Aeren and the others boarded the carriage. Four of them sat inside, while Aeren took the driver's seat, his eyes drifting upward to the clear blue sky.
---
Earth, Past Life of Aeren
At the age of sixteen, Aeren's perception of reality shattered. His trust in the world dissolved, replaced with a flood of questions that refused to leave his mind.
Why does death exist?
Is it a natural condition, or an illness born with the human body?
Has someone already studied this before me? If so, how many? Ten? Twenty? More?
He wanted answers. All of them. And more than that—he wanted to find a cure for death, for any illness connected to it.
Leaving the library with his thoughts racing, his steps quickened until a familiar voice called to him.
A friend stood there, smiling warmly. Without thinking, Aeren smiled back.
"Man, where were you? I wanted to talk about something."
"Oh, sorry," Aeren replied. "We'll talk later—just message me."
"Alright, later then."
As his friend left, Aeren froze. Why did I smile? Why the fuck did I smile?
Irritation surged through him. And why am I irritated now?
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and walked home.
There, he found his mother and said, "Mother, I want to become a doctor. Please… I need money to buy medical books."
Her face lit up, pride and joy clear in her eyes. She gave him the money without hesitation.
Aeren smiled again—this time because she was happy—and once more questioned himself. Why am I happy again?
He went to the store, bought the books, and began reading. That night, drowsiness crept in, disrupting his study. Irritation burned in his chest. Why is everything getting in my way? I just want to read.
He searched for a solution, and in his restless mind, a childish answer emerged—pain.
If I feel pain, maybe I can stay awake the whole night.
He found a needle, and whenever sleep threatened, he drove it into his skin.
This continued for two years.
---
By eighteen, Aeren had entered medical college.
He thought to himself: I've learned to control my smile. Sleep still gets in my way, and happiness still surfaces sometimes—but both are manageable.
He had trained his body to go four days and nights without rest. He ate only once every three days and drank no more than a liter of water daily.
Years of study had taught him much about the human body, but he was still searching for what would make a human perfect—truly free from weakness, emotion, and all things that distracted from knowledge.
He had sacrificed much: vomiting blood, inflicting pain upon himself until he no longer felt it. His body remained healthy only because he forced himself to exercise daily, even in the early days when he had no energy at all.
I just need to push harder, he thought. Somewhere out there is the key to freedom—true freedom—from emotion, weakness, and anything that stands in the way of understanding.
---
The carriage rolled to gentle stop.
An hour ago, Renn, Isolde, Lira, and Liora entered the carriage. Lira and Renn sat beside each other, while Isolde and Liora took the seats opposite them.
Isolde's gaze lingered on Renn for a moment before she spoke with a small smile.
"You didn't introduce me to her."
Renn chuckled lightly. "Oh, sorry. We were busy getting out of that predicament, so I forgot." Renn pause little.
Liora added, "You can introduce her now."
"Of course," Renn said. He gestured toward Lira. "This is Lira, my future party companion. She has extraordinary skills that will help me—and others—a lot."
Lira gave a polite nod. "Hello."
Isolde looked at her, a hint of jealousy flashing in her eyes before she shook her head. "You're something, Lira. Renn rarely takes an interest in anyone."
Lira smiled faintly. "Yeah, I was surprised too."
"Anyway," Isolde continued, "I'm Isolde Verdan, and this is my maid, Liora."
"Hello," Liora said warmly.
"You can call me Isolde," she told Lira. "And sorry about my Aeren—he scared you."
"It's okay," Lira replied. "It was my fault, not his."
Isolde turned her attention back to Renn. "You're getting more handsome every time I see you."
Renn laughed. "You're exaggerating."
Liora, watching both Renn and Lira, suddenly spoke up. "Renn, thank you for last time. Your technique is so good that I've started to feel like it was made just for me."
"Same here," Isolde added. "You're truly a genius, giving me a technique of that tier without hesitation."
Renn looked a bit embarrassed at their joined thanks. "It's nothing. I can make a new technique for Aeren that suits his body, if you'll let me observe his combat style."
"Nah, it's fine," Isolde replied. "He doesn't mind anything. He follows all my instructions, has decent combat ability to defend himself, and—" she smirked "—I've never seen him tired. His stamina is… unusual."
A voice then asked, "Does he still go to the slums?"
Liora answered, "Yeah. He still goes every day with food. Sometimes, I've gone with him."
"Oh," Lira murmured.
The carriage came to smooth stop.