108 108. Hope And Regrets
"Mom! Look, I got my report card!"
"Oh? How did it go, son?"
"I aced it as usual! Hahaha!"
"Ah~ Co here, give your mom a hug! I hope Michael does well in his tests too."
"Don't worry, mom. He'll be fine. After all, he's my brother!"
At the entrance of a rather big, luxurious house, a duo of mother and son could be seen standing.
The mother was hugging her son, who had just returned from his school.
Watching the duo, standing a little behind them in the hallway, were two guys.
Yes, they were Samael and Michael. And by the looks of the things, they seed to be invisible since neither the lady nor the boy was noticing them.
"Is this what you wanted?" Michael asked his brother with a frown on his face.
However, Sam remained silent. He had an unreliable expression on his face as he stood there in utter silence, watching the scene in front of him play out.
Yes, Sam and Michael had successfully traveled back in ti.
But Sam concluded that it wasn't going to be enough to rely see the life he had lived replay in front of him to infer his true nature.
No, he needed to see whether he'd turn out the way he turned out had his life been different.
So that's what he did. He made his life different.
Or, in simpler terms, he changed so events in his life and created a different tiline.
For starters, in this tiline, as soon as Sam was born, the real Sam, or the Sam from the future, killed his father.
That event resulted in Samael's mother getting his custody. Hence, in this tiline, he experienced no childhood trauma.
In fact, he grew up happily with his mother and half-brother. Even his stepfather was a kind-hearted father figure to him.
In this tiline, Samael had everything that wasn't given to him in his real tiline.
"Yes, this is what I wanted."
After a long unbearable silence, Sam finally uttered those words to Michael.
"In this tiline, we are like true brothers," Michael remarked.
"Yes, yes we are," Sam nodded his head. "This tiline is so peaceful."
It really was peaceful. Unfortunately or fortunately for Sam, he couldn't live in this tiline.
You see, no matter what you do, you can't change the past since it's already set in stone.
If you try to change it, you'll only end up creating a different tiline with a different version of 'you' living in it.
That's what was happening here.
Although Sam did change the past, this was not 'his' past. This would never be his past. He could only see what his life would've been.
This was a 'What If?' situation, to be precise.
"So? Are you satisfied now? You see it right. Without your father's influence on you, you would've loved a normal life. You are just broke-"
Before Michael could complete his little speech, Sam cut him off.
"Let's watch for a few more years."
Yes, they've already been watching this tiline for about nine years now. Yet, both Sam and Michael looked like they hadn't aged even a day.
Of course, it was because Sam was keeping both their bodies and minds in optimal conditions.
At Sam's suggestion to watch this tiline for a few more years, Michael could only heave a defeated sigh.
…
"Hello, my na is Samael Rightwill. I'll be joining the warrior class starting today."
Turns out, in this tiline, without any negative influence on him, Sam turned out to be a decent person.
He, much like his half-brother Michael, joined the Hero Academy under the warrior class as soon as he turned 18.
"Wow, so I would've ended up coming to this academy anyways, huh?" Sam remarked. "It seems like there really is sothing akin to destiny."
"And by what we've seen, this Sam will beco a good hero," Michael, who was standing beside Sam, comnted.
-"What's your ability?"
One of the kids present in the class asked. To which Samael replied
"I can use telekinesis."
In this tiline, Samael wasn't given biokinesis by his father, so he developed another ability instead.
In this tiline, Samael could use telekinesis. Although it's not very powerful, Samael is very creative with this ability.
"Haven't we seen enough? It's proven now you weren't born like this. You were made into this person by your father. Had you not been born as his son, you would've beco like Sam in this tiline."
Michael, who had been watching over Sam of this new tiline, turned to his half-brother and spoke his mind.
"You would've turned into a kind big brother, a good human being, a passionate hero, and a loving son."
Michael was right. The Samael Gracefell, or rather Samael Rightwill of this tiline, was everything Sam could've been if not for his father.
But Sam wasn't convinced. He still believed that becoming what he had beco now was his true nature.
After all, he knew himself better than anyone else. He enjoyed killing. He adored suppressing. He loved being a god.
He knew that although those thoughts were drilled into him by his father, he chose to beco what he had beco all by himself.
Thus, he spoke.
"Let's watch for a few more years."
…
It's been 30 years now since Sam and Michael created this new tiline.
Till now, they have been closely following Sam in this tiline, watching his every move, monitoring every part of his life without a second's break.
Sam has been using [Concealnt] on both him and Michael during this ti duration.
Yet, till now, even 30 years later, Sam of this tiline showed no sign of becoming a villain or turning evil.
(Just move on, Sam. This is pointless.)
Even the voice in his head has been urging him to return to his original tiline recently.
After all, 30 years is a long ti.
"Just believe it, Sam. You are not an evil person. Your father broke you."
During this ti, Michael has not even once stopped believing those words. He kept on saying that to Sam every single day.
"You know, if you really want to be free from your father's influence, then return to our tiline. Return and fix everything that you've done. Bring back the people that you've killed and surrender. Plead guilty and repent. Please."
Sam, of course, acted like he didn't hear Michael talking. No way in hell he was going to do all that bullshit.
Besides, he still believed that he would see sothing interesting soon. So he kept his eyes on his target.
In front of Sam was a version of him but much older. Almost 12 years older.
He had disheveled black hair and a full-grown black beard and was dressed in a plain-looking hero suit.
In this tiline, Samael had graduated to beco a hero. But due to his simplistic ability, he wasn't able to beco a well-known one.
His half-brother, Michael, on the other hand, beca a renowned superhero on par with the likes of Scarlett Vampire, Lightbringer, and Starsuper.
Their situation was a contrast to what it was when they were children.
In their younger years, Samael was an academic genius while Michael always lived in his shadows.
But as they grew up and entered the Hero society, Michael took the spotlight, and Samael wasn't even allowed to stay in his shadows.
And today, after a hard day at work, Samael was returning ho with a tired look on his face.
He had black circles under his eyes, and he was reeking of alcohol. To forget his miseries, he indulged in alcohol.
Michael couldn't help but pity this version of Sam. He was nothing like the Sam he knew. This Sam has almost given up in life.
"Do you feel bad for him?" Sam asked, seeing the look on Michael's face.
"He looks so sad," Michael replied.
"Yeah, but the biggest reason for his misery is you. Or rather, this tiline's version of you."
Michael remained silent at those words. He knew Sam was right.
In this tiline, Michael went on to beco a great hero. He got everything while Sam was stripped of everything.
There was a girl both of them liked in the academy. Michael married her. Their mother visits Michael more than she visits Samael. Friends always surround Michael, while Sam's a loner.
Not only that, but even the general public knows the face of only one of the brothers, and that's Michael.
In this tiline, Samael Rightwill is nothing but a [C-Rank] hero sidekick.
Although Michael was pitying Samael in front of them, Sam knew better.
There was a look in Samael's eyes. Sam knew that look. It was a look of hatred.
After seeing that, Sam beca certain. "It's ti for a villain to rise."
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