Book 2: Chapter 396

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.

“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.