Keep Moving Forward

A certain hospital, Misaka Mikoto sat outside the consultation room, hugging her knees in a corner, unable to calm her turbulent thoughts.

Whenever she thought of the tragedy caused by the Level 6 Shift Project, those irretrievable lives seemed to vanish one after another in her mind.

The moment she closed her eyes, she saw countless Misaka Sisters with her face being slaughtered at Accelerator's whim. The grief kept spreading through her heart, beyond words.

Uncle. Tears continued to roll down Misaka Mikoto's cheeks, and her fragile, tearful appearance was heartbreaking.

"Miss Nurse, please arrange a room for this guy." A sudden deep, magnetic voice reached Misaka Mikoto's ears. Startled, she looked up toward its source.

There, Misaka Mikoto saw Rod standing unharmed at the emergency room reception desk, carrying Accelerator, who had been wrapped up like a rice dumpling.

"U-Uncle!?" Misaka Mikoto cried out in disbelief, only to see Rod raise a finger before his nose, signaling for her to be quiet.

Realizing she was still in a hospital, Misaka Mikoto hurriedly covered her mouth, her pretty face flushing slightly.

She quickly walked over to Rod's side.

"Uncle, are... are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Do I look hurt?" Rod asked with a chuckle, tossing Accelerator onto the gurney the nurse had pushed over and spreading his hands.

"Um..." Watching Accelerator being wheeled away, Misaka Mikoto was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how she should react.

"The Level 6 Shift Project is over. Just as I said before, Aleister will probably use this opportunity to send the Misaka Sisters all over the world. As for the genetic issues, Heaven Canceller should be able to solve them."

Facing the somewhat helpless girl, Rod briefly explained the matters she cared about.

"I-I see? Then it's over now, right? Thank you, Uncle." Upon hearing this, Misaka Mikoto finally let go of the worry she had carried for so long. Yet resentment still lingered in her heart. Why should Accelerator, who had harmed her clones, be allowed to keep living?

The loss of tens of thousands of lives had shown Misaka Mikoto that beneath Academy City's outwardly glamorous surface lay an abyss-like darkness.

"You should see a psychologist. If you let these emotions keep piling up, you'll fall into darkness," Rod suggested, sensing the intense fluctuations in Misaka Mikoto's emotions.

"If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have been created, and they wouldn't have died!" Overwhelmed by her emotions, Misaka Mikoto trembled all over. The thought that everything had happened because of her filled her with unbearable remorse.

"No. If it hadn't been you, Aleister would have simply found someone else to make clones for the project." Rod patted the girl on the shoulder, comforting her.

"But..." Misaka Mikoto wanted to argue, but Rod interrupted her.

"Actually, without you, they would never have been given life in the first place. Since they were granted life, then even if they are creations of science, they are still lives."

"Keep moving forward, Misaka Mikoto. Remember those lives that were lost. That is the only proof that they once existed in this world."

"This is your choice. You have no obligation to bear the sins Academy City has placed upon you. You can choose to run away, or you can protect them, give them emotions, and treat them like real little sisters."

"You have time to think it through slowly. These matters are far too heavy for someone who hasn't even come of age yet." Rod placed a hand on Misaka Mikoto's head. His caring words, like those of an elder comforting a younger generation, completely broke through her emotional defenses.

As if venting everything she had held inside, the girl hugged Rod and burst into loud sobs.

Seeing a character he had once loved finally release her emotions under his comfort, Rod could not help but reveal a warm smile for the first time in a long while.

After a long while, Misaka Mikoto sat in the medical office with a bright red face, listening to Heaven Canceller explain the diagnosis and treatment plan, her mind still unable to settle.

I actually cried in Uncle's arms. What am I, an elementary schooler!?

As Misaka Mikoto grumbled to herself, she noticed the conversation between Rod and Heaven Canceller.

"This truly surprises me. You were so badly injured, yet you recovered completely. How exactly did you do it?" Heaven Canceller looked Rod over, marveling at his completely uninjured appearance.

"The power I use differs from both esper abilities and magic. It is called cursed energy, and it comes from negative emotions. Everyone harbors negative emotions to some extent. This energy can give rise to curses, and its fundamental form is cursed energy."

"The restorative ability I used is called the Reverse Cursed Technique. It is an advanced application of cursed energy. Its principle is that two negatives make a positive—by multiplying cursed energy, one obtains positive energy suitable for healing."

With one leg crossed over the other, Rod explained it all to Heaven Canceller without concealing anything.

"Cursed energy? What a difficult ability to understand." Heaven Canceller pinched his chin and pondered.

"As thanks for saving me, if you have any patients you can't treat, I can lend a hand," Rod said with a light smile, dropping the bombshell right in his face.

Even Heaven Canceller, who was always calm, froze slightly at those words before smiling and responding seriously.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I mean patients with congenital disabilities or irreversible injuries. I can repair all of them." Rod's words made Heaven Canceller's eyes light up.

After all, this man's creed was, No matter what happens, never give up on a patient. While he could save patients' lives, he was powerless when it came to those left disabled or maimed. Academy City's technology could indeed produce clones, but the people who could use such technology were without exception members of the social elite and above. As for ordinary civilians and patients with congenital disabilities, where could they possibly find that kind of money to spend?

"If that is true, then on my own behalf alone, I offer Mr. Rod my most sincere gratitude." Heaven Canceller's expression became more solemn than ever before.

So Uncle's name is Rod. Only now learning Rod's real name, Misaka Mikoto's eyes gleamed faintly.

A doctor who valued patients' lives so deeply deserved respect in any world.

"Then the Misaka Sisters are in your care. And please arrange psychological treatment for this little girl as well, so she can return to her normal life sooner." Taking the list Heaven Canceller handed him, Rod, who happened to want to test his new ability, Idle Transfiguration, followed the young nurse out of the ward.

"Thank you, Uncle Rod," Misaka Mikoto's quiet words of thanks came from behind him.

"The 'Uncle' part was unnecessary." Rod's response brought a long-lost smile to Misaka Mikoto's face.