A MILLION MILES AWAY | xiao

- ꕤ 14: CITY OF FREEDOM

"NO MESSAGES AVAILABLE."

You sighed as you closed your watch. It's been two days since your meeting with Yanfei and four days since you were last updated by your father. After your lunch with the legal advisor, it started to rain heavier than before. You were stranded and forced to stay in the city, as per Yanfei's recommendation.

Though before that, you did make an effort to go back to Wangshu Inn. You even purchased an umbrella! But unfortunately, the wind was stronger than you anticipated.

Now you lay in bed, hearing the drizzle hit your window. You knew the storm was calming down, but it would still take an hour before you could leave.

From the stillness of the room, you could hear the ticking of the clock next to you. Anxiously, you checked your watch again. Still no messages. Once again, silence.

The rain stopped pouring. Again, silence.

It wasn't serene, nor was it calming. It was the type of silence that would set you off. The type that would create a ringing in your ears.

You never got used to this type of quiet. There'd always be some form of sound mixed in with it. Like cars, people talking, or distant music playing. You'd still be able to hear the breeze or perhaps an animal. It was never pure and agonizing silence.

So it always scared you whenever it was. Whenever you were truly alone with yourself.

You've been like this since the accident.
Your mother's accident.

It was still clear as day... your memories. How the house would be filled with music while your mother did her research in the living room. Her voice wasn't the best but she'd sing along to the tunes, urging you to join her. She never wanted to leave you alone and made sure you felt included in her work. She was always so loud and filled the room with her presence.

When she disappeared from your life, the world turned quiet. In the kitchen, no one was asking you to grab things from the fridge. At the table, no one spoke while you ate your meals. In the living room, the only noise was the ticking of the clock. There were no papers on the floor or scattered pens on the table.

It was so incredibly silent.

And when it was, you'd break down. It felt wrong. How could everything change so quickly? How could your world be so filled with music and life... and suddenly nothing? 

When you heard that the Otto Project was complete, the one that your mother worked so hard on, you knew you had to volunteer. Continue what she started. Honor her legacy.

Now you were here in the world you did not intend to go to. You were filled with both happiness and regret. If only this mission were successful, maybe you'd feel that your mother would be proud.

Then again, the dead do not feel, do they?

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Whoever that was, you ought to thank them for knocking you out of your thoughts.

...Literally.

"Housekeeping!" You heard.

Well, the sun had already peaked through the clouds. Might as well get up and start the day.

You grabbed your things and left the room, thanking the kind cleaner for her service. You head to the empty Adventurer's guild, puddles of rain still occupying the streets of the city.