"Sia!" the young Varian and Varian said at the same time.
Young Varian hurriedly turned his head and stuttered, "I'm...fi-n-e. I'm not feeling lonely."
Sia sat down beside and gazed at him.
Young Varian felt her gaze and his face flushed. He said in mild annoyance, "What's there on my face?"
Instead of answering, she touched his bruises and bowed her head "I wish I could've helped you in the fights."
"Hey, I'm strong alright. I don't need help. How can I be the Peerless Saviour Emperor if I can't even endure this little pain?" Young Varian said and patted his chest to reassure her.
"Hiss" He accidentally touched the wound on his chest and flinched in pain.
"Let's go to the infirmary." Sia said and helped him up.
"I'm fine. Really." Young Varian insisted, but didn't resist.
Sia touched his chest and felt the warm red liquid on her palm. She glared at him "Is this why you wear red shirts all day?"
Young Varian was silent for a while "I don't want to be seen as weak."
Sia paused for a moment and clenched her fist. She stopped helping him up.
"Then I won't support you. I'll just walk by your side, with you. We'll have you treated at infirmary." She said and hopped forward.
The sun was setting, and the students were leaving in groups.
Young Varian looked at Sia as she turned back.
"Let's go. You can't train tonight if you are injured." She smiled and extended her hand.
Her brown hair was shaken by the wind, her golden eyes under the sunlight shone with kindness as she extended her hand to him.
At that moment, he realized he was not alone. Someone understood him. Someone believed in his aspirations that everyone crossed out as silly.
"Yeah!" Young Varian smiled and caught her hand.
He looked at his peers, who were with their own friends. He looked at Sia. He smiled from the bottom of his heart and whispered under his breath.
"Thank you."
They walked into the distance as their shadows merged.
Darkness enveloped everything and the next moment, Varian found himself on his bed, in his dormitory room.
He felt something salty on his lips. He touched his cheeks and realized they were wet.
'She… did this all happen?' He felt empty inside.
'Why don't I remember anything? Are my memories...' His eyes widened as he considered the worst possibility.
"I need to check." He glanced at the time and it was noon. He slept only for a few hours.
Varian asked his System 'System, are my memories altered?'
[Host, this system does not do memory checks.]
"Tch"
'Some telepath must have done this. Psychics are high levels. Why would they even act on an unawakened like me?'
Varian decided to unveil the truth and asked his comm, "Can I go out of the academy?"
{Yes. But only for today and return before 9:00 PM.}
He breathed a sigh of relief and exited his dormitory.
"Click"
"Ouch"
He stretched his arms and legs. The injuries would take a few more hours to completely heal. But he could already perform normal activities without any problem.
Varian walked out of the huge garden, boarded a hover bus near the dormitory, and exited the campus. Thankfully, transportation within the campus was free.
He booked a hover bike with his credit points, and thought of the follow-up plan. He set the destination for the famous Bell Health Care.
It was founded by Kreo Bell, one of the Eight Sovereigns. He was also one of the three Marshals of Human Armed Forces.
Kreo Bell's divine path was:
Mind (Level 1-3) —> Telepath (Level 4-6) —> Psychic (Level 7-Sovereign)
Varian was lost in thoughts as the hover bike dashed through the airways.
He soon approached one of the most luxurious areas of Earth. There were vehicles made of expensive alloys driving past him. They came in all colors and forms.
Red hover bikes of adamantium. Black hover cars of ish gold. And so on.
They only had one thing in common. These vehicles themselves were star treasures!
This meant not only could they protect the passengers, but they could also attack the enemies.
Varian's hover car was a rental and was thus normal.
Soon, the hover car ascended and Varian widened his eyes as it soared into the clouds.
"Wait, wh—?" Varian paused as he saw a huge building floating in the clouds. The whole complex was at least the size of a football field.
There were multiple exits with intensive security checks.
'Save Sia.' Varian recalled his mom's words.
'If Sia is real, then why did mom never speak about her? Is that part of memory also altered? Is that even possible?' He thought as the hover car stopped at the security checkpoint.
He showed his ID, and the security guards started their routine.
