The Anomaly Beyond The System

"Just today..." Damien’s voice echoed throughout the silent living room.

"A major client denied our deal, then handed the contract over to another company instead.

I tried everything I could, but..."

He let out a faint, frustrated sigh, his sentence trailing off as his gaze settled upon Seraphina, who still remained seated on the couch—almost as if she were frozen in place.

Her back was still facing him, and she still hadn’t moved.

Despite hearing his sorrow-filled words, along with the hint of frustration in his voice...

She gave no response.

Instead, her arms slowly tightened around Aiden almost instinctively, as though embracing her son was the only thing keeping her calm.

The little body quietly peeked over her shoulder, his innocent black eyes landing upon Damien with fear visible in them.

Then—

"What do you think about it...

Seraphina Cross?"

The moment those words left his mouth—

Lucian immediately felt it as his mother’s body suddenly shivered violently.

Her fingers tightened around his back, and the sudden pressure became almost painful, almost enough to make it difficult for him to breathe.

Confused, the little body slowly turned toward his mother.

Meanwhile, Lucian...

He looked into her eyes.

Those previously icy-blue eyes had long since lost the determination they had once held.

Instead, they were filled with fear, and there was something hollow in her gaze, something... broken.

It had been a long... really long time since Lucian had last seen that expression on her face.

The face of someone trying to overcome her fear, trying to fight against it.

Unlike how she had once shouted at him, unlike how she had stood her ground at the beginning...

There was no such strength left in those trembling eyes.

Because...

She had already given up.

No one would come to help them—not even her own family, who had sold her to this very man.

And she knew he held leverage over her, because he had previously told her that if she resisted too much...

Then he would beat her son just as he had beaten her.

Lucian already knew what was happening—or at least what was about to happen.

This was the memory he could never forget... not even a single second of it—not even if he tried to.

Slowly, he let out a quiet sigh—a sigh that echoed only within his own consciousness.

’Mom...?’ he muttered inwardly, remembering the words he was about to speak.

And just as he had expected—

"M-Mom...?" Aiden muttered quietly, his little fingers nervously clutching Seraphina’s clothes, trembling in fear.

Hearing the child’s voice, Damien’s gaze shifted toward him.

"Your mother seems to be a little out of it. Let us help her, shall we?"

Aiden simply looked at his father, confused.

But he didn’t respond.

He didn’t know how, or what he meant by that.

Seeing the lack of response, Damien clicked his tongue.

"Tch."

Without another word, he slowly began walking toward them, each heavy step echoing throughout the quiet house.

Seraphina remained completely still, despite him already reaching behind her—

Then—

Everything happened in an instant.

Damien’s hand abruptly shot forward, and before Seraphina could even react—

"Aaaahhh—!!"

Her scream tore from her throat as his fingers violently yanked at her hair.

Hard.

Before Aiden could even understand what was happening...

He was already thrown out of his mother’s lap, crashing onto the polished marble floor with a dull thud.

The back of his head struck first, and a sharp pain immediately shot through his skull.

His vision blurred. His eyes instinctively squeezed shut as a painful cry escaped his lips.

Yet...

His cries were instantly drowned out by Seraphina’s.

"Aiden...!"

Her voice cracked, both in pain and fear.

"You... Leave my son alone...!

Hit me... Hit me as much as you want...

But leave him—!"

"You are still arrogant, huh?!"

Damien’s furious voice roared across the room.

Lucian couldn’t see anything properly, so he couldn’t clearly make out what was happening.

Aiden remained curled up on the floor, holding his aching head.

Though... he could still clearly hear the voices, the violent scraping of furniture, his mother’s cries, and Damien’s furious shouting.

More than a minute slowly passed, each second feeling unbearably long to him.

Eventually...

"M-Mom...?" Aiden’s weak voice finally escaped.

Still dizzy, he slowly pushed himself upright. His tiny body trembled, and with one hand still pressed against his head...

His tightly shut eyes finally opened as his gaze instinctively turned toward the commotion.

And the moment he looked at the scene before him...

Aiden froze.

Completely.

His innocent black eyes widened to the point they couldn’t widen any further.

Horror completely filled them as he saw his mother lying curled up on the floor, instinctively wrapping an arm around her stomach.

Her body trembled uncontrollably as his father’s—that monster’s—boot suddenly lifted before slamming directly into her stomach.

"Arrrghhhhh—!!"

A cry filled with agony burst from her mouth, and her body curled even tighter.

Tears streamed endlessly from the corners of her eyes.

She desperately tried to endure it.

She truly did.

Her breathing became uneven, almost broken, as if even drawing a single breath had become unbearably painful.

No matter how desperately she tried to bear it...

The pain...

It was simply too much.

"You whore. I spend every single day working myself to death, doing everything I can to earn money... and what do you do?"

His eyes glared at Seraphina, lying helplessly on the floor.

"You sit inside this house, my house, sitting on the couch all day with your pathetic kid!"

Then—

His boot slammed into her stomach once again, and her muffled, choked cry resounded in Aiden’s ears.

’...1,227.’

Again.

Another kick landed.

’...1,228.’

"M-Mom...!" Aiden suddenly cried out.

Lucian felt his tiny body move on its own—driven by the little boy’s will.

Fear, panic, horror... everything flooded him simultaneously as his pupils shook violently.

"M-M-mom... what...?" His voice broke.

Barely able to steady himself...

The little boy forced his body to move, and without thinking, he ran.

