The atmosphere now shifted towards an awkward one after recovering from the sad mental state that Ace was in.

The mood may have been awkward, but that was only for Ace, realizing that he was sobbing in front of Aliza and his mom.

Aliza, the blue-haired traveler, sat and watched the whole thing unfold, thinking that it was only natural for Ace to be crying in a situation like his.

His mom also thought nothing of it, only focusing on supporting her son and acting like a mother.

“...”

The first one to speak after Ace recovered was his mom.

“Are you okay now Ace? Do you need another hug?”

She said, holding out her arms towards Ace, who was sitting beside her on the couch.

Ace’s face started to burn up in embarrassment as he responded.

“I’m fine now... thank you.”

Once the situation fully calmed down from how it was before, the traveler spoke.

“That ‘movie’ was really amazing! How do they get people into that flat box like that?”

She spoke fast, unable to contain her excitement.

“Also, also, is this real?! Or is it sort of like a play?!”

“Does it use magic?! But I thought you guys don’t have magic!”

“What happens after the movie?! Do the people die now that the box is off?!”

Aliza’s overpowering feeling of excitement made Ace’s embarrassment vanish.

“Hahaha... calm down, calm down.

“This is something called a recording.”

“It’s like a painting, but it’s not made by drawing. It’s an exact copy of the real world.”

“It’s also not one stopped piece of time like a painting, it can be a few seconds, or even a few hours.”

“They make the movie by getting people to act out a script like a play and then record it for the whole world to see.”

Aliza, once again, couldn’t contain her excitement hearing Ace describe how the movie works.

“Eeeee! That’s so cool!”

She got up from the couch and started jumping up and down on the spot, clenching her fists in front of her as she jumped.

“Hahaha...”

Ace couldn’t stop himself from giggling after seeing Aliza act like that with every new thing she was shown.

“Why’re you laughing! I’ve never seen stuff like this before!”

She said, pouting in Ace’s direction and questioning his giggling.

“Sorry, sorry. This stuff is just completely normal to me, so it’s funny to see you get so excited over it.”

Once again, just by being herself, she has helped Ace.

She completely erased the uncomfortable emotion that Ace was feeling, and at the perfect time.

She’s being considerate, but also knows the right time that she’s allowed to be herself.

Ace was eternally grateful for her, and he’s only known her for almost two days.

As Ace was thanking her in his head, the next one to speak was the woman with her ponytail over her shoulder, sitting next to Ace, his mom.

“So, Aliza, how did you like the movie? Although I can already guess...”

“It was amazing! Now that I know it’s scripted, it just shows how good the actors are! The boy chasing away the burglars and then the touching reunion at the end! It was all amazing! I’ll never look at a play in my world the same!”

“Haha, I’m glad you liked it.”

“Thank you for allowing me to enjoy it with you two.”

“I can’t leave a guest all on her own! I would feel awful!”

“Haha, Ace also said that.”

“As he should! I would’ve yelled at him if he didn’t.”

“You seem like a great mother.”

And the two shared a laugh as Ace looked over at the clock.

It was now 9:03 PM.

Ace was going to share his story at 10:00PM, but now that he did everything he wanted to do, he was thinking of doing it now.

He shook his head at his thoughts, wanting to use as much time as he could.

He listened in on the conversation that his mom and Aliza were having and the next hour flew by.

“What was Ace like as a child?”

“Haha, he was the most energetic boy ever! He would always either be lost somewhere or running around somewhere with Isa.”

“I can see that happening!”

“Do you want to see some pictures of when he was little?”

“Mom, don’t go showing embarrassing things around.”

“One or two wouldn’t hurt.”

And the conversation continued on...

The conversation was just idle talk with pointless topics, but this was all Ace wanted.

Just talking for an hour was all they did, but it left Ace feeling fulfilled and warm before the shorthand struck 10.

He was already immersed in the mood of the conversation and so, when he saw the hand strike the 10...

--Maybe just 15 more minutes...

Like a boy not wanting to wake up in the morning, he delayed sharing his story for 15 minutes so he could keep this warm feeling inside of him.

Those 15 minutes were exactly like the hour before, just passing the time with idle conversation, but it felt extremely precious to Ace.

He knew what his fate had in store, so he could cherish these 15 minutes much more than he normally would be able to.

But time flies when you’re having fun... so the 15 minutes passed in what felt like 30 seconds.

He thought to himself that he couldn’t delay it any longer and so...

“Mom... it’s starting to get late; I’ll finish the rest of the story now...”

“---!”

Selena Bracker immediately tensed up, realizing the time.

“...Ok. I’ll go get your dad.”

And she sped upstairs to call her father down.

As Ace waited, Aliza spoke up, wanting to confirm Ace’s well-being.

“Are you okay? I don’t want to interrupt your conversation so I’m going to be waiting in your room until midnight.”

Ace looked over at her.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine, I’ll call you down near midnight. You might need to hold onto me again if you want to get sent back.”

“Ok, these are the last words I’ll say to you for tonight...”

