The two parents stared at her in surprise, not actually expecting some proof.

The room went silent for a few seconds, Ace expecting a response and their parents too dumbfounded to come up with one.

The one to break the silence was none other than the foreigner.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Aliza Runer.”

She was speaking more politely than normal, knowing that these people were Ace’s parents.

“I only met your son yesterday in Furio Village, where he was on the brink of death.”

The next one to speak was Ace’s father, the one who proposed the idea of bringing some proof.

“Nice to meet you... I’m Ace’s father... Joshua Bracker.”

He was still in shock from the proof.

The most he was expecting was a small item, not a person!

“Do you believe me now?!”

“I... sort of... have to...”

“WAIT!”

The next person to speak was Ace’s mother, the one rejecting Ace’s story.

“How do I know she’s not just some girl who dyed her hair blue?”

“Mom, just believ--”

Before Ace could finish his sentence, Aliza chimed in.

“Ace told me that there were none of my species living in this world so this should serve as some proof.”

Aliza lifted her chin to show the blue gem stuck to the bottom of her head.

“This is a gem that a species called Shuna have on their faces.”

“A blue gem superglued to the bottom of your head is not proof!”

His mom continued to reject the story, thinking it was too absurd to be possible.

“I assure you; this is part of my bod--”

“WAIT!”

The next one to try convincing his mom... was Ace himself.

“THERE’S ONE MORE THING!”

Ace walked over to Aliza and whispered something into her ear.

“Huh?! You never told me!”

Ace smiled at Aliza and stepped away from her.

He gave her a thumbs up after putting about a meter of space between them.

Aliza nodded back at Ace and started to put her hands together out in front of her.

She closed her eyes and focused on her hands.

After about a second...

A blue light illuminated the space in front of her hands.

“—?!”

The two parents were shocked to see a light coming from nowhere.

It wasn’t strong enough to make someone cover their eyes, but it wasn’t soft enough for someone to be unable to see it...

Aliza was using magic.

“Mom! There is nothing you can say against this!”

Trying to go for the final push, Aliza also chipped in to confirm Ace’s ideas.

“This is healing magic that I used to treat your son’s wounds right before coming here.”

The two parents just stared in silence at the beautiful sight.

The first one to recollect their thoughts was Ace’s mother.

It wasn’t a very good recollection though...

“No! No way! I won’t believe it!”

“My son got taken to some other world?! I’m definitely dreaming!”

Just as she started to panic again...

*HUG*

“Calm down Selena.”

The husband hugged his wife tightly, trying to calm her down as she rejected the idea.

“He’s done everything he can to show to us that he’s not lying.”

“You have to believe him now.”

“And plus... he’s with us now, so it’s not like he’s gone forever.”

Ace looked away after hearing that, but his parents didn’t notice, their attention fully on each other.

“No way... it just can’t be real...”

“It’s okay Selena...”

His dad put his hand on her head and pulled her into his chest.

Tears started streaming from her eyes as she dug her face into his chest.

“AAAAAHHHH!”

She clutched her husband’s shirt tightly and cried her eyes out, finally accepting her son’s story.

While she continued to cry, Ace looked over at Aliza with a warm smile on his face and mouthed the words “thank you”.

Aliza returned the smile and mouthed “You’re welcome” back to the boy who was on the verge of tears.

He really couldn’t thank her enough.

She saved him from death, agreed to help him on his journey, got dragged into this weird situation, and never complained or hesitated once when it came to any of these events.

Ace looked back over to his mom and dad.

His dad was still comforting his mom, who was sobbing into his chest.

He looked at his dad, caught his attention, and pointed towards the living room.

With a soft tone...

“I’ll be waiting...”

His dad nodded back at Ace.

Ace walked out of the kitchen, grabbed Aliza by the hand, and dragged her into the living room.

“Take a seat anywhere, they’re having a moment, so we’ll just wait for a little.”

“Oh... ok... are you sure I shouldn’t go back to your room? You don’t want a talk, alone, with your parents?”

“Don’t worry about it... I’ve already dragged you in far enough and they’ll probably make me call you back down once they realize you’re alone in my room.”

“Ok... I’ll stay here but, I’ll make sure not to talk a lot.”

“Thank you.”

After about 10 minutes of sitting in silence, the two parents came into the living room.

His mom had her back hunched and was still wiping small tears from her eyelids but...

She seemed to have calmed down.

His dad had his arm over her shoulder, continuing to comfort his wife as she calmed down.

His mom looked up at Ace, who was staring back at his mom.

“Sorry... Ace... I’m your mother but couldn’t believe you... I’m horrible...”

“No... I... wouldn’t believe me either in my situation..”

His mom wiped the final tears from her eyes and sat down on the couch next to the one Ace was sitting on.

Their living room wasn’t too big but was large enough to fit two couches.

