The old man who finally introduced himself as Gregor was kind enough to give Gio three days of freedom to decide what he wanted to do.
He also made sure to make their stance clear.
"You are not obligated to return. If you wish to stay here, you can. However, your recent actions have beco concerning. If you wish to keep exploring the Wildlands, we will not be allowed to leave you here without protection."
In other words, Gio could stay in the Wasteland as he wanted, but he couldn’t keep living so freely. He’d have to be followed by a protection detail that assured his safety.
Naturally, that wasn’t his way. He knew that if he went to Arcadia, he would have a lot more freedom than that. More importantly, Arcadia was a hub for talent. Elysium was too unreachable, so the 2nd Stratum was where the majority of humanity’s talents gathered.
He would be able to establish roots in many places when he was in Arcadia. The plan to save humanity would finally start progressing there.
As such, his plan had always been to use these two years in the Wasteland to train and build his foundation before truly entering the world as a combatant.
However, there was a complication.
He had "family" here too.
"Did you know?"
When they arrived at her house in Gastle, the Old Lady’s first question was this.
Did he know that this was going to happen?
"A little," Gio answered sowhat honestly.
I kind of realized sothing like this would happen eventually, but I never knew when. I guess they realized I was getting involved in complicated matters and ca to get before I did anything else."
"You knew that you were an Atmos?"
"Well...not necessarily. I just knew that it was a big clan sowhere. I didn’t really have a way to search for more than that."
The Atmos Clan was well known throughout the Gehenna Complex. More so in the past era than now, they were big in both military and rchantry.
However, they didn’t have any business in the Wasteland. Otherwise, the Old Lady would have been more thorough in investigating his connection to them when she first found him.
At that point, he didn’t have on the sa rags that he wore during his first mories, however, his physical characteristics were telling.
’In so ways, he looks exactly like his father.’
That was what caught the Old Lady’s attention back then.
She bit her lip, her gaze locked with the ground below.
She didn’t know what to say.
Was there anything to say?
She was never going to tell him to stay in the Wasteland. The thought didn’t exist in her mind. Even when she was telling him she’d connect him with an academy, her plan was to send him to Arcadia.
Just...
’It feels like I’m losing a part of .’
Her "son" was returning to his true parents.
It created an empty feeling that she couldn’t quite fathom. That was especially so with their relationship as it was now.
After all, she still hadn’t heard it out of his mouth even once.
She still wanted to hear him say–
"Mom..."
Her eyes widened in shock. Her heart skipped a beat.
Gio cringed a little as he said it, but he faced the uncomfortable feeling in his heart directly.
Regardless of his internal turmoil, it was absolutely important for him to convey his emotions properly here.
"I have to go to Arcadia. It’s the best way to improve my strength and properly beco soone, but..."
He wasn’t going to forget about what happened to Gastle.
"...I promise to co back."
There were ways to travel between Strata. Even if they were expensive, he would stomach the price to return. He didn’t plan to forget about the Old Lady, his adoptive mother, just because he was going to a better place.
"I know I haven’t made it very clear, but that’s only because I’m terrible with my emotions. This ti, I don’t think I can get by on just unsaid and unconditional things."
He t her gaze as she looked up from the ground, however, in the next mont, he had swapped positions with her.
He bowed his body, his eyes to the ground, and spoke sincerely.
"Thank you for everything you’ve done for . Thank you for taking in back then and raising for all these years, even though I’ve been a complete dick for most of it. Thank you for everything you’ve done for , and thank you for never giving up on . Even if I die and get reborn, there’s only one person in this world who will ever be my mother, and that’s you."
He looked up to see tears welling up in her eyes. He had no choice but to scratch his head with a wry smile.
"I feel like no matter how many tis I thank you, it’ll never be enough, so I’ll end it here. Thank you, Mom, for raising into a person I can be proud of."
It was a gratitude that spanned two lives, a gratitude that could never be repaid no matter how much ti passed.
"I know that you’re busy with Gastle right now," he said, trying to fill the silence as the Old Lady held in her tears.
"But maybe when things calm down, you can let Seb take over and return to Arcadia. Maybe you can even co live at the clan with ..."
He trailed off with a vague expression, whistling to himself as he looked at nothing in particular.
Seeing his expression, the Old Lady had no choice but to smile.
"You brat," she said, clearing away her tears.
"Are you trying to set up with your dad who you’ve never t?"
"I don’t know," he replied with a shrug.
"It’d be fun to have both my parents in the sa house, though..."
"Alright, enough of that."
The Old Lady rolled her eyes and ended the discussion.
She pulled him into a warm hug as she spoke.
"It’s good that you also know how hard it was to raise you."
She might’ve almost cried when she heard him call her "Mom" for the first ti, but even if she’d never admit it, she was the first person he got his mouth from.
"I almost feel like I’m going on vacation getting rid of a brat like you. No, it might be for the best if you stay up there for a few years. I might get used to the silence."
Sohow, the hug turned into a headlock as she rubbed her fist against his head.
He squird and tried to escape, but there wasn’t one ti when he’d ever escaped her.
"When you get up there, you’re going to find a lot of new ways to get into trouble. I trust that you won’t get yourself killed before you turn eighteen?"
He looked away as if he couldn’t make that promise.
Her grip beca sowhat tighter. At tis like these, it was hard to determine if she was his mom or an older sister who liked to bully him. He desperately writhed against her grasp until he had no choice but to concede.
"I promise, okay?" Gio sighed, finally pulling himself out of the headlock and stepping back.
"Good," she responded with a smile.
"Stay safe and be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you. And, since you’ve promised to visit, you’re not allowed to forget about it."
She turned around and rummaged through her things for a bit before finding her target and turning back around.
"Take this. Have you ever seen one before?"
Gio looked at the card she held out with wide eyes and shook his head slowly.
"I haven’t seen one yet, but I’ve heard of them. Is that really..."
"Yup," the Old Lady said, confirming his thoughts.
"It’s a Plat Card. This has exactly enough money to cover your first trip back. You better not waste it on other things..."
Gio shook his head violently as he grabbed it and imdiately hid it away in his Storage Hole.
"I won’t even touch that until I get to the gate to co back. I feel like I’d die if anyone saw with it."
A Plat Card, otherwise known as a Platinum Black Card, held within it up to ten million Credits.
And ten million credits was the sa amount of money it took to make one round trip between Strata.
"You’re all set then."
The Old Lady once again smiled warmly. Most of the worry in her eyes was gone.
It was sad to part, but it was only a matter of waiting for the reunion, no?
At the end of the day, this was a life-changing opportunity for Gio.
As long as she was his mother, she may have been fated to worry, but she also felt nothing but excitent for her son’s future.
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