Zion awoke to the blinding lights. He squinted his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden change. Looking around, he found himself in a hospital cot, lines of other beds matching his. Each bed was full, and the groans of the injured could be heard all around. Sitting up, he found no pain to speak of, nor could he see any injuries. He felt his shoulder where the Crystal Howler had bit down, finding only scars of the injury.

“Finally awake, I see,” came the nasal voice of Governor Ludwig. He was sitting beside Zion's bed, his own figure covered in bandages. “Oh, don't worry about all this; I've seen much worse in my glory days.” The words must have addressed the shocked look on Zion's face.

“Sir, what happened to you? Last time I knew you an—” Zion cut off his mind, finally catching up to the moments before his collapse. His father was gone. That same rage boiled up, threatening to explode once again. “Why the hell did he do that? Why did you let him!”

“I wish it was that simple, Zion. If I had been the one who asked it of him, then at least you would have a target for all that anger,” Ludwig frowned, with some tears welling up behind his eyes. “Your father sacrificed himself so we could all live. He knew anything short of that would have ended in tragedy.”

Zion shook his head vehemently, “No, we were ok. The walls could have held!” He slammed his hand down on the metal railing, his fists clenched in fury. “Things didn’t even look that bad at the south wall till he got there.”

“Zion, he didn’t fight because of the mobs. Your dad wouldn't kill himself for something I could have prevented. He fought some Void monstrosity. It was some unholy combination of man and mob. I doubt there has ever been such a creature before.” Zion froze at that, his body going rigid, the rage sliding away. “I can tell by your reaction that he was right then.”

“Right about what?” Zion asked, confused. “Did he know what the thing was?”

“Not exactly, no. He knew it was connected to the information you couldn't share. It was like the exact opposite of you.” He stared at Zion then, something seeming to weigh on him. “It was also early tier-three, if not higher.”

Tier-three! If the Champions he was destined to fight had that much of a gap on him, what was he supposed to do? That would explain a lot. If his dad had been chasing something of that caliber, he would have needed to use his ultimate to take it down thoroughly. “Couldn’t you have just gotten a battalion of tier-ones to take it out?” Zion already knew the answer to his question, but some part of him didn’t want to let the rage die out.

“With what soldiers, Zion?” He asked him skeptically. “This monster knew exactly what was needed to split the Sphere's power. Its obvious goal had been to separate all elements of cohesion just for one shot at you. If your dad hadn’t fought it, we would all be dead.”

Zion punched the bed in frustration, its frame groaning from the strain of his blows. After a few seconds of this, he let out a heavy sigh, tears falling from his cheeks. He paused in his sorrow then, Ludwig's words registering. “Sir, you said fought. Don't you mean if Dad hadn’t killed it?”

“I said what I meant, Zion. Your dad brought down hell on the thing, killing at least a hundred elite mobs. But eyewitnesses report that once everything had settled, the beast pulled itself from the crater, broken but alive. It then entered some tear into the Void.”

Ludwig grabbed Zion’s hand, squeezing it. “That’s why we don't have time right now to feel sorry for our woes. We have to get you prepared to leave. It is one of the last things your dad said to me.”

“You said one of the last things. What else did he say?” Zion asked hopefully, clinging to the hope that his dad hadn't truly left.

“He wanted you to know that he loved you. That he felt true pride when he looked at you. He wanted you to embrace this challenge and succeed.” Ludwig squeezed again, trying to transfer comfort through his touch.

"It’s not fair!” Zion screamed, his voice raw with emotion. “I lost my mom and had to deal with that heartbreak, and now my dad's gone? What kind of sick joke is this?” He slapped Ludwig's hand away. “Why does everyone else get to live every time? Why do the ones that truly give everything they have to get punished? It's bullshit!”

He wailed then, a horrible sound emitting from his throat, the anguish and heartbreak tearing through him like a relentless storm, shattering the fragile facade of composure he had struggled to maintain. He felt the tight embrace of Ludwig, and this time he didn't push him away. He leaned into the injured man, sobbing.

They always describe sad moments in stories as almost beautiful affairs where the beauty of man is on display. But there is nothing beautiful about tragedy. Snot, red eyes, and a broken heart don't make entertaining work because it's just too real.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

That's what Zion did for a long time. He cried, mucus dripping on both of them. His chest hurt from the action, and his mind reeled from the turmoil. But Ludwig didn't leave him, even when Zion tried to push him away; the man just held him tighter. He was a dam keeping Zion's sanity from pouring out.

“Zion, I'm sorry,” Ludwig told him, his voice thick with tears. “I'm sorry for your dad, but I'm also sorry about how your mom was treated. I had the power to do something, and I didn’t. This town has let you down so many times, but I swear I'll do better. I have to do better.

“But you have to keep going. You have to be the one to carry on the mantle your parents wore. It isn't fair and never will be. People who say life is fair are destined for sorrow. What makes someone's life great is the struggle against life, that push to better even just one thing. The struggle never stops, just like your dad won't be the last loved one you lose. Still, push on for those who pushed you ahead of themselves.”

He listened to Ludwig and took in the words, even though he didn't want to, because he couldn't let this break him. This path he chose was never going to be easy, and he would have many more scars on his soul before his time came.

