John and Karin eventually reached the door to his room, with Vera there mostly in spirit. The bone was now pointing directly through his door, to somewhere about ten meters inside, according to his estimations.

Once he got close, the door opened with a light swoosh, and after hesitating slightly, he entered.

It was almost exactly like he had left it, clean and neat. The window to his right showed him the village, still standing and looking as peaceful as ever. It made him long for his home, to taste his mother's cooking, and to lie in his old bed.

“Haah, looks like no one is here. The bone is pointing to… that room,” John said, looking at the door to the right. It was the one leading to the room with the metal bed, which would take him to his home.

“I need to go back first to find Serah?” John asked, mainly to himself.

“It could be that the bone prioritizes your wellbeing over finding Serah right now. Whatever is most important doesn’t have to mean that it will lead you to what you want to find the most, right?” Vera said, trying to offer a possible explanation.

John had considered that, but he felt it was more likely that it would lead him to Serah. That’s how Rain had found her in the inverted world, after all. Using his connection to her.

“... Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.” He turned to the doorway, where Karin was still standing. “I’ll see you again later, right?”

She nodded, leaning on the side of the doorway. “I’ll be around at some point. I hope you find what you’re looking for, John. See you later!” She waved at him while leaning back and turning out of sight.

John looked at the doorway as it closed behind her, feeling a strange sense of loneliness. “... Do you think I push people away, Vera?”

“What gave you that idea?” she asked, sounding unconvinced.

John thought back to his time in the portal and everyone he met. Some would be absent from his life either way, but people like Dennis seemed more than happy to part ways with him. It almost felt like his talent and determination were too much for others to keep up with.

“... It might be nothing. Just circumstances, I guess. Has anything happened back home while I was away?”

“Mmh, nothing your mother won’t be able to tell you about. You have become quite a famous case of sudden exhaustion syndrome, though. Since you’re the winner of the royal tournament, it spread quickly.”

“That makes sense. I am a pretty big deal, after all. I can still tell my Mom about everything that happened, right? Just not the simulation part.”

“Director Lee gave his agreement, and now that you’re an aspecter, I’m sure he’s even more willing to help you. Remember that we can’t see anything that happens inside anyone’s home, though. I don’t know exactly how your mother has been doing.”

John could imagine. He hoped her worry had decreased after he told her what was really happening, but he had been gone for a while. “Same with Serah’s parents, then?” he asked, walking over to the room with the bed.

“... They’ve been out and about. They’re somber, but not as much as one might expect. So I’m not exactly sure what she told them before leaving.”

‘She might have told them exactly what would happen, right? Or that she would be gone for a long time, preparing them for a long wait. God, I’ve got so many questions for her. How did she know? When could she ever have learned?’

Standing next to the empty bed, it was clear what the bone was pointing at. He was supposed to lie down and enter the simulation. But he couldn’t bring the bone inside, so if there was something in particular he had to find, he might have to search for a while.

“Well, that might make my job easier… Telling them is going to suck either way, though.”

John got into the bed, feeling something pulling on his consciousness. He thought he could resist it if he wanted, but he surrendered willingly, falling into a temporary slumber in seconds.

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A familiar smell entered his nostrils, slowly rousing him from the slumber. His eyelids were extremely heavy, feeling like they had been shut for a long time.

‘Mmh, body feeling slow… I guess it’s because my body is back to that of an average human, no longer strengthened by the breakthrough.’

He activated the essence in his core and sent it swirling through his body, waking it up and making him feel refreshed. His eyes opened, revealing the familiar room once again.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the smell, and stretched all his large muscles in a grand and slow motion. The bed squeaked tiredly at his movement.

“Ahh, this feels nice…”

He didn’t feel physically better than in the real world, but his mind was much more at ease. Now he just had to prepare for the tumultuous sounds coming up the stairs.

A muffled shout came from the hallway, from a familiar voice. “John! Are you awake?”

His mother burst through the door, took one look at him, and screamed in joy, raising her arms in the air. “Aaaahh! You’re awake!” She threw herself over him, forcing him into a mighty hug.

John couldn’t help but smile, embracing her back after recovering from the heavy landing. “I am back, Mom. And I might stay for a while this time.”

“Oh my god, I’m so glad you returned!” Her voice was muffled by the pillow in which her face was buried. “How have you been? Did the training mission go well? Is Serah back as well?”

John breathed in sharply, staying silent for a bit too long. His mother leaned back, tears in her eyes, looking at his face with concern. “John? How… What happened?”

John swallowed, trying to keep the emotions in check. But the warmth and care he felt made it difficult. “We, uhm… It was a disaster. And Serah was…”

The fiery tree, the four bodies on the ground, the glowing white antlers on top of her head, and Serah simply accepting everything. It all came back to him: the rage, the fear, the betrayal, the hurt, the denial.

His face crumbled into uncontrollable sobs, no longer able to keep it bottled up. He had distanced himself from his emotions for an entire day. But now he could open the dam, letting the cracks that had formed rest.

“..She was taken away!” he wailed, putting a hand over his face as if covering his shame.

“Oh, John!” his mother cried, embracing him again with motherly care and love. “I know you did everything you could, dear. Don’t blame yourself, you hear?”

Her words helped, but he couldn’t help blaming himself. He had done everything he could, but he had also acted like a moron, refusing to question Rain at any point of their journey.

“I failed her… I promised I would… keep her safe… And I trusted… I trusted Rain.”

His mother hugged him tightly while stroking the back of his head. “Serah will be fine; you know how strong she is. And she knows you did your best.”

Her comforting words rang true. Serah was strong. And if Rain needed her so badly, there was a good chance she would keep her alive.

The sobs stopped, but he still needed time to calm himself, so they both stayed quiet in his bed. He could almost feel the catharsis lifting his spirits, but he still felt embarrassed by his crying. He thought he had cried for the last time years ago.

“Are you starting to feel better?” his mother asked tenderly, now lying on his side.

John felt his lips quiver as he was about to answer, so he took a deep breath first. “... I am. Thanks, Mom.”

“Your pain is my pain, dear. So I’m actually just doing this for myself.”

John guffawed at her words. “Of course you are… I think I really needed this.”

She nodded, seeming hesitant to speak. “... Can I ask about what happened? Since you two left?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you the entire story. It all started when we arrived in France…”

He told her every detail he could remember, from how the trees looked in the forest to how the ground fell from the planet. Then, about his meeting with Rain, which took him some time to get out.

His mother was amazed by nearly every detail, especially the planet's inversion. When he told her about giving Rain his clothes, she clapped him on the shoulder, saying she had raised a gentleman.

He continued the story through the Aasvedan ruins, the memories he explored, and then the desert where he met Dennis. Then his victory over the horror, his breakthrough, the mist, the jungle, and finally, meeting Serah again.

And the disaster that happened the next day.

John managed to get through the retelling without too much trouble, but he couldn’t stop his voice from being colored by emotions near the end. The sky outside had turned dark as he spoke.

His mother now sat on a chair beside the bed, finding the bet too small for two people to share comfortably. She was deep in thought after he finished.

“... From what you’ve told me, Rain still cares deeply for you, dear. But she had no other choice, and it tortured her. So you go find Serah, and you talk to Rain directly, honestly.”

John grimaced, not feeling willing to simply talk it out. “... I will pursue Serah with everything I have. But I can’t promise anything regarding Rain. I might be able to forgive her if she has the best reason in the world. But if it was for selfish reasons…”

‘I might just take that life she’s offering me…’