The Anomaly Beyond The System

’She was someone else... not her.’

Lucian thought inwardly as the fleeting image of the woman disappeared from his sight, before everything around him dissolved into darkness once again.

The woman...

She wasn’t Seraphina.

Even though it had been obvious...

The younger version of him had still run toward her as though he were certain he had finally found his mother, finally found his happiness.

But of course...

Happiness had always been fleeting... even more so for him in the past.

His consciousness was swallowed whole by the endless abyss surrounding him.

Absolute silence. Not a trace of light. Not even the sensation of his own body.

Only the familiar darkness stretching endlessly in every direction, almost like an infinite ocean with neither a beginning nor an end.

"..."

Lucian’s silent gaze drifted through the void. And despite everything that had just happened...

He didn’t utter a single word, though truthfully... he couldn’t, not even if he wanted to.

[...]

Akasha noticed his unusual silence, and for a moment, she found herself confused as it continued for what felt like hours.

[What? Won’t you say something?] Her puzzled voice echoed gently through his consciousness.

Lucian remained silent for several more seconds, long enough for her to wonder if he was deliberately giving her the silent treatment.

But then—

’I don’t really have anything to say.’ Lucian finally spoke, letting out a quiet inward sigh.

There wasn’t much left to say.

After all...

He had already known what was going to happen, although he didn’t remember every single moment down to the smallest detail.

For some reason, after experiencing those memories firsthand instead of merely recalling fragmented pieces...

He couldn’t help but feel sorry for his younger self.

The child who had hoped and wished for only two things.

His mother...

And her happiness.

He could still feel those lingering emotions buried deep within him—the emotions he had been forced to experience once again.

The overwhelming happiness of finally escaping that mansion...

Or rather, escaping the luxurious cage he had been trapped inside for so many years, imprisoned in something he couldn’t even describe as a life.

The excitement of seeing the outside world for what felt like the very first time.

And finally...

The fleeting joy that had filled his heart when he truly believed he was about to see his mother again.

Aiden—

No...

Lucian had once been so innocent that he truly believed he might find her if he simply left the house.

That he could meet his mother just by searching through a small street, which wasn’t even one percent of the world—especially when he didn’t even clearly remember her face.

Such an innocent... painfully innocent thought it had been.

Lucian’s lips curled into a sad, miserable smile.

But even then, even after finally escaping that purgatory...

He ended up getting struck by a speeding vehicle, not even getting the chance to find the only person he had been thinking about all his life.

But he didn’t really regret it.

Not even slightly.

Because that accident had become the very reason everything changed.

It was the reason he was rescued, the reason he finally experienced something that could truly be called a childhood.

That was also the reason...

He eventually became who he was today.

A vampire with a powerful bloodline... not a simple human who would’ve probably died pathetically during the apocalypse, bound by his paralysis.

’Though I did end up dying a pathetic death once.’

Lucian chuckled wryly, remembering the previous timeline when he had been stabbed by those ordinary street thugs.

But still...

He couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t showing too many emotions, something his System seemed to be noticing as well.

After a long while passed...

[Aren’t you angry toward your father?]

Her voice once again echoed through the endless darkness surrounding him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

’Hm? What kind of question is that? Of course I am angry.’

How could he not be?

He still remembered every beating, every act of torture—both physical and mental—that he had endured, every moment he had watched Seraphina and himself suffer.

Akasha could feel his anger raging through his emotions, though there was also a strange hollowness inside him, almost as though Lucian himself could no longer understand exactly what he was truly supposed to feel.

After a brief silence—

[And your mother?]

’I feel sad for her.

She didn’t really deserve a stupid son like me.

An ungrateful son who couldn’t even tell everyone the truth.’

He could still remember the trembling voice that had escaped his lips, the single confirmation that had kickstarted everything.

[It was because of your father. He pressured you... he blackmailed you into telling that lie. And even if you had told the truth, it wouldn’t have changed anything drastically.

Perhaps your choice at least kept her away from him.]

’I know.’

He knew that.

But there was also a part of him... a part that wanted her to stay with him no matter what, even if it meant enduring that man’s beatings for even more years.

Pathetic? Selfish?

Perhaps... he was both.

[And your mo—Seraphina... never looked unhappy about having you as her son.

She seemed like the happiest woman in the world after your birth.]

’I know that too.’

[It... it wasn’t really your fault.]

The words quietly echoed through the darkness.

But hearing those words, Lucian’s eyes inwardly narrowed.

