Edited by: ASaltedFish
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Yang found himself in a cabin, sitting in front of a fireplace. In his hands, he held a cup of hot chocolate. He could see the marshmallows moving slowly in the cup. When he took a deep breath, he felt a rush of cold air go into his lungs and the scent of chocolate fill his nose.
He felt someone place a fluffy blanket on his back, and then lean onto his arm. The presence was quiet and warm, comforting him through all of the tough emotions. It was almost as if he was embraced in a hug as the grief and sadness calmed down.
Yang watched the fire crackle in the fireplace and took small sips of the hot chocolate, waiting for Juniper to finish in his spiritual sea.
*****
On Juniper's side, it was his first time providing guiding services to someone who was going berserk with chaotic energy, but it wasn't too different.
The first thing he did was put a barrier around the main cloud where the black jaguar would be resting. Thankfully, it was not contaminated, so he didn't have to worry about it.
Since the chaotic energy was in a berserk state, if he was not careful, it could attack the main cloud, which would cause the quantum beast to merge completely with the sentinel. After that, the sentinel would explode.
With the main cloud protected, Juniper began to slowly attack the chaotic energy. Occasionally, he had to dodge or protect himself, but he wasn't in any rush. Once the chaotic energy was gone, someone else could reinforce Yang's spiritual sea in another session if he was too busy…
*****
Juniper stayed in Yang's spiritual sea for an hour. When he finished, he slowly disconnected himself and finally opened his eyes.
It would take some time for Yang to wake up, so he quietly left the room. There, Edros, Ellery, and Akimitsu were waiting for him.
"You are done!" Ellery got up from the bench he was sitting on. "How much spiritual energy did you use?"
"About 30%. Keeping a shield up the entire time is draining."
"Good job. Your control has gotten pretty good."
His training with Ellery paid off.
Down the hall, Silve was talking with a doctor as they walked toward them. Ellery had sent him to fetch a doctor to check on Yang, who experienced a late awakening. They didn't know if there were any side effects from a forceful and late awakening, so it was better to have the doctor check up on him first before letting him leave the hospital.
"How's he doing?" Silve was worried about his friend, but was too weak to help out. Hopefully, he would be able to help Yang out in the future.
"Better," Juniper answered, but didn't say anything else.
Ellery expanded on Juniper's statement, "He's fine. Juniper was able to guide him successfully. All he needs now is to rest and learn how to control his abilities as a Sentinel."
"Which is why we called the Sentinel Association's social worker." Akimitsu just finished a call with the social worker. "They should be able to help train him as well as help with the funeral arrangements for his little sister."
"What a relief…" Silve sighed in relief. "Then, I will stay here with him so he's not alone. What will you all do?"
Silve became friends with Yang first, so he felt closer to Yang than anyone else in the friend group. Plus, even if Yang was busy, he always made time to talk with him. Even if he didn't know all of the burdens he had, he still wanted to be a shoulder for Yang to rely on.
"Then, Akimitsu and I will stay with you." Ellery nodded and then looked at Edros and Juniper. "Yang is also my friend, so you two should head back and get some rest."
"We understand. Then, we will come to visit in the morning." Edros nodded and then took Juniper's hand. "Let's go home and rest. Do you need me to carry you?"
Juniper shook his head. "No, that would be embarrassing…" Then he looked at Juniper, Silve, and Akimitsu. "Since you three are staying, I will have someone send you some clothes and toiletries. If you need anything else, just message me."
As always, Ellery was moved by Juniper's care. "Ah, my cutie Juniper. Come here and give me a hug before you go!"
Juniper knew that Ellery was teasing him, but he still walked over so Ellery could hug him.
After Edros and Juniper left, Ellery and Akimitsu entered the hospital room first to make sure it was safe for the doctor, who was a normal person, and Silve, who was only a B-ranked guide.
Yang was awake, but sat next to the MedTube in a daze. He was no longer crying, just giving himself the time to grieve for his little sister before they took her body away.
"Saem… Are you feeling a little better now?" Silve hesitantly asked.
"If you are asking about my spiritual sea, that is fine." Yang didn't move or look at them, just stared at his sister, who passed with a smile on her face. "As for emotionally, I want to cry, but there are no more tears left."
He cried when his family found out about his little sister's terminal illness. He cried when his parents died, and no one wanted to help him take care of his sister. He cried many times after leaving the hospital, knowing that one day, his little sister would leave too.
Now, he could not cry anymore. He was the only one left in his family, and there was no one left to cry for.
His little sister died painlessly and peacefully, but what about him? Why did he feel resentful but also relieved for her?
"Saem… Do you want a hug?" Silve asked, but he knew he wanted to go over and hug his good friend, letting him cry on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Silve… And thank you, Ellery and Akimitsu, for staying here with me. I don't feel as alone anymore."
After that, he motioned for Silve and Ellery to hug him. He didn't cry, but it was something he needed.
After a while, the doctor finally spoke up, "Mr. Yang… We know you are grieving, so we won't rush you out of the room, but is it alright if we check your condition? After that, I can open the MedTube if you would like to hold her hand one last time."
"I would appreciate that. Thank you, Doctor."
Yang let go of Silve and Ellery and let the doctor check his condition. Other than his mostly depleted spiritual energy, his body was in good condition. He just needed to get some rest, and he should be good to go.
Once the doctor was finished with the check-up, he tactfully left the room to let Yang grieve and think about his next steps.
With the MedTube open, Yang held on to his little sister's cold hand. It was a bit stiff and dry, but at least she was not hurt from his outburst. She seemed at peace for someone frozen in time.
Akimitsu brought three chairs in so they could sit near Yang and give him some space with his sister. They didn't say anything, but he appreciated their presence.
After what felt like forever, Yang finally said, "My parents were cremated, so I will have her cremated and put her urn next to my parents… I have it all prepared."
He had already paid for the cremation, urns, and spaces at the local columbarium for himself and his little sister. There was no expiration date for the purchase, so even if he died several decades in the future, no one would have to pay for his death.
Yang kept a small urn of his parents' ashes at his house and the large one at the community columbarium, which only housed urns of the deceased. It was something that he had prepared for the moment he got his first paycheck working for Ellery.
"Okay, when the Sentinel Social Worker gets here, you can show them all the documents, and they will help with funeral arrangements if you want that." Akimitsu looked at his terminal to see where the social worker was. They needed another 20 minutes to get to the hospital.
"Thank you, Akimitsu. I might hold a small funeral for friends and family. Though who knows if I want to invite those relatives of mine…"
None of his extended family wanted to help him while he was struggling to take care of his sister after his parents' deaths. Honestly, he felt they didn't deserve to go to her funeral, but he knew the social repercussions of not inviting them.
"Okay, keep us posted, Yang… If you need anything, let us know. Also, take the month off, okay?" Ellery didn't want him to worry about work, so he had already texted his manager about Yang taking time off to grieve.
Yang nodded and then looked back at his little sister. He didn't say anything else. He went back to thinking about the memories he had with his little sister and parents, hoping that they were happy and healthy wherever they were.