the nightmare I had.’

It is a landscape hidden in Aaron’s unconscious.

Realizing this fact, the current Aaron can forcefully open the door.

“Open please! please!”

A young man is knocking on the door.

Originally, the dream ends in an unopened state.

Aaron decided to twist the ending.

rattle.

The door opens.

“…!”

The young man entered the house as if collapsing.

The door that couldn’t be opened no matter what I did, just opened.

okay.

Right in front of you is the young man’s family.

“Nina!”

A young man calls his sister by name.

The younger sister who was baking bread turned around.

That figure must be that of a cute girl…

[Hey hey hey!]

The young man freezes when he sees the girl.

The girl’s face was covered with tears and runny nose.

“…?!”

no.

Tears of blood flowed from one pupil as if turning backwards.

Secretions flowed incessantly from the eyes that exposed the whites of the eyes.

It is to convulsions, unable to bear the extreme pain.

[Oppa, it hurts, oppa, oppa oppa…]

“…”

[Help me, it hurts, save me…]

“….”

[Help me, I’m so hurt, help me, oppa oppa. …]

Enemy. badly.

The sound of something breaking.

The young man looked at the girl’s lower body without realizing it.

The skin cracks.

A fountain of blood gushing.

The flesh was torn into chunks.

Bones shattered into pieces, mingling with the remains of meat.

The girl was disintegrating alive.

[Heuk heuk heuh heuk…]

The girl cries.

cried endlessly.

Had she suffered this much, she should have died of shock, but the girl was not given that kind of luck.

this.

The final truth hidden by Aaron Delkard’s unconscious mind.

burning city.

The brother and sister ran away, but on the way, they lost their strength and collapsed.

But it doesn’t end there.

That ‘degree’ is not ‘death’.

A group of monsters rampaging in the city found two humans that were perfect for eating on a certain street.

[You asked me to save you. why did you throw it away Why did you leave it behind?]

“Heh heh heh…!”

The young man drew in a breath.

The girl with her legs torn off crawled on the ground and grabbed the young man’s ankles.

[It hurts so much, I’m so sick… My brother ran away alone… Why… Why…]

Shedding tears of blood.

I gave strength to the ankle the girl was holding.

With enough grip to peel the skin off.

“Leave this.”

The young man’s complexion brightened.

this is not family

this is not nina

[Help me, oppa, save me!]

“Let go, let go!”

puck!

The young man shakes off the girl’s hand.

Then he turned his back and started running.

I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die like that.

I don’t want to die like my ‘little sister’.

I want to live.

help me.

‘Only me’ save me!

burning streets.

The first prey captured by the group of monsters was a girl.

The predation was carried out alive.

In the meantime.

The young man next to him started running.

It was a run away.

[Oppa oppa…]

The young man rejects the girl’s screams of pain.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to move even a single step.

I thought I couldn’t even move.

But I thought it wouldn’t hurt to die here with my family.

that’s just an illusion

Reality wasn’t so sweet.

The young man who found out ‘how his sister died’ was out of control of his fear.

The young man left his family and ran alone.

I don’t know where that power came from.

Runs unstoppably through flames and rubble.

“I’m sorry, Nina, I’m sorry, Nina, I’m sorry, Nina…”

and runs while crying.

If you stop now, you die.

It becomes like a family.

“Why… Why…” Though

his body was weak, he thought that he could not lose to anyone when it came to thinking of his family.

But what am I doing here?

Why are you throwing your little sister as bait and running away alone?

weak.

Weak not only the body but also the mind.

Even at the moment of running, the young man was constantly rationalizing himself.

‘I’m a merchant.’

As a trader, you must be thorough in calculating your profit and loss.

There is nothing more foolish than throwing one’s life away for something worthless.

This time it is.

If it were one or two monsters, the young man would have fought.

But more than ten.

If you jump on it, you’ll die.

It’s better to survive alone than that.

I can’t help it.

that there was no way

Even if you fight, you will die.

young man runs

He ran away leaving behind his family, the reason for his life.

A heart stained with fear and despair could not keep his affection for his family to the end.

just weak

It was ugly and weak…

“…”

Aaron opened his eyes.

The young man who abandoned his sister couldn’t even escape the city.

An unfinished life that neither lasts with the family nor survives for a long time.

The soul fell to the bottom of hell.

“Kya, you abandoned your sister and ran away alone?”

The boy said to himself admiringly.

Aaron’s explanation of the past seemed quite impressive.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I understand. How do you look at your face when you’re embarrassed? He abandoned me and ran away, saying he would live alone.”

be embarrassed

maybe it’s the right answer

“But isn’t it your fault?”

“yes?”

“That little Nina was weak. Tztz. I have to send it nicely. Why do you ask me to save it until the end? hard on people.”

“What… are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you doing your best?”

Aaron’s gaze grew cold.

The boy continued without hesitation.

“Looking at your situation, your parents died when you were young and you must have been in a lot of trouble. But you scooped it up for your sick sister, didn’t you? you alone For over 10 years.”

“…”

“Honestly, isn’t that kid a hindrance? It would have been much easier if I had been alone.”

“What are you talking about!”

Aaron grabbed the boy by the collar.

I thought my feelings had faded after a hundred years.

But it still didn’t seem to cool off.

“Nina got in the way of my life?”

“The weight of one life is heavier than a thousand gold. You’ve been living with it since you were young. Especially if you have to take care of a child who can’t even do his part.”

“Don’t insult me! I lived with Nina because I wanted to!”

Power goes into Aaron’s hands.

The boy was laughing while being held by the collar.

“I’m so sorry, Aaron. You gave your life for Nina. Nina wanted to live on her own, so she held on to you until the end. Thanks to that, even now you are having a hard time because of him.”

“…!”

“Why did you repay the favor with an enemy? People who abandoned their families to live for themselves were widely spread. Our poor Aaron couldn’t leave the evacuation route in time to save his little sister, and had to pass through a dangerous place.”

“…the words are harsh.”

“You had to carry the weight of another life at a young age just because you were a younger sister. But what did Nina do to you? Are you whining about being sick? Did you try to make me your companion by asking for help when you knew we would die together?”

“Stop!”

Aaron grabbed him by the collar and pushed.

It’s a dead end wall.

The boy’s body disappears and appears on the other side.

“calm down. Because there is such a point of view.”

“…”

“I would like to point out one thing. Did that kid really say that when you abandoned Nina and ran away?”

“What do you want to say?”

“No, they said they struggled all over, asking for help, saying they were in pain. I wouldn’t have done that.”

I didn’t even have the strength to hold on anymore.

Aaron is tired.

“People’s memories are easily distorted. Especially when it comes to memories related to trauma. Did your real sister say that?”

“I would have. Because I abandoned Nina. It is natural to be resentful.”

“Can I think of it the other way around? If you became the scapegoat and Nina was by your side, what would you have said?”

“That’s…”

Needless to say.

run away

“got it? What your sister really said to you then.”

“…”

“You are suffering from a mental illness. That disease can very easily alter memories.”

In the past, you might not have accepted it.

It may have run wild.

But now, too many years have passed.

“Now that I know your heart, let’s do something to get you back to your family.”

“What is it…?”

“You are forgiving yourself.”

The boy smiled.