Chapter 41: A Promise to Return

Craig stood frozen, staring at his three friends, while Clyde stood behind him, choosing not to disturb him. Clyde could see a wave of emotions rushing across Craig’s face and noticed his hands clenching into tight fists. Behind them, Casca, Corie, and Mary walked up to Clyde.

"Did he find his friends?" Mary asked Clyde.

"Yeah... his friends from inside the simulation, the ones he grew up with," Clyde replied, fully understanding what Craig was feeling.

"Brother Craig," Casca murmured, gazing at Craig’s back with a sorrowful expression, feeling his pain as well.

Corie remained silent, but anyone looking at her face could tell she shared Craig’s sorrow. She simply held Casca’s hand tightly, and Casca squeezed back just as firmly. Then, Craig walked over to the side of the frail girl sleeping on the far left. He looked at her lovely face, her long hair, and her arms, which were as painfully thin as skeletons wrapped in skin.

Craig brought a chair over, placing it gently beside the bed before sitting down to gaze at the girl. He reached out and brushed her bangs aside to reveal her forehead, where a small scar was carved near her eyebrow. Seeing that scar, Craig set his jaw tight, his eyes narrowing softly as he looked at her. He let go of her bangs, gently took the girl’s hand, and held it firmly.

Observing the scene, Clyde instinctively wrapped his arms around Casca and Corie, while Mary stood quietly without saying a word. The atmosphere in the room was deathly quiet, save for the rhythmic beeping of various ECG machines; a heavy gloom hung over the entire space, weighing down their hearts with sadness. Craig slowly lifted the girl’s hand and pressed it against his own forehead, saying nothing. His eyes remained fixed on her face without blinking, before he whispered,

"Welcome to this world, Lyra. You might not remember who I am when you wake up, but once you do, I promise I’ll come meet you. For now, just wait for me here, okay? I’ll definitely come back," Craig spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Naturally, Lyra didn’t react at all, as she was still unconscious. Craig could only stroke her bangs once more and offer a sad smile, before lowering her hand and resting it gently back on the bed. Afterward, Craig stood up, leaned down to kiss Lyra’s forehead, and turned around to face Clyde, who still had his arms around Casca and Corie as they watched him and Mary standing beside them.

He walked over to the group and stood before them, forcing a smile onto his face,

"Let me know when you’re ready to go," Craig said.

"Are you doing okay?" Clyde asked.

"Of course I’m not doing okay. Who could see someone they love in a state like that and be okay?" Craig replied, shrugging his shoulders with a bitter smile.

"Good. If you said you were fine, that would actually be terrifying," Clyde said, placing a hand on Craig’s shoulder.

"Haha... you’re right, Brother. Let’s go. We still have to pick up Sister Celes, don’t we?" Craig asked.

"Yeah... you’re right," Clyde answered briefly with a soft smile.

Clyde and Craig then turned to look at Casca and Corie, whose faces were dark, somber, and visibly glistening with tears in their eyes. Their lips trembled slightly,

"Hey, what’s with you two?" Craig asked, placing a hand on both Casca’s and Corie’s heads at the same time.

"It’s nothing... it’s just sad seeing the state your friends are in," Casca said.

"Same here... I’m just sad too... caught it from Casca," Corie added.

"Sigh... I’m doing fine, okay? Please don’t overreact. Come on, let’s go. We have to pick up Sister Celes," Craig urged.

"Yup... right," Casca and Corie replied in unison.

"Mary, how do we get south?" Clyde asked, turning to Mary.

"Hmm... you saw the train station next to this building, right? You’ll be departing from there to Utopia, but not today," Mary answered.

"Oh? Why is that?" Clyde asked.

"Because the train hasn’t arrived yet. It usually comes tomorrow or later tonight, but even then, it’ll take a full day before it departs again," Mary answered.

"Hmm... I see," Clyde replied, lost in thought.

