3 Prologue (3)

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A scream escaped the man's lips.

<Lips? >

His surroundings were different, weird even. Until a second ago, he was in the Luttrell manor, surrounded by fire, dead and charred bodies and a half collapsed building.

Based on the feeling below him, the man was on a bed, tucked in some sheets.

Sebastian prodded his surroundings with his hands until he found something resembling the button of a table lamp. He clicked it.

Soon after, a room appeared before him. There was a bed, on which he was sitting on, a small library, a desk filled with books and papers, a small couch and a TV in a corner.

<Isn't this…?>

Yeah. Sebastian guessed right. This was the same room he lived for 17 years, in the old Wells mansion.

"THIS IS MY ROOM!"

…

"HA!"

"HAHA!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

A maniacal laugh filled the room. A cluster of emotions gripping his mind and hearts.

"WHAT THE—HAHAHA—WHAT THE FUCK IS—HAHAHAPPENING?!"

If the man's scream didn't wake up the other mansion inhabitants, those laughters did, because Sebastian heard footsteps rushing down a stair.

He quickly jumped out of the bed, too used to people trying to murder him in his sleep.

That, of course, brought a lack of sleep, which made the man even crazier than he already was.

However, Sebastian realized there was something weird as he tried to prepare a skill.

"Ma—mana? Where the fuck is my mana?"

Then the door burst open. For a second, Sebastian felt fear. He felt unprotected, unsafe. Too used to danger. Not even what looked like his room was enough to calm his mind.

The problem was that when Sebastian saw who had just rushed down the stairs, his mouth fell.

"Sebastian, what is happening?"

In front of Sebastian was a woman. The last time he saw her was 28 years prior. However, she was exactly as he remembered her.

His mother, Mary, bore the same warm smile Sebastian remembered, a smile that seemed to cradle the weight of the world, yet never faltered in its comforting glow.

Her eyes, soft and brown, were the very picture of kindness, windows to a soul that had known both joy and sorrow.

They held a depth of understanding, a testament to her enduring spirit.

Her auburn hair, laced with strands of dignified gray, cascaded around her shoulders, each streak telling a silent story of the trials she had weathered to support her two children.

Despite the signs of time, there was a timeless grace about her, a serenity that spoke of resilience.

Her hands, marked by the callouses of hard work, were those of a giver, a protector.

Even the faintest touch from those worn fingers carried the promise of comfort and the reassurance of a love that had never once wavered.

However, Sebastian then remembered the moment he found her, cold and lifeless in front of their flaming manor, hugging Sebastian's brother's bloodied body while tears streamed down her unfocused face.

Sebastian was unable to speak. Too shocked to utter a word. Her mother was dead.

He remembered the day he found her as if it had been yesterday. She and her brother were the reason he went on a killing spree at the beginning.

"Sebastian?!"

His mother's voice jolted him out of his reverie. However, what came out of his mouth wasn't a word, but another laugh.

Sebastian's laughter erupted into the air with an increasingly maniacal fervor.

"HA!" It began with a sharp, almost mocking edge.

"HAHA!" It escalated into a chilling, sardonic amusement.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Finally, it spiraled into an uncontrollable crescendo of insanity, each "HA" more unhinged than the last, echoing through the chaos like a mad symphony of derangement.

His laughter seemed to embody the very essence of madness, a terrifying display of a mind unhinged by the relentless clash of his emotions.

Mary watched in terror as Sebastian's maniacal laughter echoed through the room.

The sheer intensity of it sent shivers down her spine, and she couldn't help but fear for her son's sanity.

She approached him cautiously, a slight tremor pervaded her voice. "Sebastian, are you okay? You're scaring me!" Of course, she didn't fear for her safety, but for her son's.

However, as the echoes of his laughter faded, Sebastian's response came with a surprising calmness.

He looked into his mother's eyes. "Mom, I'm okay. In fact, I feel as okay as I've ever been in my life."

Sebastian understood more than one thing as he stood there. What the pendant did was send him back in time.

That also explained something else. The pendant was no mere trinket, no useless junk, as everyone thought.

His father kept it on him at all times because, whenever he was in a thought spot, the pendant allowed him to go back in time and solve any problem he had.

But if that was it, why was his father dead? Based on that, shouldn't have he used it to save his sorry ass and avoid death?

At that moment, Sebastian felt an overwhelming urge welling up within him.

He moved closer to his mother, his heart heavy with emotions. With a gentle and nostalgic longing, he enveloped her in a warm and heartfelt embrace.

This was a blessing. No. It wasn't. That was the work of a man, it was because of his father. That man was a fucking badass. Thanks to him, he was able to see his mother alive again, untouched by the tragedy that had befallen her.

In that tender embrace, he held onto the memory of a time when their love was unbroken and their world was still whole.

"Are you sure you are ok?" Mary asked.

"Yeah. I'm a little hungry, though. Do you mind making me something quick to eat?" He was eager to taste her mother's food.

"Didn't you eat already? I clearly saw you stuffing yourself with 300 hundred grams of meat!"

"Yeah. But my appetite came back again."

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