Zion let the tears fall for a moment longer, and then, one last time, he allowed his sadness to flood over him. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his heart. He would have the rest of his life to mourn his father, but he only had now to take the next step on his path. “What’s next?” The words came out rasping, his throat raw from crying.

The next day flew by in a blur. Ludwig seemed to have all kinds of things he needed to get ready before Zion departed, but wanted them done within a short time frame. This resulted in both of them running around the town through all the rebuilding efforts.

Their first step was his home. They gathered all the money his dad had left behind, even the stash that Zion hadn’t known about. It turned out to be a large sum, totaling two thousand gold. Ludwig explained that while it was a great amount by tier-one standards, it would not last long at tier-three. This was punctuated by the fact that Zion would need to purchase tier-three gear if he didn’t want to burn through the durability of his items.

That had caused him to glance at his current items to see how they had fared over the last day. The results were a broken set of spiritweave, with his belt already at seventy-eight durability. He would have to get new armor right away, the now broken set pretty much just being traveling clothes.

Ludwig had offered him the majority of materials from the north wall, a literal fortune for the normally peaceful Terra. He declined, asking that they use the money generated to rebuild the town. He had been thanked for this, but honestly, tier-one materials wouldn’t fetch enough to supply him for long. It was better to leave his home better than he left it.

They had gone over what he wanted from his class build. This had resulted in a lot of uncertainty on Zion's part, something Ludwig was not okay with. Ludwig explained that in order to climb the tiers, one must have a visual path before them. Trying to go in blindly resulted in a build that was not cohesive enough to expand.

With that in mind, they had gone over Zion's options. He had settled on a spell-blade build, believing it would benefit from his unique class and race and would allow him to tackle solo challenges if needed. Ludwig disagreed right away, asking Zion to explain how the siege had unfolded for him. His description of the battles led Ludwig both away from and toward his own idea.

He finally relented when Zion discovered his new spell surge. Zion explained that surge would serve as an excellent ace ability, especially in close-range combat. Ludwig conceded that it could be a viable path but emphasized that Zion would need to fill in every gap himself. This meant acquiring more damage spells, a movement ability, and a spell for mana regrowth.

Based on Zion's descriptions of the battles, Ludwig concluded that traditional healing methods would not work for him. He theorized that only by replenishing his mana would his wounds close, and his regen would play a crucial role in that process. This realization also led them to agree that Zion needed to utilize a shield and armor to mitigate some of the damage he received.

The mention of his spell also revealed that Zion had leveled up four times during yesterday's fighting—a rate that would normally be staggering if he hadn’t faced such large numbers of mobs. This provided him with twelve stat points to invest. He allocated three to affinity and four to resolve, rounding them off. With his remaining five points, he focused on acuity, intending to deepen his mana pool.

What was odd was the sensations he felt when he increased his stats. It was commonly taught that reaching certain thresholds would trigger greater changes, but in Zion's case, reaching the affinity threshold seemed to affect both his mana channels and his muscles. Both appeared to grow after reaching level twenty. Similarly, his resolve seemed to fortify both his willpower and his physical fitness. Experiencing simultaneous changes in both aspects of himself was a peculiar sensation.

Although Ludwig chimed in occasionally during the stat allocation, he mostly continued discussing Zion's future build. These discussions lasted for hours, with Ludwig attempting to guide him with the limited knowledge of a first-tier player. The remainder of that day was spent finalizing Zion's departure plans and determining his destination. Then, the next morning arrived, and Zion found himself listening to Ludwig's speech once again as he prepared to leave.

“You're going to have to venture into the Untamed Spheres to make any fast progress, but they don’t have a lot of supplies there. We'll send you to Sphere Valor first. That place is tier-three and full of merchants. It will be a great place to get supplies,” Ludwig reiterated, as he had done countless times before. “Then let's hope your Goddess will guide you to the proper place for growth.”

“I swear I got the gist of the plan yesterday, Sir. I’ll be fine, I promise,” Zion assured him, extending his hand. Ludwig grasped it and shook it before pulling Zion into a firm hug.

“Don't forget to raise your hood and keep your skin covered as well,” Ludwig reminded him, holding him at arm's length. Zion complied, pulling his wool cloak tighter around his face, obscuring most of his features. “People are going to find out about you eventually, but do not get caught by the first set of eyes that cross your path. Many will react strongly to a new race.”

“Go, make us proud, Zion. Stay alive and grow stronger. I’ll be building a memorial for your father and the others who helped save us. Your name will be included,” he said with pride, smiling at Zion. “This will be the last time I see you in person, but not the last time this Sphere thinks of you.” His words struck a chord with Zion, reminding him that this would indeed be the last time he set foot in his home. The laws of Spheres were exact.

Zion approached the glowing white pillars in front of him. They were aligned in a perfect circle of twelve pillars, resembling the face of a clock. The vibrant white light pulsated in a steady rhythm. Zion had seen the travel pillars his whole life but had never used one. They had been created as a means to traverse between Spheres without traveling through the Void. Each pillar could be used twice per day.

Placing his hand on the pillar, he felt its warmth flow up his hand. The hum felt alive, as if calling to his soul. Zion didn’t dwell on the odd sensation, assuming it was normal. With a final wave to Ludwig, he thought of Sphere Valor. The pillar brightened, and Zion felt the portal pull him once again.