Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 609: The Truth [2]

"Father, what are you thinking? Has age finally caught up with you!?"

Martha kept stirring up trouble even after Liora and the surprise visitor had departed.

Her palm slammed hard onto the desk.

BANG!

"Father! Are you listening to me at all?! How could you consider handing over the cure just like that?! You know better than anyone the massive resources we’ve invested in it! The drug will soon flood the market, making our Guild the unchallenged top Guild worldwide! And yet you’ve leaked such a sec—"

"Why do you think I created a cure like this?"

Kaelric spoke softly, yet Martha instantly fell silent the moment his words hit the air. That lingering smile on her father’s face made it even more chilling.

She gulped down her saliva quietly before responding.

"Well... we made the cure because a huge market awaits it. Plenty of Guilds have members with broken nodes who can’t function. Restoring their nodes would..."

"Is that truly why I poured so much time and money into this?"

Kaelric cocked his head, his smile dimming a touch.

Suddenly, the room’s air turned icy cold.

Martha choked on her response, sensing the abrupt shift in atmosphere.

"Fa... father?"

"It wasn’t that long ago. Around twenty years back? Or perhaps a bit more."

Kaelric began recounting, his voice weighing down heavier with every syllable.

"I was swamped with Guild affairs back then, focused solely on expanding it. I couldn’t oversee every detail. So when you claimed a miscarriage, I had no choice but to accept it."

Silence engulfed the room completely, draining the color from Martha’s face.

"...I buried myself in work to move past it. Miscarriages occur. But..."

Kaelric lifted his head gradually, his expression shattering.

"Why was I the only one grieving?"

"....."

Martha’s complexion stayed ghostly pale.

Kaelric shifted his gaze to her husband, who stood speechless too.

BANG!

A deafening crash echoed through the space as Kaelric pounded the table. His face burned crimson while he bellowed furiously, "Do you believe I don’t know what you two did!? Think I couldn’t uncover that no miscarriage occurred!? That you abandoned him just because he had a fractured node!?"

His booming roar filled the room, making the pair recoil as Kaelric rose from his chair.

"You two... you’re unbelievable. I nearly wiped you both out right then upon hearing the truth. Only Liora’s existence stopped me from ending you."

Grinding his teeth, Kaelric’s heaving chest steadied with a deep inhale before he pivoted toward the window overlooking the world below.

"...I chose to bury it for Liora’s sake, not wanting her parentless. But that was yet another error on my part. You don’t deserve the title of parents."

"But that’s—"

"Shut up."

Kaelric didn’t raise his voice this time.

He simply cut her off.

Yet his narrowed eyes forced her silent.

"I didn’t fund this project to crush other Guilds. Nothing like that. The real reason? Straightforward. To make amends for your grave mistake."

Indeed.

That was the raw truth at its core.

Discovering why his grandchild was cast aside filled him with overwhelming guilt. He vowed to channel every resource into a cure, ready to heal the boy upon reunion.

Yet despite his vast means, the child vanished without trace.

As though wiped from existence, Kaelric searched fruitlessly.

He had lost all hope.

Until...

At last, he located him.

Thriving beyond expectations, not merely surviving.

Kaelric yearned to confess it all, but the Guild’s turmoil made it impossible. Especially with his parents in such a state.

Glaring at his daughter and her spouse, Kaelric’s revulsion intensified.

"I warn you both now. Stay out of this entirely. If I discover any interference..."

He trailed off, but his stare conveyed the rest.

It dropped their heads in submission.

"...I truly hope you listen."

***

Truth be told, curiosity gnawed at me.

’How potent is their medicine? Does it match the system’s? Nah, unlikely. They don’t even grasp my condition’s full horror. Fractures? Far from it.’

My affliction ran much deeper.

A Cognitive Shard plagued me.

"...You sure you won’t accept the offer?"

Reaching the SUV, Liora hesitated at the front door. Avoiding my eyes, she climbed in and fiddled with the rearview mirror.

I shrugged at her.

"Even if I took it, it wouldn’t help anyway."

"You truly believe so?"

"Yes."

No hesitation in my certainty. And even if useful, I’d refuse. The Guild Master already held enough sway; this drug would tighten his grip.

I’d manage solo just fine.

"Fine."

Liora fell quiet and fired up the engine.

We departed their Guild as she ferried me home. Silence reigned during the drive, words unspoken. I gazed outside, scenery blurring by while my mind replayed the events.

This lasted until a recognizable structure loomed ahead. Less grand than Obsidian Bastion’s base, yet distinctive, the car decelerated to a halt.

Seatbelt off, I exited and turned to wave goodbye, but Liora lowered the window and flung something my way.

"Take it."

"...Huh?"

Snagging it mid-air, I blinked at the tiny tube packed with white pills.

My brain short-circuited briefly, then realization hit—eyes bulging.

"Wait, I said..."

Words died unfinished.

Glancing her way, the car had vanished, racing into the horizon.

"That’s..."

All I managed was staring after her, then down at the pills clutched in my fist.