"You're leaving already?"
Mr. Sal asked Aran, leaning against the doorway with a half lit cigarette in his hand. The early morning light caught the dust in the air, making the shop look like one of those aesthetic cafe shop vibe.
Even though it has just been a few days, the old man was already missing me, maybe because I am a free worker in his shop..
Aran looked at the old man, and glance towards the shop.. Mr. Sal didn't open the shop yet so it was the good timing to tell him.. then Aran opened his hand and a bottle appeared.. it was nourishment pill.. suitable for the old man.. enough to not worry about certain diseases and makes the old man live a little longer
"Have this and take it.. It's for your health"
Mr. Sal looked at the bottle then at me then back to the bottle
"…This one of those CBD things?"
"No."
He examined the bottle in his hand, playing it around
"Looks like one of those fancy cough drops"
"It won't give you powers.. just enough for a healthy body and life"
Mr. Sal squinted his eyes on the bottle and slipped it into his coat pocket like it was nothing even though his hands hesitated for a moment.
"..don't need any powers.. I will be a liability.. but alright.."
He looked at me again
"You're a weird kid, you know that?"
"I get that alot of times"
Mr. Sal puffed his cigarette once more and threw it on the ground stomping it. He looked at the silent vibrant empty shop behind him..
"You got a plan?"
"Vaguely"
"Somewhere to go?"
"Will find out on the way"
No more words followed. Just the hum of the city waking up. A couple of early risers walked past. A garbage truck rumbled down the road. In the distance, someone was shouting about parking tickets again.
Mr. Sal didn't say goodbye.
He just said,
"Come back again when you have the time"
Aran didn't say anything.. just a simple nod unsure if he will ever visit this place again..
He done this before.. more times.. many times
..
In the Tianmen Continent, he met countless mortals. Shared wine under moonlit courtyards. Fished beside old uncles who never knew his true realm. Sparred with young hotheads in villages tucked between mountains. Some called him brother. Others whispered rumors after he left. A few remembered him as a wandering cultivator who helped them rebuild after a storm.
And then they were gone.
Some died of old age.Some vanished in wars.Some simply... faded from the world.
He had buried them. Forgotten some. Remembered others too vividly.
To them, he'd been a moment.
To him, they were chapters in a book with torn pages.
And yet, even now… he still stopped to talk. Still helped where he could. Still left behind small pieces of kindness.
..
As Aran walk away from the shop, he was greeted by the city.. even though some buildings were kinda torn but never the less it was still blooming with people, steam rose from sewer grates, traffic lights blinked yellow at empty intersections, sirens came and went like waves and pigeons scattered from an overflowing trash bin as a bus rolled by, half its windows shattered and taped over.
BOOM-
Somewhere down the block, a flash lit up an alleyway, followed by the sound of metal hitting pavement and tires screeching in the distance.
Two people burst out of the alley a man and a woman, dressed in plain clothes but breathing like they just ran a mile. The woman held a bag tight to her chest, while the man kept glancing back, eyes wide with adrenaline
They.. weren't professionals.. movements was wow messy but whatever they had.. it was something dangerous but Aran didn't move.. he simply stepped aside as they passed
As they brushed past, the woman shot him a look.
"Say nothing."
The man followed with a quick, nervous grin. "Keep your mouth shut, alright?"
Then they were gone into a beat-up getaway car, doors slamming, tires screeched as they disappeared into morning traffic.
Aran stood still on the sidewalk, eyes calmly tracing the fading trail of smoke from the alley then to the fading car.
"A chitauri weapon?"