Jack had gone to sleep. Noid made a cup of coffee and went outside the tent. He walked to a stone pedestal and sat down.
He had discovered this stone pedestal by chance. Although it wasn't a high place, the view was wide and open. He would occasionally come here to relax and watch the stars.
It was quite late now. Very few households still had their lights on, and there was no noisy clamor. He took a sip of coffee, pondering the contents of the superhero comic he had just read.
The comic had shaken Noid quite a bit. The protagonist was just an ordinary person from head to toe who, by chance, found a belt and became a hero who could selflessly risk his life to save others.
Although Noid had seen stories about heroes in his own world, what had changed was his mindset as he experienced this one.
When people accidentally gain power, they usually use it for their own gratification. "Gratification" doesn't necessarily mean doing evil. It could be fighting bad guys or saving others, which is also a form of gratification, but under the premise that they don't get hurt themselves.
After the protagonist gained power, his impoverished life didn't change. He saved people, but what he received in return was suspicion and fear. There was no applause or praise, only a lonely return with a body full of wounds.
But thinking about the imaginary hero's answer, something inside Noid stirred once again. It was no longer so small that he couldn't even recognize it; he was gradually beginning to feel it.
"I don't have happiness, but I will fight for the happiness of everyone."
Noid said the words softly. He wondered what kind of person, what kind of experiences, one had to have to be able to say something like that.
This wasn't just empty talk. Although it was just a page of paper and some lifeless dialogue, he felt he could sense the strong conviction and will imbued within it.
"I don't have... happiness..."
Noid involuntarily thought of himself. His hand holding the coffee cup clenched tightly.
While lost in thought, he was pulled back by a voice calling from behind him.
"Noid, is that you?"
He turned his head. It was Sasha. Her voice was mixed with surprise.
He hadn't expected to see her here again.
Since the moment he left the dormitory building, the two of them had not seen each other again. He had only seen Sasha on a screen.
Knowing her identity, Noid subconsciously stepped back, not wanting to bother her.
Sasha sat down next to him, just as he was. He thought for a second and then said to her.
"Wait a moment."
Noid then went back to his tent, quickly made another cup of coffee, and gave it to Sasha. The two of them sat together on the stone pedestal. The steam from the coffee hit Sasha's face, making her feel a little more alert. She took a sip.
She had never drunk coffee before. She didn't know if this coffee was good or bad, she just found it tasted bitter.
Seeing Sasha's slightly scrunched face, Noid felt a little embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, is it very bitter?"
"It's fine."
With her superhuman physique, adapting to the bitter taste of coffee only took a moment.
The two of them didn't say anything more. He wanted to say something to break the awkward silence, but even though he had improved during this time, he still wasn't good with words. Suddenly, Sasha spoke.
"When I was little, my dad and I loved to watch the stars."
Sasha looked up at the sky, and her bright eyes were filled with memories.
"My mom passed away giving birth to me. Whenever my dad took me to watch the stars, he would always point to the sky and say, 'When people die, they turn into stars up there and continue to watch over the people they love. Your mom is always watching us, can you see her?'"
"The doom invasion happened, and my dad sacrificed himself to save me. Dad was so silly. I clearly didn't believe that dead people would turn into stars anymore. But he still kept saying that he wouldn't disappear and would be up there with my mom, watching over me."
At this point, Sasha's voice was starting to tremble, but she tried to remain calm. Noid didn't say anything, just listened to her confide in him.
"In the last battle, a friend of mine was attacked by a doom."
"We both worked in the military, a reliable, optimistic friend. She was one of the few friends I had."
"In that moment, I don't know how to describe it. But if I had been even a second slower, her body would have been torn in half."
Sasha's voice was almost a choked sob. Her hands were clenched so tightly they were white.
"Even so, she was so severely injured that she couldn't be saved. For the rest of her life... she'll have to be in a wheelchair."
"I felt so useless."
Suddenly, Noid's right hand gently stroked Sasha's head.
"But Sasha saved your friend, didn't you?"
"At the very least, you were a second faster and prevented the tragedy from happening. So many people, even with a lifetime of effort, are still a second too late."
"You saved someone you cherished. You did a great job."
Sasha stared at him blankly. For a split second, Noid's figure perfectly overlapped with her father's.
Noid realized his unconscious action, awkwardly withdrew his hand, and said in a low voice.
"I'm just a coward and a weakling."
"I also lost everything important to me, but instead of getting back up from despair, I sank even deeper into it."
"I clearly could have done something, but I was too afraid to do it. Sasha, you are so much braver than I am."
"I wonder if my parents, if they were to come back to life and see their son become so pathetic, would they regret saving me?"
Noid's half-joking tone was particularly mournful.
He and Sasha, two different people with a similar fate at a crossroads. The only difference was the choice between them.
Sasha walked out of the darkness.
Noid wallowed in the darkness.
"No, they wouldn't regret it, because they didn't care about their own lives for your sake."
Sasha remembered the scene when she first met him. Noid's left arm was gone, his eye was bleeding, and he was standing in front of an elite doom in a tattered armor.
It turned out that he wasn't just lying there paralyzed. Some kind of miraculous power had helped Noid stand up and protect Jack behind him. It was just that he had almost lost his vision and senses at that moment, so he didn't realize it.
That's why Sasha was able to save Noid and, at the same time, was curious to observe what kind of person he was to be so resilient.
Sasha also had people she trusted, but she had never shared her thoughts with them like this. Only with Noid. This wasn't entirely trust or anything; it was perhaps the empathy of similar circumstances, perhaps the image of her father, perhaps his actions.
Neither of them continued to speak. It was Noid who stood up first and said to Sasha:
"It's late. You should go back."
As he turned to leave, Sasha called out to him:
"Noid."
"Your coffee cup."
"Oh, I forgot."
Watching him go back into his tent and the light inside turn off, Sasha finally looked away. She looked up at the sky, the brilliant stars shining in her eyes, and murmured.
"Dad, Mom, are you still watching over me?"