Roland got out of bed and walked out of the door, finally allowed to get up. After two days of nothing but bed rest, he was itching to do something or rather anything was preferable to that damn bed. He walked down the second floor hallway, pausing at the “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on the room next to his.

Rest well you two. It’s my turn to take care of things. Roland thought to himself. Although I don’t exactly know what happened, I know that if I was awake I could’ve…

He stopped his thoughts by force before it could start a negative spiral. He knew that it takes effort to maintain a positive mindset.

Complaining about how shitty things are doesn’t get anything done. I need to take my current situation and see how to get through this, if anything for those two who obviously saved me.

With the framework of a plan in mind, he passed by the door and walked downstairs only to see the priest sitting in a chair reading some documents.

“Good morning, little shit. How’re we feeling today sunshine? Finally decided to stop lazing around in bed and start working on your debt like a real man?” He chuckled.

I wonder WHO it was that kept paralyzing me and putting me in that damn forsaken bed of yours hmm? He swallowed his words and smiled.

“Actually, I thought some fresh air would do wonders. I’m not exactly a fan of staying in a room that smells of old crotch.” He paused and grinned. “I don’t know how your wife sleeps with you. Maybe she needs a real man for a change?”

The priest looked at Roland strangely. “You’re about forty years too late for that I’m afraid.”

“Oh…she died?” Roland cautiously asked, this time with a little more respect.

“No, she left. Old crotch smells indeed. HAHAHA!” The priest burst out laughing.

I want to kick the me from a few seconds ago for respecting him…even for a moment.

“Then fucking take a shower old priest, maybe she might come back?” Roland mused. “Though I can’t imagine a marriage ending just because of how someone smells occasionally…”

The priest paused.

“Smart kid. Yes, it was something else indeed.” The priest paused for a moment. “By the way I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Allen.” He smiled.

Just when we were getting somewhere…ugh.

“Hello Allen, I’m Roland, but you already know that.”

“You have a last name Allen?”

“…Walker.” Roland cringed a little after getting it out. Why of all things did he have to pick an anime character’s last name…

“You are right, I do know you. In fact, I know what is going on with you better than anyone else I’d imagine.” He paused again. “You are actually two…am I right?”

Roland shook a little. No way…

“Your look gives me all the info I need Roland. I was really hoping it wasn’t the case, but here you are. Based on your internal mana structure, it seems like someone who was proficient in mana was fused with someone who had never touched mana before. Not only that, but the two people were polar opposites in terms of affinity so I wouldn’t be surprised to see such chaotic mana. It seems to have settled for now but I wouldn’t count on it staying that way for long Roland. This issue is something only the divine and you can solve and I’m serious about this. Whatever you do…DO. NOT. GET. HELP. from the church with this. At least, don’t request it from my church Roland. Please promise me this.”

Roland was surprised by the almost pleading tone at the end which was a stark contrast to Allen’s usual attitude.

“I thought the church was supposed to help people regardless of affiliation?” Roland asked.

“We are. There is only one exception for every church present on the continent. I can only tell you that the one who did this to you…is the enemy of every church.”

“Wait. You know who did this to us?” Roland asked impulsively.

“Us? You aren’t thinking about bringing them back, are you?” Roland winced. “FOOL! IDIOT! WASTREL!” Allen raged. “Whoever they were are GONE Roland. There. Is. No. Bringing. Them. Back.”

“What the fuck do you know about-”

“I know because while you are Two, I am Three, and have been trying for much longer than you have to do the exact same thing.” A deep sadness appeared in his eyes. “There is no bringing Us back Roland. We, will never be again. There is only me, and you…and you need to get used to that.”

Roland stood there shocked and looked down. Then what is the purpose of living after those two have died? We…I…Wanted to bring Us back. What should I do? A lost feeling slowly dawned on Roland.

“How are you certain that We can’t be brought back?” Roland asked, trying to find a flaw in Allen’s thinking and looking for some hope.

“Do you remember the white room?”

“Yes”

“Do you remember the fusion and how it happened?”

“One was broken into tiny fragments and absorbed into the other, causing the second to explode into equally tiny fragments. Both were rebuilt…” Roland’s voice was lost of all hope as he recited from memory. He knew on an instinctual level that those tiny pieces were the souls of the two men Jake and Zeno. It would take a literal act of god to separate the two.

