Chapter 35: I Miss Everyone

Chapter Thirty Five

Orion’s eyes fluttered open. For a brief moment, before his consciousness could fully settle into reality, he wished... No, he prayed.

He prayed that all those trials and all that torment he had undergone were nothing more than some kind of deep nightmare, a horrible, endless nightmare that his mind had conjured up.

He prayed that waking up now would mean waking up into reality, that perhaps he would open his eyes and find himself somewhere familiar, and that maybe all of it had never happened.

That was his prayer.

That was his wish.

But alas, it was not meant to be.

When he finally opened his eyes properly, the first face he saw was that of Dwaine. More specifically, Dwaine’s blue eyes. The guy couldn’t even see, and yet he was looking at Orion so intensely that it was almost as if he could truly see him.

"Is something on my face?" Orion asked as he tried to sit up.

Dwaine shook his head.

"No. It is just that you are a real heavy sleeper." The old man paused briefly before adding, "I have been waiting for you to wake up for about one week now."

Orion’s eyes widened.

"Wait... I slept for a whole week?"

"More than that," Dwaine replied calmly.

Orion paused.

"Wow."

Dwaine nodded. He thought Orion was rebuking himself for sleeping so heavily. After all, they weren’t in some kind of luxury resort where they could afford to sleep whenever they wanted. They were in the middle of an almost hellish, near-endless trial, and each trial had been more dire than the previous one. Every floor seemed determined to crush their bodies, minds, and souls even further than the last.

So yes, Orion was supposed to rebuke himself.

After all, on the floors, they were already back to full health within a day or so. There was no reason for him to sleep for so long.

"Damn, I actually slept so little," Orion suddenly said. "I thought I would at least sleep for a whole year or so."

Dwaine’s expression froze immediately.

His eyes twitched.

"You damn brat..."

He reached out and grabbed Orion’s ear.

"You want to sleep for a year?"

"Ahh! Eh! Eh! Eh!"

Orion yelped in pain and immediately tried to struggle away, but alas, even though Dwaine no longer saw him as some legendary peak elite-level warrior and had instead come to regard him as his pal, that did not change the fact that Dwaine was still a Level 19 warrior, just shy of reaching Level 20.

And Orion was still only Level 1.

The difference in their power was overwhelming, so struggling was completely meaningless.

"My kind-hearted friend..." Orion began desperately. "My legendary visionary..."

He praised him, then called him countless other names, but none of it made Dwaine stop.

The old man continued pulling his ear until it was completely reddened, making absolutely sure that Orion learned his lesson. Only then did he finally let go.

Orion remained silent.

He didn’t say a word, not because he was hurt and certainly not because he was angry. His reddened ear had already returned to normal the moment Dwaine released it, thanks to the healing and recovery effect of the floor.

No.

He was thinking about something else.

He had only slept for a week instead of a year.

He had been planning to sleep for as long as necessary in order to relieve his body, mind, and soul from the horror and terror he had suffered before stepping into this place. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration at all if it had taken him several years of sleep just to recover mentally from that nightmare, but Orion had underestimated the healing and recuperating effect of the floors.

And so, after just a day or so, his body had already returned to full health.

Orion examined his body and sighed. He was indeed back to full health. His body, mind, and soul were all brimming with vitality, yet he wasn’t happy, not even close.

If anything, his mind was still far from being at ease, and the reason for that was none other than the fact that he would be heading into yet another trial once more.

Based on the pattern they had already experienced, the next one would be even worse than the already-worst trials before it.

Orion sighed, then smiled and looked toward Dwaine.

The old man remained silent, his blue eyes glued to what seemed like a locket in his hand.

Orion moved to his side, draping an arm around Dwaine’s shoulders like they were the best of buddies.

"Wassup?" He grinned. "Is your poor hand suffering from pulling on my ear too much?"

Orion tried to joke, hoping to lighten the mood, but Dwaine didn’t shake his hand off. He didn’t scoff at his silly words like he usually would.

Instead, he smiled.

Then he showed Orion the locket.

"I kind of miss home, you see, young friend." His voice carried a faint heaviness. "This locket is a gift I planned on giving to my grandson for his birthday."

He paused, and his blue eyes showed a forlorn expression filled with solemnity, sadness, worry, and several other emotions that were difficult to put into words.

Seeing those expressions, Orion sighed. He pulled his hand away from Dwaine and patted the old man’s shoulder.

"Not only you, old friend." His voice softened. "I also kind of miss home as well."

In the eyes of the duo, several centuries had already passed. Although they didn’t want to believe the same had happened in the outside world, they couldn’t completely deny the possibility. And they refused to think about it too deeply, because if it was true, then those they cared about, those they loved, might have already grown old.

Or worse...

They might have already died.

Orion’s smile became faint.

"I miss the noisy dame..."

He paused before continuing.

"The clingy Lily..."

"The hot-headed Jack..."

"The calm-headed Noah..."

"The gentle Iris..."