'Then why did she ask me to save Sia right before she died that night? Was Sia also with us and I just forgot? If then, did she already...?' Varian shook his head.
'No records of Sia I dream exist. My own records show no association with her name and mom too doesn't have any records of adopting any girl.'
'So Sia existed. After she got into the military academy, all her info online was erased, including her records with me. I should've known this, but I forgot everything about her.' Varian came to a preliminary conclusion.
'If I restore the memory, I will be able to find her.' Without knowing, his lips curled up. Maybe that was not the most rational conclusion. But that was what he wanted to believe. And believe he did.
The security check ended, and Varian entered the hospital. He felt the rich flow of aura inside and felt a refreshing feeling from within.
A single tile was worth 5k credit points and Varian watched his steps. The expensive show pieces hung on the walls, speaking volumes about the grandeur of this place.
If there was an equivalent to Old Earth, this building would be made of silver walls and golden show pieces.
He reached the counter and the female cashier bowed "Hello sir, what can I do for you?"
From the stiff moments and lack of aura, he could tell that she was a robot.
"I need a memory check and restoration." He said.
Bell Health Care was one of the most advanced company in medicine. They were, however, unrivalled in solving mind problems. A large reason was that the disciples of Kreo Bell were the top doctors.
If a telepath erases the memory of a person, Bell Health Care would be able to restore it with ease.
"Sure, sir. Please check the list and pick one." She swiped in front and a holograph listing the fee for each doctor appeared.
'Psychics are from Level 7 and above. They're the best choice.' Varian thought.
If a psychic diagnosed him, chances were that his problem would be almost 100%.
They were indeed the best choice... until he checked their fee.
'Forget it. Even Level 7 Psychic needs 800k credit points. If I had mp, it'd be 400 mp.' Varian recalled his 0 mp balance and the additional 20 mp he had to pay.
1 karma point = 1000 credit points. 1 merit point = 2 karma points.
Varian cursed himself for not spending all the mp on the first day.
He checked the next best. Level 6 Telepath.
Even though Telepaths weren't as good as Psychics in mind control, they were much stronger than Mind Awakeners.
300k credit points!
Varian saw the price and almost punched the price holograph.
'Should I just postpone this...no. This is too important.' Varian decided and searched for a way out.
He already spent all his savings of 300k on the 2 star treasure. Those 300k were his own savings and his mother's inheritance.
Now he had nothing except his house… House!
Varian clicked his tongue and decided to sell the house. All his luggage was in his dormitory, anyway. Even his hover bike was in the campus.
The house itself was a compensation by the government since his old home was destroyed by the magic beast.
Varian opened the comm and set the house on sale. It would sell for at least 350k. But he had no time.
From tomorrow till god knows when, he'd not be allowed out of the campus. With his zero mp, he couldn't consult the doctors on the academy.
So he set the price at 300k on condition of immediate payment.
He waited a few minutes and with a click, his comm notified:
{300k credit points are credited to your account}
'Great. Now I'm homeless.' Varian felt like he was getting poorer every day.
'I'm broke.' he wanted to yell, but he restrained himself and selected Level 6 Telepath.
"Please pay."
"Yes."
{Your bank balance is 3k credit points.}
"Your doctor is waiting for you." The maid bowed and swiped something towards his comm.
Varian nodded and followed the route sent to his comm.
He passed through other patients. Most of them wore luxurious clothing but didn't rank high as awakeners.
Varian reached his destination, and the door opened.
He stepped in and saw a graceful lady sitting in a chair.
She nodded at him and signaled for him to be seated. Varian was anxious as he sat in front of her.
"Please relax yourself and I'll give you a check. You'll be unconscious for a few moments." Her voice directly sounded in his mind.
Varian nodded.
Each room of telepath was monitored by high tech surveillance and synced with authorities database in real time. So the patients didn't worry about being exploited.
Varian was looking at her and the next moment, everything turned blank.
The telepath extended her mental force and probed into Varian's brain.
She reached the memory storage section and searched for the signs of intervention by other telepaths.
A few minutes later, Varian woke up.
"Now that you know where my memory is tampered, restore it." Varian was excited and asked in anticipation.
There was no response.
She looked at him with a weird gaze. "Your memory is not altered."