244 Chapter 244: Aftermath (2/2)
Shun Yin smiled, seeking a little comfort in Glen's usual behavior. He reached out and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
”You'll do fine.”
”I doubt it.”
”Trust me, you will.”
He then leaned back and stared at the distant sky, his mind momentarily blanking out as he struggled to process the reality. Now that Michael was gone, he didn't have a role model to follow. Well, he could always follow the stuff that Michael Porter did while he was alive, but eventually he would reach the point where he caught up with him and even overtake him. At that moment, he would be at a loss at how to proceed from there.
No. it was meaningless to continue following along Michael's path. That was Michael's path, not his. He would have to forge his own route.
”What about you?” As if on cue, Glen inquired. ”What do you plan to do from now on?”
”…I'll have to find my own path, I guess.”
Shun Yin raised a hand toward the sky and pondered for another second. He still wanted to be a hero. He still intended to become an ally of justice, saving others from danger and villains. That had not change.
The question now was…how would he become a hero? What sort of ally of justice would he become?
If he followed Michael's route, he would just be a counterfeit. A ”hero” who hollowly clung to a beautiful, albeit fragile ideals that others had set out upon him, only to find them all shattered the moment he reached the point where his predecessor had died. That route wasn't impossible. Even if he pursued Michael's vision up to the point of his death, he could think about where to proceed from there. He could just worry about the future after he got there, not before.
He realized that Glen was still staring at him quizzically.
”What do you mean?”
”Now that Michael is gone, someone has to pick up the slack. I'm not saying he can be replaced, but the world needs…heroes more than ever. Allies of justice.” Shun Yin clenched his right fist and stared at it. ”The Dark Church isn't the only villain in this world. People will still need to be saved. I'll save them in Michael's place.”
”Hey, you don't have to do that…” Glen began, but Shun Yin shook his head.
”No, don't misunderstand me. I'm not doing this out of some misguided sense of responsibility. I'm doing it because I want to.” he smiled as he tilted his head back and stared at the sky. ”Ever since I first saw Michael defeat those robbers almost ten years ago, I always aspired to be an ally of justice like him. I always imagined being a hero, saving people's lives and defeating villains.”
”You are a hero,” Glen told him quietly but firmly. ”You've saved my life so many times. And your actions against the Dark Church and the Assassins Guild undoubtedly saved countless lives. If you didn't stop them from activating their device, Vermillion City…no, the world would be doomed.”
He took a deep breath.
”You also saved me, Mr. Stuart and Mr. Yuan Dao from that Assassin couple in the mountain. You and Angie both.”
”If I had been stronger, Michael might not have died.”
”It wasn't your fault.”
”I know,” Shun Yin agreed. ”I'm not stupid enough to blame myself for his death. But at the same time I understand that there are ways to prevent that. I'll move on and grow stronger from this experience rather than mope over it.”
Glen looked at him in surprise, and then smiled.
”Yeah. You'll be fine.”
”You too.”
Shun Yin rose to his feet, and the both of them departed from the cemetery. As they strolled toward the bus stop, something occurred to Glen.
”I know you said you want to become an ally of justice, but what do you want to do specifically? How does one become a hero?”
”I don't know. I'm planning on becoming a mercenary like Michael, taking on missions, going into hot combat zones and saving people.” Shun Yin thought for a while. ”Maybe I'll go on a journey and travel the world.”
”A journey?” Glen's eyes widened. ”What about school? Do you plan to drop out?”
Shun Yin laughed. ”Of course not. I plan to graduate properly. There's still a lot I can learn.” He scratched his head. ”Well, I inadvertently caught ahold of the spirit summoning thing that your dad and his research students are working on, but even so I think there's plenty I need to learn before I go out and explore the world.” He pondered further. ”And I plan to attend university as well. There are quite a few magic universities that specialize in teaching combat magic.”
”If you want to get into them, you've to work hard!” Glen warned.
”I know. It's not going to be easy, but I'll strive to fulfil my dream.” Shun Yin raised his hand toward the sky to display his resolve. ”I'm not going to let anyone down…with Angelica by my side, I'm going to save everyone I can, and hopefully never witness another person dying in front of me ever again.”