Ivan arrived at the therapist's office. The therapist's office was a rented space located on the second floor of a three-storey building.
"Good morning, I'm Ivan," Ivan introduced himself as he entered the room, his voice a little tentative.
The therapist stretched out her right hand for a handshake. He shook hands with her. She directed Ivan to sit on the single-seater sofa opposite her, and he complied.
"Please call me Ella," the therapist said, her voice gentle.
"Okay."
"How are you doing?" Ella asked, with a professional, soothing smile.
Ivan chuckled. "I wanted to say that I'm fine, but if I were truly fine, I wouldn't need to visit you."
Ella nodded. "Self-awareness, that's beneficial. Most people who visit me struggle with being self-aware. So that's a definite plus on your side."
"So what is it that you need counselling for?" she enquired. Ella had checked her list; she knew that Ivan was there to resolve trauma, but he hadn't specified the particular event in his online form.
Ivan narrated what happened during the flood yesterday: how he saved a child whose parent had abandoned them in a car to drown and then how the child tragically perished due to the sudden alien attack.
"That's very sad to hear. It's a grave thing to witness. I feel genuinely sorry for you. How does this trauma affect you?" Ella asked, her expression empathetic.
Ivan exhaled slowly through his mouth, adjusting in his seat. He said, "I feel that I'm not doing enough. I went to the gym and spent time with my friends yesterday. While doing these things, I felt that I wasn't pushing myself enough in the gym despite exerting my physicality to the maximum, and I felt that I was wasting valuable time spending it with my friends."
He sighed. "Yesterday night, after hanging out with my friends, one of my friends decided to walk me home, and her phone got snatched out of her hands. I chased the thief and walked directly into his trap. I had the option to flee, but I chose to risk my life."
Ivan became silent, not continuing the story to its conclusion.
Ella was curious to know the ending of the story, but as a professional, she had to rein in her curiosity. She understood that Ivan was trying to convey that the trauma had profoundly upset him, compelling him to chase the thief and even enter the thief's dangerous trap. Her experience taught her that sometimes, it was acceptable to let the patient not completely narrate a story. However, it didn't mean she couldn't ask questions concerning the narrative.
"So what happened?" Ella asked gently. "Were you successful in retrieving the phone?"
Ivan nodded. "I was successful, and the police intervened."
"What do you think the counselling you'll receive from me will help you achieve?" Ella questioned, her gaze steady.
Ivan shook his head. "I just want to get rid of this persistent guilt."
Ella said, "What you feel is survivor's guilt, which can be considered a form of PTSD. If we look at everything that happened in that event, it was not your fault at all. You were simply unfortunate to be at that place at that time."
"The parent of the child should be held responsible for the child's death. Paramountly, the aliens are to blame for everything. Your life in this world, the flooding, the death of the child, and the irresponsible parent – it's all the aliens' fault."
"I think that you should only see positives from that unfortunate situation. You are a good person. You are what humanity desperately needs at the moment when we seem to be losing ourselves."
Ella guided Ivan to explore trigger words that would make him recall trauma. They explored grounding techniques and other therapeutic treatments that would help Ivan resolve the trauma.
Ivan returned to his apartment building. He got onto his residence floor and headed for his door. Someone clumsily bumped into him. He was supposed to fall from the contact, but he used his innate balancing ability to avoid falling.
He looked at the culprit. The individual had a full head of wavy black hair and wore thick-rimmed black glasses, a crisp white shirt, black trousers, and a pair of wingtip shoes.
"Forgive me, I didn't see you. I was busy with my phone," the culprit apologised, raising their phone, which now bore a fresh crack on its screen.
"Try to buy a screen guard for your phone," Ivan advised the man before him.
"I'm Valentine. I just moved into this building. My apartment is over there," the man said, pointing to the apartment next to Ivan's on the left.
Valentine was Ivan's new neighbour. Ivan wondered why his previous neighbour had vacated her space without informing him. It was a habit he and his previous neighbour had formed: if either of them had something to do that would make them spend some time away from their apartment, they would inform each other of their absence before leaving.
"Wow. My door is the next to yours on the right. You're welcome to this place. I hope you won't be troubling your neighbours," Ivan casually welcomed Valentine.
Valentine laughed and assured Ivan that he would be no trouble. Ivan bid his new neighbour goodbye and went into his apartment. Valentine watched Ivan enter his apartment. The smile on Valentine's face vanished, dissolving into a cold, calculating demeanour. He walked towards the elevator while texting.
Valentine texted to an unknown number: "I've made first contact. He acted normal, like a regular person, and didn't seem to have anything special on him."
Valentine was a Spy-class special character whom Brainboss_7 had assigned to keep close watch on Ivan. While Ivan was away, he had snuck into Ivan's apartment and meticulously searched it, guided by his enhanced perception. He found the area under Ivan's bed where the switch-axe was hidden. His perception confirmed that the weapon was indeed a C-rank weapon.
Fortunately for Ivan, Valentine's perception couldn't detect that there was an S-rank weapon hidden in the room. At that time, Valentine reported his findings to an unknown contact.
Ivan changed his clothes, which were his formal attire. He put on comfortable joggers and a plain shirt. He swapped his loafers for a pair of grey trainers. He then settled down to have lunch: he reheated the leftover meal that Daiyu had prepared earlier.
After eating, he washed the dishes. He then proceeded to leave his apartment to visit a martial arts centre.