The Inner Odyssey - Chapter 32: Fickle

I freed the Slaves, but for some reason, they keep chasing after me.

One night of spring breeze, stirring the white window screen fluttering in the air.Only a nightstand lamp is on in the room.The light is a soft, dim yellow.......

The year was 2026, and the world wasn't what it used to be. Ever since the Abyss Gates cracked open three years ago, spilling monsters and dungeons across the planet, life had turned into a chaotic mess. Cities were half-ruined, half-rebuilt, and people clung to whatever normalcy they could find. Hunters—those brave or crazy enough to fight the monsters—became the new heroes. Everyone else? Well, they just tried to survive.Fin wasn't a Hunter. He wasn't a hero either.He was just… Fin. A lanky 19-year-old with messy brown hair, a chipped front tooth from a dumb skateboard accident, and a power that everyone called useless. Absorption. Sounds cool, right? Like he could suck up energy or steal someone's strength. Nope. All it did was let him “feel” things he touched a little more than normal. He could tell you the exact texture of a brick wall or how warm a coffee mug was—big whoop. No fireballs, no super strength, no flashy moves. Just a glorified touchy-feely trick.“Fin, you gonna eat that sandwich or just stare at it like it's gonna confess its life story?” Meg's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.He blinked and looked across the rickety table at his best friend. Meg was short, loud, and had a wild mop of dyed purple hair that she swore made her look “intimidating.” It didn't.

When she was eighteen, she was forced to take her sister's place and married him, who was disabled in both legs and impotent therefore.Despite all this, she has accompanied him through the darkest period of his life.However, two years of marriage and companionship still couldn't compare to the return of her sister.In order to treat her sister's illness, he even cruelly forced her onto the operating table, disregarding her pregnancy.His cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness left her heartbroken. After leaving the weak and sickly second child with him, she disappeared with the other two children.It wasn't until he completely lost her that he realized he had already fallen deeply in love with her.......Five years later, she returned with mini versions of their child.Looking at the adorable child who seemed like a spitting image of his son, his face turned pale.“Why do you look exactly the same?”The little one replied, “Biologically, only identical twins look exactly the same.”“?...”Did she give birth to twins?He angrily cornered her against the wall and asked, “So, you had twins back then?”She chuckled awkwardly, “If I say it was triplets, would you kill me?”