"Woo…woo…woo~"
"Stop crying! It's been ten minutes already!" Varian patted the cute little ghost hugging his chest.
"B-But master, you don't know…it's so scary, Boo was alone, it's scary…scary, so scary…" Boo's wails continued.
Varian didn't have the heart to admonish it for crying. It felt like he was consoling a child. And Boo was like a child.
So, he just glared at the young man wrapped in bandages on the bed.
Kyle flinched before he groaned in protest. "I had to take care of the research. Besides, Boo kept roaming and didn't spend time with us."
Maya resting on the couch nodded lightly and dozed off to sleep again. She had been tired from all the work in the past few weeks. Not like Kyle was any better. But when your body gets beaten enough, it's easier to stay awake.
"You write that crap on my tomb once again and I'll bury you in the same tomb." Varian coaxed Boo and snorted at Kyle.
Kyle was bandaged all over, but he's not really that injured. It's just a show so that Varian wouldn't beat him more.
Varian knew that perfectly but he didn't really want to injure Kyle either. He wanted to beat, not torture him.
"How about you just don't die every other Sunday?" Kyle rolled his eyes.
Varian had second thoughts about not beating him badly, "I don't try to die."
"Yeah, sure. You don't try. You just do. I won't be surprised if you drop dead one day. I mean, come on dude, if the earth is in danger and you had to sacrifice yourself, you will.
"Nah, I'm not a hero—"
"Yeah, yeah." Kyle imitated Varian's voice and said with a serious expression. "I'm not a hero but I will put my life at risk for people."
"…"
"There isn't anything more to a hero than that. They're as human as you are. No one is perfect. Some just rise to the occasion even at the cost of themselves." Kyle shrugged and the bandages came off. Panicking, he put them back in place.
"Sounds too serious coming from you." Varian crossed his arms and ruminated on those words.
"Guess talking with your father-in-law for a few weeks did the magic."
"Oh shit." Only then did Varian remember that he practically spoke no words to Evander and just ghosted him after providing the emergency treatment.
"What was that? Your enlightenment that you were a hero all along?" Kyle raised a brow.
"No, I ghosted my father-in-law. Didn't speak a word to him since I was so pissed at you!" Varian glared at Kyle and his eyes shone with light gold.
"Eh, no, no, stop, N—ouch!" Kyle hissed as an electric current ran down his spine. He shifted on the bed as it tickled him wildly. "Ha—hahaha, ahhh, stop…staph! Hahahaha!"
Varian ignored his friend's pleas for mercy and let him laugh like a madman for the next five minutes.
"Haaaah~" Kyle groaned as his body spasmed lightly from all the movements earlier. "I'd rather get beaten up than laugh so madly. I felt like I died and came back to life. Fuck!"
Varian smirked. "Nah, you didn't. I did."
"You did what?"
"I died. And then I returned to life."
"I want the same shit you're smoking."
"For real."
"Me too."
"I mean it. Everything went blank after death, my senses were clouded, then I suddenly returned to life. All the memories flooded back. It's a weird experience."
"Sounds like you smoked some strong shit."
"Again, I wasn't smoking anything."
"That's what every smoker says after getting caught."
"Kyle."
"Alright, alright. So, you really died?" Kyle opened his mouth and glanced at Varian from head to toe. "Holy shit! What the fuck happened?"
"Too long to say, but this is roughly it." Varian transmitted it through telepathy.
Kyle froze for a few minutes before he got up from the bed, removed all his bandages, and punched Varian.
Varian let the fist connect with his chest. It didn't hurt. He didn't even move an inch. Nor did his skin ripple.
"You idiot!" Kyle punched a few more times in rage. "Throwing away your life like that!"
After a few minutes, the exhausted Kyle wrapped himself back in bandages and said. "Anyway, I'm happy it worked out somehow. But don't risk your life like that."
"It's Sia and Enigma. Of course, I'd risk my life." Varian said.
Kyle didn't argue with him anymore and explained the events that transpired in the past few months.
Varian was surprised at their modification of these potions. He wasn't expecting this to be honest.
"The bottleneck advancement potions are the reason so many level 9s and level 8s advanced. They're the central reason why humans could defend the planetoids for so long and didn't collapse in a few days." Boo chipped in.
"It's all thanks to you leaving me with such a precious thing," Kyle said.
"Not much. You went above and beyond and scaled it up." Varian gave a genuine smile. "Looks like the world owes you two."
"And your father-in-law too. Without him giving detailed explanations and using his network to help us understand the intensity of the bottlenecks, the new elixir wouldn't have worked out the way it did."
"He's something, alright. I didn't really think in that direction. And I don't think I would've, even if I didn't vanish off."
Kyle just laughed. "If you didn't vanish, there wouldn't be a need for this potion. Before abyssals launch a war, you'd be burning their homes."
"You bet!"
"Humility is not your strongest forte, eh."
"Never was," Varian smirked with pride.
Kyle shrugged. "Well then, congrats. There are crazy stories, comics, and movies going on around after your supposed death. They made you some crazy super genius, insanely hardworking, and hardcore patriot."
"…None of that sounds crazy though." Varian pointed out. "Because I'm all those things and more."
"Right." Kyle facepalmed before he started chuckling. "A few hundred women appeared, claiming to be mothers of your children. They all produced some 'video evidence', made documentaries and all that stuff of their romance with you."
"Fuck."
Kyle's lips pulled up as he punched the bed and burst into laughter. "There's a…granny with a son as old as my father. She said you liked the older ones—"
"Fuck!" Varian unsheathed his sword. "I can definitely use some sword practice. Gimme the granny's address, Boo, I'll see if I can't shave her head keeping my eyes closed."
Boo actually started giving addresses while Kyle rolled on the bed laughing.
"Wait, wait. It's not over yet." Kyle grabbed his arm and stopped him from leaving.
"It gets more absurd than this?" Varian asked in disbelief.
"Oh, it does." Kyle wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes. "Your football team—"
"No!"
"Football team's cheerleaders,"
"Oh, Oh?"
"They, their mothers, their grandmothers all said they were part of your harem."
"Crazy bitches." Varian spat and slumped into his chair. "Suddenly, I don't want to save humanity anymore."
"Come on, all these claims are quickly refuted."
"Then why bother?"
"Fame, even if it's short-lived, is a very potent drug," Kyle said. "Sort of like how battle makes you happy."
Varian made a mental note to change these things once the war was over. No, once the abyssals were over and they'd be finished soon.
With a snap, Varian unloaded a pile of precious, almost glowing herbs in the room.
Just their smell caused Kyle's injuries to heal completely and fill him with energy. "The hell are these?"
"Precious. Try making potions with them to break the bottlenecks." Varian said. "We're fighting now, so can't give you blood. But if you need more herbs, ask. I have plenty."
"Oh," Kyle studied the herbs holding his breath. He's new to this, but with the rigorous work he had done for the previous elixir, he's confident about working this out.
"And these are a couple of famous recipes in the home world. Good for reference."
Kyle glanced at the wooden scrolls and clicked his tongue. "They really are good."
"They should be." Varian stood up and stretched his arms.
He was very depressed when he realized the state of Neptune and the solar system. The guilt was gnawing at his conscience.
Thankfully, Kyle brightened his mood.
Even though the war was still at its peak, Varian was ready to tackle it without any mental burden.