"I miss Mom."

"I miss Dad."

"I miss Elias and Racheal."

"I miss everyone."

His voice became quieter with each name.

"I miss them all..."

Orion smiled.

"But I can’t see or meet them yet."

Dwaine nodded. There was no need to say anything else. There was no getting out of this place unless they conquered all the way to the 1000th floor, and after what seemed like a couple of centuries had already passed, they had only reached the 50th floor.

The journey ahead seemed endless.

Impossible, even.

Orion sighed, then, as though trying to pull the conversation away from the heavy atmosphere, turned toward Dwaine.

"Old friend, tell me about this grandchild of yours." A smile appeared on his face. "Is he cool like me?"

Dwaine shook his head, then smiled as well.

"He is not cool like you."

Orion immediately beamed.

He knew it.

He was just too awesome.

"He is cooler than you."

Orion’s smile froze.

His mouth twitched.

"What the hell?"

He stared at the old man.

"And how is that?"

Dwaine’s smile widened, and then the old man began talking. Or rather, he began to glaze his grandchild.

"What do you mean he is a one-in-a-million-year genius?"

Orion’s eyes twitched.

"He awakened a peak S-rank talent at the early age of eight?"

Another twitch.

"And surpassed most elders of their clan before the age of twelve in terms of sword skills and talent mastery?"

Another twitch.

"And so much more?"

With every word Dwaine spoke, Orion’s eyes and body twitched harder. The envy inside him grew, and grew, and grew. The reason was simple. Orion knew with absolute certainty that this old pal of his had no reason to lie. Dwaine wasn’t exaggerating just to make his grandson sound impressive.

If he was saying it, then that kid was really that cool.

And that didn’t do anything to lessen Orion’s envy. If anything, it increased it. After all, based on Dwaine’s words, he and his grandchild were supposed to be around the same age, so him being that cool was not cool at all.

"Now that I’m thinking about it..."

Dwaine suddenly said.

"You remind me of him quite well."

Orion blinked.

"Maybe that is why I wanted to protect you when we stepped into this accursed dungeon."

Orion smiled and rubbed his head.

"Really?" His smile widened. "We are the same?"

Dwaine shook his head immediately.

"No."

Orion’s smile froze.

"He is cooler than you."

"What I’m saying is that you are both the same in your recklessness."

Orion’s eyes twitched. He suddenly felt ready to beat some brain into this old friend’s head, but the moment he tried to imagine doing so, he realized that the one who would get beaten up instead was himself.

After all, a Level 1 wanting to beat some sense into a Level 19’s head was nothing but the peak of being delusional.

The duo chatted for a long while. They told each other about the facets of their families they liked, the ones they found a bit irritating, and the ones they still admired despite those irritating habits. These mere moments could be said to be the moments of peace they were able to enjoy before facing whatever nightmare awaited them on the other side of the next step.

So, for this little peace they had been given, they used it.

They exchanged a couple of words and chatted for what seemed like several long hours. They smiled, laughed, snorted, and listened to each other, while Orion became more and more green with envy the more he heard Dwaine glaze his grandchild.

It was becoming unbearable.

The boy must have been talented. Fine. Orion could accept that. But he surely wasn’t the most talented guy on the entire planet... right?

At least, that was what Orion wanted to believe.

Dwaine’s answer almost made him collapse from envy.

"Based on my experience and knowledge..."

Dwaine calmly said,

"He very well might be."

Orion stared at him.

"What the hell?"

His expression looked as if his soul had just taken another blow.

Soon, the duo were done chatting. They sat there calmly, looking at the next trial that awaited them. Neither of them made any move for a while, because neither wanted to be the first one to step forward.

Not because they were afraid of moving.

They simply knew exactly what stepping forward meant.

Another trial.

Another nightmare.

Another world designed to test the limits of their bodies, minds, and souls.

Orion eventually sighed, then smiled and stood up. He turned toward his friend and stretched out his hand.

"Come on, buddy." His smile was small, but determined. "Let’s continue. We’ve had enough rest already."

He paused.

"The faster we clear the challenge together, the faster we get to reunite with those we care about."

Dwaine looked at the hand, then reached into his pocket and put the locket away. He stood up and nodded with a small, calm smile.

Orion turned toward the trial that awaited them.

The best it could be...

Was another nightmare.

The worst...

Another overbearing, nightmarish, agonizing hell.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

They would keep walking.

They would keep moving.

They would continue forward until they reached the 1000th floor, until they conquered this trial, and until they could finally return to the people they cared about.

"Come on, friend."

Orion stepped forward.

"We have some beautiful, terrifying adventure ahead of us."

Dwaine watched Orion walking forward. A small tear formed in his eyes and slowly rolled down his cheek. He quickly wiped it off and sighed.

"Sorry, friend..." he whispered under his breath.

His eyes showed pain, but then he forced a small smile and walked toward Orion’s side.

The duo then stepped forward, right into another hellish trial.