Memories

Gen then said, "What do you mean by that? Is there something special on the next floor?"

And Lan said, "Yes, after all, the next floor will have the royal foods."

"I see, but what does that have to do with me believing the owner of the restaurant."

"Well, the royal foods were also taught by him. So when you try them, you'll understand everything."

"Then let's go to the next floor. You're making me curious."

"Hahaha, let's go. Follow me."

Lan then went to the door with them, and at the door, a man was waiting to guide them to the next floor. They then followed him, and when they reached the door, Lan said, "Get ready. The environment of the royal quarters is different from the others."

And Gen said, "When you say different, you don't mean in appearance, right?"

"You'd better come in and get a feel for it.", and then opened the door for them to enter.

Lina then said, "Let's see what's special about these royal quarters." 

She then entered the room, and just after walking through the door, the same thing as before repeated itself, and she stood still.

Lina then said, "Wow, I thought this building had a different atmosphere, but this room ... what is this I'm feeling? I feel so good."

And Gen said, "What do you mean, Lina?"

"You better come in, Gen. Then you'll understand what I mean."

"All right. Here I go."

Gen then walked through the door, and as he entered the room, he felt a very different sensation than the first time he had entered the building. If at that time he had felt as if a weight had been lifted off his back, now it felt as if he had been released from the many chains that had always been holding him back.

Gen then said, "Wow, that feels great."

And Lina said, "Tell me about it."

The rest of the group began to trickle in, and the only ones who felt the difference were Stanley and Raja.

Gen then said, "It seems that only awakened people can feel the difference between one environment and another."

And Lan said, "Yes. These environments have some special factors that benefit awakened people. Actually, normal people also benefit. They just can't perceive it."

"I see."

"Well, come with me, let's sit down.", and then everyone followed Lan to the table.

The setup of the room was quite simple. It had a large round table with eight chairs around it. Both the table and the chair had some golden details and seemed to be made of costly materials.

Everyone sat down, and Lan then rang a bell on the table. A woman then came out of a double door at the back of the room and came towards them.

As she approached, you could see she was wearing a maid's uniform, and when she arrived, she said, "Good evening. My name is Clara. Here is the menu."

Lan then took it and asked, "Would you like to try the favorite food of a specific king?"

They all thought about it but couldn't think of anything.

Lina then said, "Well, Gen came from Brim. Why don't we eat their king's favorite food."

And Gen said, "Sure. I've always been curious about what royalty eat."

Lan then said, "Ok, any other places in mind?"

And Lina said, "No, just this one. The others you can choose."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Lan then ordered the Brim dish and some other dishes.

Clara then said, "I'll be right back with your food."

She then went back through the back door, and after a few minutes, she returned from there with several women also dressed as maids. They then started to put the plates and cutlery on the table, and after that, they put the finished plates in the middle of the table.

Lina then said, "Wow, it smells great."

And Lan said, "Wait until you taste the food."

The women finished putting everything on the table, and all of them, except Clara, went back out the back door.

Everyone started to eat, but for some reason, Gen wasn't eating, and Raja asked, "What's the matter, Gen? Aren't you hungry?"

And Lina said, "That's right, why aren't you eating?"

Gen then said, "Well ... I don't know where to start."

And Lina said, "Why don't you start with the Brim dish?"

" Maybe ..."

Lan then said, pointing, "That's the Brim dish."

Gen then looked at where she was pointing but said nothing, nor did he show any intention of taking the food.

Lina then asked, "What is it, Gen? Don't you want to eat this plate?"

And Gen said, "It's not that ... I'm going to get some."

Gen then put some of the Brim food on his plate and then looked at it for a while.

Lina then said, "What's all this drama, Gen? Why are you acting weird like this? Eat up, or get something else to eat. All the dishes look great, the one I'm eating is perfect. I've never tasted anything like it."

And Raja said, "She's right, Gen. The food I got is also excellent. Why don't you get some of it? I'm sure you won't regret it."

Gen then said, "No. I want to eat this food."

And Lina said, "Then eat it already."

