Pick Me Up, Infinite Gacha

[Aaron Side Story Episode 26]

3. The first dream (10)

* * *

Time flies.

The time limit declared by the boy is 40 years.

In other words, Aaron must somehow get the answer.

You have to do one of two things.

Break through the wall and go to the next level.

Or, they dig up their hidden memories to confirm their true intentions.

‘The former is impossible.’

Aaron is aware of it too.

It was the result of decades of acceptance.

You can never cross the wall with your own talent.

Then, there is only one option left.

‘I need to get my memory back.’

What pushed you into a maze with no exit?

Why is he moving contrary to his goal of returning home and meeting his sister?

Of course, even if you knew it, your daily life wouldn’t change much.

At best, less time stabbing spears and more time writing letters.

[I have a purpose to be strong.]

A purpose to be strong.

At first, I thought it was because I wanted to help my older brother.

In a moment of danger, he thought how great it would be if he could help his comrades with his own power.

‘Wasn’t it?’

Be honest.

There is no need for ostentation or pretentious justification to look good to others.

So I decided to admit it.

In fact, hanging out with co-workers is just a pretext.

It was only a means to add to the waiting room and become stronger to defeat the enemy.

It is not an end in itself.

Then you must return to the purest heart.

What did the hero Aaron want more than anything when he was summoned to the waiting room?

There was only one.

to return home.

getting along with co-workers.

The days when I swung a spear and sweated.

Fighting the enemy in front of you at the risk of your life.

All of this was just a process to achieve the dream of ‘returning home’.

‘Is it like that?’

Aaron would be sad if a close friend died in a fight.

However, it does not stop.

Because the true purpose continues.

‘But no matter how much I fight, if it becomes a story that I can’t go home…’

It would be different.

Aaron despairs.

I will give up on moving forward.

No matter how persuasive anyone is, it is useless.

Aaron saw some of the forgotten memories during the 2-star promotion ceremony.

It gave Aaron even more assurance that if he was strong, he could return home.

From then on, Aaron was unstoppable.

“You worked in vain.”

Aaron mumbled.

Inside a dark room with the windows closed.

He is writing a letter by a single candle.

There was a detailed record of his name and reasons why he had to become stronger.

At first it was just a few lines.

That alone made him realize the purpose of his coming here.

However, as time passed, the content gradually grew longer.

After only one or two chapters, I lost sight of the purpose.

Decades of time have worn away most memories and emotions.

Blurred memories and events after Aaron was summoned.

In a way, it’s a natural thing.

My life in the waiting room was less than a year.

That cannot rule Aaron’s entire life.

“…”

Aaron reads the letter.

[I have a reason to be strong.]

What used to be a few lines has become hundreds of lines.

No matter how long I write and read, I don’t get any emotions.

[For my older brother.]

[For Miss Xena.]

[For Miss Iolka.]

[For Master.]

[For Sraagin.]

In addition to names, there are records of people who do not come to mind.

After that, the memories with those people are written in verse.

what happened with my brother.

what he did for himself.

that he had made a mistake.

Various life risks and deaths of colleagues.

Other incidents and impressions.

“I’m sorry, brother.”

Aaron apologized.

His face no longer comes to mind.

“A person’s memory is such a futile thing. I’m sorry Miss Jenna. Miss Iolka. everyone else.”

Jjiik.

The letter is torn.

Aaron tore apart the papers he had spent hours writing on.

corner of the room.

Letters written over the years are piled up on the prefabricated bookshelf.

Aaron even took out the letters.

tear

burn it

throw away

It was cheaply disposed of.

Because it is false.

It was proof that he had deceived his heart.

‘It was just one sheet.’

Again Aaron sits in front of the bookshelf.

He takes out a piece of wide drawing paper and spreads it out on his desk.

He dipped the quill pen well into the ink and began to draw.

big circle.

Two eyes in it. One nose and one mouth.

It was a level that anyone who knew the painting could not help but burst into laughter when they saw it.

Actually it is.

