Karma: Opposite Side

Responsibility

At the highest peak of the world, above the rolling sea of clouds, two small figures—a boy and a girl, both around five years old—clashed with swords and spears. On the towering mountain, the two children appeared tiny, but when their weapons collided, the sound of their clash made the ground tremble, and the clouds rolled like waves in the ocean.

"Lilith, I'm tired..." The boy suddenly complained, sitting down and panting. "We've fought hundreds or even thousands of times; why can't I defeat you?"

"Because it's destined to be that way." Her cold and indifferent response, which the boy had heard countless times, left him speechless. But he was also very tired and began to lie down on the ground.

"Ouch, I'm really tired. I don't want to fight anymore. I want to rest!"

Lilith glanced at him but said nothing and turned her back to him.

The five-year-old girl, no taller than one meter, began to gaze silently at the sea of clouds at her feet. Her innocent and childlike eyes seemed out of place. Staring at the world in silence, her furrowed brow suggested she had witnessed the ebb and flow of life and death.

Time passed, and her furrowed brow relaxed slightly as she suddenly asked, "Aron, do you hate me?"

"Hate you?" Aron was taken aback and asked strangely, "Why would I hate you?"

"Just answer me, if I did something bad to you, would you hate me?"

Without hesitation, Aron shook his head and replied, "No. Besides, I can't hate you; you're the only friend and person I know in this world."

"If that's the case..." Lilith suddenly turned around, and before Aron was ready, the light blue spear was already aimed at his face.

"Hah..."

Aron suddenly woke up and found a girl around fifteen years old lying peacefully in front of him.

Slightly dazed, he looked around and, upon realizing he was in a hospital ward, he calmed his face and let out a long sigh.

"That dream again."

For as long as he could remember, he had always dreamed of strange and nonsensical things over the past ten years. Countless times, the dreams felt so real. Sometimes, he became an adult, sometimes a teenager, and often a child or even a baby, fighting with a girl of his age repeatedly, as if it would never end.

Whether fighting on a mountain, in the clouds, in space, in the ocean, or anywhere else, Aron, from his perspective as a boy, always found himself at a disadvantage.

At first, Aron, a little confused and scared, tried to figure out whether the dream was a sign or something else. But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't find an answer, and in the end, he could only consider it a habit or a mere nightmare.

Moreover...

Aron Chen, a twenty-year-old man, began to shake his head. He pushed all the thoughts out of his mind and started to look at the little girl in the hospital bed in front of him.

Jia Chen, the fifteen-year-old girl lying in the hospital bed, seemed to be sleeping; she was Aron’s younger sister.

It was said she was sick, but the girl did not appear to be sick at all. In fact, there were no signs of any abnormalities in her body. Her face, skin, breath, heartbeat, and so on, the fifteen-year-old girl appeared healthy and fit. Aside from sleeping and never waking up to respond to her surroundings, she was not sick at all.

However, that was the strange illness that had never been known and had never existed in the world.

Sleeping Beauty disease?

Aron was not sure, but he knew in his heart that time was running out.

Taking the hand of the girl who did not resemble a sick person at all, Aron spoke heavily, "Jiajia, whatever..."

"Creek"

The sound of the hospital door opening interrupted him. As he turned, he saw a woman in a white suit, looking mature, graceful, and beautiful, walking toward him.

"Doctor An, seeing you come here, is something wrong?" As he asked, Aron suddenly felt nervous and even held his breath a little, trying to prepare for the worst.

Seeing Aron’s nervous appearance, Doctor An smiled gently and replied, "No. What could possibly happen?"

"Fortunately..."

Aron sighed in relief and relaxed his guard. "After all, Jiajia is just sleeping and will wake up; how could anything happen to her?"

Doctor An fell silent upon hearing Aron’s words, her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

Seeing Aron’s worn-out appearance, which was not like that of a typical young man, Doctor An didn’t know what to say. Especially when glancing at the girl who seemed to be sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. As a doctor, and having known Aron for many years, she knew what was really happening. But she also didn’t know how to comfort him.

In the end, the thirty-year-old woman could only let out a weak sigh while pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Aron.

Taking the paper, Aron knew what it meant, but as he read it, his face became tense and even furrowed.

"1,500 Marks?" Aron’s tone sounded heavy as he looked at the amount he had to pay this month.

Doctor An also appeared sympathetic but had to continue, "I can’t hide this from you anymore. Although I myself am willing to not receive anything while taking care of your sister, you also need to know. This hospital must continue to operate, and money must be paid every month. You also know how much your sister’s treatment costs each month."

Aron nodded weakly, fully understanding what Doctor An was saying. After all, he had been in and out of this hospital for more than half of his life.

Although the treatment cost was usually less than 500 Marks for hospitalization each month, that was only for ordinary cases, while the case his sister was experiencing now was far from ordinary. For the room, care, medications, and nutrition to keep Jiajia healthy at all times, the estimated monthly cost was over 1,000 Marks.

As for the 1,500 Marks now, he also knew that it was because of some leniency and assistance from Doctor An. If not, the overdue fees that he hadn’t paid for the past two months would be something that would truly frustrate him.

"Aron, I actually don’t really want to say this. But this is a joint decision. You know, your sister has been in the hospital for almost four and a half years, and we don’t know what else to do. This time, if you can’t pay off all the fees from last month and this month..." Doctor An didn’t continue her words, as anyone among the listeners knew what she meant.

At the same time, Doctor An had known Aron very well. His current situation or even his past, Doctor An might be the person who knew him best in this life. At the same time, she truly could no longer comfort or simply encourage him.

"I understand," Aron said, putting the payment paper into his clothes with a slight tremor and promised, "Give me a few days. At most a week, I promise I will pay it off."

"Aron, if not, you should—"

"Thank you." Aron waved his hand, stopping Doctor An from continuing to speak.

Seeing him like that, Doctor An could only sigh again and again as she watched the back of the young man who looked fragile and unsteady begin to walk out.

"What a heavy burden and responsibility. If it were someone else, would they still be able to hold on?" Doctor An murmured again with a hint of admiration and helplessness on her face. She understood very well that if what Aron had done over the past ten years were experienced by someone else, she was sure that anyone would have given up.

"This world is truly cruel!"