Chapter 2: No Fame

"Damn it!"

My legs moved as fast as they ever had as they circled around the bycicle paddle.

For some reason my car was already beyond repair, eaten away by rust, it couldn't be relied on any more. The years hadn't affected me much other than the light beard that I keep now... but the same wasn't true for that damnable vehicle.

In the end all I could do was borrow my neighbors bicycle giving emergency as an excuse. Though the means to borrow it couldn't really be justified.

But as I paddled through the busy night streets I couldn't help but ask myself...

Was it really an emergency?

What if the news channel was but propagating some fake news for the sake of gaining more TRP?

Did it even make sense?

In the first place why should I be bothered by a random hero dying?

I suppose that we might have been friends once but that isn't enough of a reason for me to move.

Numerous old friends of mine had died in this way and yet I hadn't moved a single muscle, yet why now?

"Fuck everything! I know I am a hypocrite. You don't need to remind me." I screamed to my inner voice.

I scoffed at my own conscience for plaging me as I paddled along.

*beep* *beep*

The cars honked the street light flashed. I wanted to turn back. No I never wanted to leave my cozy home in the first place and yet my body moved all on its own.

It was as if I was pulled by a cursed magnet. It was as if I was possesed by a ghost.

"But above all..."

Voices were howling in my head making my head go crazy.

'Don't go in that direction!'

'Go back to your hole.'

The voices howled in my brain. They grew louder and louder the further I moved away.

"Just shut up!"

It was no good how much I asked my brain to shut up. It kept ringing in my ears like a roaring bell. I guess this proved how much of a hypocrite I am, doesn't it? It is clear that I don't want to go and my presence would really be pointless... but even so my body moved on its own... my legs paddled on its own. No matter how much I resoned with it there was no way I could understand how something like this was normal.

What of the promises I made?

What of the pledges I took?

All of them were going to go to the gutter. I would be known as a man with loose morals.

*Sigh*

"In the first place what is the purpose of this visit?"

I didn't know.

If Eternal was really dead as they say, what change could I have made with my mesely ability?

And if Eternal was perhaps alive wouldn't meeting up complicate things even more?

There should be no reason for why I should be moving and yet I couldn't stop.

Even if the sky fell apart... or the earth shattered open I was to refrain from digging up my past and live in the present moving forward towards the future.

"And yet here I am ... shaken by a single news of death."

Countless men all over the world die everyday. Yet why?

I wasn't so weak at heart, was I?

I had endured through the deaths of my friends as I holed up in my room restraining myself even if I did care for them.

I cried and had nightmares plaguing me every night but even then I refused to move. Yet now what the fuck happened? Why couldn't I restrain myself this time around? This is all so messed up. How did I become so weak.

If one were to judge me by my constitution I certainly couldn't be compared to the heroes. I was a normal human after all not a hero.

But at least I considered myself mature enough to not be driven so helpless like this...

Maybe I would have to reconsider that image of mine that I hold.

"City 13 is still so far..." I whispered as sweat poured down my forehead.

The place where Eternal is rumored to die was in a dungeon in city 13.

After all, it wasn't like dungeons will start to pop in front of my house, wouldn't it? I wasn't paying exorbitant bills in my everyday life for nothing!

Dungeons were formed by the collision of spacial plates. And the area around my home was stable enough for that kind of thing to never happen.

But City 13 wasn't so lucky. It was a barren wasteland with its space being the most unstable of them all. Now it was only a given that my home and this City 13 would be far away from each other.

In fact my complex was one the safest havens that one could find. Only those who were priviledged enough could afford to live in a place like mine.

"Ha Ha... my legs hurt."

Before I knew it I was already panting away for breath.

I was no superhuman now was I? Even I had my limits.

My destination was at least scores of kilometers apart.

I gritted my teeth.

"Dammit, who uses bicycles these days?"

No one was insane enough to run cabs. Everyone had their own private rides. I had one of mine too. But the complex that I lived in already had all the facilities that one could ask for so I had never used it making it rot to death.

Damn, they even had their own miniature red light district! Cruel isn't it? The managers sure knew how to ring out their customers money even in times of chaos.

*Swish*

I stopped in my tracks as I panted for breath. My head turned around exploring the world that I hadn't seen for quite a few years. The street light flashed... the cars honked.

What? There were people using bicycles too? Turned out I was living in delusion. Using bicycles seemed too absurd to me as it was.

My heart thumped loud and clear. I could hear its voice even in the busy streets. It needed some time to rest. I had every reason to turn back home.

And I knew.

Even though they were excuses they were valid enough. It was for my own good and those that were once around me. I should have probably never left home in the first place.

But... my conscience won't let me.

"Ha Ha... should I ask for a lift?"

No one would be insane enough to give lift to a random stranger. But if I threw in a few crisp papers of money, they might be willing to take a bet. And all I wanted was to get to the station. City 13 was out of the picture.

No matter how much money I threw, no would be willing to drive to a place as dangerous as city 13. Needless to say that those who reside in these parts are already somewhat rich in the first place. They wouldn't have been able to afford a home around here otherwise.

I got off the bike as I tossed it aside. It was a baggage... now that my legs were sore.

"I would pay back that kid back later for his lost cycle."

It was a pity but I didn't knew about anyone even in the complex where I lived. This bike was kind of stolen.

And while my powers did work on this old fashioned vehicle, it failed to work on the other cars that were parked there.

*Sigh*

Landing on an ATM I took out some cash.

With the cash in hand and with other hand coiling around my mouth like a cone I screamed.

"Lift!"

Poor me. I didn't really know how it worked. I had never asked for a lift before.

"Lift!"

The cars swept by... the street lights flashed. In the busy street no one chose to notice me.

I was like a pebble on the street.

It was indeed true that I was kind of rich even for the people in this district.

But even though I had money, I had no fame. I was a no name guy in the past and also in the present. Ironic isn't it?

"Lift!"

Had I been a hero like Eternal probably my face would have been enough for the cars to be lining up in front of me. These kind of people were always in the spotlight.

But that wasn't the point here. Not everyone wants fame. When it came to me, I also was unbothered by it.

but the point was...

'Turn back.'

The voices howled inside of me again. As I stood there in desperation trying to make someone stop for me and pick me up... but failing to do so over and over again... I was given even more of an incentive to turn back. I had every reason in the world to do so.

Why was I even going through such lengths? Wasn't it pointless? How many hours was I gonna stand there shouting and screaming like this?

There was a difference between foolishness and feeling sad.

Every time someone close to me died I had but drowned in sorrow for a week or two as I eased my pain with bear. I did have the option of resorting to drugs to forget everything but thankfully I had never stooped so low.

Those were the times I had felt sadness.

But now I was downright foolish!

Pushing myself for no good reason.

"Lift!"

Screaming like this for no good reason.

But my conscience refused to give up.

Eventually...

*Beep*

A car stopped by in front of me as the glass window was slowly lowered.