She stared into his green, vulnerable eyes, trying to share some of her determination and strength with Ace, who was clearly feeling weak.

“Stay strong.”

And she walked away from the living room, her blue hair flipping with her refined posture.

Aliza couldn’t show any sign of worry or weakness right now.

That would just be encouraging Ace to be weak and fragile.

She stood strong and determined, but it wasn’t just an act to help her friend feel better.

She was truly determined to be a good friend and wait in Ace’s room until he was done.

It may seem like a trivial task, one that someone would not be so serious about, but... Aliza couldn’t think like that right now.

She truly thought that she had to do this job of waiting perfectly.

Everything from walking out of the room properly to sitting on the bed firmly.

She was resolved to do all the tasks she was given properly so she wouldn’t get in her friend’s way.

And so, resolving herself, she continued to walk, her hair bouncing along with her frame as she disappeared from Ace’s sight.

Now, it was just Ace alone with his thoughts in the living room.

“...”

How many times must he be grateful for Aliza?

It was hard to keep up with.

“Thank you.”

His words didn’t reach her, as she was already upstairs, but he still felt the need to express his thanks.

--

Once she left, Ace started to focus once again on his task at hand... telling the rest of the story.

Her words definitely did impact him, but they weren’t at the front of his mind.

There were other things he had to worry about right now.

He glanced over at the clock to confirm the time.

It was 10:20PM.

A sweat trickled down Ace’s forehead and he dropped his head towards the floor.

He started to panic.

Not physically, but mentally.

There were too many questions, but not enough answers.

Does he have enough time to tell his story?

When he’s done, will his parents have enough time to accept it?

How will they react once he reveals that he’s leaving?

Will they be sad?

Angry that he didn’t say anything earlier?

Will they try to find a way to keep him here?

Is there enough time to properly say goodbye?

Will they be okay when I’m gone?

Too many things were rushing into Ace’s head, unable to keep them all under control and focus on one thing at a time.

He was tapping his foot and his hands were on top of his head, his nervousness leaking out of him.

He grabbed the nearest pillow and gripped it like a stress ball, now sitting back on the couch and looking towards the ceiling.

He wanted to calm down and think...

He wanted to be prepared to tell them.

And so, he tried to take a few deep breaths...

--

But it was impossible.

His stress and worry were building up, not leaving any space for a clear head.

He couldn’t think properly and so, he couldn’t be prepared at all...

The only choice was winging it.

Telling the story exactly how he knew it and responding to whatever emotions and words that were going to be thrown at him.

That was his only option.

Now that his route was set in stone, the only thing he could do was play the waiting game.

He let go of the pillow and moved over to the other couch so he could sit across from his parents.

They normally sat where was sitting, so he moved to make sure they would be as comfortable as possible.

The next few seconds felt like an eternity, waiting for his mom and dad to make their way downstairs.

He decided to wing it, but his nervousness wouldn’t just disappear because of his choice.

He was still sitting there, thinking to himself of the all the different worries that he had.

But just as he started to worry once again...

Two sets of feet made their way into the living room and sat on the couch across from him.

His parents had a feeling of seriousness attached to them, but also one that felt like sincerity as they sat in their seats.

They knew that this was an important moment for him, so they couldn’t be anything but serious right now.

Not only did they have to be serious right now, but also supportive.

They had to take in everything he was about to say and take it to heart.

They made the mistake of not trusting him once, but they wouldn’t let it happen again.

They were his parents.

It was their duty to do so.

----

Once they sat in their seats, they left Ace to think to himself for a few seconds.

Ace was still slightly panicking, not knowing how to start, now that they came into the living room.

He knew he couldn’t stay silent for too long... it was late, he had to start.

But... it was hard.

How does he start?

From the beginning?

“Ace...”

From where he left off?

“Ace...”

Do they remember what he said last time?

“Ace...”

“---!”

He was too lost in thought; he didn’t notice someone calling out to him.

He looked over at the other couch to see his dad with his body bent towards Ace.

“You finally looked over here.”

His dad said, with a relieved look on his face.

“Ace.”

His voice switched over to a more sincere tone.

“I can tell you’re struggling to get words out...”

“Take some deep breaths and take it slow...”

“We’ll wait as long as we need to.”

He reached his arm out and placed it on top of Ace’s, reassuring him.

This woke Ace up and reduced the state of panic he was in.

He was still nervous, but he was now able to talk.

He looked over at his dad with an expression of gratitude and a small, nervous smile.

He wiped the minimal amount of sweat from his forehead and took two deep breaths.

He may have calmed down, but he still wasn’t confident.

His head was down towards the floor, but he was now ready to tell his story.

“I...”

“I’ll...”

“...”

“I’ll start from where I left off last time...”

Finally getting his first sentence out, he looked up to confirm his plan with his parents.

They both gave a nod back, confirming that they remembered everything Ace said last time.

Ace returned his head to the position it was in before, unable to keep up a confident stance.

“I was teleported into the forest...”

