Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
The doctor ran a whole battery of tests on me. When the repeated checks confirmed I was fine, he finally signed off on my discharge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From there, I headed straight for the bank. At the sight of the lengthy figure in my account, I let out a slow, steady breath of\u00a0<\/p>\n
relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, the system\u2019s voice echoes in my mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHost, I\u2019m leaving now. Would you like to know the truth?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rubbing the bank card between my fingers, I stayed silent. Despite abandoning me in another world for 15 years, the system did grant me a new life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment of thought, I slowly nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that, the system began, \u201cAn unforeseen tragedy took the life of Caroline Bergling, the female lead who shares your name. With her gone, that world\u2019s started breaking down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a last resort, we had to locate a replacement from a parallel timeline. You shared her name, suffered from a terminal illness, and were on the brink of death. Thus, you were the optimum choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, the system replied, its artificial voice tinged with a hint of remorse, \u201cWe are sorry, but averting dimensional collapse was our duty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a brief silence, I calmly responded, \u201cIt\u2019s alright. I\u2019m healed and rich now. That\u2019s enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The system seemed to relax, then bitterly added, \u201cAs for Eveline, she was not a normal person. She was a rival agent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHer mission was to drain the life force from that world\u2019s key figures. I\u2019d just transferred you in when her system infected mine with malware, forcing me into hibernation right before I could brief you on the details.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes. When I recalled the past, those memories were hazy, as if belonging to another lifetime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thrown into an unfamiliar world, fear was all I knew. Yet in time, my brothers\u2019 love and Nathan\u2019s kindness soothed all my\u00a0<\/p>\n
worries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even so, a sharp ache tightened in my chest. The good times were real, and so was the suffering that replaced them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight before I went into hibernation, I made one final adjustment,\u201d the system continued. \u201cThat\u2019s how you began your life in that world as a six-year-old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time Eveline showed up, you\u2019d already spent decades with them. Your ties were too deep to break. So, when she exposed you as an outsider with a mission, it made no difference to them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing that, I felt an odd sense of peace. With a soft sigh, I replied, \u201cEven with such strong bonds, they picked her over me, didn\u2019t they?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The system let out an almost human sigh, then said, \u201cNo, host. When Eveline realized her approach was failing, she lied. She told them that I\u2019d take you away once you completed your mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe convinced them that if they pretended to turn against you, I\u2019d conclude you failed and cut you off. Then, you would be trapped in that world forever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The truth left me numb. Their neglect, accusations, and cruelty were because they loved me. All I could think was how absurdly laughable it all was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHost, I know you\u2019ve suffered a great deal. They now know the truth and live in endless regret every day,\u201d the system gently said. \u201cHowever, if you wish, I can open the portal once more before I leave. Then, they can apologize to you in person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gazing at the bustling streets beyond the windows, I remained silent for a while. Their regret meant nothing now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat won\u2019t be necessary,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, my words came quietly but firmly, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter why they did it. Their reasons don\u2019t erase the pain they caused. Apologies won\u2019t rewrite the past. It\u2019ll just complicate things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The system accepted my choice. It cheerfully replied, \u201cAs you wish. I wish you a happy, healthy life ahead-one that is free from sorrow and sickness. Farewell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0 The doctor ran a whole battery of tests on me. When the repeated checks confirmed I was fine, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-only-when-i-gave-up-did-they-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}