While shedding tears uncontrollably, Ann carried her big brother to the depleted thatched shack where they lived.
She had only laid him down on the makeshift bed when she noticed him running a fever.
His injuries were severe, and if the fever worsened, he wouldn't live to see the next sunrise.
Ann felt terrified at the thought of losing him. She couldn't imagine a life without him. She couldn't bear the thought of living without him.
"I won't allow it to happen."
The original owner had put his life on the line to save Ann. Who said Ann lacked the courage to do the same? The love between the two siblings went beyond words. They were both willing to sacrifice their lives if it meant saving the other.
She rushed out to find a way to help him. It was about to rain, and the rain of the outside world was known to be toxic, so she took an umbrella. She would only be able to save him if she returned with a miracle cure alive!
However, when she returned, she found him awake and walking about, seemingly fine except for his visible injuries. He wasn't feverish at all, which puzzled and relieved her at the same time.
How did his fever die down she had no idea, but she felt a great sense of relief.
She was completely clueless that the original owner had succumbed to his injuries, and Sal had taken his place. His soul was stronger than human, which might have strengthened the body somewhat.
"That's all that has happened till now," Ann finished retelling their past to Sal.
Just as Sal gained a clearer understanding of his circumstances, the voice of a boy undergoing puberty echoed in his mind. It sounded like it was coming straight out of a broken recorder as there were annoying pauses between the words spoken and the same thing was being repeated over and over again incessantly.
"P-Promise you will... protect her... and care for her."
Focusing on the words ringing in his mind time and again, Sal managed to make out a clear sentence.
He drew his brows together.
'Sal Devo Douglas?'
The voice rose from inside him. It didn't take a genius to realize who it could be.
'Are you his soul or his ghost?' Sal asked in his mind.
Soon, he got a reply.
'N-Neither, I am… I don't know what I am.' The voice began to sound clearer, more like a human than a broken recorder. 'But if I have to define myself, then I am his regret.'
"Hmm..." Sal looked to be lost in thought for a moment.
In the 3000 Worlds, all sorts of spectacles and wonders could be seen. Being from there, Sal was no stranger to anomalies. He had the misfortune of exploring worlds where ghosts haunted the living in plain sight. These worlds were chaotic. They were a nightmare for humans. The experiences he had in these worlds were terrifying, but they broadened his horizons and tempered his spirit, allowing him to behave calmly even in the strangest of situations. So he didn't regret going to these worlds.
Thanks to these wild experiences, he had a great deal of knowledge about the supernatural. He was able to recognize what type of anomaly this was.
The kind of entity that had no shape or form and was only a voice in his head couldn't be compared to the likes of demons and full-fledged ghosts.
It was at best the cumulation and manifestation of a great deal of regret and resentment left behind by a mere mortal at the moment of their death.
This type of anomaly was considered the weakest. It couldn't even hurt a fly, meaning it couldn't harm him directly; he didn't need to fear it.
However, he lacked the power to expel it from his body.
Unless he resolved the resentment of the original owner of the body he was now possessing, this anomaly would reside in his body for a long time.
But if he resolved the resentment, it would cease to exist, and he would gain full ownership of this body.
'Why do you think I have the power to protect her?' Sal questioned.
'Because I know you are no ordinary man,' the lowest-level anomaly replied. 'You wouldn't have been guided to possess this body if that wasn't the case.'
Sal felt startled, hearing its words. His soul was guided to possess this body? But how could that be possible? As per his understanding, the original owner was just an ordinary boy with nothing outstanding about him except for his body which was tougher than the average man, but nothing special compared to a spiritual combatant. How could someone so ordinary have the ability to drag his soul into his body?
It couldn't be him. Sal refused to believe it.
But if it wasn't him, who was it?
Who and what had guided his soul to possess this poor boy?
'Why was I made to possess this body?' Sal questioned the lowest level anomaly in a calm tone.
The calmness in his tone was the same as the calm before the storm.
'You'll know if you resolve my resentment,' the lowest-level anomaly answered.
To resolve his resentment Joe had to be defeated and Ann had to be saved.
'If that's all I will get in return, then I am afraid to say it's not enough,' Sal said.
'My memories and my greatest secret that even my sister doesn't know will be yours if you succeed in saving her from Big Joe. You'll also get freedom from me,' the anomaly said.
'You know I am no ordinary man. Why do you think the secret of a little boy will interest me? And it's not like I don't have the means to get rid of you, it will just take some time and effort,' Sal scoffed internally.
'My secret is great enough to the point I believe even the likes of you would like to know of it,' it said. 'However, if you choose to get rid of me, you will never know what it is.'
'Why should I believe you? For all I know, you could be lying to get me to save her,' Sal said.
'Why would I lie to you when my sister's life and death is entirely in your control?' it retorted.
'That does make sense. Alright, I promise you. Big Joe will be dealt with and Ann will be cared for.'
Sal made this promise to the weak anomaly because the benefits he would be getting out of this were too good to ignore in his current situation.
The anomaly wasn't foolish.
It had an idea of who he was.
If he was lied to, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the very person the anomaly wanted to save.
So it was safe to assume that the secret of the original owner was of great magnitude and it would be of great help to him.
Sal was looking forward to hearing what it could be.
'Now, do not disturb me unnecessarily,' Sal said commandingly.
As if acknowledging his command, the anomaly in his body fell silent.
"Brother, you look lost in thoughts. Did you perhaps remember the past after hearing what I told you?" Ann asked.
Sal focused his gaze back on her and, after a moment of thinking, nodded, "Some part of it," he lied through his teeth. It's not like he could tell her he had a conversation with her dead brother. That would be turning her against him.
Ann believed him. He had no reason to lie to her, so she didn't doubt him.
"You said we were separated from our community under disastrous circumstances. What were those circumstances?" Sal asked.
"Brother, don't worry about these things. You should first focus on recovering from your injuries. Take this, and you should be fine," Ann said as she took out a red, small, and crumpled worm-like leaf from under her clothes and presented it to Sal.
Sal's eyes narrowed in thought. Ann changed the topic, which meant that she believed he was better off not knowing about the disastrous circumstances that separated them from their birthplace. Either she was being considerate or there were some other reasons. Sal didn't have any intention of forcing an answer out of her. Besides, in his current, he couldn't even slap a fly to death!
Sal grabbed the red worm-like leaf from Ann's hand and asked, "What's this?"
"It's a Bloodworm Weed. Its juice has healing properties. Place it in your mouth and chew on it. It will secrete a bitter juice that's hard to swallow. But don't spit it out. Swallow it. It will help you recover from your injuries," Ann explained.
"I understand," Sal said before placing the weed in his mouth and chewing on it.
As Ann had told him, a red-colored juice was secreted from the Bloodworm Weed as Sal chewed on it.
His nose scrunched up in disgust. He could swear that although it was not the worst thing he had tasted, it was in the top ten.
It had a bitter taste so horrendous and so completely against his palate that he would have spat it out if not for the fact that he knew it could heal him.
Recovering was his main priority, so he gulped the juice down.
The injuries across his body slowly began to heal.
As his injuries decreased, his pain lessened.
When he had milked the Bloodworm weed of all its value, he had recovered from 80-90% of his injuries.
"What a miraculous type of weed. This weed shouldn't be easy to get. How did you get it?" Sal asked Ann, who felt too apprehensive to speak as if afraid.