’Then why...? Why the heck did you make me relive these memories?!’ His voice turned accusatory, carrying frustration and even anger directed toward her.

If she had simply told him beforehand that the memory fragment would force him to relive all the torture he had already suffered years ago, then he might have left that thing inside his inventory for all eternity.

[It was needed.]

A small internal frown appeared on Lucian’s face, though he didn’t really have much interest in asking her for the reason anymore.

’Forget it. Is the memory over?’

He tried looking around—or at least he attempted to—but having no physical body to move, there wasn’t really anything he could do other than silently stare ahead.

If it could even be called seeing, because inside this place, he wasn’t even sure whether he truly existed.

But then—

[Lucian...]

Akasha’s gentle voice echoed once again, sounding strangely soft, almost concerned.

[Don’t try to suppress your emotions too much.]

’Mm? What are you talking about?’ Lucian would’ve tilted his head right now if he could have.

There wasn’t really anything to suppress, since he was reacting exactly according to what he felt... or so he wanted to believe.

Already knowing what he was thinking, Akasha softly continued.

[Then stop crying.]

’Pft, I’m not crying, you idiot.

Seriously... what happened to you all of a sudden?

It almost feels like you’re the one who experienced those emotions.

Not me.’

His laughter echoed faintly throughout the darkness, though there didn’t seem to be any emotion behind it.

To Akasha...

It simply sounded empty.

Instead of replying to his answer, Akasha remained silent for a long while.

Then, she finally let out a long, exhausted sigh.

[Fine then.]

Almost instantly—

A translucent blue-golden screen materialised before Lucian, its faint glow becoming the only source of light within the pitch-black darkness for the first time since he had entered this place.

[You have completely absorbed the Memory Fragment.]

Lucian silently looked at the screen, not knowing how to feel after reliving his own memories rather than the ancient, useful memories he had been expecting.

’Nine years wasted... just for this...’

A part of him was happy because of how much he had come to know about his mother—about the gentle, caring woman named Seraphina.

But that feeling still couldn’t compare to the old scars that had been torn open once again.

Slowly...

The darkness surrounding him began to distort, and the endless void twisted like ripples spreading across water.

Lucian immediately felt his consciousness slipping away once again.

But just before everything completely vanished—

[Just remember...]

Her eerie yet melodious voice echoed in his ears, carrying an affectionate softness he had never heard before.

[Unlike your mother... I’ll always be there with you.]

For a brief moment, Lucian couldn’t help but feel as though a soft pair of arms had gently wrapped around him from behind.

Though before he could even understand the sensation... or the faint possessiveness hidden within her tone...

His consciousness had already been yanked away by those very hands, pulling him out of the endless darkness and throwing him back into reality.

***

Slowly...

Very slowly...

Lucian began feeling his body once again.

And unlike how he hadn’t been able to move it inside the memories...

This time, he could instinctively tell that he had complete control over it.

His closed eyelids twitched slightly before slowly opening, as if the lingering heaviness weighing upon them had finally been lifted.

The endless darkness dissolved into blurred colours.

Gradually, his fingers twitched before slowly curling into fists.

Feeling the familiar sensation of his muscles obeying his commands once again...

Lucian pulled himself upright, sitting up with a swift motion. He felt a strange heaviness inside him, along with an odd sense of lightness, as though the weakness that had once belonged to his unawakened body had completely disappeared.

"Haa..."

A soft breath escaped from between his lips before a small smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Finally woke up," Lucian mumbled quietly, feeling as though he had just awakened after sleeping for years.

Which was somewhat true in his case, since he had practically spent almost nine years inside those memories.

His voice came out strangely hoarse, though he didn’t even notice the change.

His mind was still slowly adjusting to the feeling of possessing his own body again.

But before he could fully bask in the relief and joy of finally returning to reality—

"Master Lucian?"

A flat yet noticeably confused voice echoed throughout the room, immediately pulling him out of his thoughts.

Lucian turned his head toward his left, his still slightly blurry vision settling upon the figure of a woman.

Her long black hair rested neatly over her shoulders, held in place by a maid’s headband, while she wore a perfectly fitted black maid dress, silently sitting on a chair beside his bed.

Her dark black eyes remained fixed on his, and a tiny, almost imperceptible frown had appeared upon her usually emotionless face.

Before Lucian could even say anything, the maid softly called out once more.

"Master Lucian..."

The faint puzzlement within her gaze gradually shifted into something that almost resembled concern, and after quietly looking into his face for another moment...

She softly asked,

"Why are you crying?"

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