My sister used to burst into laughter, asking what kind of painting this was.

say it though

I drew hard in my own way.

Aaron was not dexterous in anything.

Even if you play the game of exchanging the ball, you often miss it.

When I drew a picture, my friends around me laughed out loud.

In hide-and-seek or tag, he always came last.

In any case, the kinesthetic sensation was miserable.

Most people don’t even recognize that this painting is a human face.

Two small circles inside a circle, one vertical bar and one horizontal bar.

If you look closely, you will see that they are eyes, nose and mouth.

When I said that this was your face, my sister got quite angry.

He patted Aaron on the shoulder, asking if he was kidding.

but it seems

If you look very closely.

They say it’s the mind’s eye.

You can tell by looking into those eyes.

I see my sister’s smiling face.

So

Aaron drew the picture over 30 minutes.

It is unknown whether it is a painting or a graffiti.

However, one picture made me feel it more clearly than hundreds of letters.

‘I haven’t forgotten you.’

Above all, it was unmistakable proof.

Aaron smiled sincerely for the first time in a long time.

The sister’s picture was beautifully decorated in a frame and hung on the wall.

next day.

“What is this garbage?”

Returning from training, the boy is flapping paper.

It was a portrait of his younger sister that Aaron had drawn with all his might.

“I told you to keep your mind straight. Why are you doing such graffiti? Why are graffiti hung in frames again? Are you insane?”

Bu-wook.

The boy tore the portrait in half and writhed.

“…!”

Coudantang.

A surprise that even the boy did not expect.

“Are you crazy! hey!”

“Bring it back! You are my little sister!”

“What is this, your little sister! It’s just garbage scribbles!”

“I am not kidding!”

anyway.

From that day on, Aaron’s room was decorated with graffiti or family portraits.

* * *

It was then.

Aaron started dreaming.

Sleep is originally something that cannot exist in this world.

I forcibly cut off my thoughts and just lay down with my eyes closed.

But it has changed.

When Aaron was lying on the bed covered in blankets, he would occasionally lose consciousness.

dream.

It must be a lucid dream.

In that strange world, Aaron was conscious.

It is the transfer of consciousness from the real world to the fantasy world.

I saw it when I opened my eyes.

A winding dirt road and a small house on the other side of the road.

Smoke is pouring out of the chimney of the house.

A golden smell leaked out, as if the bread was being baked.

‘It’s a house.’

can’t forget

If you open the door and go inside, Nina will greet him.

As a merchant, Aaron often left town to trade goods.

When he comes home, Nina always bakes bread for Aaron.

A landscape that I miss enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Aaron walks on a dirt road.

warmth of the air. the smell of grass. A familiar looking house built of bricks. The sweet smell of smoke and bread.

‘okay.’

It was this.

There was only one thing Aaron wanted.

Open that door and go inside.

Aaron walks.

The gait changed to a half-run.

I ran down the dirt road and arrived at the closed door.

“Nina!”

Aaron opened the door.

It doesn’t matter if the door is broken.

with power. amain.

“Brother is back…!”

rattle!

“…?”

The door does not open.

rattle. rattle. rattle.

He shook the doorknob left and right and pulled.

The closed door did not budge.

“It’s you and me! It’s me!”

bang! Bang!

Aaron knocked on the door with his fist.

“Open it!”

you’ll hear it inside

can’t know

I’ll curse you for being noisy.

And the door….

doesn’t open.

“…?!”

what.

The door is closed.

Knocked and knocked and later kicked.

it can be ruined If only I could open this door.

To fix it, you have to call a carpenter.

So open it.

Open the door!

bang!

He kicked Aaron through the door.

The door didn’t budge.

At most it would be a wooden door.

‘what.’

Aaron was distraught and lifted a large rock near the door.

Throw a rock at the door.

bang!

The door swings as if it were going to break with a loud sound.

It shook but did not break.

I threw it several times until my body was covered with sweat, but the door stayed the same.

“Can’t you hear me? I am Aaron!”

I kept shouting outside but it wouldn’t open.

