PATH OF THE SYSTEM AWAKENED

Chapter 9: A Forgotten Bond

Riley felt like he had solved a puzzle, mentally snapping his fingers in realization.

"So, these three Aspects—Vital, Dimensional, and Ether—are the fundamentals of everything. They make up me, the universe, and the Immortality.

Each Core represents one Aspect, offering Awakeners the means to pursue the powers of these fundamental aspects. The three Avenues allow Awakeners to progress in each of these aspects," he concluded, piecing together the significance of the Immortality and their relationship to the fundamental aspects.

Riley's hover bike dashed through the skyways. It passed through the floating complexes, patrolling airships, and reached a quiet district. It had no floating buildings and only a few skyscrapers. The hover bike descended and Riley stopped before the familiar building. The old-fashioned LED nameplate of the orphanage greeted him as he entered the orphanage.

The front yard was a playground with with a park.

"Hey! Catch the bluebird!"

"Catch the green one!"

"Dodge the bullet. Duck! Duck!"

Children of different ages were playing the AR games. Though all such games were eliminated from mainstream, and were now outdated, these kids found joy in them. The maid robots taking care of them were also outdated, but the kids didn't complain. They revelled in the present, without worrying about the future.

Riley was glad that at least the security measures were in place. The camera systems and the security robots were in place.

"Yay! I got gold!"

"Hehe! Yue got gold!"

"Sree has platinum!"

'I guess I will never have happiness like them.' Riley shook his head wryly and walked down the cobblestone path.

He stopped in his track as a group of benches under the trees caught his eye. The scene from his dream where Minn sat on the bench and spoke to him flashed in his mind.

'You have to remember this, Riley. You don't have to take every responsibility alone. There will be people who share your burdens, and in turn, you will share theirs. Got it?'

'I have no one.' Riley clenched his fist… then remembering Jones and Maya who were worried about him, and Mr. Bigg, who helped him out without seeking anything in return, his fist loosened.

'I am glad I have them. Maybe you are right, mom.' He turned his head and continued to walk before stopping in tracks. But despite everything, he felt lonely. Some things he could never share.

'Some burdens, I have to bear them alone.'

He reached the door, and the home keeper AI informed him to wait. Riley sat on a bench outside and waited for the orphanage owner.

'Would it matter?' He asked himself. 'Why am I doing this? For Trish? For Mom? For myself?'

Heavy Footsteps sounded, and an aged voice greeted him, "What can I do for you, young man?"

Riley turned to see an old man with a bright smile plastered on his wrinkled face. Unlike elderly of this day who use skin treatments, he seemed to enjoy the natural oldness.

Riley gave a small greeting and stated, "I need a favor. Can you check if I ever visited this orphanage 7 years ago and met a girl named Trish here?"

The temperature rose in the air, and Riley was on his feet the next moment. Flames were swirling around the old man and threatened to jump at Riley.

'At least stage 2 peak, Fire Awakener.' Riley estimated and raised his guard further.

'He must have thought my first question was a feint and my actual purpose was an ulterior motive against an orphan. Welp! I need to clarify.'

He looked straight into the old man's eyes and said "Look, I don't need any personal details about her if that's what you're thinking. Just at least tell me if a girl with that name existed or not."

The Old Man stared back into Riley's eyes and finally sighed "Show me your criminal records."

Riley shrugged and tapped on his comm. A holograph popped up with a tab of 'Self Criminal Record'. Riley clicked on it and swiped the new holograph file to the old man.

The old man observed Riley's criminal record, or the lack of it. From breaking traffic rules to attempted murder, everything wrong doing of a citizen was recorded into it.

Riley's criminal record was blank. Truly an ideal citizen of the Federation. Breaking the bones and injuring his competitors was considered a part of the game, so he came out clean.

The Old man's eyes scanned Riley for a moment and he said, "My old eyes tell me you're seeking someone not for ill, but for well."

He took out a holo mobile, an old-fashioned device, and searched for the records.

'You're half right. I'm seeking Trish but I want to confirm if she really existed. Maybe the System was lying.' Riley thought.

"Ah! Your ID matches the entry records 7 years ago. So you visited this orphanage and your mom was with you." The Old Man tapped on his holo mobile and swiped the file towards him.

Riley looked at the holograph file displaying the records of 33th Septe, 513.

"Entry: Riley + Minn

Time Spent: 1 Hour"

"Um, is ther—" Riley's question was cut off

"Boy, there are no video recordings. It's against our policy." The Old Man waves his hands.

"That's understandable." Riley inwardly sighed. There were several policies against hyper surveillance.

"About the person, uh, Trish." the old man looked up from his holo mobile with a distressed face.

Riley's face turned serious, and he awaited the answer.

"There are no records of her. I was working here for 6 years and as far as I know, there was never a girl named Trish." He said the truth, and feared it would disappoint Riley too much.

"Great!" Riley flashed a bright smile, contrary to his eExpectations.

'Is this kid alright?' He looked perturbed. 'He's happy that the important person he's looking for didn't live here. Wait, is he crazy or what?'

"That's all I know. Now leave." The old man's speculation was strengthened looking at Riley's genuine smile and he urged Riley to leave.

Riley thanked the Old Man despite his weird gaze and left the orphanage with a bright smile.

'All cadets have their information on the meta net deleted. This also includes any information from the public domain.

I came here 7 years ago in that dream and in the records. We planned to adopt Trish.

If it was just a dream, I'd have never come here in real life and with the records as evidence, it proves this must be a memory.

But I grew up alone after all.

So something must have happened that led us to not adopt her. Since I was too young, I forgot what happened. But mom had some connection with Trish. I don't know why she never told me.

Then Trish joined Imperial Academy. So her records on meta net and in the orphanage are deleted.'