"Let’s head back to my place first. I know you need to save your sister as soon as possible, but forcing your way out right now will be useless. Out there, plenty of swarmers roam the forest, and you won’t be able to spot them at night," Mary added.

"Swarmers?" Craig, Casca, and Corie asked together.

"Disgusting creatures born from the giants’ experiments on humans... it’s better if you don’t see them," Clyde answered.

"Have you seen one before, Brother?" Craig asked.

"Once... back when I first woke up and was walking toward Neo Ark," Clyde answered.

"It’s actually those swarmers that keep this city safe. As long as they’re out there, no giants or giant monsters will come anywhere near this city on the surface," Mary added.

"Oh, is that so? Now I’m kind of curious to see one," Corie replied.

"You really shouldn’t be. Alright, Sister Mary, let’s head back," Clyde urged.

"Yeah... let me lead the way," Mary replied.

They walked out of the medical ward, traversed the lobby, and headed toward the exit. Mary offered a quick greeting to Vicky, who bowed in response from behind the reception desk. After leaving the command headquarters, they passed the station beside the building. Past the station, they arrived at a high-rise structure that appeared to have twenty stories, making it the only skyscraper in the city.

Mary led them inside past the door guards and took the lift up to the top floor. When the lift doors opened, the eyes of Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie widened at the sight of a spacious, comfortable rooftop penthouse that, while simple and far from luxurious, felt welcoming. The penthouse featured about ten rooms, a central living area with a long table reminiscent of a conference room surrounded by chairs, and a kitchen. Mary gestured for them to step out onto the back terrace, which was the concrete deck of the building.

There, four Gatling guns, an anti-air rocket launcher, a radar dish, and a boxy, bunker-like structure stood, appearing to serve as a lookout post where a guard could monitor the surroundings. Mary then turned to look at the four young people, who were still staring in awe,

"Pick whichever rooms you like. Out back here, if you want to look at the city ruins and survey the area, feel free, but please don’t touch the weapons or equipment. If you want to sleep in that bunker, that’s fine too. I’m going to take a shower first," Mary said.

"Alright, Sister Mary," Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie replied in unison, their eyes still wandering around in amazement.

After that, Mary went back inside, took off her jacket, and tossed it onto the long table in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Clyde, Craig, Casca, and Corie walked over to the edge of the roof and held onto the barrier wall. From above, they could see the layout of the city, which was not very large and was enclosed by corrugated metal sheets and concrete walls with watchtowers at every corner; coils of barbed wire ran along the top of the walls to prevent anyone from leaping over or climbing in.

"It feels like... a prison," Casca said.

"Yeah, you’re right. The city isn’t big, but... it really does feel like living in a prison," Corie added.

"What else can we expect? It’s not safe out there, just look," Craig said, pointing far out into the distance.

They looked in the direction Craig pointed, and indeed, countless ruins were blanketed in creeping vines like a dense jungle surrounding the settlement, making Safe Haven look like a city built within the shattered remnants of a fallen metropolis. When they turned to look to the left, they spotted the giant warehouse-like structure enveloped in a glowing, iridescent white dome.

"So that’s it... a farm," Craig said, staring at the Farm with his jaw set tight.

"Yeah... this is the second time I’ve seen a building covered in a dome like that among the city ruins I remembered as my home in the simulation," Clyde explained.

"Who actually created the simulation anyway? The nephilim? Humans? Or both?" Corie asked.

"Who knows? That’s something we’ll have to find the answer to someday, but right now, what matters is... we know what happened to Celes, and we need to save her right away," Clyde answered.

"You’re right, Brother. We shouldn’t lose focus on other things; Sister Celes comes first," Casca said.

"After that... if it’s okay, please let me come back here to visit Lyra," Craig said.

"Yeah... we’ll all come back here together... with Celes," Clyde replied, putting his arm around his younger brother.

They fell silent. The four of them stood wrapping their arms around one another, their eyes fixed straight ahead at the destroyed city ruins before them.

"Wait for us, Celes," Clyde said in his mind, staring straight ahead with sharp, resolute eyes.