As I tried to co to terms with the fact that I spent twenty five years on Earth, yet only two weeks had passed here on Lumina, a part of wondered if any of this was real. My mother, Lumina, all of it. Perhaps it was all a fantasy conjured up by my mind. What if I was still on Earth and the Demon Lord's blow rely put into a coma? What if this was all a dream?
However, this all felt too real to be a dream. The yawning emptiness at the center of my being where my mana core-… No, where my magic circle used to be. The pain throughout my entire body. The silk sheets brushing against my skin. The warmth of my mother's hand and the sll of her perfu. All these things and more told that this was all real. Even so, I found it hard to accept.
Traveling between realms was difficult and dangerous, but it was possible. Several beings from other dinsions visited Earth for one reason or another, and I befriended quite a few of them. From what they told , ti flowed at the sa rate in each realm. If a day passed in one, a day would pass in all the others. I wasn't sure why. Soone explained it to , but their explanation flew over my head.
So, how could twenty five years pass on Earth while only two weeks passed here on Lumina? Had I imagined my ti on Earth? What if that was the dream? That was also a possibility. However, I dismissed it right away. Just as everything here felt real, the ti I spent on Earth felt real as well.
"Would you like to sit up?" My mother asked, ground in the present.
Right. I would give up trying to figure out what happened, at least for now. At the mont, I had more pressing matters to deal with. Ti fuckery could wait.
"Yes." I said.
My mother helped sit up. It wasn't easy. While I felt better than I had when I first woke up, I still wasn't in good condition. My body felt heavy and weak, a far cry from the strength I wielded as an S-rank hunter.
"Could I get so water?" I asked.
My mother nodded, before she reached for an ornate gold ring on her hand. I felt a small burst of mana as she pulled a silver pitcher full of water and a silver cup out of the ring.
Oh, it was an inventory ring. They were a type of spatial magical item that served as interdinsional storage. We had them on Earth as well. The amount of space contained within an inventory ring depended on its grade. The best ones could hold an entire warehouse's worth of stuff.
Best of all, ti didn't flow inside an inventory ring. Items placed inside remained in stasis. This ant that when you pulled them out, they were in the sa condition they were as when you put them in, including food. Back on Earth, when I was a hunter, this had been a lifesaver.
My mother filled the silver cup with water, before handing it to . I almost dropped it and spilled water all over myself, but I recovered in ti. My mother's hands twitched when she saw this, but she kept them to herself. I was so thirsty that I wanted to chug the whole cup of water down, but I refrained. I knew from experience that doing so would just make sick. Instead, I took small sips.
As I drank, I glanced at the room around us. It took a mont to realize that this was my bedroom, the one I had during my first life. That was why the canopy bed seed familiar to . I felt strange as I looked around. This room had been my sanctuary, but now it felt like it belonged to soone else. In a way, that was true.
The entire ti, my mother watched with affection and concern in her eyes. As much as I enjoyed the attention, I also found it disconcerting. As far as I could rember, my mother never acted this way towards before. Maybe I misrembered. It had been twenty five years since I last saw her.
Or maybe my anger and resentnt blinded to the obvious. That was another possibility. Had I misjudged my parents this entire ti? If so, I felt like slapping my past self. How could I have been so foolish?
After I finished drinking all the water in the cup, I handed it back over to my mother. She took it, before placing both the cup and the pitcher of water back into her storage ring. Afterwards, an awkward silence fell over us. We regarded one another, neither one of us saying a word. I didn't know what to say to her, and she must have felt the sa way.
"Oh!" my mother said, sitting up straight. "I need to inform your father that you're awake."
Her words filled with a slight sense of panic. That was the last thing I wanted. Facing my mother was difficult enough. My father was another story altogether. He outright scared . During my first life, I always saw him as this terrifying and towering figure. So much so that I found it difficult to even look him in the eyes. I wasn't ready to face him again, not in my current state.
"Mother, wait!"
However, it was too late. My mother stood up from her seat, before walking over to my bedroom door and opening it.
"Inform my husband that Gabriel is awake." She commanded.
Soone on the other side answered her. I couldn't see her.
"Yes, Lady Sturm."
Afterwards, my mother closed the door and walked back to my side, before sitting down again. I sighed. Oh well. There was nothing I could do about it now. Might as well rip that particular band-aid off as soon as possible. It wasn't as if I had any choice in the matter.
My mother reached over and grabbed my hand again. She held onto it, as if it were a lifeline. I gave her hand a brief squeeze, which earned a small smile. A mont later, her smile faded away and a hesitant expression replaced it.
"Gabriel," my mother said. "I… I'm sorry."
I blinked at her in surprise.
"For what?" I asked, confused.
My mother closed her eyes.
"This is all my fault," she said. "If I hadn't… If I just…" She took a deep breath. "None of this would have happened if I had just done my duty as a mother in the first place."