“I sat there for about a minute, not taking in what had happened to me...”

“Once I realized...”

“...”

“I started to panic.”

Ace was hesitating every few words, mostly from the fear of having to tell his parents, but also, remembering Felona made him remember he had to go back to that country.

“I wanted to crawl away and believe it was all a dream...”

“...”

“And that’s exactly what I did.”

“I grabbed my knees and closed my eyes... wanting to come back.”

“But... when I closed my eyes, I could see words in my head.”

“There were a few words... the word map, the word support, and a time limit... all visualized in my head.”

“Once I focused on either map or support... they would perform a sort of action.”

“If I focused on map... it would show a map in my head.”

“It was self-explanatory, but I didn’t know what would happen when I focused on support...”

“So... I tried it and... when I focused on it...”

“Someone started talking to me in my head.”

“It was the same person who apologized when I first got sent to the world...”

“He had a kiddish voice and claimed to be a god.”

“We talked for about 2 minutes, but...”

“...”

“...I’ll talk about our conversation at the end of the story.”

Ace couldn’t say what he learned when he talked with Deepa, the “god”.

That was the one part of the story he had to save until the very end, no matter what.

“...”

“Once we finished talking, I was calmed down more than when I first got teleported.”

“I checked what I had on my body; I had a backpack with some food, water, a change of clothes, and a dagger. I also had a big, metal plate called a status plate.”

Ace skipped over the clown costume, thinking it was unessential to the story.

“After I checked over what I had... I checked my map to see where the nearest village was.”

“Once I found a village... I stood up and started to go towards it when...”

Ace hesitated a few more seconds than normal, recalling one of his least favorite memories from the other world.

“I was attacked.”

“---!”

“Attacked?!”

His mom yelled, hearing words that hit like a truck.

His parents have been silent while listening, wanting to give their son as much time as he needed to get the words out and not have to worry about anything else... but it was hard to hear what they just heard.

Their son... attacked.

He hasn’t explained yet, but with his hesitation and tone of voice, he definitely wasn’t fond of what he was recalling.

“Sorry... you can keep going... but... take your time.”

She was insanely worried about what her son went through and wanted to ask questions right now, but... she needed to give him time.

She needed to be supportive, not aggressive.

She needed to let him answer her questions as he spoke, not force them out of him.

If she pushed him, that would make him even more nervous.

Her son practically looked like a piece of glass right now, sitting on the edge of a table, about to fall if given a breath of air.

She needed to bring him back to the center of the table by being supportive and letting him do the talking.

After seeing his mom calm down from the shock, Ace continued.

“I got up from where I was sitting in the forest and started to move towards the village.”

“Once I got up...”

“I didn’t have any time to think...”

“I was bitten on my waist.”

After hearing what had happened, Selena Bracker had a strong desire to ask more questions, but suppressed them again, knowing that she couldn’t do that right now.

“When it happened, I...”

“I started to panic... really hard... again.”

“I started to punch the thing that bit me a few times... but... it was dark out, so I couldn’t really see where I was punching.”

“After a few punches...”

“...”

Another hint of hesitation, remembering one of his most painful moments.

“My hand was stabbed... by a horn on its head...”

“---!”

His mom, once again, quickly started to raise from her seat from shock, but... sat herself back down to let her son continue to speak.

Her eyes were now starting to well up, hating everything about what she was hearing.

She could do nothing but listen as her son spoke about what he went through.

As a mother, how could she help her son right now?

What could she possibly say to him to make him feel better...?

What could she say to make herself feel better?

“...”

Ace’s dad had been silent while listening, knowing that he was going to hear stuff he didn’t want to hear.

He wanted to be prepared to comfort Selena and not let his emotions get the best of him.

It was still painful to hear what his son was going through, but... he didn’t want to let it show.

He wanted to be a bigger man right now, so he could support his wife and son.

He wrapped his arm around his wife and brought her closer to his body.

“It’s okay... he’s here with us now... he’s alive and well.”

Selena, with her hands on her face, looked up at her husband and nodded back... trying to hold back tears.

“Mm... he’s here, right? He’s fine.”

“Yeah, he’s here.”

Ace shifted his face to the side, unable to reveal the truth of the situation right now.

--He’s here.

--He’s fine.

--He’s here with us now.

--He’s alive and well.

These statements may have been true now... but looking back on them in a few hours would be truly agonizing.

Ace was the only one to know that, but... he couldn’t say anything until the end.

So, he waited for his mom to regain her composure and continued his story.

His mom wasn’t exactly calm, but she looked at Ace and nodded, confirming it was okay for him to continue.

“I don’t want to leave any details out so... please be prepared for anything.”

He looked up at his parents and got a nod once again from them.

“Once my right hand was stabbed... I continued to panic.”

“I started hitting it with my left to get it off.”

“It finally got off me, but... its teeth were dug into my waist, so when it got off, it practically ripped its jaws off my body...”

“...”

Ace thought this hesitation was to give his parents some preparation, but it was mostly for himself.

He hated all the words that were coming out of his mouth... they made him want to vomit.