Gen then took another look at the food and then started to eat it. After putting it in his mouth, he began to taste it, and it was delicious.

Lina then said, "What did you think?", but Gen didn't answer her, and then she asked, "Hey Gen, didn't you hear me?", but Gen couldn't hear her because in his head, the only thing he could hear was a voice he knew very well, and then he began to remember something.

...

Gen was three years old. He was playing with some wooden toys that he had when suddenly he heard someone calling him, "Hey Gen, come here."

Gen then looked to the side and saw a bearded man, who was kneeling on the ground, calling him. He then went towards him, and when he arrived, the man picked him up and said, "It's time for lunch. Let's go before the food gets cold."

And Gen said, "Okay.", and then they both left the room they were in and went towards the kitchen of the place.

When they arrived, two maids were finishing putting the dishes on the table, and there were already two people sitting there waiting for them. One of the people was an older woman who was pregnant, and the other was an older boy who must have been about nine years old.

The woman then said, "Good, you guys are here. The food has just been served. Honey, put Gen in his chair, and let's eat."

"Got it."

The man then led Gen to his chair, but when he got there, Gen said, "I want to eat with you, Daddy."

And the woman said, "Gen, you have to get used to eating alone. I and your father will be on your side."

"Just today, mummy, please."

The woman was then about to say something when the man said, "Hahaha, just for today.", and then started tickling him.

Gen then said, "Hahaha, stop daddy."

The woman then said, "Honestly, you're too soft on our kids."

And the man said, "Hahaha, what can I do? I didn't choose to be like this, and you knew what you were getting into when you married me, hahaha."

"That's true. Well, sit down, and let's eat before the food gets cold."

"Yes, ma'am."

The man then sat down with Gen on his lap and began to feed the food to Gen, and as he chewed, the man ate some of his own food.

The older boy then said, "Dad, after lunch, we are going to play sword fighting, aren't we?"

And the man said, "Aden, I already told you it's not a game. I'm teaching you our family's sword technique."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll teach me after lunch, won't you?"

"Yes, yes. So eat up so you have strength later."

"Ok."

The boy then began to eat, and the man gave Gen another spoonful of food.

He began to chew and then said, "Daddy! That's not my food! You gave me some of yours!"

"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry, Gen. Daddy will pay more attention. Here you go."

The woman and the boy then began to laugh, and Gen, seeing his mother and brother laughing, began to laugh as well, which caused his father to laugh as well.

The memory then suddenly changed. Gen was much taller than before, and a young man in front of him was fighting five people at once while using a sword, but even though he was somewhat managing to hold them back, it was evident that he couldn't handle them all, as with each passing second more wounds appeared on his body.

The young man then said, "GEN! GET IZEM OUT OF HERE!"

And Gen said, "No, Aden! I can help you!"

"Gen, please!", Gen then looked down at his arms, where a boy a little younger than him was lying there passed out.

Gen then put the boy on his back and started running while crying, and then he heard Aden say, "RUN GEN! AND DON'T LOOK BACK!", and then the memory changed again.

Gen was older than before, and he was looking at a boy a little younger than him who had a bleeding belly, and with each passing second, more blood was coming out of his belly.

A doctor then came along with two other people and started trying to get the bleeding to stop, but after a while, he turned around and said, "There's nothing to do. The injury is too serious."

Gen's father and mother were standing next to him, and upon hearing this, Gen's mother began to cry, and his father got a serious expression.

Gen then began to think, 'No ... No. No, no, no. NO! I won't lose Izem too!'

The image then cut out, and he was hearing Eli's voice in his head saying, 'Are you sure this is your wish? You will sacrifice so much, and yet you may never be able to get things back to normal.'

And Gen said, 'I'm sure. I won't let my brother die.', and then the vision ended.

Gen then heard Lina calling him, "Hey, Gen! Gen!"

And he said, "... Hi, what's wrong?"

"Is everything okay? You stopped answering me out of the blue."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was thinking about something."

"Is that why you're crying?"

Gen then touched his face and realized that he really was crying.