Leon was sore the next morning but still crawled out of bed to go to work. He went to work and came back later that day to rest and study. Leon established the routine and quickly adapted to it. He also learned what his pay was.
When the week ended, he received a big bag of vegetables and even some herbs from Mr and Ms Palmer. They informed him he would receive payment as food instead of money, but this was fine with Leon because it exceeded what Rose would purchase for the entire week.
With the extra saved money came benefits. Rose could do some basic grocery shopping for the first time in ages. Eggs became a staple food for them, which enhanced the flavour of the stew. Some other basics included a jar of peanut butter and strawberry jam. It wasn’t much, but compared to their earlier situation, it was a day and night difference.
Better food meant more nutrition, which turned into a better development for Leon and Rose. Their sunken-in skin getting slightly filled in. It wasn’t a complete recovery, but they were on the right path. One month later, a certain event took place that Leon had first-hand experience with.
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As Rose opened her eyes, a splitting headache greeted her. Of course, that was what greeted her, as she had just drunk herself stupidly the night before. “Ugh, where’s the dang sink when I need it?” She muttered, looking around the room. Suddenly she stopped as she seemed to realise something.
Wait, where am I? She suddenly grew alert and her headache cleared in an instant. She also noticed the dirty rags she wore, which appeared to have not been washed in ages. Was she kidnapped?
She looked at her arms and noticed they seemed whiter, almost younger. She felt her face and didn’t feel any wrinkles. This baffled her. What in the world was going on? Her skin had lost its usual fair and smooth appearance because of prolonged exposure to sunlight.
The closer she looked around the room, the better she got a hint of nostalgia and familiarity. She noticed the door and was careful. She slowly opened the door and peeked into the room. There wasn’t much there and looked almost abandoned. The familiar feeling only got stronger as she wandered around.
Suddenly, another door opened, and she was on high alert again. She quickly got behind the sofa and waited for whoever it was to appear. When she saw who it was, she became shell-shocked and stood up straight in an instant.
A young boy smiled at her, “Good morning, sis! Had a good night’s sleep?” Rose couldn’t believe her eyes.
Water gathered in her eyes for the first time in what felt like years. Tears rolled across her face. “L-Leon?” She sputtered as she stood there.
Leon was confused. “Yes?” Rose suddenly sprinted and tackled Leon in a bear hug as tears came from her face. She couldn’t count the amount of times she had hoped her brother would smile again after all that went down.
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Being suddenly thrust into his sister’s bear hug wasn’t on Leon’s expectations today, but as he thought about what could’ve happened, he suddenly had an idea. Her memories had returned. Leon remembered what was supposed to happen to him if Rose hadn’t got her memories back.
Rose had got an amazing item in the game Souls Online about one year from now and many people coveted it. One such person was very well-connected with many people, good and bad. Rose didn’t want to sell it as it was very useful in helping her grow, but the person didn’t care about that. As such, he could find and contact their father.
Long story short, their father came back one-day claiming guardianship of Leon and with the power of the ‘law’ it was quickly done. Leon’s father, driven by greed for extra money, had no interest in him and only pretended to be a ‘good’ father. Eventually, he sold Leon into slavery.
Leon would spend two months in a slave camp being ‘treated’ for and once Rose had given the person the item and finally got Leon back, he was a shell of his former self. Not much was further written about Leon from that timeline, but from Rose’s reaction, he could guess that he had never mentally got better.
Rose’s embrace was sudden and soon Leon felt a little uncomfortable. “S-Sis, um could you, you know,” Leon was a little hesitant to disrupt her moment.
Rose suddenly remembered her brother’s condition and quickly separated. “Oh! Uh, I forgot, sorry.”
Leon didn’t blame her. She had just come back from over 15 years into the future. “Well, shall we eat? We have to go to work soon.” Leon subtly reminded her of work. After a moment of confusion, Rose scoured her memories and recalled some things.
They ate a simple breakfast, with Rose stealing some glances at Leon and the room from time to time. Leon felt a sense of déjà vu. Didn’t he do this when he first came here? Along with second-hand embarrassment, as this wasn’t subtle at all and he realised Rose must’ve seen him do the same thing.
