INTEGER UNLIMITED

Leo awoke to the sound and smell of crackling bacon and sizzling eggs, his eyes adjusting to the newfound brightness of sunlight. He stood up, as he turned to the kitchen and saw Koram cooking away a hearty breakfast, as sunlight gave a nice sight of his cooking friend.

“Good morning Leo, I hope you slept well on my floor,” Koram said, a teasing smile on his face as he focused on cooking breakfast.

“Sleeping indoors definitely beats camping. It’s good to see you Koram, I thought you’d be in the hospital for a few weeks at least,” Leo responded, smiling as he walked towards the kitchen to check on the progress of the food.

“A few weeks? Please, I was more exhausted than injured and our clerics aren’t that bad,” Koram said, looking at Leo with a slightly confused look.

Leo realized he likely had a very inaccurate idea of how healthcare worked, especially considering he was talking to someone who could create barriers and use leaves like blades. Though instead of discussing that, he instead had his brain occupied by the odd looking green and purple plants that seemed to be on the grill instead of bacon and eggs.

“What are you cooking?” Leo asked, trying his best to appear nonchalant, while being unarguably chalant.

“Just some Cresps and Artogs?” Koram responded, his tone showing that Leo had asked something that was as dumb as he felt asking it.

“Huh, I thought they were bacon and eggs from the smell,” Leo said, realizing once more that there was a long way to go before he would truly understand this world.

“Of course not, me and Buddy were vegans after all. Well, I still am, and I had assumed you were too, considering you didn’t mention the substitutes before,” Koram said, as he started plating the food onto the counter in the kitchen.

“You’re actually a vegan? I can’t believe that stew didn’t have meat, though looking back at it I can’t recall ever seeing you cook meat before or during the adventure,” Leo said, as he grabbed his plate of food and sat down.

Koram sat down across the table as they began to eat, the last meal he had worried Leo that perhaps Koram had lost his touch but this savory meal assured him that the food was just as delicious as ever. The food was definitely unique, but it tasted close enough to the foods Leo grew up eating alongside their complimentary seasoning that he couldn’t find a reason to complain or care.

“So, who are you, Leo?” Koram asked as he put down his fork.

“I’m me?” Leo responded, a bit confused by the question.

“Yes, but what I mean is who you are as a person. Buddy told me he thought you were a hero going through an identity crisis, or something along those lines. While I didn’t believe him before, I know now you’re at least not a classless wanderer,” Koram said, more serious than he had ever sounded before, “So please be honest, who or what are you?”

Leo knew that Koram would have known, but being confronted about it made him feel on edge and uncomfortable. While he originally hid his power due to not trusting them, and not wanting to be seen as crazy, he realized now his original reasons didn’t seem to have any merit. Though even if he trusted Koram, having gone through a lifetime with him over the course of a week, he still felt uncomfortable admitting to his strength.

But even then, Leo knew if there was anyone he could be open with then it would be Koram.

Leo sighed as he started to speak, “I’m not from here, not in the way that I’m from a different city, rather I’m from an entirely different world. There’s no magic, no monsters, no ‘Artogs’, so many differences that I doubt I’ll ever learn just how different this place truly is.

“I died, my last day in my world ended with my death. My first day in this world nearly ended the same, but I survived. Through some freak accident I survived, but the tradeoff was that my body ended up so strong I can’t handle it. I have limited myself to 20% of my strength, and I move as if everything was made of paper, yet still destroy most things I touch. The path in the forest wasn’t a dragon, it was me throwing a punch.”

Koram looked on intensely as Leo spoke, processing the words he heard while his face showed that he was confused over all the information revealed to him. They both sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, neither one able to speak through the air of disbelief and truth set before them.

Leo broke the silence first, “I’m sorry I lied, I just didn’t know who I could trust here. I never meant to have things end up this way, I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

While he looked at the table, Leo saw drops of water land on his plate. He realized that he was crying, a cry so subtle he didn’t have time to sense its arrival. He felt ashamed knowing that he could have saved Buddy’s life if he had played things out differently.

“It’s okay, Leo,” called out the soothing voice of Koram.

Leo looked up to see Koram, who was also crying, staring into his eyes.

Koram continued, “Buddy knew the risks of the adventure and he still took it, and I know even in his dying moments he didn’t regret it. Do not focus on the sadness of his death, he would have wanted us to remember the joy of his life.”

Leo felt comforted by Koram’s words, as the tears slowed down. The two didn’t know how to continue their conversation, as they continued to eat their now slightly cold breakfast. When they finished eating, Koram took their plates and started cleaning up as Leo decided to get up and change into a new outfit. The clothes he wore for the fight were as good as gone, so he grabbed a spare pair left on a chair and headed to the bathroom.

This time, he had mastered showering, truly leaving behind his love of Overwatch. After he finished showering, he gave himself a quick inspection in the mirror, seeing that except for a few scars left behind his body had already returned to perfect condition.

Upon getting dressed, Leo picked up the pile of old rags to throw them in the garbage, but he noticed an odd crunch to his clothes. He pulled out a damaged and crumpled piece of paper, though it was still intact enough to be understood.

This was the drawing from the mountain, with the four symbols still legible. While looking at it, having nearly forgotten all about the design in the excitement of today, Leo’s eyes opened wide in shock. The skull with wings looked exactly like David, which begged the question of who exactly the other symbols represented.