“I started to lose a lot of blood.”

“While I was getting the monster off... I remembered the dagger in my bag, so I went to get it for protection.”

“That’s when it started charging at me again...”

“...I grabbed the first thing in my bag and swung at it.”

“...”

“After a few seconds... I realized it was unconscious.”

“...”

“The thing I hit it with was the metal plate that was in my bag.”

“That only made it black out... I needed to finish it off so it wouldn’t come back to get me.”

“I grabbed the dagger from my bag and held it over its head.”

“...”

“...I hesitated... and started crying... before finishing it off...”

“...That was my first fight in the other world.”

He looked up at his parents to see their reactions.

His dad was shocked to hear it, but he continued to comfort his wife, who was crying softly with her face buried in her hands.

“*sniffle*”

His dad kept his arms around her and held her close, wanting to give her the time she needed to get herself composed.

"*sniffle*”

After sobbing into her hands for a few minutes... his mom calmed down.

She took her husband’s arms off her and wiped away her tears.

She stood up from her seat and went over to Ace, who was still bent down with his head facing her.

She got onto her knees and looked at him...

*HUG*

“...”

Ace saw her crying and being comforted, so he didn’t know what to expect when she made her way over to him.

But...

He was hugged.

She was dealing with her own emotions right now and obviously feeling an insane amount of powerlessness but...

She stood up to hug her son.

She placed her own emotions to the side to make sure her son was doing okay.

She disregarded herself to embrace the one in front of her.

“...”

She started to speak, after enveloping Ace for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry...”

“I’m sorry...”

“I’m sorry...”

Ace didn’t know how to respond...

“Mom...”

She continued with her apology, keeping her arms around her son as she spoke...

“I don’t know what else to say right now except... I’m sorry.”

“For everything... not being able to help you, for not believing you, for what you went through... I’m sorry for it all.”

“Mom...”

She wrapped herself tighter around her son...

“Mom... It’s okay...”

And tighter...

“Haha... you’re getting a little too tight.”

He was trying to play it off, but the fragileness from his voice was leaking out.

She gripped tighter...

“I’m here... right? I’m fine, I’m okay...”

It became even more fragile...

“I’m sorry.”

His mom apologized once again, this one the most heartfelt and the one that resounded within Ace the most.

It went into both ears and flew straight towards his chest.

“...”

*DRIP*

He couldn’t hold it back anymore...

---

His eyes started to well up as his mom apologized.

---

Tears started streaming down his cheeks, landing on his mother’s shoulder.

How many times has he cried now?

Wasn’t he the one who was supposed to be prepared for this moment?

Wasn’t he supposed to be the receiver, not the sender?

Wasn’t he supposed to watch as his mother was comforted by her husband?

Why was he the one who was being embraced?

So many thoughts were going through his head as he was sobbing, his nose sniffling every few seconds.

---

Ace started to hate himself for letting his emotions get the better of him in this moment.

“*sniff*”

He was supposed to be prepared for this.

He was supposed to be the one to be able to stay calm.

He was the one who was supposed to be strong...

Not the frail one...

“*sniff*”

The tears continued to pour out of his eyes, coming from all the different emotions he was feeling.

Sadness...

Hate...

Confusion...

Grief...

And a flurry of so many others...

“*sniff*”

They continued to flow, each drop taking a different form than the one before, as if his feelings were fleeing from his body through his tears...

---

How many minutes passed as he sat there, with his head in his mother’s arms.

He was supposed to leave time aside for his parents... not for his own selfish desires.

After letting himself be held for a few minutes and cooling down, he took his mom’s arms off him and sat up.

“Sorry... I should’ve been a little more prepared...”

After seeing her son start to feel better, his mom went back to the seat beside her husband and responded.

“This isn’t something you can prepare for... and there’s nothing wrong with crying when thinking back on a sad memory.”

His dad, who hasn’t talked much so far, also pitched in to share his thoughts...

“Yeah, just like your mom said. There’s nothing wrong with a man crying every once in a while.”

Ace received their words, but still felt a hint of disappointment in himself for not being able to stay composed...

“I guess so...”

“...”

“...Now that I’m feeling a little better... I’ll continue from where I left off.”

He looked over at the clock before continuing.

It was now 10:50 PM.

It really was getting late... he needed to wrap up the story.

“...”

He resolved himself, so he wouldn’t cry again, then continued.

“After my fight with the monster... I started walking to the nearest village to get help with my bleeding.”

“That walk felt like one of the longest I’ve ever had.”

“It may have been because I was losing consciousness, but... it was tough.”

“It was only a few minutes, but it felt like hours.”

“...Once I finally reached the village... most of the places had the lights off, but one place had its lights on... a bar.”

“I walked towards the bar and went inside.”

“I couldn’t see too well because of my blood loss... but it was filled with people who were like half human and half animal.”

“As soon as I got in... my legs stopped working... and I collapsed.”

“...I dropped to the floor and couldn’t get back up, so... I looked up to try and make eye contact with one of them and ask one for help, but...

