The Anomaly Beyond The System

The following days didn’t become any better. If anything... they only grew worse, little by little.

First of all...

Seraphina had started becoming far more affectionate toward Lucian—toward his younger self.

She rarely left his side anymore, whether he was playing, sleeping, eating, or even simply sitting on the floor by himself.

She was almost always there beside him.

It almost felt...

As though she were desperately trying to make up for something.

As though she were trying to atone for a sin that only she believed she had committed.

Lucian couldn’t quite understand it. He was a bit confused by the sudden change in her behaviour—or rather, by her sudden clinginess—but the only explanation he could come up with was Damien’s increasingly worsening behaviour.

Ever since the day he had slapped his mother...

It was almost as if he had somehow convinced himself that he had gained the right to do it again.

Whenever something went wrong... or whenever he simply felt like it...

His anger would inevitably fall upon Seraphina.

Sometimes, the moment Damien stepped into the mansion in a foul mood...

Seraphina would quietly take her son into her room and remain there with him until Damien’s temper subsided, or until he returned to his own room or left the house the following day.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t remain locked inside her room forever, causing the incidents—or rather, the abuse—to happen every once in a while, unavoidable.

"Maamma... d–dada...?" Aiden softly mumbled as he clung tightly to the fabric of Seraphina’s dress.

Leaning against the closed bedroom door behind her...

Seraphina smiled gently.

"He’s busy...

Let us not disturb him.

Let’s play instead... shall we?" she said as she suddenly lifted him high above her head, drawing an excited laugh from the little boy.

Even though she could hear the knocking on the other side, she simply smiled at her son, laughing along with him.

Months quietly passed—though they weren’t as quiet as he wanted.

At first... it only happened once every few weeks.

Then... once every few days.

Before long...

It had almost become a routine—a habit for the man.

"Why...! Why are you running away from me!"

Damien’s furious shout thundered from the other side of the door just as Aiden watched his mother slam it shut with a loud bang.

"Haahh... haa..."

She hurriedly locked it from the inside before resting a hand against the wooden door, breathing heavily.

Several loose strands of hair had fallen across her face in disarray.

"M-Mom...?"

Aiden’s small voice came from behind her, immediately pulling her back to reality.

Blinking twice, Seraphina slowly turned around. A gentle smile naturally formed upon her lips, as though nothing had happened, before she quietly walked toward her son, who had already turned four years old a few months earlier.

By now... he had even learned how to walk, although according to Lucian...

His growth still lagged noticeably behind that of other ordinary children his age.

Watching everything unfold through his younger self’s eyes...

Lucian quietly watched as Seraphina sat down before Aiden on the edge of the bed.

A few strands of jet-black hair fell across her face, slightly obscuring it, but since the lights were still on...

He could clearly see her expression.

Her eyes... they were trembling ever so slightly.

So were her fingers.

They, too, were shaking.

Aiden tilted his little head before letting out a soft, confused sound.

His wide black eyes stared at her with innocent confusion.

Seeing that expression...

Seraphina’s tense face softened a little. She slowly reached out and gently cupped his cheek with her hand.

"What... happen...?" Aiden asked, struggling to pronounce the words properly.

Instead of answering, Seraphina simply smiled.

A gentle smile.

And a broken one.

But Lucian—looking through Aiden’s eyes—instinctively noticed something else as well.

’...A bruise?’

He muttered inwardly as he noticed a fresh patch of darkened, almost bruised skin visible along her forearm.

’When did she get it?’

His thoughts immediately spiralled into chaos. And after spending so much time trapped inside this memory, his mind had already been pushed to the brink, making his emotions almost impossible to control.

’That bruise...

When?

Did she get it just now...?

Yesterday...?

The day before that...?

A month ago...?

WHEN?!

AND WHY AREN’T YOU DOING ANYTHING?!’

His consciousness violently trembled as he looked at his mother’s gentle expression—or rather, her desperate attempt to maintain one.

Again...

And again...

That bastard kept hitting her...!

No matter what she did... no matter how many times she tried to protect her son, no matter how often she chose to walk away...

Nothing ever changed.

That bastard never showed her mercy, as if she had committed some unforgivable crime. The only thing he did was complain, justify his actions, curse at her, and then hit her.

The cycle repeated again and again, slowly crushing Lucian from the inside.

The frustration. The rage. The helplessness. Everything twisted together until even thinking properly became difficult.

Just as Lucian’s thoughts turned into a chaotic mess—

Bang—!

A deafening crash exploded against the door behind Seraphina.

The sudden impact made both mother and son flinch simultaneously.

"Seraphina...! Open the door!"

