Book 2: Chapter 396
To eat.
None other than his own body.
Just thinking about it filled him with a sense of repulsion.
What did this woman just say? It was already dead, so he should be able to eat it?
The way she spoke as if it was natural made him feel it again. The distance between himself and Pale. Just how far apart they were.
“…”
Furtive, Pale slowly lowered ‘Lukas’ corpse’ that she was holding up. Maybe it was because she saw the discomfort on Lukas’ face. Or maybe she was just offended that Lukas had rejected her proposal once again. There was a hint of dissatisfaction on her face.
“This uncle is not uncle.”
“…I know.”
He at least knew that much.
That corpse was a discarded possibility’s Lukas. They were basically the same, but still different.
‘It’s not me, it’s another me.’
He could understand the truth in this pun like saying.
Nevertheless.
“It’s not like that.”
Interrupting his thoughts, Pale opened her mouth.
“I don’t understand. Even if it’s an act like cannibalism, is this really a situation where you can be picky?”
“…”
“You said you want to become one of the Twelve Void Lords. Do you think you could even reach their toes like this?”
He couldn’t reach them. He knew that.
In the end, was Lukas’s pride the thing that was holding him back right now? Was he still not desperate enough yet despite seeing the future? Was there still the thought somewhere in his mind that he could relax?
“…hoo.”
Pale sighed in a mix of tiredness and frustration.
Then with a ‘tuk’, she threw Lukas’ body away.
“Predation is different from what uncle thinks.”
“…”
“Hmph.”
Pale huffed heavily.
In an instant, her cold expression disappeared.
“I don’t know anymore. Do what you want.”
After muttering those words, she suddenly climbed over a mountain of corpses and disappeared. She didn’t say where she was going, or when she’s coming back.
A feeling of loneliness.
Only the rotten smell of corpses accompanied him.
Lukas’ gaze turned to the ‘Lukas corpse’ that Pale had left behind.
“…”
‘Another me.’
When he recalled what he’d just heard, the emotions he felt became more prominent.
Those emotions weren’t simply because of the strange feeling that he got from seeing his own corpse.
First of all, the body.
This Lukas’ body was much more muscular than his own.
He also hadn’t neglected his training in the past and trained both his mind and body at the same time, but that was only to increase his concentration and physical strength, which was ultimately to increase his magic power.
On the other hand, this Lukas’ body was… different. Muscles covered his entire body, showing that he was much more dedicated than he had been.
Those were not muscles that could be formed through simple training, and there were many scars, large and small, crisscrossing across his entire body.
Scratches, cuts, and even stab wounds.
This was also very unfamiliar. 4,000 before his return, Lukas had fought a bitter war with the Demigods. Naturally, few of his wounds were caused by blades.
“You.”
Lukas stretched out his hand, his curiosity rising.
A being with the same name as him, but who had experienced something different.
“What kind of life did you live?”
Just as his fingers touched the pale skin.
[Are you curious?]
He seemed to hear a voice.
Just as Lukas flinched and tried to pull his hand away.
[Then experience it.]
Whoosh-!
“…!”
Memories came flooding in.
* * *
In a building filled with the scent of moss.
Which sat in the outskirts of the city, surrounded by lush trees and overgrown weeds.
A place filled with the cries of forest bugs during the day and the cries of owls at night.
Jrr-
Lukas stood silently in front of the building.
It felt like he was looking at a dusty place that had been left unattended for a long time.
What he was currently facing was the distant past.
“…”
He stretched out his hand to the cracked building wall, but his hand passed through it instead of touching it. It wasn’t possible for him to interact with anything. This showed that he was experiencing everything as a phantom. Nevertheless, it wasn’t fake.
This was a Vision of Lukas’ past.
Of course, it wasn’t his own.
It was the Lukas who was dead.
This was the past of the Lukas, who had taken a different path and experienced different possibilities.
Tap tap-
The silence was broken. To his west, someone was approaching from the city.
It was a woman with a vulnerable appearance. She looked to be about 30 years old, but her tired face made her look older.
She held a newborn baby in one hand, and her other clasped the hand of a child with a bold expression.
“…hoo.”
She stood in front of the quiet building for a moment before taking a deep breath. She lifted her hand to knock on the door and hesitated.
For a while.
Finally, she seemed to steel her determination as she finally knocked on the door.
Click-
The door opened, revealing a middle aged woman with a voluptuous figure. Her thick, grey hair was neatly brushed, and her expression was soft and gentle.
Illuminating her visitors face with a candle holder held in her hand, the middle aged woman asked.
“Mrs. Larson?”
The pale woman nodded.
“I am Grecia Larson.”
“Ah.”
The middle aged woman smiled.
“You’re a bit later than I expected.”
“I’m sorry. That, I was trying to deceive the eyes of the others…”
“That is alright, madam.”
The middle aged woman placed her hand across her breast and bowed in a dignified manner.
“My introduction is a bit late. I am Sophia. I’m acting as the caretaker of this place in the place of Lady Aria, who is away for personal reasons.”
“Yes. Miss Sophia. Thank you for accepting my personal request this time.”
“Huhu.”
Sophia smiled gently.
“The night breeze is chilly. Please come inside.”
“…yes. Mark, please wait outside.”
The boy named Mark nodded. The boy was only six or seven years old at most. It should have been scary to stand in front of such a deserted building in the middle of a dark forest, but Mark’s eyes shined with curiosity.
Taking his eyes off the boy, Lukas followed the steps of the two women.
Candles gently lit the dark hallway. The old wooden floor creaked from time to time, and each time it did, Grecia flinched.
