Chapter 586: Earth: Encounter

Recalling the past of his friend, Chris couldn't help but feel a lot of pain.

He wished he could had been more at his side, perhaps if he hadn't gone into so many missions... perhaps if he had stood at his side and guided him well... perhaps...

There were so many perhaps...

But it was all over already.

Miranda was dead.

Ivan was dead.

And Miranda's little clone was also gone.

What was left was only to mourn the dead and move on.

There wasn't anything else left to do, sadly.

"Ivan... I hope that wherever you are now... That you can be with your family and rest... You really deserved a break..." Sighed Chris.

...

When Lucia opened her eyes, she found herself sleeping inside a hospital.

She looked around everywhere and found that it was the morning outside the window.

Lucia had a strong headache which she was trying to suppress back then, but now, she felt very light and better, she noticed there were a few needles stuck in her arms, that led to some sorts of liquids that were being infused into her bloodstream.

Probably for her own good, and that's what helped her recover. She sighed once more as she rested over the comfortable bed.

All of what had happened before felt like a bad nightmare to her, fighting all those aberrations, and that monster of Ivan... all of it felt like a fever dream now.

But all of this and more was more than real... she felt it in her hands, in her bones, everywhere... all those aberrations she fought and burned to a crisp... they existed.

"Hahh... Huh?"

She suddenly noticed an old man sleeping over a couch near her, he had short black hair, a small beard, and seemed filled with scars, without saying that despite being over 40, he looked like a man on his 30's and was packed with muscles capable of bending steel with ease.

"Chris?"

Lucia looked at Chris as he seemed to be sleeping. He had been watching over her recover since she arrived in the hospital, she didn't knew yet, but she had been hospitalized and in coma for over a month now.

Chris slowly woke up as he opened his eyes, noticing Lucia as he smiled faintly.

"Oh, you're... Ah! Lucia!"

Chris quickly jumped out of the couch as he hugged Lucia.

"Uwaah!"

Lucia felt a bit surprised over the show of affection from such a cold-hearted man, as she felt a shiver run down her spine, his warm and strong arms made her felt protected, and his shoulder looked very comfortable to rest her head in, which she did at the end.

She ended hugging him back, tightly, as much as her slender and weakened arms could...

"Lucia! I was worried..." he said.

"C-Chris... Since when are we this close?" she asked timidly.

"Ah... Sorry..." said Chris, as he pulled back.

"D-Don't worry about it... I guess this is the first time someone shows me this much affection..." said Lucia.

"What? Didn't your parents... hugged you before?" asked Chris while raising an eyebrow.

"My parents... My parents never loved me... You know where I lived, right? In an area filled with poverty... My father was an asshole that hit both of us and my mother a coward addicted to alcohol and cigarettes- Ah, I really shouldn't talk about this..." sighed Lucia.

"No... It's fine... I am glad you can open up so much to me," said Chris.

"Ahah... T-That's... Fine... Erm. Anyways... I... How long did I slept?" she asked.

"A month... This is why I was worried... Some doctors even said you might had ended with your brain dead... I am happy you're back." Said Chris.

"Yeah... I am happy too... I-I guess it is finally over, huh?" asked Lucia.

"We wouldn't had been able to do it without your help... Thanks." Said Chris.

"Hm... But many died..." sighed Lucia.

"Yeah... A funeral for the lost will be hold in a week from now... It is part of the job to see your soldiers pass out... I've grown accustomed to such a gruesome thing... I don't really know what else to do than to pray for their souls and to give my condolences to their families... The government will make sure to support their families at the very least," said Chris.

"I see... Well, I feel quite dizzy but I think I am hungry... I haven't eaten for a whole month..." sighed Lucia.

"Oh! Alright, I'll go bring you some food, so wait me here." Said Chris.

"Okay, thanks..." said Lucia.

Chris walked outside the room as he went to look for Lucia's food.

Lucia rested over the cushion as she sighed in relief.

Everything had finally ended...

But at what cost?

Over half the original squadron ended dying.

She wasn't able to save them all...

"What should I do now...?" sighed Lucia.

As she wondered what to do now, a sudden flash of light emerged to her left side.

FLASH!

"E-Eh?!" cried Lucia in shock.

Suddenly, a small girl with short brown hair and aquamarine eyes showed up, wearing a Japanese School Girl Uniform.

"What the...?! Am I hallucinating?!" she asked

Lucia looked at the girl expressionlessly glance at her.

"The connection will soon begin. The Spirit Plane is opening. You, who is connected to the Fate of many, will soon trigger the opening... The great dragon of ice shall descend... by the fate of the one that will come to your doors soon."

"Huh? What are you... talking about?! Who are you?" asked Lucia.

"I wish you good luck... The world is in dire need of heroes..." sighed the girl, as she disappeared.

Lucia felt as if the girl was never there, yet she remembered well what she said...

"The Spirit Plane opening? The Great... Dragon of Ice? The fate of the one that will come to my doors soon? What is the meaning of- Ah!"

Suddenly, the doors opened, as a person that wasn't Chris entered the hospital room.

She had bright aquamarine eyes, and long brown hair made into a ponytail.

Lucia noticed an air of coldness around her... something she had never seen before.

In her left hand, there was the mark of a coiling dragon...

"Who... Who are you?" asked Lucia.

"So you're the one..." said the girl.