System's POV

"Where am I?!" Aiden asked, glaring at the teenage boy who sat on the chair before him like a king.

"Didn't I tell you earlier? This is the wholesome side of hell," Thirteen answered. "Also, don't talk. You stink."

He even covered his nose and looked at Aiden in disdain, as if to make this point clearer.

The only reason why Aiden could still stand up at the moment was because he had a skill that allowed him to deactivate one or two of his senses when needed.

Right now, he removed his sense of smell and taste, allowing him to resist the foul smell that lingered in his entire body.

"Release me at once!" Aiden shouted. "If my family discovers what you have done to me, forget about being the scion of the Leventis Family. You'll be stripped of your military rank and subjected to military discipline!"

"Oh, I'm not too worried about that," Thirteen replied. "Your father gave me his blessing to discipline you. So, you'll be staying here for as long as I wish."

Aiden suddenly summoned his sword and placed its blade on his neck. He then glared at the teenage boy, who didn't even bat an eye at what he was doing.

"If you don't release me from this place, I'll kill myself," Aiden declared. "When my family demands to see me, you'll be in big trouble once they find out that I'm dead."

"Oh?" Thirteen smiled. "Let's put your theory to the test. Go on. Kill yourself."

"What?" Aiden looked at Zion in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"I said kill yourself." Thirteen even made an impatient gesture, urging the young man to go ahead and slash his neck with his sword. "What's wrong? Is that blade of yours not sharp enough? Do you want me to lend you a sharper blade?"

"I'm not joking! I will really kill myself! You'll be in trouble once that happens!"

"Go ahead. What are you waiting for?"

Thirteen wasn't the least bit worried that Aiden would follow through with his threat.

He knew the young man wouldn't dare to take his life away. From what he had seen, Aiden was the type of person who feared death the most.

Thirteen had met many people like him in the past, so he already knew how to deal with these individuals and could read their minds like an open book.

Aiden pushed the blade a little deeper into his neck, drawing blood.

However, the wince that appeared on his face when he made a small cut in his skin made the teenage boy shake his head in disappointment.

"This is your last chance!" Aiden stated. "I will really kill myself. My grandfather will avenge me if I die!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you," Thirteen replied, unfazed by the young man's threat. "By the way, do you even know your grandfather's name?"

Thinking Zion was starting to feel anxious, a sneer appeared on Aiden's face. He believed that his threat was finally working, and he decided to use this to his advantage.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Aiden said in disdain. "Is this your futile attempt to compromise?"

"Compromise?" Thirteen sighed. "Why should I compromise with a person who doesn't even know his grandfather's name?"

"Bastard! Stop playing games!" Aiden roared in anger. "My grandfather is none other than the Grand Marshal of the Central Government, he is…"

The young man paused for a bit, and the sneer on his face was replaced with a frown.

A few seconds later, the frown was replaced by confusion and then by panic.

Aiden, who was about to say his grandfather's name, looked at Zion with wide eyes that were filled with disbelief.

"What did you do to me?!" Aiden asked. "Why can't I remember my grandfather's name?!"

"You can't remember your grandfather's name?" Thirteen smirked. "Then how about your Father's name?"

"My father is…" Aiden's expression became grim as he tried to recall his father's name.

His panic and anxiety gradually intensified as he truly couldn't remember his father's name. He then tried to remember his mother's name, but it yielded the same results.

All he came up with were blanks!

Even the names of his two sisters, whom he cared for had vanished from his mind, making him wonder if they really even existed.

"W-What have you done?!" Aiden asked in a panic. "What have you done to me?!"

"What else?" Thirteen answered. "I removed them from your memory. It's not really that difficult you know? So, even if you kill yourself, I can just do the same to your family. They will forget you returned after nearly seven years of wandering.

"Don't worry. They will still remember they have a son. It's just that… they'll still think you're somewhere in Solterra. So, it won't really change anything even if you kill yourself now."

The sound of a sword falling on the ground echoed inside the room as Aiden looked at the teenage boy in horror.

"This can't be… this can't be happening." Aiden grabbed his head with both his hands and started to pull on his hair like crazy. "What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong?!"

Seeing Shana's brother start to fall apart in front of him, the teenage boy could only sigh in his heart.