“As I looked up, all I remember is seeing people leave... as they looked at me on the ground.”

“I grabbed one of their legs, but... they kicked me off and looked at me like I deserved to die.”

“None of them stopped to help and... I lost consciousness.”

Ace wanted to speed up the story a little, so he didn’t take the time to look at his parents as he was speaking...

Once he finished the arc of the story, he looked up to confirm how they were feeling.

Once again, his mom had her face in her hands, hating that she was unable to help.

“Why did it have to be you to go through all this?”

His dad was the one to speak as his mom was grieving.

Those words were ones that Ace often thought to himself, so they left a mark.

He grabbed his chest in response to his dad's words and continued.

He didn’t have the time to stop and cry for every part...

“I’m sorry... I know it hurts to hear but... I’m going to continue.”

He continued to look at his parents.

His dad gave a nod but, he was more focused on his mom and her mental state.

“...”

She gave a small nod with her face still buried in her hands.

“After I lost consciousness... I woke up in an inn.”

“I had my backpack, and my injuries were healed.”

“I realized that someone saved me, so I rushed to find them... I wanted to thank them.”

“The innkeeper said that they left already so I ran out the inn to chase after them.”

“After running around a little bit... I found the person I was looking for...”

“Aliza.”

“She was the one who healed me and gave me a place to sleep.”

A small, warm smile forced its way onto Ace’s face for a few seconds, remembering the one good memory from yesterday.

“After talking... she showed me around the village and then she told me all the information I wanted to know about that world.”

“Then we trained for a little with swords... and that brings me to midnight.”

“Once we reached midnight... I was sent back here with Aliza.”

“That’s pretty much how my day went yesterday.”

He finished up and looked up at his parents to see how they were doing.

After hearing that nothing bad happened to him after his time at the bar, they calmed down a little.

“...”

The first one to speak after Ace finished up was Joshua Bracker, his dad.

“I was expecting your story to be crazy, but... Now I wish it fit my expectations a little more... That was more insane than anything I could’ve imagined. Are you okay... Ace? After everything happened...?”

*NOD*

“Yeah... Aliza really helped calm me down and get me back on my feet.”

“Make sure you thank her properly.”

“I’ve thanked her more times than I can count.”

And the next one to speak was his mom, who now started to raise her head from her hands, to properly speak to her son.

“...It was hard to stay composed throughout the whole thing.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there for you.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“And finally...”

“Good job staying strong through all that.”

“---!”

He wasn’t expecting any praise.

His mom was having trouble sorting out her emotions right now, so it was unexpected to hear her give him praise.

It felt good...

He really did do a good job staying strong and not giving up.

There were multiple situations that would’ve got him killed if he gave up...

If he lost consciousness while walking...

If he stopped searching for a light in the village...

And if he didn’t ask for help in the bar...

It really did feel good to get praised for staying alive and trying his best to do so.

“Thank you...”

But... this wasn’t the time to be feeling good.

The story isn’t done.

“Mom... Dad... I’m sorry.”

“---?”

“I left some parts out of the story and... they’re really important. I’m going to finish it up... is that okay?”

He looked at them to receive two nods back.

“Okay... I’m continuing...”

“Think back to when I said I had a conversation with the god of the world...”

“Our conversation was really important...”

“When I first heard his voice in my head, I started asking him a bunch of questions.”

“I asked him who he was, where I was, why I was there, and how I could get back...”

“He told me his name was Deepa...”

“I was in the country of Felona...”

“I was there to defeat the enemy of the kingdom...”

“And that there were two ways to get back...”

“The first is... to defeat the enemy...”

“The second is... a two-way trip for one day...”

“Wait...”

His mom immediately tried to stop him, not liking the direction the conversation was going in.

“I would be allowed to come here for one day and then have to go back at the end of it.”

His parents heart stopped, and they were frozen in place for a few seconds.

“Stop... Ace... this... isn’t... the... time for... jokes...”

“Ace... are you being serious...?”

“Sorry... I’m going to lay it all flat... The time limit I have to defeat the enemy is one year and if I don’t beat him...”

“I’ll die.”

She jumped out of her seat.

“Stop!”

“You’re joking! Ace! Tell me you’re joking!”

“There’s no way you’re going to be leaving us for a whole year, right?! Right?!”

She stopped shouting to give her son a chance to say that he was joking and that it was all a lie.

She stared at him, the worry that she was feeling, clearly printed on her face.

“...”

It was hard for Ace to speak right now.

He thought he was prepared, but...

How was he supposed to tell his parents that he was leaving for a whole year and expect them to believe him?

How was supposed to ruin their reunion by saying he was going to be disappearing right after.

How was he supposed to ru---

Ace shook his head a few times to brush off the depressing feeling.

He already had his time to be sad.

He looked up at his mom, who was still staring at him.

“I’m going to be leaving. For 1 year. I’m sorry but... I’m not lying.”

“AHHHH!!”

She couldn’t handle the flat-out rejection of her thoughts.