Aliza was sitting on the couch that his mom sat at, but got up once she saw his parents enter the room.

She just stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, not knowing where to sit.

“Aliza, just sit next to me... you look uncomfortable.”

Ace saw her discomfort and invited her to sit next to him.

She accepted his invitation and sat next to Ace.

His dad sat down next to his mom, as he was also going to be a part of the conversation.

“Oh, I forgot... Aliza... I’m sorry for not believing your words and letting you see me in such a miserable state.”

His mom also apologized to Aliza, the guest of the house. She felt terrible for treating her like that.

“Ace told me about the situation... every mother would’ve reacted the same way you did.”

“If anything, I’m the one who should be sorry for coming into your home without permission.”

“Haha... if you weren’t here, I may have thrown Ace out the house...”

Ace’s mom reached over and grabbed both of Aliza’s perfectly pale hands and looked deeply into the girl’s blue eyes.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for Ace, I mean it.”

Aliza spoke after a few seconds, fully receiving the heartfelt thank you.

“Ace has also helped me so it goes both ways.”

His mom let go of her hands, stood up from her seat and directed her gaze at her son.

Before Ace could fully direct his eyes back at his mom’s...

*HUG*

“I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”

“You must’ve been through so much...”

“And to come home and your parents not believing you?”

“I’m sorry, Ace...”

“I’m a horrible mother...”

“I’m sorry...”

His mom truly felt horrible.

She was his mother.

She raised him for 16 years, only to not believe him when he needed her most...

She hated herself for it, but...

Her son was okay.

That’s all that mattered right now.

She could still hold him in his arms.

She could still feel the hair on his head,

The skin on his body,

His warmth,

His heartbeat.

He was alive.

She hadn’t seen him for a whole 24 hours, but...

He was now right in front of her.

Ace hugged his mom back, this one with a greater sense of relief than the first one because his mom now fully believed his story.

He clung to her for about 5 seconds and then...

Her knees dropped to the floor and her arms’ grip around her son loosened.

Her head rested on the couch’s armrest, but her body fell limp.

“Mom?!”

“Selena?!”

Both their faces had gone pale, and their minds immediately started to panic.

“Hey! Mom! Are you okay?!”

Ace dropped to the floor, grabbed onto her shoulder and started shaking his mother desperately, his mom in an unconscious state.

“Mom! Wake up!”

His dad didn’t have any experience with someone fainting, so he reached for his phone and called the local police, tapping his foot on the ground, parallel to his current, rushed state.

“Please! Wake up!”

Ace was desperate, he needed his mom to wake up.

Why did this have to happen now?

His last day together with his parents starts off with his mom fainting in the second hour.

How could this get any worse.

Everything had to go wrong.

Just as his mind started to go even more off track...

“I might be able to help...”

Aliza chimed in to offer her support.

Ace looked over at Aliza, standing behind him.

“I don’t know how much my healing magic can help right now but... I can try...”

Ace turned around, grabbed her hands, and dropped his head.

“Aliza... please... please... help my mom.”

She already helped him out so much and once again, she is offering her support.

He didn’t like the idea of relying on Aliza so much but...

His mom was his top priority right now.

He didn’t care about how much he had to rely on her...

His mom was in danger and needed help.

“I’ll try.”

Aliza dropped to the ground next to Ace, put both of her palms to face Ace’s mother, and generated a blue light next to his mom’s shoulder.

After about a few seconds of trying to heal, she looked over at Ace...

“Ace...”

“…”

He didn’t know how to respond... her tone of voice didn’t sound too good, but it didn’t sound as if something horrible had happened.

As he was searching his brain on what to say right now, he was interrupted by...

Zzzzzz...

The sound came from directly in front of Aliza.

It came from the person who Aliza was healing.

It came from the person who collapsed just moments before.

It came from his mom.

His mom was asleep.

Ace and his dad both looked over to their loved one.

His dad ended the call with the police before he got the chance to get transferred to an officer.

He placed his hand on to his head and started to speak.

“Ha... ha... seems like she was just... tired... from all the running around today.”

After hearing she was just asleep, a rush of relief hit Ace once again.

“Thank god...”

Ace hugged his sleeping mom once more.

His dad spoke once again... this time calmer than the first after realizing that his wife was only sleeping.

“We’ve been running around town since 7AM... I guess it’s only natural that she would be tired... haha...”

“Sorry Ace but... can we have that conversation tomorrow... we’re both tired.”

Ace also calmed down once he saw his mom was fine and looked over at his dad...

He knew he didn’t have a lot of time today, but his parents were tired, and he didn’t want to force them...

“Yeah, it’s fine... I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”

His dad nodded at Ace.

“I’ll carry her to our room. Ace, you can sleep on the couch or lay a mattress in your room for Aliza.”

“Ok... I’ll make sure to.”

His dad grabbed his mom, carrying her princess style, and headed up the stairs.