“It’s okay. Around this time of year, the children sleep so soundly that they wouldn’t even wake up if you picked them up.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Eventually, they arrived in a small room.
The tables and chairs were old, but there was no dust, and the room felt clean. This was proof that it was cleaned regularly.
“I apologise for not having anything to serve, madam.”
“No, it’s okay. More than that…”
“Yes. You probably don’t have much time… Then.”
Sophia’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“That is the child?”
“Yes.”
“May I see his face?”
“Of course.”
Grecia slowly handed the newborn baby she was embracing to Sophia. The baby was fast asleep.
From the city to this building by foot had taken about an hour, but the baby had shown no signs of waking. The same was true even while the quiet conversation was happening around them.
“Oh my.”
Sophia’s expression was gentle. She gently brushed the baby’s hair aside in order to not wake them.
“So pretty. Is it a boy?”
“Yes.”
“What is his name?”
“…Miss Sophia can name him.”
It was at this time that Sophia’s expression changed.
“That isn’t possible.”
“Huh?”
“I know that madam has special circumstances. But this child is yours. No matter what life madam might lead in the future, or how this child will grow up. That fact will not change.”
“…”
“Madam, please tell me this child’s name. It seems you haven’t named him yet. But I can tell just from looking at your eyes. That madam loves this child very much.”
Grecia’s eyes became red. Eventually, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into tears.
“…Lu-, kas.”
And said the child’s name.
“That child’s name is Lukas.”
Sophia smiled again.
Then she looked at the child’s small, mischievous face.
“Good for you. Mommy gave you such a nice name. You’re happy too, aren’t you, Lukas?”
“…Miss Sophia, I know I don’t deserve it. Nevertheless, I would like to shamelessly ask. That child, Lukas…”
She broke into a sob before she could finish her sentence.
“I can’t make any promises to you that this child will grow up properly. Because that would be a lie. Of course, I will do my best to ensure that Lukas grows up to be a good adult.”
Sophia’s expression became bitter.
“Regardless of my will, I have seen countless children go astray.”
However.
As she continued, Sophia’s expression became serious.
“You can be certain of one thing. Today, our Trowman Orphanage has gained a new family member.”
At that, Grecia silently burst into tears.
Sophia stood up and quietly wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. One day, even this child will understand. I will help. So that this child becomes someone with a heart as wide as the sea and as pure as the forest.”
“Th-, thank you. Thank you…”
“…”
Lukas.
He listened to the entire conversation.
And he looked around.
…Trowman Orphanage, a kingdom funded institution that he’d been entrusted to as a child.
His gaze went forward once again.
He looked at the woman with the vulnerable expression, whose shoulders still shook.
She was unfamiliar but also familiar. He could see a few similarities. Not in the hair, but especially in the eyes.
‘I see.’
This woman was his mother.
“It was the same for you up to here.”
He heard a voice.
Lukas turned round.
A ‘Lukas’ was standing there.
“Lukas.”
He called his name.
“…Lukas.”
Lukas also called his name.
The two of them stood in front of each other.
Eventually, ‘Lukas’ chuckled.
“Amazing. A Wizard Lukas Trowman. Right. So such a future existed. Well. I was very qualified when it came to mana.”
‘Were you not a Wizard?”
“Do I look at a Wizard?”
‘Lukas’ asked back. Lukas didn’t answer right away. He chuckled again.
“I’m really curious. What was your life like? Did you enjoy it? Did you feel warm? Was there even a single person you could trust?”
His cynical voice soon became filled with anger.
“I didn’t. My life was by no means smooth. Everything I longed for grew further when I felt myself getting closer, and disappeared when I held them in my hand.”
“…”
“You want to get your hands on my possibility? I’ll give it to you if you want it. However…”
‘Lukas’ whispered.
“…before that, you should learn. About me. About my life.” (TL: Or just eat him…)
* * *
He felt the sunlight.
‘…sunlight?’
Lukas immediately opened his eyes, shocked.
Unlike his tired body, his mind was clear.
“Cough.”
When he let out a low cough, he saw a swirl of dust. His condition was not very good. As he instinctively groped the floor, he felt the touch of an old blanket.
He looked around.
Dozens of blankets were spread out in a spacious room. The blanket that Lukas was laying on was one of them.
Each blanket had its owner. They were all children at different stages of childhood, with different appearances and genders.
“…”
This scene.
Beyond the feeling of familiarity came a sense of nostalgia.
…If his memories were correct, this place.
Almost as if he was possessed, he rose up from his bedding. And walked carefully on cat’s feet(1) in order to not wake the other children. His destination was a large window at the end of the room. After a while, he arrived before it.
And Lukas opened the window wide.
“…”
He could see the scene of a familiar forest, hear the sounds of the birds chirping, and feel the fresh air as it pierced his lungs.
“You woke up early today too, Lukas.”
He heard a soft voice. It came from the yard outside the window.
A middle aged woman stood there as she hung out laundry.
…Sophia.
She looked older than she had when he’d last seen her.
‘She spoke to me.’
Surprised, he looked down at his hands. It was with those two small hands that he’d opened the window.
In other words, it was possible for him to interact with things here.
Lukas’ palms were smooth. Perhaps because he was a boy, they felt a bit stiff, but that was all. There were no callouses from holding weapons or pens for a long time.
“Lukas?”
As if puzzled, Sophia called out his name.
He raised his head.
He didn’t quite understand the situation yet.
However, it was clear what action he had to take at the moment.
Rummaging through his old memories, Lukas looked at Sophia.
“…good morning, Sophia.”
And spoke in the way Lukas Trowman did when he was 12 years old.