VROOM!

A luxurious electric car glided through the elevated boulevard like a black phantom, its polished chrome body reflecting a kaleidoscope of neon light.

Apart from the chauffeur, the only other inhabitants inside the car were 2 people- a young man with long black hair and onyx black eyes, and a young woman with slightly auburn hair and brown eyes, both seeming in their early twenties.

In the 4 months while he was trapped in a coma, Leon couldn’t have a haircut and in that time, his originally short black hair already grew, now falling down into his shoulders like a velvet black curtain.

It was already 10:00am in the morning and after hours of observation, the doctors finally signed his discharge document from the hospital.

He was judged to be in stable condition.

And for the first time in 4 months, Leon left the hospital.

Immediately after leaving the hospital, Tyla insisted that she take him to have a good haircut and well, Leon couldn’t argue. Even disagreeing with her now left him feeling guilty with the knowledge that she’d been by his side every single waking hour for the past 4 months.

’Uh... is this what true love means?’

’Well, I guess?’

Leon didn’t argue, he let Tyla do her thing as under her guidance, he received a clean haircut.

She didn’t reduce the hair, she simply let the hairdresser trim the edges before washing it thoroughly and giving it a good perm.

Now Leon looked like some poster boy in rom-com movies.

Of course, he didn’t pay attention to it as the luxurious electric car that the General left for him drove them to their new hotel.

4 months ago still felt like yesterday in Leon’s perception, but armed with the truth now, he was slowly coming to terms with the reality that 4 months already passed without his input.

It was a strange feeling to get used to, and he was now trying to adjust to the slight disconnect with reality and society as they returned to the hotel.

As the car moved, he looked outside, observing the colossal holographic advertisements that towered between the kilometer-high skyscrapers, painting the dim morning in shifting shades of electric blue, crimson, and violet.

Every surface of Iron Reef seemed alive with data, from streaming stock prices to celebrity avatars and even personalized promotions that tracked pedestrians as they passed.

This district was the crown jewel of Iron Reef, a sanctuary that was reserved for the wealthy elite and military leaders.

The streets below were spotless, maintained by silent cleaning drones that swept along the pavement in perfect formation.

Artificial trees lined the avenue, their metallic branches glowing softly with bioluminescent leaves engineered to filter the polluted air, reducing ADE density when needed to avoid slow ADE corruption.

As the electric car moved soundlessly on the magnetic drives, they passed luxury boutiques that were protected by shimmering energy barriers and restaurants that were suspended in glass spheres hundreds of meters above ground.

The sight of the boutiques reminded Leon of his first actual shopping experience since waking up in this world, it was sponsored by Tyla.

He threw a brief glance at her with a complicated look on his face, then he focused back on the street where well-dressed executives and socialites strolled along the illuminated walkways, their cybernetic enhancements hidden beneath designer clothing.

In all these, Leon realized something. ’The world didn’t miss me’.

Well, what did he actually expect? For life in Iron Reef to stop simply because he was in a coma?

He smiled slightly. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

With or without him, the city moved on like usual and people continued with their business. Nobody cared about him except those who cared.

Leon meditated with that thought. All in all, he felt good to be back.

At some point, he noticed autonomous security drones hovering overhead, their red optical sensors scanning everything that moved.

Leon frowned; this was new. ’Since when did this type of security system start being utilized in Iron Reef?’

He felt like he already knew the answer to his question.

For the past 4 months, the propaganda machine of the Omnicore Federation was already pushing it in Epsilon’s early preparations for a justified full-blown war, and it was only right for Ren Nora to respond.

The security drones were clearly Ren Nora’s response, part of his open countermeasures for spies that were sent by the Federation.

Afterall, Leon and his team were not the only ones who could infiltrate silently into enemy territory though against Ren Nora, it was extremely harder due to the nature of his powers.

Without the sophisticated technology of the Omnicore Eye, it was supposed to be easier for soldiers of the Federation Army to infiltrate Iron Reef than it is for soldiers of the Freegrid Collective to infiltrate Neo Solace.

But the Freegrid Collective has the ’Glitch’.

Leon’s face turned grim as his head became filled with dark thoughts. ’All of this because of me...’

He looked outside at the Synths and Geneforms going about their day.

He looked at them, he studied their faces, realizing that by the time he became a C Rank Ascended most of these faces were likely going to be gone forever because of him.

Leon grimaced.

Did he feel guilty? Maybe, but it wasn’t going to stop him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Tyla’s curious voice snapped him out of his thoughts and Leon turned to look at her, flashing a smile. "Nothing, just thinking about how life has moved on so easily without me for 4 months".

Tyla chuckled. "What did you expect? For the world to stop because you were injured and in the hospital?"

Leon laughed. "I know right? It’s ridiculous".

He looked outside again.

As the electric car continued deeper into the affluent district, the city transformed into a vision of impossible luxury- a place where technology had conquered most if not every inconvenience.

And there, they lodged into their new hotel room.

Leon had his first proper bath in a long time and weirdly, Tyla insisted on bathing with him.

The prospect of a full-grown woman as attractive as her bathing with him in the same bathroom left his heart beating fast for some reason, but well, what would you know? Nothing actually happened to him.

After bathing, both feeling refreshed, they got dressed in clean pajamas that were provided by the hotel and lazily laid down on the bed.

They had no intentions of doing anything throughout today, they both agreed tacitly that it was their off day after 4 months of staying in the hospital.

At first, they slept apart, Leon’s thoughts burning feverishly as his face slowly burned hot. His body hormones for some reason were not listening to him.

Tyla seemed to have sensed his unease.

She suddenly shifted closer and took his hand before wrapping it around her waist, pulling him closer.

Leon responded instinctively before he could think, spooning her from behind as they cuddled.

He didn’t realize how much he missed this. ’Uh... is this right?’

The thought of enjoying himself in a luxurious hotel room like this while planning to kill majority of the people living in this city filled his head with dark thoughts, but Leon didn’t stop.

He enjoyed it. He indulged in it, relishing the feeling of her body and the rosy scent of her skin.

Tyla suddenly squirmed, drawing him even tighter to herself, then she asked. "Um, did you miss me?"

Leon blinked; the answer came before he could think.

"Actually, I think I do".

After that, things escalated- clothes and underwear flying off like daggers, longing and obsession taking over as their bodies soon intertwined.

On his first day of waking up after being in a coma for 4 months, Leon didn’t care if his body was still weak or not as he indulged himself, enjoying himself for majority of the day.

Even with the thoughts of war and death in his head, he was able to shelve it all aside and enjoy the moment.

...

[Special Appreciation to Adamantis, thatotherguy008, byrdseede, and ImperialJadeDragon for the Golden Tickets! Thanks for the consistent support throughout the month guys.]