His mom dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands once again.

She yelled and bawled... unable to face what she heard.

It was way too much for her.

After searching for her son for a whole day...

Worried, confused, depressed...

She was reunited.

The story was supposed to be over... finished... with a happy ending...

They were supposed to keep living their lives as a family... just like every other day.

But now...

After their reunion...

Her son is saying that he’s leaving for a whole year...

To fight monsters in another world.

He’s going to be leaving his life behind here to help people in another world.

How could she accept that?

She continued to bawl... hating everything that was thrown at her and her own inability to do anything.

---

The news was also unbearable for one other person, Joshua Bracker.

Ace’s dad stood there, just as shocked as his wife, who was on the floor crying.

He abandoned his job of supporting her because of the announcement that was thrown at him.

He was shocked.

His one and only son...

Leaving him for a whole year...

To risk his life fighting monsters.

He had no idea what to do.

He stood there, feeling powerless, vulnerable, and incapable.

What could he do right now?

What was he supposed to do with this information...?

Get on his knees and beg to someone?

Hit someone?

Pray to god?

What could he do to get his son to stay?

Joshua Bracker stood there, shocked, with small tears slowly descending down his face.

He dropped to his knees and---

“Can you two fix up already?!”

Ace started to yell at his parents, who both retreated to the floor.

They looked up at him in shock of his tone and postponed their crying to hear him out.

“Think about how I feel! You two have each other to rely on!”

“Support each other! Don’t sit there and start to cry on your own! Cry together!”

“When I leave, who will I have?!”

His voice turned sadder... more depressed.

“Support each other... so we can talk it out.”

“I only have about an hour left... don’t leave me here to watch you guys all depressed.”

The two parents looked at each other from their positions on the ground and...

“Joshua...”

Her voice was brittle as she called out to her husband.

She started crying once again, this time wrapping her arms around her husband and sobbing into his shoulders.

The husband returned the embrace and indulged in his wife’s shoulder, his voice just as brittle as his wife’s.

“Selena... what’re we going to do... our son...”

“---”

And they cried into each other’s shoulders, shouldering the pain together just as their son told them to.

--

----

Minutes passed as their body heats intertwined and their tears, simultaneous...

----

--

Time continued to pass for a few more minutes...

--

-----

Until they calmed down to the point where they could have a conversation...

They sat back down on the couch, Ace’s dad supporting his wife as she continued to sob.

He had his time to cry but, he still had to stay strong for his wife.

Ace also sat back down on the other couch and looked at the time.

It was 11:25.

The time was ticking down, and he hasn’t fully explained.

“I’m sorry... I know you two are hurting but... I only have 30 minutes left, so I’m going to finish explaining...”

He didn’t bother waiting for a confirmation nod...

He didn’t have the time.

“Once I get back to the other world, I won’t be able to talk to you guys for a whole year and I can’t tell you if anything has happened to me.”

“I’ll ask the god to give you guys some type of warning if something happens to me, but I don’t know exactly what he can do.”

--Will do~! But only once 365 days have finished~

He was given confirmation by Deepa.

He wasn’t even surprised to hear him right now; his current worries were too overpowering.

“He just told me that he’ll tell you guys after a year if anything happened to me while I was there.”

“Now, as for when I'm in the other world...”

“Aliza promised to travel with me while I’m in the other world and she’s pretty good with a sword, so that can give you a little bit of reassurance.”

“...I think that’s all I had to say.”

Another 5 minutes passed, bringing it to exactly 30 minutes until leaving time.

The first one to speak after Ace was his dad, who was still supporting his wife.

“...It really is a lot to take in...”

“To be honest... I feel like breaking down right now...”

“It was painful just sitting through your explanation...”

“But...”

“Ace...”

“You can’t stay... can you...?”

He looked Ace dead in the eye to get a final confirmation.

Ace returned the look and nodded back, both of them needing to stay strong for someone.

Ace, for his parents... and his dad, for his wife.

After giving a nod... Ace shifted his gaze to the woman beside his dad.

His mom continued to retreat into her husband’s arms, unable to face reality.

“Mom... please... I only have 30 minutes...

“Please... accept the situation and don’t leave any regrets for when I leave...!”

She gave a small glance towards her son, then retreated back towards her husband’s chest.

Ace didn’t know how to get her to accept it as the truth...

“...”

“It’s painful...”

“---!”

He didn’t think that she was going to speak.

“...I feel pain in my chest... I hate everything about this...”

“Why do you have to leave...? Are you going to be okay...? Am I never going to see you again...?”

“All these thoughts keep coming into my head... I don’t know what to do.”

“How should I be a proper mother right now?”

She turned her head to face Ace.

“Ace... tell me... are you really leaving...?”

He nodded back, not giving her any time to doubt his actions.

“I see... this isn’t some dream...”

“Then... Ace... tell me...”

“Can you promise me that you’ll come back... safely?”

“Can you promise me that you’ll come back to me after doing what you need to do?”

