"What I am about to say might sound unbelievable, but every word I am about to say is nothing but the truth..."
"Leo Anders... My old name..."
Ace explained his past life to his parents and how he got his memories back two days before the awakening ceremony. He omitted the part where he had a conversation with Gods and the gifts he received from them.
"I want your help to find my past life's family... Eva Anders, my mother, and Ginna, my sister..."
Ace gave the details about their location as best as he could. He explained their appearance and habits to help identify them faster. Since many cities and towns were abandoned after the change, he was worried for their safety.
Jin and Tresa heard Ace's story patiently as he occasionally broke down in tears. They could feel and see the sadness their son had been holding in his heart. Although it sounded impossible, however in a world where everything changes overnight, anything is possible.
"We will find them," Trisa walked over to Ace and grabbed his shoulder, "No matter where they are..." She said with a reassuring smile.
"I see... This is the reason you wanted to get away. Haaa, you brat," Jin blinked beside Ace and lightly punched his head, "You should have told us... Wait!!! So, this is the dream you told me that day."
"Yeah," Ace replied after wiping his face on his sleeves. Then he suddenly remembered another person, someone whose thoughts he buried deep inside his heart. But he couldn't miss this chance to find her.
"So your sister means from past life our daughter since you are our son in this life. And I am sure that your mom and us together would have a blast time... Hahaha, great. We will definitely find them," Trisa said with a little laughter and patted Ace's back, trying to improve his mood.
Ace was worried that his parents won't believe him, but after seeing their reaction, he smiled and sighed in relief. He was so glad to be born into such a great family. All the misunderstandings and conflicts between them were slowly melting away.
"There is one more person... Remy Lance..."
"Rem... She was my... We were..."
"She saved me..."
Ace stuttered as the memories kept gushing into his mind. He began to explain.
Remy Lance was a hard-working person who saw and faced a harsh reality. Her parents died in a train accident, leaving her two little brothers to look after. Her aunt scammed her and took all her parent's fortune, leaving her and her brothers on the road.
She didn't give up and worked and continued to work where ever she could. Life wasn't easy as she was only 14 years old when her parents left. So, just like Ace, she did whatever was necessary to provide for her family.
Ace met her after running away from his hometown. While trying to find a job on a construction site, she introduced Ace to the manager and got him a job.
After a few months, she became a close friend of Ace. He tried hard to keep his distance from her. He feared his misfortune hurting her, but he couldn't help himself from feeling a weird connection with her. He felt happy whenever she was around her.
But, life had another plan for them.
One day Ace's worst fear becomes true.
[Booom] [Crrrekk] The steel beam carrier crane's binding broke. It was directly above Ace. Everyone screamed at him, but he was eating his lunch on a concrete slab with his headphone on. The death he has been running from all this time has finally caught up to him.
Suddenly, Ace fell forward. Someone pushed him out of the way. At the same time, one steel beam fell where he was sitting. Dust and debris were scattered everywhere. Ace was flabbergastered by the situation. The dust settled and what he saw took his breath away, filling his heart with fear.
Remy was lying in his place, bleeding all over, "Thank God, you are ok..." She mumbled with a weak smile. The steel beam had crushed her lower half. And due to such a massive shock, she lost her sense of pain. Even so, she was thinking about Ace's safety.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they rushed toward Remy. They called an ambulance in a hurry.
"Arrrrgggg!!!!"
Ace screamed in fear. He somehow stood up on his wobbly feet and began to run without looking back. He could feel Remy's eyes on his back, but he didn't stop and continued to run until he was out of energy and fell to his knees. He knew that death had found him once again. And he needs to run to escape its grasp at any cost.
Eyes widened, throat parched, sweating body, fast heartbeat and throbbing headache, Ace looked up while trembling. He ran up to the end of the town block. Right now, he was in kneeling in front of a park. He saw children playing and giggling in their own playful world without any worries. This made him remember Remy's brothers.
"No!!! What have I done?"
"Why did she save me? Why did she put herself in danger?"
"Because of me, she..."
Ace stood up and began to run toward the construction site. He did something no human could have possibly done in that situation. He left his savior and ran away like a coward. He heard the sound of an ambulance while running. He decided to tell Remy about his dreams and apologize to her.
[Boooom] An explosion occurred in the nearby house. The shockwave sent Ace flying, and he crashed into a nearby car. But the car driver maneuvers his car smoothly, preventing him from crushing under its tire.
"Arggg!!!" After a few minutes, he stood up. His entire body was throbbing in pain. He felt a sharp pain in his right chest, "Is this it? I can not escape this time... Hahaha. I wanted to apologize to her, but it looks like this is it for me..."
He grabbed his stomach. A sharp metal object was poking out from his stomach. It looked like a piece of iron grill that pierced him when the explosion occurred.
He dragged his feet toward the ambulance in the hope of relieving his pain since they carry painkillers and some pain relief shots. Behind him, another ambulance passed by.
"Remy!!!" He looked back and tried to run toward it but fell to the ground. He didn't even hear the rush and panic around all this time, "F*ck!!! To die like this without achieving anything..." He thought as he felt a warm feeling around his stomach. His clothes were soaked in blood.
The fire brigades were doing their best to bring the situation under control. But, it looks like they missed someone inside.
"My baby is inside..."
"...No!!! You can not do that..."
"Someone save my child... Someone help!!!"
A woman was screaming and trying to go inside, but the firemen were holding her back.
"We are sorry... The roof caved in. There is no way to go in unless someone is ready to die... Even so, there is only a 1% chance... Sorry," One of the firemen said with a sad expression.
"Hey, this fire is weird... It's spreading without any stop. Call of more backup," Another one yelled from the back.
"Humffff!!! Get up!!!" Ace gritted his teeth and stood up. He shook his head, trying to clear up, "You are dying anyway... Take that 1% chance and try to save the baby. Before dying, save another that God abandoned. A baby... that cruel bastard..." He thought while huffing.
He tore off his shirt and stuffed it into his mouth, "Ummffffff!!!!" He pulled out the metal grill. Blood spewed out like a red wine fountain. His vision darkened, but he slammed his head on the ambulance to clear his senses. Then, he tightly wrapped his shirt around his wound to lessen the bleeding. He wasn't ready to die yet and was going on with a sheer will.
"Hold on a little longer. Please, let me live a little longer," He muttered while fighting the immense pain.
"Hey!!! You!!!..."
"What are you doing? Your stomach..."
A medic noticed Ace and came running up to him.
"Give me a shot..."
"I am dying anyway... My ribs punctured my lungs and my stomach... As you can see... Let me save that trapped kid... Please."
"They won't save a child... Let me do something meaningful before I die..."
Ace said in a wavering voice and grabbed the medic's hand. He could feel his body getting weak due to heavy blood loss.
"Shit!!!" The medic didn't waste any time and gave Ace double boost painkiller shots. He took out a water bottle and a bundle of towels, "Wrap it around the child... Run!!! You won't feel pain for 5 minutes... Go!!!"
Ace dashed into the flaming hell.
He saved the child but couldn't save himself. He died with a smile and regrets in his heart.
[Present Time]
"Hufff!!!" Ace trembled. His legs gave out as the flashes of his past came before his eyes. Trisa and Jin grabbed him, "I... I... I never got to apologize to her... I shouldn't have run..."
"If you hadn't... Then, that child would have been dead..."
"I think Rem will understand... We will find them... Ace... Trust us..."
Trisa said as she hugged Ace.
"A strong man can save himself... But a great man can save another," Jin said as he grabbed Ace's shoulder.