Chapter 38: The Aftermath
When Shido opened his eyes, he was greeted by a boundless expanse of white stretching out endlessly in every direction. He glanced around, his brows furrowing slightly as the realization dawned upon him.
"I'm inside my Inner World again, huh?" Shido muttered with a voice tinged with both familiarity and frustration. This wasn't the first time he found himself here after losing consciousness.
However, he quickly concluded the situation of being here wasn't that bad. The abundance of mana within his Inner World presented an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
Sitting down cross-legged, Shido closed his eyes and focused, absorbing as much mana as his body could handle until he felt full and revitalized.
His thoughts inevitably drifted back to his earlier event with Origami. As he recalled her frantic cries and the pain etched on her face as she clung to him.
Shido let out a bitter sigh. "I'm such a bastard," Shido revealed a bitter smile as he thought of Origami.
The memory of her tears and the mix of agony and betrayal in her eyes weighed heavily on his chest. "But what could I do?" he thought helplessly. "I'm just... a normal guy."
Well, perhaps not entirely normal. After all, he had a system as his saving grace, and an eternal companion.
Yet, standing there amidst Origami's storm of pain and hatred, he had felt completely powerless. No system in the world could ease the weight of facing her feelings of being betrayed.
Still, facing Origami again after everything that happened was not something he currently could do. He could only hope that when he woke up, Origami's hatred towards him lessened even just a bit.
He admitted it was a gamble, a moment of sheer recklessness but at that time, it felt like his only option.