My confusion deepened.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Do you an the… Incident?"
I referred to the magical procedure that I attempted, which resulted in my death(?). To emphasize its importance, I decided to capitalize the "I".
"Yes." My mother said. "It's my fault." She opened her eyes and I saw a terrifying intensity in their depths. "And so, it's up to to fix things."
I studied her for several monts, before I opened my mouth to respond. However, at that exact mont, I heard thunderous footsteps heading in our direction. My mother and I turned towards the door just as it flew open. A mont later, a man marched into my bedroom.
Bryce Sturm, my father from my first life and the patriarch of House Sturm. He looked exactly as I rembered him.
My father was a tall man with a muscular physique. Despite being a wizard, he kept himself in excellent physical condition. There was a saying here on Lumina, similar to one on Earth, that a healthy mind and soul resided in a healthy body. He had fair skin, short hair, and a trimd beard. While my father wasn't handso in the traditional sense of the word, he had sharp and striking features. Combined with his usual stern expression, this gave him a rather intimidating appearance.
However, the most eye-catching aspect of my father's appearance was the color of his hair and eyes. Both were a particular shade of silvery-blue, a trait unique to the scions of House Sturm. This included myself. The founder of our House had been the son of a storm dragon, mighty beings regarded as the rulers of the sky, with power over air and lightning. The founder of House Sturm inherited this power, and passed it down to his descendants. Our silvery-blue hair was a result of our lineage.
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My father marched over to stand beside my mother and laid a hand on her shoulder. The air around him slled like an oncoming thunderstorm, a sign of his agitated state. When Awakened lost control of their emotions, they sotis leaked mana. This mana was tinted with the Awakened's elental affinities. In my father's case, he had an affinity for Lightning, Air, and Water, which I inherited from him.
"Gabriel," my father said in a smooth and rich voice, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Even now, I found myself unable to look him in the eyes. Instead, I focused on his chin. That made it easier to face him.
"Bryce," my mother scolded, "Gabriel just woke up. Can this not wait until later?"
My father looked down at my mother and his expression softened for a brief mont. When that mont passed, the softness disappeared, as if it never existed in the first place.
"No, Claire." My father said. "This cannot wait. Gabriel's actions went beyond the pale." He turned towards again. "So, I ask again, Gabriel. Do you have anything to say for yourself? This is your one and only chance to explain yourself."
All right. Ti to face the music. I steeled my resolve and looked my father in the eyes. What I saw shocked . His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles underneath them. In fact, now that I took a closer look at him, I realized that my father looked just as haggard and disheveled as my mother.
In that mont, I realized that I had definitely misjudged my parents. I never knew them at all. They loved . Otherwise, almost losing wouldn't have affected them this much. Now I wanted to give my past self two slaps across the face for being so blind and stupid.
"Well, Gabriel?" My father said, his words pulling out of my thoughts.
"I'm sorry." I said.
My father narrowed his eyes at .
"Is that it?" He asked, an edge to his voice.
I nodded.
"Anything more than that would just be an excuse, and there is no excusing my actions." I clenched my free hand. "I'm sorry for doing sothing so stupid and I'm sorry for…" Tears pricked my eyes and I choked up. "I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you."
Fuck. Who knew that apologies could be so difficult? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them again, I found both of my parents staring at .
"Why did you do it?" My father asked. "Why did you risk your life like that? Was it because of the succession?"
Succession? Oh! I had almost forgotten about that. For the Houses, the younger scions of each House competed to beco the next patriarch/matriarch. This was to ensure that only the most worthy candidate beca heir. While the scions from the main family were favored, every scion of the House was an eligible candidate. They proved their worth by mastering powerful spells, earning rit through deeds, or forging useful connections.
"No." I said, shaking my head. "I didn't care about becoming heir. I just wanted to beco a worthy scion of House Sturm, like Kaylee, instead of an embarrassnt."
Kaylee Sturm was my younger sister. Unlike , she had a great talent for magic. People adored and praised her for it. They often compared to her, in a negative light of course. Unlike , she was the pride and joy of our House.
Like with my parents, my relationship with Kaylee was complicated. We used to be close, when we were younger. However, as anger and resentnt consud , I grew cold and distant towards her. While I never hated her, I envied her. It was as if she was blessed with everything I ever wanted, leaving with nothing.
When she heard this, my mother's expression faltered. Guilt and sha filled her eyes.
"Oh, my child," my mother said, "You are not an embarrassnt. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool."
I snorted.
"Then House Sturm is full of fools." I said.
My mother's expression darkened and she emanated killing intent.
"Yes, it is." She said, her tone matching her expression. "It's ti we cleaned house and got rid of them."
I stared at her in shock. There was no mistaking what my mother ant by this. Was she always this bloodthirsty?