“Can you promise me that you’ll come back here 1 year from now, safe from injuries and not on the verge of death?”

“...”

He couldn’t promise her all that.

It was unfair to.

He couldn’t guarantee anything...

But...

*NOD*

He felt a strong sense that he was going to be okay.

He felt a strong sense that he could use these memories as determination to survive in that other world.

He felt that he would overcome his obstacles all to fulfill his goal of coming back.

There was a certain degree of determination behind his nod and his mom felt that.

“I can promise all of that. I will come back... I swear.”

Even though his nod portrayed his determination... he put what he was feeling into words to show that he was serious.

“I see...”

“Ace...”

“Come here...”

He walked over to where she was sitting and stood in front of the couch, knowing what she was going to do next.

His mother stood up and raised her husband up along with her.

*HUG*

She wrapped her arms around both of their necks and pulled them in towards her.

“*crying*”

She broke down as she embraced them...

“I love you both so much...”

Tears started streaming from her face...

“I love you both so much...”

And snot from her nose...

“I love you both...”

--

----

One of the boys beside her also started to break down, unable to control his feelings like he has been up until now.

“*crying*”

“ahhh... I love you too... Selena... Ace...”

“*crying* Why does this family have to be separated again...?”

“Why...?”

--

----

The final one unable to keep control of his emotions was Ace.

“Ahh... you’re making me cry...”

He said... a tear already falling from his eye.

“I’m sorry... I couldn’t stay for longer...”

“I promise... I’ll make it back...”

“*crying* I’m sorry...”

He broke down into his mother’s shoulder, unable to hold back any longer.

His dad’s cry and his intertwined... both sniffling their noses and drenching their loved one's shoulder with tears.

The mother also sobbed, knowing that this would be one of her final moments with Ace for the next 365 days.

The three all had the same thought on their mind, causing the embrace to be so much more meaningful.

The thought of not wanting to be separated brought them so much closer through this hug.

Their thoughts of loving each other and leaving each other... how much of these thoughts resounded in each of them?

Only they could say, but... it was immense.

They stood there, continuing to sob and not wanting to let go of each other.

If they let go now, where would the other go?

Where would my son go?

Where would my mom go?

Where would my son go?

Where would my dad go?

--

They didn’t want to let go...

So, they continued to squeeze each other...

--

----

Until they finally accepted that they had to let each other go...

----

--

It was now 15 minutes until midnight.

The three had let go of each other and sat back down on the couch, not knowing how to spend the last 15 minutes.

As they thought, Ace remembered something he had to do.

“Sorry... I’ll be right back.”

He ran upstairs and entered his room.

As he entered, he saw Aliza, who was sitting straight on his bed.

She noticed him immediately, still stuck to her mission from earlier.

“It seems like it’s over. Let’s go downstairs.”

She nodded back and got up from the bed.

Ace grabbed his phone from the room and went downstairs with Aliza.

Once they came back into the living room, they sat on the couch opposite of their parents and Ace fiddled with his phone.

He placed it on his ear after touching the screen for a little bit.

*RING*

Only one ring passed before the other side picked up the phone.

“Hey... Isa... I’ve finished explaining everything to my parents... you coming over?”

He wanted his closest friend to be there when he left.

“...”

Then Ace lowered his phone and about a minute later, there was a knock at his door.

Ace went to the front door and opened it, to see Isa dressed in his pajamas.

“Yo.”

“Yo.”

“...How did it go?”

“Haha... it’s hard to answer that...”

Isa didn’t say anything after that, and they went into the living room.

Ace sat back down beside Aliza and Isa stood.

“There’s only about 10 minutes left... so I’ll say what’s on my mind.”

Ace said, then looked towards Isa.

“Isa... check up on my parents every once in a while... please. You’re like family to me so if you coul--”

“Will do. Leave that to me.”

Ace didn’t need to finish his sentence... Isa would listen to whatever his requests were right now.

“Thank you...”

Isa was the next one to speak what he was thinking.

He looked over at the traveler sitting next to Ace.

“Aliza...”

She returned the look.

“I know you haven’t known him for long... so you might not feel the need to, but... please... look after Ace... I’m begging you.”

“He’s reckless, competitive, and will push himself to get what he wants.”

“So please... look after him.”

“...”

“I promise to.”

“I’ve already told Ace that I’ll stay with him on his travels, so you can count on me to look after him.”

She gave a small smile towards Isa who was begging her to listen to his request.

“Thank you... I can feel a little more at ease now. Now... my thoughts to Ace...”

“...”

“First... I’ve already said this but, help out Aliza. That smile is worth a lot in my book.”

“And finally, stay safe out there. Don’t be reckless... think smartly. Train your hardest to stay safe. Listen to Aliza. Do whatever you can to stay alive and come back home...”

These were Isa’s parting words to Ace. Strict words of advice that would stick with him as he was in the other world. This was all Isa could give his friend as he left.

Ace was grateful for Isa. Instead of panicking, he considered Ace more and gave him advice. He was strong enough to do that, which is why Ace highly respected him right now.