Damien’s drunken voice thundered from outside as he repeatedly slammed his fist against it, causing the entire frame to tremble slightly.

Seraphina’s body instinctively shook.

But the moment she saw her son’s frightened yet confused expression, she immediately forced herself to calm down.

Before worrying about herself...

She comforted him first, desperately trying to keep herself composed at the same time.

Her icy-blue eyes were filled with fear—a fear Lucian couldn’t tell the exact source of.

Was she afraid...

For herself...?

Or...

For him.

...

Even as more time passed...

Nothing became easier—not even a fucking single bit.

Life only grew harder for both the mother and her child.

As the physical and mental abuse inflicted by his father continued to worsen, Seraphina gradually stopped leaving the house altogether.

Before long, it was almost as though she had become a prisoner within her own home, bound by invisible chains.

She had even tried talking to Damien’s parents, and to her own...

Perhaps foolishly hoping they would help her, or try to stop their own son.

But all they ever gave her in return were taunts, always taking Damien’s side.

One side because they were his parents and loved their son...

The other because they had been bought by the money that bastard kept sending them—people who didn’t even care about their own daughter or grandson.

Fortunately, since Damien spent most of the daytime working, busy with his ever-growing business...

Seraphina was at least able to send Aiden to school without too many problems.

Though...

The real nightmare always began at night—or whenever Damien, by some unfortunate chance, returned home earlier than expected.

Emma, the housemaid, had long since resigned, explaining that she had found another job somewhere else.

Where she had gone, Lucian didn’t know.

And during all this time...

He could only remain trapped inside his younger self—a spectator who could do nothing, unable to move unless Aiden himself wished to.

He couldn’t even skip through the long, arduous passage of time, forcing him to endure every moment while mentally trapped inside this memory.

And that... was painful.

Especially after seeing Seraphina like that, after watching her suffer over and over again.

Even the innocent little boy had gradually begun to understand the horrifying reality inside their home.

Before long, he had come to understand one simple truth.

His mother loved him, very, very much.

And...

That monster... that bad man kept hurting her, kept hurting both of them.

The little boy sobbed every time he saw the bruises spreading across his mother’s face, or the wounds covering her arms that were slowly turning into scars.

Scars that would never fully heal.

But besides crying...

’I never... did anything else...’

Yes.

Lucian was being a bit too harsh on himself.

After all, what could anyone truly expect from a seven-year-old child?

But he didn’t really care about any of that.

The only thing that mattered was that...

It was his fault...

Because this was... just his memory.

Every single moment unfolding here... was just a reminder of what he—of what Lucian—had failed to do.

Or rather, a reminder of everything that had happened right before his eyes.

Still... not every memory was painful.

There were happy moments too.

Moments when his mother lovingly cooked delicious meals or baked tasty cookies.

Moments when she fed him... and sometimes when he innocently insisted on feeding her instead.

Moments when she sat beside his bed, reading bedtime stories... while sometimes quietly falling asleep even before he did.

There were even times when Lucian almost smiled, almost laughed—at least inwardly.

Since he still couldn’t control his physical body.

But of course...

It almost seemed as though fate itself refused to let those precious moments last.

Because those bittersweet days...

Those peaceful memories spent beside his mother...

They were slowly approaching their end.

... ... ...

Seraphina and Aiden were currently sitting together on the living room couch.

Aiden rested comfortably against her chest while Seraphina gently read through one of his schoolbooks.

Just as she always did... she patiently helped him study.

"You have to pronounce the word on this line like this..."

Seraphina’s soft voice reached his ears.

She was patiently teaching him because, even after all these years, he still stumbled over a few words while reading.

Aiden sat on his mother’s lap, leaning back against her as he listened with complete attention.

Or at least tried to, since he had to do his best to keep his eyes open and not doze off.

Seraphina noticed his head slowly tilting forward.

"A few more minutes... then we’ll go to bed."

"Hm..." Aiden nodded sluggishly.

The room remained peaceful, with only Seraphina’s soft, gentle voice echoing through the quiet house.

Then—

"Looks like both of you are enjoying yourselves while I’m struggling my ass off."

A rough voice suddenly echoed from behind them, filled with restrained irritation, followed by a sharp click of his tongue.

The instant that voice reached her ears, Seraphina flinched violently.

It wasn’t even a conscious reaction anymore...

It had become instinct.

Meanwhile...

Aiden, who had been on the verge of falling asleep, immediately jolted awake, and fear instantly flooded his little heart.

’...’

Lucian...

He already knew what was about to happen.

Yet all he could do... was continue watching through the eyes of his younger self.

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