CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 26: ASPIRATION [1]

Kael wondered when he had changed.

In the beginning, when he first opened his eyes and found himself in the Tower of Glory game, all he could think about was becoming stronger, and surviving.

In order to succeed, he was willing to do anything.

...Most, not all.

But then, someone like that was willing to face all of the Tower Creators, willing to put himself in danger.

All because of a child named Caster.

Someone Kael had only been with for a few days.

They weren’t even blood related.

But knowing that the child would die, he couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

Why?

Oh right.

Kael was human, after all.

And humans had something called empathy.

***

Kael was sitting under a tree, with Hans on his left and Caster on his right, watching the kids play soccer together.

A peaceful scene.

A familiar scene.

The Tower Master was not joking.

He had really brought him back to the day before Doom Bringer appeared.

’...So I have to kill Caster, huh?’

His expression became darker.

’Damn it.’

Honestly, he did not have the confidence to kill the boy with his own hands.

Caster had unintentionally occupied a special place in his heart without him knowing.

So, Kael chose to brainwash himself.

It was all for the greater good, thus, that boy’s sacrifice was worth it.

After all, he had already thought of this possibility before the 20th floor opened.

Hans, who was sitting next to him, naturally noticed the change in his emotions easily.

"Hey Kael, what’s wrong? You don’t seem... very happy?"

Kael was silent for a long while.

Then, after about 30 seconds, he opened his mouth.

But it wasn’t to reply to the protagonist, but to call out to Caster, who was sitting on his right.

"Hey Caster, what’s your biggest dream?"

"What?" The kid was taken aback by his extremely sudden question.

It took even Hans a moment to understand what he had just said.

"Like I said, what’s your biggest dream?"

"Um..." The boy was hesitating.

Why?

Did he not trust him enough?

Or was it because his question was too sudden?

After a while without receiving an answer, Kael decided to speak his mind:

"...Could it be that... you want to meet your parents - the people who gave birth to you?"

Although Caster did not say anything, the boy nodded.

His lips were pursed, his hands were clenched.

His eyes flashed with anticipation as he looked straight at Kael’s face.

"Can I ask why you know that?"

"Why? It’s nothing big, I was just guessing."

That wasn’t a guess.

To be more precise, it was what he had wanted since he was a child.

Like Caster, Kael had also grown up in an orphanage, not receiving any love from the two people who had brought him into this world.

So, he always longed to find them again, to be taken care of by them, to receive love from them like everyone else, to spend time with his parents.

It was a beautiful dream.

But the problem was, dreams would always be just dreams.

In the end, Kael still couldn’t find them.

That was also the moment when his childhood dream officially ended.

And perhaps because he and Caster had the same situation, he could somewhat understand what the boy was thinking.

That was called empathy.

"Do you want to go see them now?"

Caster nodded, at the same time, taking out from his pocket a small and crumpled piece of paper, looking like it had been created billions of years ago.

Kael took the paper.

"This is?"

He opened the paper, and his eyes widened in surprise at what was inside.

—Father: 11A William Street.

—Mother: 32C Albert Street.

"That’s my parents’ address. It’s been with me ever since I could think."

"Then why don’t you..."

"I always wanted to go see them, but I was worried that they would hate me if they saw me."

"..."

"And just when I finally got the courage to go see them..."

Caster didn’t say anything more, but Kael could already understand the whole story.

That day, coincidentally, was also the day the kid was forced to become a guinea pig for those mad scientists.

"To be honest, I should have forgotten about the existence of this piece of paper a long time ago. But thanks to you, I remembered that I still kept it like a treasure."

...Caster was definitely the most miserable boy in the world.

His life was probably darker than ink.

Feeling a sharp pain in his heart, he gently placed his hand on the boy’s head, then stroked his silky hair before continuing:

"In that case, why don’t you go change your clothes, and then we’ll go meet them?"

"Really? Sure!"

The boy’s eyes were filled with bustling fireworks. It took a lot of effort for Caster not to scream with joy.

Without wasting any more time, the boy quickly ran back to his room, leaving Hans and Kael behind.

Witnessing Caster’s happy expression, he couldn’t help but feel warm inside.

But very quickly, that feeling was overwhelmed by something else that was extremely cold.

For the sake of his own ultimate goal, Kael couldn’t develop any more feelings for the kid.

Lost in his own tangled emotions, Kael was only forced back to reality when Hans placed his hand on his shoulder.

"...What’s wrong?"

Kael asked, at the same time, pushing his hand away.

"...Are you okay? You look strange."

An unexpected question, hitting him right in the heart.

"What do you mean?"

Hans brought two fingers to his chin, rubbed it, and frowned.

"Um, how should I put it? Your tone of voice seems more strained than usual. I also feel that your mood is not very good. Moreover, the topic you talked about with Caster today is not normal at all."

"..."

"It feels like... you were forced to do something you were unwilling to do."

...

Kael was shocked after hearing those words from the protagonist, truly.

He knew that Hans was a sensitive person, and that all of his senses were better than normal people, but he never expected him to go this far.

"Gulp."

Kael wanted to tell him everything.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t.

What would Hans think if he knew about those things?

The future had already changed a lot, and he couldn’t let it become even more chaotic.

’...Hans, you are the protagonist of Tower of Glory, so all you need to do is become one, and live the life of a main character.’

...

’As for everything else, leave it to me.’

With a smile that could soothe all worries, Kael opened his mouth:

"You think too much, my friend. I am perfectly fine."