"Mom—!"

Hearing the child’s voice, Damien slowly turned around.

His emotionless eyes quietly settled upon Aiden, but the little boy didn’t even notice as he ran toward his mother.

Reaching her side, Aiden immediately dropped to his knees.

His eyes—already red—welled up as tears began streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks.

"M-M-mom...? Mom...?! W-wake up... m-mo..."

He called out to her in a shaky, desperate voice as his tiny hands reached toward her trembling body.

For a brief moment, Seraphina didn’t move.

Her ears continued ringing from the countless slaps she had already endured. Her mind struggled to remain conscious.

Everything felt distant.

Blurred.

Then...

Very slowly...

Hearing her son’s sobbing voice...

Her half-lidded eyes regained the slightest hint of clarity, then slowly shifted, trying to find him.

But before she could even turn—

Another kick crashed into her stomach, this time a bit lighter, yet no less painful.

"Agk—Cough...!"

’...1,229.’ Lucian muttered within his own mind.

[What are you doing, counting like this...?] Akasha asked softly, since she had been hearing him do this for years, as though he were counting something.

Though she already had a very good idea of what he was doing, she still wanted to hear it from him.

’Remembering... I’m remembering,’ he replied in a strangely hollow tone, carrying neither fear nor hatred.

Only an eerie emptiness, as though every ounce of his being was solely focused on the scene unfolding before him, reminding himself countless times that it was just a memory.

Nothing else.

"Get away, kid. I’m talking to your mother."

Damien’s cold voice suddenly interrupted as his eyes lowered to the child before him.

The little body instinctively shrank, yet didn’t move away.

"N-No... y-y-you are hu-hurting m-mom." His tiny voice trembled violently as he barely managed to form the words, feeling his throat tighten unconsciously.

His heart pounded so violently against his chest that it almost hurt.

Still...

He refused to move, refusing to let his mother get hit by this bad guy again.

"Sigh... Forget it. Shouldn’t have expected anything from a whore’s son."

Before Aiden could even understand what he meant by those words—

Damien suddenly grabbed Seraphina by the hair, eliciting another painful cry from her before dragging her across the floor.

Then—

A sudden weight wrapped around Damien’s leg, making him stop.

Looking down, he saw Aiden, the little boy wrapping his tiny arms around his leg, clinging to it with every bit of strength he had.

His face was wet with tears and snot.

Yet...

He refused to let go.

Seeing that... Damien’s expression darkened with anger as he released Seraphina’s hair.

"You won’t listen... will you?"

The next instant, he violently swung his leg forward, effortlessly throwing the little boy across the floor.

Pain exploded through both Lucian and Aiden simultaneously.

Damien strode toward him and grabbed him upright. His fingers tightened around the kid’s brittle arm, pulling him away.

"N-No! L-L-Leave me!

M-Mom...!"

His body twisted and struggled, trying to stop Damien from dragging him away from his mother.

But being just a child, he couldn’t do anything with his feeble strength, which meant absolutely nothing against an adult.

Now...

Only his cries echoed throughout the room.

Hearing them, Seraphina’s entire body trembled violently.

"P-Pl... ple...ase... s-st-stop..."

The plea barely escaped her lips.

Though...

It went completely unheard.

’Now...’ Lucian quietly thought, feeling himself move while doing his best to break free from his father’s grip.

’...I’ll bite him.’

The next moment—

"Agh...!" Damien let out a pained grunt as Aiden sank his teeth into Damien’s finger.

"Fuck! You bastard!" he cursed loudly.

’...but it’s all useless,’ Lucian thought, knowing that his actions would change nothing.

At least... not for the better.

...

Outside...

In the real world...

Kanna looked at the sleeping Lucian, cold sweat slowly forming across her forehead.

Even now, she was keeping the room sealed, locking the entire space to prevent his killing intent from leaking out.

And yet, for some reason, the pressure inside continued to grow heavier and heavier.

Even Kanna couldn’t understand why.

The peaceful expression on his face...

It completely contradicted the monstrous killing intent pouring from his unconscious body.

...

Inside the memory—

Seraphina, hearing her son’s desperate cries, felt her cheeks grow warm as tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

Slowly...

With trembling hands, she pushed herself up.

Every movement hurt, and for a moment, even her ribs felt as though they had been broken.

Her legs shook violently beneath her weight, and the moment she managed to stand—

A wave of nausea surged through her body.

Pain exploded through her stomach, and bile rose into her throat.

"Haa... agkhaa... cough, cough...!"

After coughing violently and feeling her vision sway, almost as though she were on the verge of collapsing...

Her eyes suddenly fell upon a wine bottle resting atop a nearby table.

The same bottle Damien had been drinking from last night.

For several moments, she simply stared at it with unmoving eyes.

Then...

Her trembling legs slowly carried her toward it.

And before she even realised it, her fingers were already wrapped firmly around the neck of the bottle.

"Haa..." Taking another heavy, painful breath, she slowly turned around.

Then she began walking toward Damien.

’A-Aiden...!’

Her eyes widened in horror as she watched her son being struck by that man.

Each cry escaping his mouth felt as though it were tearing her own heart apart.

With trembling legs, she slowly walked toward them, forcing herself not to stop.

Each step felt like a struggle, sending another wave of pain through her bruised body.

But seeing her son in that state, she couldn’t stop herself.

She simply kept walking.

Because...

Her son was there, suffering because of her, instead of her.

’Just... a bit... more.’

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