"Aiden, don't worry. I'll take care of your family, including Shana," Thirteen said. "Do you know? Your sister and I are now a couple. But our relationship will be kept secret from the public. After all, Shana has an image to keep."

"S-Shana?" Aiden, who was now grasping for straws, heard his sister's name.

But, the memory attached to that name was slipping away from his fingertips, making him only see a silhouette without a face.

The young man then started to laugh like mad, thinking everything was just a dream.

"This isn't real!" Aiden laughed. "This is just an illusion! You're just playing a trick on me! You won't fool me, Zion Leventis! You won't fool me!"

Another sigh escaped Thirteen's lips as he looked in front of him, at the person currently on the brink of insanity.

"Aiden, would you like to try dying once?" Thirteen asked, pressing his hands together.

"Dying?! Hahaha! How can I die?" Aiden sneered. "I am untouchable! My grandfather is invincible! No one will dare to kill me!"

A chuckle spread inside the room, as the Death Bat, Camazotz, made his appearance.

"I didn't know that you have this side to you, Thirteen," Camazotz said. "I thought I had seen everything, but this is a first for me."

The moment Aiden saw the Death Bat, his body shuddered uncontrollably.

This was a perfectly normal reaction since Jinns and Wanderers were mortal enemies.

Also, Camazotz's current Rank, which was at the peak of the Majin Prince, was enough to make the young man feel that death was only moments away.

"Don't sweat the small stuff," Thirteen replied. "Go on and eat him. Enjoy your meal."

"I don't eat trash, you know?" Camazotz replied. "But I can do something else."

Camazotz flicked his finger toward Aiden.

A moment later, a pained scream reverberated inside the room as the young man clutched his right leg, where a two-foot-long dark needle had pierced him.

A second scream escaped his lips, as two more needles stabbed on his left arm and left chest.

Aiden had removed his senses of smell and taste, but his sense of touch remained. Since two of his senses were disabled, the pain he felt was magnified threefold, as only three of his senses were working right now.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Aiden screamed in fear, and desperation, as he tried to pull the needles from his body.

It was excruciatingly painful to do, but he still managed to do it.

Blood streamed down his body, making the young man truly feel that he was about to die.

Suddenly, two black wolves appeared inside the room and walked toward the young man, who was paralyzed in fear and pain with hungry gazes.

They were only Rank 1 Wolf Monsters and went by the name Rabid Wolves.

These monsters were very common in Solterra, and those undergoing their First Wandering would be highly likely to meet them during their journey.

One special trait of this wolf was that the saliva inside their mouth had a special trait that magnified the pain of the bite they had inflicted.

They were also known as the Newbie Killers, because most Wanderers, who still hadn't become Rookies, had no chance of escaping after they were bitten once.

"S-Stop!" Aiden cried out in fear. "Forgive me! I will not do it again! Forgive me!"

Camazotz's grin widened, while Thirteen simply looked at Aiden with amusement.

The two hungry wolves no longer hesitated and pounced on the teenage boy, feasting on his flesh and blood.

They made sure not to bite the young man's neck and simply targeted his arms and legs, inflicting as much pain and suffering as possible.

"In your next life, be sure to become a better person, okay?" Thirteen said. "After all, you live only once."

Aiden looked at the devil seated on the chair as tears streamed down his eyes, blurring his vision.

He was in so much pain that the only thing he could do was scream and scream some more.

Finally, when the wolf finally bit his neck and tore off a chunk of his flesh, Aiden regretted that he wasn't able to spend more time with his family.
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He regretted turning their happy reunion into a heartbreak.

He regretted meeting Zion Leventis.

He regretted many things, for that was the only thing that someone could do as he was about to die.

A gurgle of blood escaped the young man's lips before the life in his eyes faded away.

In his dying moments, there was only one wish he had in mind.

Aiden wished to start over, and this time, he would set things right.

'I'm sorry…' Aiden thought as his vision was covered in darkness. 'I'm sorry… mother.'

A second later, he breathed his last.

Only the sound of wolves chewing on flesh and bone spread inside the room.

The proud and arrogant young man, who had a bright future ahead of him, died in a place far from home, where not even the Gods of Wanderers could save his mortal soul.