Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

Akemi raised her hand to offer Hitori a key. She looked into his eyes and said, "Take this key with you…" she said, "Go to his room. I want you to see what Jigo has been planning in his room for a year."

Hitori looked at the room key. He nodded and took the key from Akemi. She had lost more weight since the last month, Hitori noticed.

"Are you…" he looked at her, "coming?"

Akemi sighed and shook her head. "I am not. For them, I am dead."

Of course, she was. Kamiya was the only one looking out for her, taking care of her. She is dead to her father and her father would not let her mother talk to her.

Hitori nodded again and left the room without making any noise.

He looked at the key as he walked down the corridor. "Just what were you planning?"

He stared at the key sitting in his hand. He closed his fist and put the key in his jeans pocket.

Hitori was pulling his hand from the pocket when he saw the walls surrounding him and the rocks beneath him.

He remembered when he and Kamiya had not settled their dispute, their first serious fight had broken here.

The walls were damaged, stabbed with ice spikes, burned with fire; and the floor was covered with water and wooden pieces.

It was in the past though. They had repaired the walls and floor by the next day.

But today was the day after Hitori's birthday. Today was the day of Kamiya's funeral.

The group celebrated Hitori's birthday in a restaurant. Akemi was also present with them. She was looking in Hitori's eyes by now, and her hatred had turned to some kind of hope.

Nothing was happy about Hitori's happy birthday. They did not even cut a cake, they just ate the starters and the main course and then went to their houses.

Reon stayed home for that day. She still had not gotten over Kamiya's death and Hitori's acquisition. She was not ready to face him.

She was aware of her condition, yet she went to the mall the day before yesterday and brought a black hoodie.

The pollution in the Science Prefecture could not pollute and block the bright rays of the sun today. The sun was shining over the partition fence.

A girl wearing a blue t-shirt under a white overcoat presented her Academy ID to the guard at the check-out counter.

The guard accepted the ID and checked the photo with the girl. Purple hair matched, brown eyes matched. The guy put the hologram ID on the counter and opened some sort of hologram.

"Rion Reonine?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

The guard nodded and started doing something on the hologram, then he looked at her again. "Have you received the visa?"

She knew he could see her visa on the screen, that was what he was doing on the screen. Why would he ask him, just to make sure she knows what she is doing? Of course, she does.

"Yes, I have a visa."

The man nodded and went back to the hologram. Perhaps checking for the reason for applying for the visa. He clicked on her visa, the screen displayed the reason now.

He looked up from the counter again, and asked, "What is the—?"

"Funeral. Funeral of a friend… online friend."

The man closed his mouth, he was not pleased with being interrupted, he stared at Reon for a few seconds, then nodded.

He went back to the hologram and closed it, then handed Reon her ID. "Alright. You may pass."

He stretched his hand to his left. A fence gate opened. Tall enough for Reon to pass. Hitori and Kamiya would have to bend to walk through.

She was nervous. She passed the partition with her breath held and heart in her throat.

She had a bag hanging on her back. Inside the bag were money and a black hoodie, just in case. Just in case she musters the courage to hand it to Hitori.

She was planning on buying flowers for Kamiya's funeral. Her other motive for this visit was to make things right with Akemi and Hitori, especially Hitori.

After Kamiya's death, Hitori was the only one who she could call a 'friend', but since he accused Reon of murder, she had a hard time coping with Kamiya's death.

She did not tell her family either, which left her with no one to share the grief with. And Hitori's words added to the weight. Not to mention, she lost the territory, too. She was a mess the previous week.

Finally, she decided to act up. It was her fault in a way, she accepted it, she should have told Hitori when the torture started.

Reon lifted her left hand. Sometimes, she would spend minutes staring at the missing pinky. She did not miss it, but she was sad– it was not worth it.

It took her too much time to muster the courage, but she finally decided on this and stepped out of the walls and entered the Mage Prefecture.

She looked at the sky, the sun was brighter here than on the other side. She dropped her head and took a deep breath. "It will be alright," she said to herself and moved on.

Hitori had a conflict with himself. He knew he had to go, but he would try to convince himself to go back. It was Kamiya, he had to go.

Kamiya's house was in the middle of the city, the main city with shops and marts around the neighborhood.

He was wearing a black suit, prepared to visit Kamiya's house. Eya and Kakashi were not accompanying him today, they had already gone to the house along with Senso and Atama, they needed to have a talk with the Kamiya.

Hitori wished he had someone with him. Everyone would stare at him as he entered the house, Kamiya's aunt, uncles, cousins, and friends… if he had any. They would stare, then gossip about him being the reason for Kamiya's death. But it was not his fault. It was Onogi who killed Kamiya and half-killed Hitori.

Kamiya's house was a two-story house, big enough for a middle-class family with two kids. The roof was painted brown, the walls were brownish-white, and the building was not older than twenty years.

Hitori could see the building in distance. He saw the crowd when he got closer to the house. Everyone was dressed in black robes and suits. Hitori stopped a foot away from the entrance.

He pushed himself against the wall and took a deep breath. "Let us do this."

He jerked forward, clenched the flowers in his hand, and took a step towards the entrance. The ten to twenty people turned to Hitori as he walked to the porch.