Leon offered to walk with Rose for a bit, which was another subtle way of him guiding her. Rose glanced around when walking around the slums, which seemed to help her recall details about where she was and at what time she currently was. They split off soon, with Leon going to Mr Palmer to work there again.
By now, Leon had Mr Palmer mostly figured out. He acted tough, but was soft on the inside. Work went well as Leon got used to the labour after a month. He even developed some muscle.
Nothing interesting happened and Leon went home after work. Rose came back for her break and Leon noticed she was carrying an envelope. “What’s that, sis?”
Rose looked at the letter with a glance. “It’s an invitation to my high school reunion in about a week.” She randomly got spotted by an old classmate and she got that handed to her.
“Okay, are you going there?”
Rose was undecided. “Maybe, I don’t know yet.” Rose looked at Leon and asked, “Leon, do you like working?”
Leon thought about it for a moment. “I don’t mind it, sure it’s tough, but it helps us eat.”
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Rose continued. “What if it wasn’t necessary? Work, I mean.”
“Then I would still assist Mr Palmer, even if it wasn’t necessary.” Leon had already thought about that. Mr Palmer was a nice old man and Leon would still help the man. Plus, working in the fields was great for the body.
A little smile crossed Rose’s face, reminding her of who Leon was before all that stuff went down. And if she could help it, he would stay that way. “Leon, in about two weeks, a new game will come out. That game will change our lives.” She hinted at Souls Online.
Leon acted confused. “A new game? How will that help us?”
She rubbed his head. “Just leave that to your big sister!” Leon ducked away after a few seconds to avoid discomfort. He hesitated for a few seconds, which Rose noticed.
“Can…can I also play that game?” His inner excitement came forth. How many times had he wished to play a game like that in his past life as he read those types of novels?
“Sure you can!” Rose couldn’t deny him and Leon cheered.
The following week went as normal. Rose quickly adapted to her circumstances. Luckily for her, she didn’t stumble around on her first day. On the day of Rose’s high school reunion, something happened.
Leon woke up feeling a little chilly. He felt a little under the weather, but he didn’t mind it since it wasn’t too bad.
Rose also noticed something off about him. “Are you okay, Leon? You seem paler than usual,”
Leon didn’t want to break his routine. “I’m fine, sis, don’t worry.”
During his walk to Mr Palmer, he shivered. He really didn’t feel well at this moment. He also sneezed pretty often, which Mr Palmer noticed a little while later. “Are you okay, kid? You don’t look fine.”
Even Leon had to admit he was feeling bad now. “I don’t know.” He admitted to Mr Palmer.
“Go home. I’ll finish it up for the day.” Mr Palmer’s voice had a tone of finality. Leon didn’t protest and went home immediately. His shivering grew worse and by the time he came home, he knew he had a fever. He quickly dived into bed, feeling exhausted.
If there was one thing Rose didn’t miss, then it was her job as a waitress. Despite receiving low pay, the free food was a bonus for her. She just had to endure it for another week, then she could play Souls Online and likely quit her job soon after that. She got home for a break only to not see Leon there.
She instantly went alert. Had their father come early? That shouldn’t be possible, she thought as she shook her head. “Leon? Are you here?” Despite calling out, she heard nothing. She looked around, careful not to make too much sound in case there was an intruder. She opened the door to Leon’s room, only to see him panting in bed.
She was glad he was home, but concerned when she noticed he had a fever. “Looks like you were right, sis,” Leon's voice was a little weak.
Rose smiled softly as she looked at Leon. “You have a nasty fever there. Just stay in bed and I’ll help you.” Now she knew why her memories didn’t mention any reunion.
Leon had got sick on the day and she stayed with Leon to take care of him. He was better the next day, but she didn’t regret it one bit. “Sis, you don’t have to do that.” His words came as a surprise to Rose.
She felt Leon’s head and his warmth. “What are you talking about? You’ve got a fever!”
Leon debated with her. “I can take care of myself, sis. You’re allowed some fun as well.”
Rose was confused. Did he also debate this heavily with her in the past? “What fun will I have if I worry about you all night?” The reunion would take place during the night.
