"What? Is it leg day?"
Jonathan joked.
Eleanor, however, only stared at him and—
"It’s not the time to joke, have you ever seen him avoid the gym before? Something must have happened."
She fought for her son.
Then she turned back to Lucian and—
"Are you alright?"
She asked.
Lucian’s lips parted, he had no idea what to say.
Jonathan frowned as well.
"Lucian?"
Lucian stared at them.
His chest started to hurt, and the pain was... worse than any other pain he had felt so far.
Far worse.
"Sit down."
Eleanor spoke as she gently sat him down.
Then she sat beside him and—
"Are you alright?"
She asked. Jonathan moved his laptop aside and moved towards him as well. Both were clearly worried, just like they usually were.
And as Lucian saw their faces, as he saw their worry, he...
He smiled.
Just so they would not worry.
"I am fine."
He knew none of it was real.
But...
He wanted it to be.
Just for a little while.
Just for... one short second...
He really, really, really needed it.
One extra second with the people he loved the most.
"Are you sure?"
Eleanor questioned.
Lucian smiled even more as he flexed his weak biceps.
"Of course I am. Just look at me, do you not see the change?"
The two looked at his biceps. There was no change, his arms were just as weak as they had been three days ago but...
"I definitely do see something this time."
Jonathan nodded.
"Right?"
Eleanor smiled as well.
Lucian chuckled at that.
He knew they were lying, but it didn’t matter. It was their way of supporting him, showing him that they were on his side, even if the entire world was not.
"Eat something light before you go."
"I really shouldn’t... they say I shouldn’t eat anything right before the gy—"
"They do not know anything, you listen to your mother."
Eleanor spoke in a strict tone.
"Stay here, I’ll bring something."
Lucian only sighed.
"Alright."
He nodded with a weak smile, giving up.
His mother went into the kitchen.
"So, Lucian..."
"Hmm?"
Lucian began talking to his father. For the next few minutes, everything felt normal. His father joked around, his mother’s angry voice came from the kitchen, and the three of them laughed together.
It all felt...
Natural.
It felt... real.
The strange nightmare was over.
Lucian was back with his parents.
Then—
Knock Knock Knock
A knock was heard.
Jonathan looked up.
"Who is it this early?"
Eleanor paused in the kitchen.
"I’ll check."
Jonathan stood up.
Lucian frowned at that.
For some odd reason, his heart started beating faster.
That knock...
He knew that knock.
Some part of him recognised it.
But...
From where...?
He did not know.
By this time, however, his father was already at the door. Eleanor was out of the kitchen, she had a frown on her face. When Lucian saw all that, for a brief moment, his entire body shuddered.
"Dad!"
He screamed without knowing why.
"Don’t open the door!"
"Lucian?"
Jonathan frowned.
When Lucian looked at him, his eyes widened in horror.
Jonathan had already opened the door and standing there was a tall, calm man with neatly styled hair and strange purple eyes.
The man looked at Jonathan, then at Lucian, then—
"Finally."
He smiled.
Lucian’s eyes widened in horror.
"NO!"
He screamed as his mind recalled everything that had happened, all at the same time. He rushed forward, trying to stop it, but the man was quicker.
Jonathan’s head rolled, and a fountain of blood burst from his torso.
"DAD!!!"
Lucian screamed as his body fell to the floor with a thud.
"LUCIAN!! RUN!!"
Eleanor screamed as she ran forward with a knife in her hand, just like she had before.
"MOM! NO!!"
Lucian tried to stop her, but his legs felt heavy, too heavy. He couldn’t move no matter how desperately he tried.
He watched as his mother’s body lifted into the air, just like it had before, then—
"AAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
She screamed.
"PLEASE!! PLEASE LET ME GO!!!"
His mother begged.
"MOM!!!"
Lucian watched it all, unable to move, his eyes turning red.
"MOM!!!"
"AAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Eleanor’s body was forcefully bent at unnatural angles.
"PLEASE STOP!!! AAAGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
She screamed even louder.
"STOP IT, YOU BASTARD!!! ATTACK ME IF YOU DARE!!! I HAVE WHAT YOU WANT!!"
Lucian screamed, his eyes becoming completely red.
"STOP!!"
He crawled forward, wanting to stop what was happening.
The demon did not care, he continued torturing his mother. Eleanor continued to scream, crying and begging to be released. Those screams echoed in Lucian’s head and he...
He felt helpless.
Again.
Back in the Training Hall, Vivienne watched Lucian in silence.
He was on his knees, his hands were pressed against the floor so hard that his nails had cracked, his breathing was uneven, his eyes were red, and his body was trembling nonstop.
And Vivienne—
When she saw no changes, no signs of his True Form activating—
She shook her head.
It was still not enough.
Lucian needed to feel more despair.
She activated the mirror once again. This time, the red light was even stronger. Lucian’s mind was forcefully brought back to the start.
This time, Lucian was sitting at the dining table, his father was sitting in front of him, drinking coffee while reading something on his laptop.
"Eat properly."
His mother placed a plate in front of him.
Lucian stared at the plate, then at her, and his heart shuddered.
No.
No, no, no!
He remembered.
He remembered what was going to happen next!
He remembered everything!
"NO!"
He stood so fast that the chair fell behind him.
Jonathan looked up.
"What happened?"
Lucian grabbed his mother’s wrist.
"We need to leave."
Eleanor blinked.
"What?"
"Now."
"Lucian, calm down."
Jonathan stood.
"No! We have to leave!"
"Lucian, what happened?"
His mother asked in a worried tone.
"Are you okay? Please don’t be like this, you are worrying me."
That sentence almost broke him.
Again.
She was worrying about him again.
But then—
Knock Knock Knock
Just as Lucian lost himself for a short second, the knock was heard.
Lucian’s face went pale.
"Hmm? Who could it be?"
Jonathan looked towards the door.
"I’ll check it o—"
"NO!"
Lucian screamed as he ran towards the door before anyone else could. Then, he pressed his back against it, making sure the door was never opened.
"Lucian, what are you doing?"
Jonathan was now even more confused.
"WE ARE NOT GOING TO OPEN IT!"
Lucian screamed but then—
His eyes widened in horror when the demon was now knocking on the window and...
His father was already standing near the window.
"DAD! NO!!!"