“Then you know that once the two were fused, it would be impossible to separate the two identities…for both mortal and divine. Trust me, I’ve asked them and paid a steep price by doing so.”

Allen looked at Roland who looked so lost right now.

“There is no more We or Us Roland, only you and I. Remember that.” Allen grinned. “There is no need to look so lost you know? I recall that there are two beauties who are depending on you for treatment~”

That’s right, I can slowly think about my existence in the future. Right now, Jessica and Christina need help.

“Hey shitty priest, how much does the next treatment cost? Surely this debt of 1500 gold isn’t for one treatment, right?”

“It’s the sum of all treatments, you are correct. For the first and next treatment I need 300 gold coins.”

Each one needs 150 gold coins?! How the hell am I supposed to get that much repeatedly?!

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“When do you need it by?” Roland asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“I need each payment no later than a month after the previous. While I want to treat them now, I need the materials to do so, therefore their lives are literally in your hands. Get me the money and I will get the materials to treat them.”

A month. I’ve got a fucking month to get 300 gold coins and 150 each month after for almost a year…no legitimate work will pay that much besides the guilds. I’ll find a way somehow.

“By the way, what are their injuries?” Roland asked.

“One of them burned their life force recklessly to cast a spell, taking years off of her lifespan. The other has her body so broken that only magic is keeping her alive at the current moment…well actually both are being kept alive by magic technically. The life burning missy has her spirit held together, while the broken one has her body held in place. Strange opposites… Don’t worry, they technically aren’t in danger of dying, but they won’t get any better and regain consciousness unless they are treated…however I can only maintain this balance for so long. Eventually, their bodies are going to give out, so I suggest you hurry.” Allen thought for a moment. “Don’t worry about the lifespan thing. After all of the treatments are done, she should only have a few hours loss at most when I’m done with her.”

Roland sighed with relief then turned to the door.

“Alright shitty priest, I’m off to make money.”

“Good luck, little shit.”

Yeah, we…I’m gonna fucking need it in this backwater city. There is no more We, only I.

With that, Roland walked out to street. There were a few people walking by on the street and the houses seemed to be made poorly. It looked like he was in the slum area of the city. Thinking to himself, he had two options for quick revenue. One was the local Adventure guild and the other was the underworld Thieves Guild. If possible, he wanted to avoid the seedier side of things even though he knew he was cut out for it. Roland had never killed anyone before even though both Jake and Zeno have. He wanted something to let himself know that he was different from them.

Roland asked around for the Guild and followed their directions to the main street. He looked up at the two-story building and saw a sign that read “Granite City Guild”. It had two longswords crossing a tower shield.

Roland walked into the building ready for the cliché veteran bullies newbie bullshit. Thankfully nothing happened. He looked around and thought that it was a tavern mixed with a bank. There was also an octagon off to the side of the store that was mysteriously empty of people, almost avoided actually.

There were clear separations between the tavern area and the “bank” area with a few notice boards near the back. Roland walked up to one, checking the requests and rewards. Board by board he scanned all of the requests and saw that nothing exceeded a few silvers, and even those were transport type quests where he had to guard a caravan.

That’s way too long for my timeline. Let’s check with the receptionist.

Roland walked up to the receptionist area and saw three people. One had a really long line for a cute girl. She had the calm and nurturing woman vibe going on. There is the cliché. He thought. The other one had an equally long line but was more of a sensual seductress kind of girl. The third was a gruff older guy and had literally no line, so he went to see him.

The man looked up and saw the kid. Before Roland could even get a word out, the man spoke.

“Piss off laddie, this isn’t a place for someone who still sucks their momma’s teets.” The man snorted and leaned back in his chair.

The fucking priest is one thing since literally two people’s lives depend on him. But you… Suddenly his thoughts stopped as he suddenly felt like something lunged out of his being.

“It was yer wife’s teets I tasted last night, and by her screams I recon she liked it.” Roland grinned.

The room descended into silence.

“Care to say that again laddie?” The man glared.

“Are you losing your hearing already? Or was it perhaps your memory that ails you? I can see why she sees me as more of a man in bed than you.” Roland laughed, meeting the man’s eyes.