Aaron, in a hurry, went back to the side window.

seen through the curtains.

small kitchen.

A girl in an apron is baking bread in the oven.

“Hmm~ Heh-Hum~ Heh-Hum~♬”

An upbeat hum comes out.

The girl is decorating the plate with vegetables and fruits with her back shown.

He is waiting for his brother to return soon.

thud! thump thump!

Aaron knocked on the window.

The windows are locked from the inside.

“Nina!”

cried several times

She shouted until her throat burst, but the girl didn’t look back.

bang!

He lifted a sharp stone and hit the glass.

It’s fine. why why

Over and over again, I hit the window with a stone.

Blood flowed from his half-naked fingernails, but he didn’t care.

“…why.”

Aaron waited.

Bread will be baked someday.

The girl’s cooking for the family will be finished soon.

Then the girl will look back.

To arrange dishes on the table.

“….”

Bread in the oven is not baked.

“Hmm~ Heh-Hum~ Heh-Hum~♬”

The girl’s hum does not end.

The girl in the apron looked back.

This is a closed world forever in the future.

The younger sister who waits for her family will never be able to welcome her older brother.

My brother, who wants to go home, can’t open the door forever.

* * *

It has been 100 years since I came here.

Every day Aaron had dreams.

I spent more time living in dreams than swinging and stabbing with a spear.

Dreams don’t change.

Aaron keeps knocking on the door that won’t open.

dreams don’t change

just overlaid.

From nightmare to more nightmare.

The buds of forgotten memories bloom.

It extends the stem and sprouts the leaves.

The last thing to appear is a flower bud.

waiting for blood

And finally.

A jet-black flower blooms.

Aaron regains forgotten memories.

* * *

What is the happiness of the weak?

Like a sandcastle on the beach.

It disappears at the whim of a wave.

become grains of sand and scatter

What is the happiness of the weak?

It’s just a daydream that will end someday.

that’s not happiness

If you can’t protect it, it’s not happiness.

* * *

Burning sky.

A young man and a girl run.

They ran while holding hands.

A young man named Aaron looked up at the sky.

The clear sky is dyed red as if it has been painted over with blood.

Obviously it was daytime.

The sky should have been blue except for the sun and a few clouds.

It was burning with jet-black flames.

The sky is on fire.

How should I express this?

Everyone in the church prayed for the mercy of the goddess.

But the longed-for mercy and salvation do not come.

The twin goddesses of innocence and mercy who loved humans and the world did not appear anywhere.

everyone said

everyone said

that the end of the world is coming

that this is the end of the world

‘…It’s unfair.’

Aaron gritted it.

what is the end

what is the end

The days when I lost my parents when I was young and depended on my younger sister.

It was hard and painful.

But Aaron did not give up.

I did whatever I could.

I went out into the city and robbed for a piece of bread.

Pickpocketing and giving money to the trash called the captain.

Of course, there were many times when Aaron, who was not dexterous with his hands, was caught and beaten until he was about to die.

That’s how I started the business by collecting money like tenacious.

Anything that could be sold was sold.

either intangible or tangible.

It’s fine if I’m starving alone.

But I have a younger sister at home.

Having been weak since birth, she found it difficult to endure the harsh life.

‘What is happiness?’

Even when they were young, the siblings were happy.

They had parents who cared for their children.

Father and mother were affectionate.

Both parents’ professions are merchants.

They used to go back and forth to nearby towns and villages to buy and sell goods.

The village even had its own shop.

I must say that the siblings were quite affluent.

But happiness is so easily scattered.

On the way to the city, they encountered a group of bandits.

Their lives ended there.

‘It’s like that.’

The siblings lost everything.

All happiness is lost.

no.

Being happy is their own illusion.

At first they weren’t happy.

The happiness of the weak is not happiness.

Happiness that cannot be kept is not happiness.

‘If my father and mother were strong.’

If they had the power to defeat the bandits,

if they had the skills to handle spears and swords.

Happiness was not stolen.

therefore.

‘Our happiness then…’

It was an illusion from the beginning.