A Hero's Dilemma

Chapter 12

Final chapter in this transition arc, finally!

Short Story at the bottom and without further ado.

Enjoy the chapter.

Cover art by: Notgustiarp

Chapter 12

He couldn't stop trembling.

Breathe, just breathe.

If only he'd just listened to Summer, things wouldn't have ended up like this. Then everything would've stayed the same, but now...

She'd told him to stay in his room and away from the stairs. But he'd let his curiosity take control, and now he'd heard things he definitely wasn't supposed to.

I'm not an idiot. I knew something happened to their kids, but it was never my business to pry...

He still remembered Summer's old study from when they lived in Beacon's faculty housing. The news clippings and printed articles all haphazardly posted on the walls told just how diligent they were in searching.

He hadn't gone into the new study, but he'd guess that the same global map was there. Though they haven't gone hunting in a while, it must have stayed relatively the same marking wise.

Yet that man claimed he searched all of Mistral and found nothing. How was he even connected to them? Was he related or just a family friend?

Well, he doubted he was much of one now.

The violent crack of someone being slammed into the living room wall reverberated through his memories. Making him doubt they'd be welcome in this house again.

Yet it reminded him so much of that other time. Where once again, his home was invaded. Those memories weren't what had him quivering, though—he was stronger than before.

Clutching his left hand, he tried desperately to stop the trembles. But the numbness spread throughout his limbs as his mind raced with what was said.

The part that changed everything—or maybe it just revealed how things actually were.

"But I mean, c'mon! How lucky could you guys be to find a kid who wanted to replace his family too?"

That words crept up his spine and took over his thoughts, trailing a throbbing ache into his heart. The pain was so deep it bellowed and had him grasping at his chest.

Replacing his family was so unthinkable that he should've scoffed at the mere accusation. But that pain in his heart only seemed to worsen the more he dwelled on it. As if maybe—just maybe there was some truth-

No! It's not true at all. They were everything to me, and I'd never forget—let alone try and replace them!

The thought comforted him as he looked back to the earlier parts of his childhood. To the beautiful village they lived in, Ansel. It was nearly a full fledged town compared to those around them and was thus considered one of the safest places on the frontier.

Ironic, wasn't it?

He focused on other aspects of his home instead. Like the friends he made and the neighbors he'd interacted with daily like...l-like—he clenched his hands and tried desperately to remember his neighbor's names and faces.

They were all obscured by a thick haze of shadows hiding their every feature. Just like in his dream...

N-No, I didn't forget them.

He remembered being homeschooled, playing in his yard and the parks his family would visit—that same fog also covered those areas, erasing entire swaths of once treasured memories.