Aika and I continued on towards our shelter.

After a few minutes of silence, I took a quick glance at her and said, "I thought you didn't like people. It's strange to see you help someone you don't know at all..." Remembering the amount of positive karma that we earned, I added, "…genuinely."

Aika sighed.

She looked like she did not want to talk about it, but eventually she gave in. "I don't know. For some reason, when I saw her being treated like that, it triggered a disturbing memory. The memory wasn't clear and the only thing I felt was that I was being maltreated in the same way."

I suddenly froze and my eyes widened.

"What?"

Did she just say she had a disturbing memory surface where she experienced something similar?

My mind buffered for a moment.

Bonds are born the moment they manifest, so…

"How is that even possible?"

Aika shrugged, "I don't know."

She looked away. "Anyway, can we not talk about it? I really hate the way it makes me feel…"

Without waiting for me, she continued onward while also cursing under her breath. "…damn rain. I really need a smoke right now."

I followed on beside her, and although we didn't talk about it, my mind still dwelt heavily on it.

My bond suddenly having a memory of a time not with me.

Where could it be coming from?

And why did the scene earlier trigger it?

…All of a sudden, I couldn't help but question again: What exactly were bonds?

***

Eventually, we reached the shelter.

The light in the general area was on and we could hear laughing. When we got in, we were both greeted by the others who were having dinner. Leon and Uriel were present too.

"You gonna join us for dinner?" Ino asked.

I shook my head. "No. I'm a bit tired, so I'll just head in."

Honestly, I was in the mood for a drink rather than a meal. Aika had already started walking toward our room without a word to anyone, so I just followed behind her. But then Evelyn spoke, "Are you okay, Ced? I can smell lots of your blood on you."

I suddenly halted.

'Right… I forgot she's a vampire.'

Turning to face her, I smiled then said, "I'm fine."

[You have acquired 5 Karma points.]

[Available Karma points: N2,080 / P710]

Well, I wasn't exactly fine.

My broken ribs were screaming and every breath was a hassle. But I wasn't going to say that, so I turned around and continued on to my room.

***

Some time later…

I sat by the window drinking alone.

My mind was a mess and jumbled up with so many thoughts. I was riddled with an overwhelming sense of guilt for killing Damon.

Despite his arrogance and abrasive attitude, and despite the fact I did not like him, he did not deserve to die. However, I did not regret killing him, and that fact was really haunting to me.

It really feels like I'm giving into the darkness of both worlds, but… I've come to the conclusion that I'm ready to do anything if it means me and Aika's survival.

I stared at my hands for a bit, then after a while, I sighed and drank the remainder of my alcohol.

When I was done and it was finally time to go to sleep, I turned around to see Aika sitting and leaning against the wall. She was asleep and her head was tilted in a bad way to the side. She was one wrong move away from falling over completely.

'Hm? Strange. She never goes to sleep this early.'

I went over and knelt beside her, then reached out to support her head.

'Huh?'

That was when I noticed something. Aika was burning up, almost as if she had a severe fever.

'What's happening?'

Aika fell onto me, then gripped my shirt.

'What's wrong with her?'

I immediately grew worried.

'Is it possible for bonds to get sick?'

This was something I had no idea about.

At that moment, Aika began to tremble violently in my arms and she gripped my shirt tighter. Then she began to whimper. "No please, no… don't…"

I panicked and hugged her close, then began whispering softly, "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay…"

Tears began to flow out her eyes and her grip on my shirt tightened so much I could hear the fabric beginning to strain.

Watching her, I could tell that… she was afraid.

Aika mumbled again. "Come with us please… don't stay…"

Her next words caused me to freeze:

"Mom… please…"

'Mom?'

My confusion deepened.

What did she mean by that?

Just then, blood began to stream out from Aika's nose, eyes and ears.

My panic intensified and I immediately called out to Gamer Privileges.

'What the hell is happening to my bond?!'

A notification popped up in response.

[Due to the exclusive attribute: Gamer Privileges and the Non-diegetic barrier, the authority of #### placed on all bonds was gradually being lifted from the Gamer's bond.]

[However, it seems that the level of the bond is too low to withstand the process. Due to this, Gamer Privileges will temporarily suspend the process to prevent soul collapse.]

'What?'

What does this even mean?

Authority of what?

Just then, Aika's heavy, ragged breathing began to slow down and her body slowly went limp as she let go of my shirt.

I helped guide her down to the floor, then quickly took out a pillow from the inventory to support her head.

She looked deathly pale with the dark streaks of blood still wet on her face.

I took out a bowl, put in some water, then wet a towel and began to carefully wipe the stains away. She was still very hot so I folded the damp cloth and rested it against her forehead, hoping the cool water would do something to settle the fever.

The hours slowly passed with me nursing her and in the end, Aika didn't wake up until after three days.

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