Life didn't get easier, even in another world

The act of explaining the reason and process of still being alive was exhausting and burdensome. Kairen had to consider if the person in front of him had the qualification to know of the secrets behind it, and if they were, how much he was allowed to tell them. It was easy at first. He revealed anything and everything to Aaron and his superiors such as the commander and the team leader. Alan had the right to know so he was also out of the question. But what about his two dear friends?

Reyan and Serria were neither deeply involved in matters universe nor were top figures in the military, however, they were both his close friends, who were with Kairen throughout a lot of things, so they also had to know how their friend suddenly came back to life. Kairen had to struggle a lot while talking things out with them. And his two friends weren't the only ones who needed a briefing. There were his colleagues, his higher-ups, his neighbors, that one man who came to clean their office, and lots of other people. Some were easily convinced, some needed more time to sort out their thoughts, some suspected Kairen to their bones, and some simply didn't care. To Kairen, who had to go through the same repeated explanations again and again, the past few days felt like ages. 'It's good that they allowed me to go back to work!'

It took a while for the official paperwork and other things to be arranged, and for the rest of the team to be briefed about Kairen's situation, but in the end, Kairen was allowed to go back to unit 5 for work. He never thought he'd be so excited to reassume his job in this military organization, the job that he wanted to quit when he first was employed. Kairen tried to persuade the team leader and the commander that they would allow him to visit the location given by Reynold and activate the device, yet they hadn't given him an answer yet. Saying that his request needed to be thoroughly investigated, they forbid Kairen from doing anything or even going to the said location. Kairen was banned from leaving the city and even inside the city, he had to have someone with him if he wanted to go to a few locations. "Mhm!"

Kairen sat down behind a table and looked around. He was currently inside Glenn's office, behind the desk that used to belong to him. He used to assist this man in handling various paperwork and dealing with information in different situations.

'To think that this place is still the same...'

Kairen assumed that while he was gone, unit 5 would recruit new members to fill the empty space created by his absence and also find someone to assist Glenn since he couldn't do everything alone. Turns out his thoughts weren't true this time either. He'd heard that unit 5 was strict when it came to choosing new members, but he didn't know it would be to this extent! No new members have joined the unit since Kairen left. According to his two friends, it was because no proper candidate has shown up ever since and also because just before Kairen 'died', he brought his brother and Claire to the team. 'That man is enough to do five people's job', said Reyan while having a pale face. Serrian had added on, saying that they didn't need any manpower since these two people worked in unit 5. However, they HAD tried hiring people who could assist Glenn. The problem was with Glenn himself who had too high expectations of his assistants and was so difficult to get along with that the poor employees ran away after working for a few weeks. This left Kairen wondering. Gleen was a nice and kind man. He never treated Kairen badly. So why would people find him difficult to get along with? In any case, he was just glad that he could work with this place once again. Everything was perfect, Kairen thought, except for one thing.

"Are you sure you've come back to life? To me, you still seem pretty much dead."

Kairen couldn't help but chuckle at Glenn's remark. "I just have a headache. That won't affect my work though!"

He started to sort out the papers on the desk while trying to ignore his headache. The pain that came with the repeated whispers just kept getting worst and lasted for a longer time with each passing day. And it wasn't just whispers that he was experiencing but now he could see some scenes.

Pictures flashed in front of his eyes and he felt himself in a whole other place when those vivid memories came to his mind. Sometimes, he saw himself studying books written an ancient language. He would wear simple robe-like clothes, holding books that had thick and yellow papers. Sometimes, he'd find himself small and short, as if he was a child. The child would lie on someone's lap, run around and collect fruits, build walls out of clay, and learn how to write and carve pictures on the walls. The kid stayed in a small, dark place most of the time, somewhere Kairen felt familiar with but couldn't recognize as his senses and memories were dull in that state. At another time, he was a teenager or maybe a young adult. He'd wander around different places and do various jobs. He would feel strangely lonely when he experienced those memories as if the emotions of the young man were transformed to him. Whenever he woke up from those memories, he'd feel like there are a lot of things that he wants to know but can't.

And at other memories, he'd stand on top of a platform with red light swirling around him. There wasn't much he could understand from this specific, repeating memory. All he knew was pain, all he could see was crimson, and all he could hear was the horrified cries of a man. He'd wake up from these shattered memories feeling various kinds of mixed feelings. Sadness, joy, and grief would engulf Kairen depending on the scene he saw. A headache that didn't go away easily would be attached to them, on top of the feeling of distance and detachment from his current life. He'd panic sometimes after finding himself in an unfamiliar place as soon he woke up, only to realize that he was in his own room and on top of his bed.

After all, he'd see himself in a whole other location and situation in those memories so it was natural to feel confused as soon as they ended. He'd have different clothes, a slightly different language, a different living environment, and different experiences.

And in all of those memories, he'd always be called 'Reynold' by the others.