Leon was insistent “Then don’t worry, I’m 15 and can take care of myself, I need to care for myself at one point or another,” It left Rose a little speechless, she wasn’t sure what to do anymore and she didn’t want to ruin her relationship with Leon that she had just got back.
Leon didn’t like pushing Rose away like this, but he didn’t want her here. He didn’t want her to miss her high school reunion. Was it really that important? No, in the grand scheme of things, this was an insignificant event. So why was Leon so bent on her attending it? It was simple. He was trying to change the original canon.
Canon events were story beats predetermined by the original story writer, in this case, the original writer of Souls Online. Leon didn’t know if such an omnipotent being was here actively trying to keep things on course.
The ability to change the canon would signify that Leon’s actions had influence. It is highly likely that they would enforce the original canon if Rose didn’t change her decision to stay home.
If the original canon couldn’t change, then it would be a bad thing for Leon. He didn’t want to be used by their father and end up mentally broken.
Plus, Leon could also test something else out. He still remembered those last words in the mail he had received. ‘Unsatisfied with how this story went? Care to try it for yourself?’
If this meant what he thought it meant, then he had a sway to change the original canon. Leon still didn’t know who sent him here. Was it the same entity that sent Rose back in time?
After a few seconds of silence, Rose sighed, “Fine, but I’ll return home early and won’t stay at the reunion the entire night, okay?” Maybe she had been overprotective of her brother, but there was some truth to it as he also wanted to play Souls Online and she couldn’t protect him all the time during the game.
Leon smiled, “Thanks sis.” He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep.
Rose wasn’t going back to work. If her boss tried to be hard on her, then she would just tell him to piss off. Their future was secure while knowing many secrets in Souls Online.
Leon opened his eyes after an unspecified amount of time. He felt hot and was sweating massively. Leon panted like there was no tomorrow as vertigo started setting in, making the world spin.
The spinning made him queasy, and he felt the urge to puke. “What’s…going on…” He panted, his illness only seemed to get worse with time. He tried to think, but a fog seemed to obscure his mind.
He knew he was supposed to be better tomorrow, which was why he didn’t mind sending Rose away, but now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He had messed with a canon event, and now he seemed to pay for it. Suddenly, he regretted sending Rose away. He had grown quite attached to her, even calling her ‘sis’ instead of her name.
His throat felt parched as such he tried getting up for a glass of water only to nearly stumble face-first on the floor. The world spun around too much for him to even walk. Leon went for a different approach. He crawled towards the kitchen. It wasn’t simple and by the time he had reached it; he felt exhausted again.
The worst part was that he still had to crawl back to bed. The water he drank felt like ice cream on a hot day, giving him a slight moment of cooling down. He could crawl back and instantly fell asleep once again while shivering a little. Leon didn’t notice Rose coming back in the night as he was deep asleep.
Leon rose from his sleep the next day feeling tired but no longer feverish. He stepped out of bed when he noticed something off. He felt a peculiar lightness, as if someone or something had lifted an invisible burden from him.
Wait, does this mean? He got an idea and did some side jumps and paused. He also did a small spin to end it and stood firm on his feet as he stopped.
Finally, I no longer have that bit of unbalance anymore! Leon felt elated. It had always felt as if he was wearing a suit instead of being himself.
He had an epiphany of why his illness was worse than what the original Leon had got. It was often said that it was mind over matter and not matter over mind, yet Leon now had a new view of things, mind and matter combined.
A healthy mind leads to a healthy body. An unhealthy mind can also cause an unhealthy body. But what if the body was off balance with the mind? Then the mind would also become off balance. In short, because of his lack of body control, his illness got worse and now that it was over, his body control increased.
Rose come to his room again and felt his forehead. “You look tired, but at least your fever is gone.”
“Yeah, I feel a lot better. Told you I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Rose waved it off, but she was a little proud of her little brother growing up well.
“So, how was the reunion yesterday?” Leon was interested in Rose’s side. Rose was a little hesitant, which surprised Leon.
“Well, some things happened and I don’t think you need to worry about not being able to play the game soon.”
Rose narrated the events of the previous day to Leon.