Chapter 10- The Journey Of a Lifetime
"U-Ugh…" An unknown amount of time passed before Edward finally opened his eyes from the deep slumber he was in.
'I-I can't remember anything. Did I die?'
His hazy mind doesn't remember anything at all as it felt fuzzy for some reason. Opening his eyes fully, he examined his surrounding.
Immediately, the sound of flames flickering calmly along with the faint light of the moon assaulted his senses. For one, that made Edward relieved since it seems he didn't die. For a second, however, he didn't understand how he didn't die.
'Didn't I fall down to the Zombie? I should've been shredded to pieces by now, no? Or maybe those Zombies are secretly vegan?'
Rising up slowly, Edward shook his intrusive thoughts away and looked around. He seemed to be laying on a mattress inside a rundown building. Besides him, the silhouette of a woman cooking food could be seen.
"Sali… "He murmured as he felt delighted to see her fine.
Hearing his voice, Sali turned around with widened eyes. Her face was clearly happily surprised that he woke up.
"Asher!!"
Without hesitation, she jumped on him and engulfed him in a bear hug, and squeezed tightly.
"Thank god… Hick!! Hick!! I'm sorry!! I thought you would die! So, I… Hick, Hick!!" Immediately, her sobs started as she tried to apologize.
However, Edward couldn't understand a single word she said.
"I'm fine. You don't need to apologize. I'm fine, look." He said as he tapped her back slightly.
"But, but… I used my powers to kill the Zombies and… and you were harmed. I'm bad sister, aren't I?!" Sali, on the other hand, didn't seem to be calming down.
'Hm, I think I understand what happened. Her sound powers must've inflicted damage on my ears. I can vaguely remember hearing a very loud noise before losing consciousness. However, how come I'm fine?'
"Did you heal me?"
"Yes… *Sniff* I still have a few potions of healing for such occurrences. I'm glad that your ears weren't permanently damaged… I'm truly glad!"
'This girl…'
Even though her life is constantly in danger as she had to think of Edward's safety, their food, where they should take shelter at night, and how they should navigate their way toward the nearest settlement and many other things. Yet, she still would prioritize Edward's well-being over hers.
'Such a kind and caring person… do these even exist in reality?' He asked himself.
Edward had one clear motto in life that he followed to a T: Humans are shit. As simple as that. Throughout his life, Edward had only met shitty people that did him more harm than good. Whether it was family, school peers, coworkers, or even the landlord of his apartment. They were all the worst of the worst.
He had lived his life completely detached from other humans. The place where he found his solace was unsurprisingly the fiction world. There, he could be whatever he want, go wherever he want, and do whatever he wants without anyone being present to insult or belittle him.
In the world of fiction, he could find characters that are cool, kind, and perfect. He always assumed that the fiction world is infinitely better than the real world and that fact only rooted itself deeper into his heart after meeting Sali.
"You don't need to apologize. In fact, I have to say something…" Adjusting his position, Edward then looked seriously at Sali before he bowed slightly.
"Thank you for saving me. I would've lost it if you didn't use your powers so you don't need to feel guilty of anything. Thank you so much, truly." He said honestly.
"Wha-?! No, you don't need to bow! It's only normal that I should take care of my little brother." Sali panicked as she frantically shook her head with a flustered expression.
Then, she took a deep breath and continued. "Besides, I made a promise a long time ago and I don't intend to break it anytime soon."
"A promise?"
"Mhm, you don't need to worry about it. Anyway, you must be hungry. Dinner is almost ready." Turning around to continue cooking, Sali left Edward alone with his thoughts.
'A promise… huh. Well, if she doesn't want to tell me about it then that's fine.'
"Hm?" As he was like that, Edward noticed that there was something sticking to his body under the shirt. Lifting it up, he found that there were bandaids.
"Hey, Sali. Why do I have bandaids? He asked."
"Oh, that. Your abdomen is still healing. Don't get rid of the bandaid. You hit your side really hard when you fell down." She said.
"I see…" Inspecting the bandaids, he couldn't feel any pain coming from there.
'Hmm, weird. It doesn't feel like I have an injury beneath the bandaids.' Wondering if he was overthinking or not, Edward's focus was pulled out again as his nostrils caught the smell of food.
"Come on, dig up," Sali said with a smile.
"Thanks for the food."
***
The next few days passed swiftly, the two were able to continue their journey through the Forbidden Lands in the day and train at night. During that time, Edward was able to kill a few Zombies under Sali's supervision.
It took him great effort to make her accept allowing him to fight Zombies himself.
The fights were easy and barely took any effort from Edward. However, they were a good experience for his sword practice.
In fact, after training for a few days, Edward was able to increase his swordsmanship level from 1 to 4. That not only increased his speed and strength when wielding a sword but it also improved his technique a lot. It was to the point that Sali was mind-blown by his improvement.
"Are you secretly a master of the sword, Asher?" She asked jokingly as she tapped his back.
"Hehehehe, stop praising me." Edward rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed look on his face.
Getting such honest praises from someone was a first experience for him so he didn't know how to receive them.
After spending a few days with Sali, Edward grew to like her a lot. Not in a romantic way but in a genuine, sibling-like way. He really saw her as the big sister figure he never had in his life and the person he wanted to consider as his family.
A few days were more than enough to make him see Sali that way. Many would consider it weird but frankly speaking, Edward didn't care at all. So what if she wasn't really his sister? Who cares?
They spent all day together, moving through a destroyed world, talking, laughing, and having fun. Edward had never felt this happy ever before in his life. He truly felt blessed.
After a long trip filled with dangerous close encounters and fun moments, Edward and Sali finally reached their destination… The Northern Star Settlement.
"We are finally here," Edward murmured as he stood on top of a building, staring into the horizon where he could see the light of fire coming from afar.
They were merely a few kilometers away from the settlement.
'Well, knowing the fact that all of this is to supposedly heal my 'memory loss' is funny. Well, I still liked every moment of this trip.' He thought to himself.
"Oh, there you are. What are you doing here?" Sali asked as she approached her little brother.
"I'm just admiring the view. It's a beautiful night." He replied as he kept staring up.
'I don't recall the nights ever being this beautiful back in my old world.'