The man lunged over the counter, ready to brawl while Roland brought up two mana-daggers. The man grabbed Roland and threw him towards the octagon area and Roland landed on his feet, sliding back a little. He looked up and saw the man standing there, cracking his knuckles.

“I really hope you aren’t all talk laddie, or you won’t be walkin’ outta here with your limbs intact.” The man said calmly.

“Tough talk for a man who can’t even please a woman.” Roland quipped. “You wouldn’t be this angry if you actually could.”

There were more than a few chuckles. The man looked over and the chuckles stopped. The two receptionists looked at Roland with pity for some reason, yet you could see that they were interested in the scene.

“Ria, officiate this duel.” The man said.

“Okay~” The seductress walked up with hips swaying slightly. Roland gulped a little. Damn she has curves in all the right places…fuck I don’t have the time for this.

Roland looked away from her and glared at the man. His inner something clawed its way out his being and raged at the man. Roland swore in his heart that either he dies or this old cuck is getting crippled. His blood will fill this god-forsaken hell hole. He needed to do this.

“Both participants ready~”

The man nodded while Roland glared at the man.

“Fight~”

Immediately the old man got close and threw a punch. The something in him slowed everything down to a crawl. All color faded away into monochrome as a black and blue aura filled the edges of his vision. With this, that something was finally loose. Roland lost all expression as he dodged the punch by grabbing the wrist, turning it and flipping the man. As he fell, Roland locked out the arm and kicked at the elbow and broke it…or tried to. The arm felt like he was kicking steel and didn’t budge an inch. The man lifted Roland up and slammed him towards the ground. Roland did a back flip over the arm he was holding, putting the man’s arm behind himself while the man threw an elbow backwards. Roland dodged to the side into the man’s lower leg sweep.

Roland calmly calculated his next move and brought out two mana-daggers, one in each hand. Seeing this, the man held up his hand and two gauntlets appeared on his hands instantly. Roland didn’t notice the awe-stuck stare of the crowd or the wide-eyed receptionist at the side. The only thing on his mind was making this making this man bleed by any means possible.

Roland lunged at the man and conducted a flurry of cuts and slashes. His memories as Zeno came to him flawlessly, executing feints, parries and cross counters as easily as breathing. The man assumed a boxing stance and everything blurred for Roland.

Roland fought by pure cold instinct; his thoughts were quiet. His inner voice was gone and he solely focused on the fight. Punches and kicks were thrown almost faster than Roland could see, even with everything slowed down.

As they fought, one thought finally came to Roland. His mind was finally clearing from whatever influence that something had on him.

Why…am I fighting? What the hell is going-!

Roland ceased his thoughts as he narrowly dodged a punch to his face, torso, and legs simultaneously. Roland cleared his mind and realized how drained his body was. His mana was almost gone too. He needed to end this now.

The man pushed Roland to his physical limits as hit after hit landed on him. Without that something guiding him, he was a newbie before a veteran. Roland re-summoned the mana-daggers into his left hand after the last punch shattered them again, draining him of his last reserves of mana. Roland lunged at the man. The man threw a straight and an illusion like curve at the same time. Roland took a step, ducked under the two punches and sidestepped into the right hook, just barely dodging it. Roland brought up the two daggers in his left hand to the man’s face and detonated them before sinking into the shadow world. Before he escaped, he saw the man completely ignore the explosion and reach out to grab him as the explosion slowly rippled across an almost invisible membrane. Thankfully, he escaped into the shadow world and reappeared at the door running for his life.

The man looked at the kid he just fought with a smile.

“Not bad kid. Alright show’s over, get yer asses back in the lines.” He grumbled.

“Wow that kid actually fought toe to toe with the guild master. That’s some incredible talent...”

“I wonder who he was? I don’t recognize him.”

“I don’t think he really fought toe to toe, near the end, he was taking hits left and right.”

“Maybe he was tired?”

“I don’t know, he seemed really good at first, but then couldn’t keep up. Maybe it was a buff skill?”

The crowd excitedly discussed the fight while the two receptionists looked at the door with a smile. The guild master has been known to thrash newbies into submission so that they don’t get overconfident. This ritual was done by everyone present so they knew what to expect when someone new walked in.

What they didn’t expect, however, is for someone to be able to keep up with a living legend that survived two Crusades into the demon lands.