Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 288: A Century-long reunion [2]
For a long time after the initial greeting, the duo sat in silence as they just looked at each other.
They seemed to be struggling to find the right words to say, even Leon who was usually shameless was finding it hard to joke at the moment.
They both felt the weight of a century.
Their complicated feelings and emotions reflected in how they both currently looked. One of them looked exactly the same as he was when they last met, but the other seemed worn down by the flood of father time.
In the end, leaning back on the luxurious chair, Ren Nora looked at the ceiling and sighed. "It’s been 131 years..."
"131 years". Leon softly repeated.
To him, it still felt like just a month ago since it happened and he met Ren Nora for the first time but sitting inside this office and being inside this city, he also felt the weight of a century.
It was hard not to feel it when literally everything had changed, it was hard not to feel it when that gallant, vibrant, and freedom speech-talking young leader now looked like an elder.
Looking at the General whose actions won his genuine respect a long time ago, Leon finally broke the silence and asked. "After I left, what happened at the end of the war?"
Leon chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. "I think I may have phrased that wrong. Heck, 131 years have passed since then!"
"Just tell me everything that happened".
Ren Nora raised his eyebrows.
"Summarize". Leon shrugged. "I’m not rushing anywhere, I’m willing to sit with you and listen".
Remembering something, he quickly added. "What of Major Kai and Major Garfield, where are they? Tell me about them first".
Sensing the barely concealed anxiousness and anticipation in his tone, Ren Nora looked at Leon and calmly replied. "Kai died 43 years ago, he died in his sleep".
"..." Leon froze.
Calmly, Ren Nora continued. "The injuries that he suffered in the battle against General Murphy never managed to fully heal, and even with advanced medicine he couldn’t heal fully. The scars lingered".
He forced a smile. "For a long time, he lived on pain killers. It was a miracle that he lasted that long, and he died peacefully without any regrets or pain".
"As for Garfield," Ren Nora smiled again. "He’s retired these days. He lives in a Town at the outskirts of the city".
"He has a big family now".
"His granddaughter has stolen his affection so completely that he doesn’t even make up time to meet his old friend anymore". He snorted in displeasure.
Leon didn’t know how to react to this news as he just stared stiffly at Ren Nora who chuckled at his reaction.
"You don’t need to feel bad about anything. Like I told you, Kai died peacefully. He died a hero of the Freegrid Collective".
"Despite how much I had on my desk leading such a growing organization and world power, I always made up time to be with him in his last years". He laughed. "We always talked about you".
He looked Leon in the eye. "That was how he wanted to go, like a hero".
"His only regret was never getting to meet you one last time to thank you for everything. Aside that, he died with zero regrets".
Leon leaned back on the lounge chair, then he finally revealed a smile. "When you put it like that, it really do sound nice".
Ren Nora grinned. "It was nice".
"What of the others?" Leon looked at him.
"Potter, Mendez, and Lawrence got funerals befitting war heroes after the war. Alongside me, Garfield, and Kai, all of them are immortalized at the Central Grand Square in the middle of the city".
"We call that last battle the Battle of Liberation". He smiled.
"After that night, we had to perform a mass burial to lay all our dead to rest. They all received a grand burial ceremony befitting war heroes".
Hearing that, Leon could not help it as his smile widened instinctively.
He felt nostalgic as he began reminiscing. "What a battle it was that night," he muttered. "Despite how much we planned leading to it, I was still very anxious throughout. I never believed we would manage to pull it off, it’s still crazy now that I think about it".
Ren Nora laughed loudly. "You were the MVP that night!"
"Trapping a C Rank Ascended as a mere E Rank? I know I took the gamble and put my faith in you and all that, but I never thought you’ll manage to pull it off all the way till I completed my Trial and became a C Rank Ascended".
"I’ve lived for over 150 years now and in all my life, I’ve yet to see a feat even remotely close to what you managed to achieve that night".
"I don’t think any of the things I’ve achieved even come close to that in terms of the difficulty and impact".
"Unlike the others, your deeds went unsung but those at the heart of the action know that you contributed to the rise of the Freegrid Collective more than anyone else, even me".
"All the engineers who worked with you in the database are dead now, but for decades, they fondly remembered you as the Masked Engineer".
Leon chuckled as he looked at Ren Nora. "You think I’ll blush? You think I’ll be modest?" He laughed shamelessly. "Yes, I’m your daddy! Worship me! The Freegrid Collective will not exist without me!"
Ren Nora laughed. "Did you always have this sense of humor?"
"Of course!" Leon responded without hesitation. "The only reason why you didn’t see this version of me back then was because I was always under pressure, we were at war".
"That’s fair," Ren Nora nodded.
Leon adjusted to a more comfortable position on the lounge chair. "Tell me what happened after I left".
Ren Nora nodded. "Well, the moment I completed my Trial and became a C Rank Ascended, all of Epsilon’s plans tanked".
"He had no choice but to call a cease fire".
"Murphy wanted to fight me, heh," he smirked. "But I managed to deter and stop him because I didn’t want the army to suffer more damage on the wake of our battle. Only when I became C Rank did I truly realize the depths of power of a C Rank Ascended".
"And once the Federation Army retreated, we gained our freedom and the Freegrid Collective became an official organization".
"Within just a few days, the news spread far and wide and in months, almost all the citizens of the Wastes in the West came together under our banner. And together, we’ve been growing".
"After that, well, nothing could stop our growth".
"Epsilon didn’t want to start a direct war with a C Rank Ascended. With my presence, the Freegrid Collective was safe".
"We expanded into 2 more major cities, building multiple Towns to accommodate and protect people around our territory".
"131 years is a long time and as you can see, Iron Reef is very different from how you last remembered it". He grinned.
After that, silence reigned for a few seconds as Leon internalized everything that he just heard, then Ren Nora broke the silence again.
Looking at Leon, he asked. "Where exactly have you been?"
"For over 130 years, I’ve looked for you, I’ve scoured every reasonable corner of the world yet I found no traces of you".
"It felt like you just popped out of nowhere to help us".
"If I didn’t have witnesses in Kai and Garfield, at some point, I would have believed that you were just a figment of my imagination".
"At times I felt like I was going insane".
"So tell me, where have you been?"
Ren Nora looked at Leon, expectantly waiting for an answer, the answer that he’d been seeking for 131 years of his life.
