Heroes POV
Noah jolted awake, his body wracked with immediate, searing pain. He gasped violently, his lungs burning as if he'd inhaled fire, before retching onto the grimy floor of the convenience store. The acrid smell mingled with the musty odor of abandonment, creating a disgusting atmosphere that clung to him like a shroud. This must be how Dream Nya felt when she was slowly turning infected, he thought, a wave of empathy washing over him despite his agony.
His eyes, tired and unfocused, drifted toward his future self. The man was a whirlwind of activity, muttering urgently as he stuffed supplies into a large backpack he'd conjured from thin air. The flickering fluorescent lights cast eerie shadows that danced across the ransacked shelves, creating a sense of unease that hung like a storm cloud.
"Suffering from side effects, huh?" Future Noah's voice cut through the haze of pain, laced with a grim understanding. "It will only get worse from here."
Noah wanted to retort, to lash out at this harbinger of doom that wore his face, but another wave of nausea hit him. He clamped his mouth shut, tasting bile and despair. Is this how I die? he wondered, terror, clawing at his insides. Will I fade away in both worlds, leaving nothing but a memory? He silently cursed the Shadowy Being, rage and fear intertwining in his heart.
"It seems like you know a lot about infections, considering you're from the future," Noah managed to croak, his voice raw and trembling. "Am I going to turn into a mindless zombie?"
The man paused in his frantic preparations, turning to face Noah. His expression was a complex tapestry of emotions—pity, fear, uncertainty, and something deeper, more painful. He wrestled with his thoughts, weighing the burden of knowledge against the mercy of ignorance.
"I don't think so," he finally answered, his voice heavy with the weight of unspoken truths. "I think... you're going to die." The words hung in the air like a death sentence. "Whatever injuries you sustain in this dream, you'll get in real life."
Noah lay there in stunned silence, the full implications of his situation crashing down upon him. The Shadowy Being wasn't just tormenting him; it was planning his execution. A cold, creeping dread settled in his bones, more chilling than any infection. He thought about his life, his friends, and everything he stood to lose. It felt like the world was slipping through his fingers, and he was powerless to stop it.
"It looks like all your plans are a bust," Noah muttered, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "The moment I die, you die as well. So it's better if you go back to the future and say your final goodbyes."
Future Noah's face contorted with a mix of anguish and determination. He knelt beside his younger self, placing a hand on his shoulder. The touch was both familiar and alien, a reminder of the strange bond they shared.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice low and urgent. "I didn't come back just to watch us die. There's always hope, always a way forward. We've faced impossible odds before, and we'll do it again."
Noah looked into his own eyes, seeing the fire that burned there, the unyielding spirit that had carried him through countless battles. Despite the pain, despite the fear, he felt a spark of that same determination ignite within him.
"Then what do we do?" Noah asked, pushing himself up with trembling arms. "How do we fight this?"
His future self smiled with a grim but genuine expression. "We do what we've always done. We adapt, we survive, and we find a way to win. The Shadowy Being might think it has us cornered, but it doesn't know what we're capable of when we work together."
"I am still that optimistic even in the future," Noah said unexpectedly, turning his gaze away from his future self. "Unless you have some type of cure to save me, then defeating the Shadowy Being is not going to happen."
Future Noah looked at him with a mix of sadness and determination before conjuring a small dark green vial filled with an unknown substance. With a strength Noah didn't know he possessed, Future Noah held him down.
"What are you doing?" Noah shouted, his voice laced with panic as he struggled to break free from his future self's iron grip.
His future self made a face of determination before saying, "Saving you from death's door for a while."
Noah could do nothing but watch as his future self poured the vial's contents onto his wound, which had already started to rot. He braced himself for unbearable pain, but instead, a wave of relief washed over him, a sensation he hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. Sitting up, he examined his shoulder wound. It looked the same, but the spreading pain and rot had stopped. He looked at his future self, who had finally released him.
"What did you do to the infection?" Noah asked, noticing that the nausea that had been plaguing him had subsided.
Future Noah tossed the empty vial aside and resumed gathering supplies. "Remember the nurse from our school?"
Noah nodded. "Of course, I think his name started with a V."
"Victor, his name is Victor," his future self replied. "He and I managed to create a temporary cure that stops the spread of the infection."
Noah nodded in awe, realizing that the future hadn't been idle while the Shadowy Being took over their world. Though he still felt uneasy about the infection, it was no longer his number one problem. He tried to use his abilities, but they still didn't work; it seemed the temporary cure didn't remove all the side effects. Finally, he took a good look at his future self.
Future Noah looked far from clean or well-maintained, with ragged clothes and overgrown hair. It seemed he hadn't had a decent nap or shower in a long time. Noah knew that if he didn't save the future, this was what he would become.
"What should I call you?" Noah found himself asking. "It feels strange to call you by my name."
His future self paused, lost in thought. "Call me N if that makes things easier for you."
Noah absorbed the information, pondering the nickname "N." It was peculiar, and he wondered if it was something his future self had come up with on the spot or if it was a name he would come to be known by in time. He sat up properly, scanning the convenience store for anything useful for their journey.
The store felt alive with danger, the shadows cast by the flickering lights creating an eerie atmosphere that seemed to pulse with the tension of their predicament. Noah slid a pocket knife into his pocket, feeling the weight of it as a small reassurance.
"Okay, so what's the plan here?" Noah asked, trying to focus on the task at hand. "Since you can't reveal the identity of the Shadowy Being and I'm infected, should we focus on making a proper cure and then figure out how to defeat the Shadowy Being?"
N placed the last item in the backpack and turned to face Noah. "First, I need Victor's help to make a permanent cure. And don't forget, the Four Generals are still hunting us down."
Noah bit his lip, feeling a shiver run down his spine at the mention of the Four Generals. Those hideous abominations had unlocked a new fear within him. It seemed that since Noah was getting help from N, the Shadowy Being had decided to enlist his best minions. Defeating them was out of the question, considering how strong they were, and with his abilities still disabled and the infection lingering, he felt cornered.
"Do you have a plan?" Noah asked, finally conceding his attempts to formulate one. "Something helpful?"
"Of course I do," N replied, slinging the large backpack over his shoulder. "Since we can't deal with the Shadowy Being or his past self yet, we're going to focus on making you as strong as possible in the meantime."
Noah froze for a moment as he picked up his bloody sword, which lay next to N's large golden one. This was the perfect opportunity for him to become stronger than he was now. He could prove to everyone that he wasn't the weak kid who needed his friends to carry him. Before he could dwell on the thought, N flicked his forehead hard enough to nearly knock him over.
"You need to stop doing that," N said, grabbing Noah's arm to steady him.
Noah rubbed his forehead, wincing. "Stop doing what?"
"That mindset," N explained. "You need to stop caring about what people think of you. That's not going to help you save the world, you know."
Noah paused, considering N's words. When had he started caring so much about others' opinions? Maybe it began after the Tournament of Elements when Kai accidentally revealed that his mother had abandoned Lloyd. Or perhaps it started when he first met Abaddon—Lloyd—when he tried to kill them at the local prison. It had only gotten worse from there.
"You're right," Noah admitted. "I don't know what got into me. How are you going to make me stronger? I can't use my abilities anymore, so I assume you're going for a different approach."
N nodded before suddenly throwing a punch that nearly knocked Noah out cold. Noah clutched his nose, feeling the blood trickle into his hand. "What was that for?!"
N cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to train you physically. That's the first step in my plan."
Noah knew that N was serious, and something deep down told him that this training method was going to be brutal. But if it meant becoming stronger and saving the future, he was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.