My father gave my mother's shoulder a squeeze. When she looked up at him, he gave her a brief shake of his head. My mother clicked her tongue in disappointnt and looked away from him.
"Under normal circumstances, I would punish you for your foolishness." My father said, turning towards . "However, that won't be necessary, considering what happened."
Ah, he was referring to my shattered magic circle. Like with a mana core, a shattered magic circle was a crippling injury. It was impossible to repair one. However, I didn't care. In fact, I was relieved. I would rather have a shattered magic circle than a shattered mana core. This ant I could still form a mana core and start cultivating.
While I didn't have any talent for magic, I had imnse talent for martial arts. I was born to be a warrior instead of a wizard. Unfortunately, Lumina didn't have warriors and martial artists, so I didn't know about my talent until I reincarnated on Earth and t Teacher. She showed the truth. Thanks to her, I realized my potential and beca an S-ranked hunter.
"Don't despair, Gabriel," my mother said, "I will fix this. Just leave everything to ."
I gave my mother a complicated look. A part of wanted to tell her that I really was fine. However, I doubted she would believe . Well, if I explained everything to her, maybe she would. The problem was, I didn't know how either of my parents would react. It was best to keep the truth to myself for now.
I would tell them the truth, eventually. Just not right now. Later, after I grew powerful enough to ensure self-preservation.
"I'm fine, Mother." I said. "I know it's impossible to repair a shattered magic circle."
She regarded with the sa terrifying intensity that I saw earlier.
"Trust ." She said. "I will fix this."
Despite my reservations, I nodded.
"Good." My mother said. "I'll need to make so inquiries."
"We'll also need to contact the Church of the Sun." My father said.
My parents shared a look and nodded with one another. I looked between the both of them, confused.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Why would you need to contact the Church of the Sun?"
My mother shook her head.
"Don't worry about it for now." She said. "Instead, tell your thoughts on marriage."
I gaped at her, my jaw dropping. The sudden change in topic gave ntal whiplash.
"What?" I asked, flabbergasted. "How is that relevant?"
"You'll find out." My mother said. "Believe when I say that the right marriage will fix all of your problems."
I opened and closed my mouth several tis, before looking at my father. Was this so kind of prank or joke? However, when I saw the expression on his face, I realized that they were both being serious about this. Suspicion blood in my heart.
"Is this a roundabout way of getting rid of ?" I asked, unable to help myself.
"No!" My mother said. "Of course not. Your father and I would never do that to you."
I gave her a skeptical look. As much as I wanted to believe her, I couldn't help but have doubts. Without a magic circle, the only value I had left to House Sturm was securing an advantageous marriage. By marrying off to another family, House Sturm would kill two birds with one stone. They would get rid of their embarrassnt while gaining benefits.
As much as I didn't want to believe that my parents would do such a thing, I knew what kind of society we lived in. House scions didn't marry for love. They married to secure alliances, seal business deals, and so on.
There were exceptions, such as my parents. They married each other for love, despite opposition from my mother's House. They threatened to sever ties with her. This ant cutting off all contact and financial support. In other words, she was dead to them. When my mother married my father anyway, her House followed through on their threat.
The problem was, exceptions were just that: exceptions. Most House scions married for the sake of their House. As much as I wanted to marry for love, I knew that the chances of that happening were low. This wasn't Earth. Different world, different rules. If I wanted to avoid an unwanted marriage, I needed to prove my worth sohow. That, or run away.
"Can I give you my answer later?" I asked, hoping to buy ti. "I'm feeling tired and I'd like to rest."
That wasn't a lie. This conversation with my parents drained both ntally and emotionally. That, combined with my current state, left feeling exhausted. Right now, I wanted to go back to sleep.
Ugh, I hated being so weak. Unlike my father, I neglected my body during my first life. I never saw the point in exercising, since I wanted to beco a proper wizard. That negligence was coming back to bite in the ass.
"Very well, Gabriel." My father said. "We shall leave you to your rest."
"Thank you." I said.
My parents turned to leave, though my mother wore a reluctant expression on her face. However, before they took more than a few steps, my father stopped in place. My mother and I gave him odd looks. A mont later, he whirled around and marched towards . His actions caught off guard, and I had no ti to react before he pulled into a hug.
"I love you, Gabriel." My father said. "No matter what happens, that will never change."
Before I could say or do anything in response, my father pulled away and marched out of my bedroom. I watched him go, feeling bewildered. My mother, on the other hand, seed amused by my father's actions.
"It may not seem like it," she said, "But your father is a shy man. His stern exterior hides a warm heart. He just finds it difficult to express his emotions."
I stared at her, unable to respond.
"Sleep well, my son."
With that, my mother left. I stared off into space. Yeah, I never knew my parents at all. Not really. I resolved to change that. This ti around, I would be a better son to them.
However, first I needed to recover my strength. I could worry about everything else after that. So, I lied down, closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
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