After the friends expressed their thoughts... the parents came next.

Ace’s dad was the first to speak.

“Ace...”

“I don’t have many words I can give right now.”

“I’m sort of at a loss, but...”

“Stay tough... don’t give up... don’t let those monsters beat you... remember what you want to do and strive to reach that goal.”

“Once you’ve reached it, me and your mom will be waiting with our arms open for you to come home... I guarantee it.”

More words that Ace was grateful for, this was all he needed for his goodbye.

His dad looked towards Aliza.

“Aliza, I feel the same as Isa. Please... look after my son.”

She was the only one with the ability to do anything for Ace right now, so he also poured his heart into requesting her help.

“...”

“I promise to.”

That was all she could say, but that portrayed her feelings very well. She knew how much trust was being placed on her, so she wanted to live up to that trust and bring Ace home.

--

The final one to speak was Ace’s mom.

“Ace...”

Ace shifted his gaze towards her.

“I don’t know about monsters and goals and all that, but...”

“Ace... make sure you take care of yourself.”

“Keep a balanced diet...”

“Go to sleep and wake up early...”

“Brush your teeth twice a day...”

“Do your laundry...”

“Do some exercise everyday...”

“Don’t spend money recklessly...”

“...”

“Promise me to do all that while completing your goal. I don’t want to see you come home a changed man.”

“I want you to come home the same Ace as always...”

She stared into her son’s deep, green eyes.

“...”

“I promise... I will come back... I promise.”

Not only was he promising her... he was promising himself.

He hated the idea of being separated from his parents for that long...

He would have no idea how they were doing, and they would have no idea if their son was even alive...

Ace hated the communication that was being stripped away from him.

But... he accepted that it was being taken, so there was only one thing left to do...

Beat that enemy and come back as if none of this ever happened.

They would go back to their regular daily life, the life that Ace cherishes so much.

He would get it back from the god who stole it from him.

Even if he was playing right into Deepa’s hands... he didn’t care.

He just wanted to get back home, so that was what he was going to do.

--

There was only about 5 minutes left...

Ace had only 2 people he had to speak to left.

His mother and father.

He looked towards them; his eyes filled with so many different emotions in these last 5 minutes.

“Mom... Dad... seems like I need to give you my final words.”

“...”

“Ok... I’ll start with you dad.”

“...”

He focused his attention onto his father.

“I don’t have too much to say except...”

“Look out for mom...”

“If she’s worried, comfort her.”

“If she starts to break down, hold her.”

“If she’s happy, laugh with her.”

“If she’s confused, help her with her problems.”

“You know all of this already... but I’ll say it just to make sure you know.”

“Haha... I’m not here anymore, so you’re the man of the house.”

“Take care of mom...”

“That’s all I have to say...”

“...”

His dad returned Ace’s message with a small smile and an arm over his eyes...

“When did you grow up so much...”

“...”

Ace shifted his attention over to his mother.

“Mom...”

“...”

“I know you’re worried and scared...”

“But... I’ll say it again... I promise, I will come back.”

“Not only for you, but for myself.”

“I want to come back just as much as you want me to, so... I’ll strive to get back.”

“So please... don’t spend the next year worrying...”

“I’ll be fine, so continue to enjoy your life...”

“Just like I didn’t want this day to be full of tears... I don’t want your next year to be full of tears and worry...”

“So, make sure you stay strong and go to dad whenever you’re troubled.”

“That’s all I have to say, mom...”

His mom couldn’t return a smile like her husband, but she now accepted and had faith that her son was going to come back.

“I’ll make sure to believe in you and not cry for the next year. Your mom’s not that much of a baby...”

Once Ace said his final words, he looked at the clock once again to confirm.

11:59 PM.

“Only a minute... I guess this is goodbye.”

The seconds hand was halfway to 12.

*TICK, TOCK*

*crying*

His mom started to break down once again now that it was happening.

She accepted that he was leaving... but it hurt to see him go.

*TICK, TOCK*

*sniffle*

Ace’s dad was now the next person to break down towards the farewell.

He was standing with an arm over his eyes, his wife now pulled close.

*TICK, TOCK*

*sniffle*

Then the best friend, who was trying to stay tough throughout the farewell.

*TICK, TOCK*

“Ahhh...”

And finally, Ace... the main protagonist of this story.

The boy who will be spending the next 365 days of his life in the other world.

The one who will leave and be forced to become a hero.

He broke down, his end goal standing right in front of his eyes.

His house and everyone in it would disappear within 10 seconds and he could do nothing about it...

But he’s been slightly prepared for that, so, as he cried, he looked over at the traveler and grabbed her arm, making sure that she wouldn’t be left behind.

9...

“Ahhh...”

8...

“*sniffling*”

7...

“*sniffling*”

6...

“*crying*”

5...

4...

3...

2...

“I love you guys so much...”

Ace said, as his final words...

1...

“Stay strong...”

Isa let out, as the final words from the Earth side...

---

And his world was surrounded by white once again.