(Season 2: House Dark) Hope you have fun reading. For more chapters, visit Patreon from the URL at the end note. We have around 14 premium chapters for RSTUM there.
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Captain Shady, better known as the Black Cobra, now goes by the name Leon Dark since his personality, identity, memories, motives, and goals became mixed with those of the new body he transmigrated in.
Originally, the world of a game, he woke up there after his epic death prior to him stealing the "Ring of Horus". His transmigration was mostly thanks to the powers of the ring but the mystery remains on how or why a game's world is a real world and he reincarnated as a side character that was doomed to perish.
Still, he acted upon his survival instincts, escaped the Academy, survived the slums, learned the basic sense of the new world, found a profession as a Mercenary, and lastly escaped the city to uncover the mysterious life of the previous Leon.
As he was…
"Alright, alright, hold up just a second here." One called for a timeout which startled Zero.
"Something wrong?" Zero asked.
"I know you're recapping but… really? Did he have to pursue the life of the previous Leon? Couldn't he just do his own thing?" One ranted.
"Just to be clear, I am not the author if you thought the name Zero has accounted for anything." Zero replied with absolute patience.
"I just don't get it, man." One sank back into his mass of cosmic energy, "It has been an unspeakable amount of time already, and as we wait here, this guy Leon is going to play family? Shouldn't he just go somehow to the mountains, train, become strong, or whatever?"
"Does that sound like good storytelling to you?" Zero asked.
"No… but…" One wanted to reply but Zero cut his words.
"No buts. I'll ask another question. Did you go to the mountains, train, become stronger, and become what you are at the moment?" Zero asked.
"Actually I did." One nodded.
"But you had a purpose already. In his current state, Leon has no attachments to anything let alone a purpose. All he wants is just a normal life of retirement. Don't you think it is high time to deprive him of such silly dreams?" Zero asked.
"Oh! So that's how it will work… to be honest, I was motivated from day one." One stroked something squishy as he spoke.
"I can already tell what those motivations were based on, you goddamn furry pervert." Zero spoke with a twitch of irritation.
"Thank you!"
"That wasn't a compliment!"
Anyway, that was that and this is now as Leon is traveling eastward with Vadim.
***
It has been a couple of weeks so far and due to his observations, Vadim couldn't stop smoking from tension.
Leon was smoking too. He was taking his prescription called the Golden Leaf herb as he had to inhale it through a smoking pipe that he acquired. This medicine was meant to sedate his strange emotions.
As Vadim was busy in his thoughts, Leon was also thinking of a related subject as the two men kept inhaling and exhaling together. On one hand, Leon was thinking of the things that kept happening to him, on another, Vadim was thinking of Leon's behavior as he had two weeks to thoroughly watch him closely.
Starting with Vadim, he was watching Leon day and night for both guarding and analysis. Guarding Leon was Vadim's duty which was assigned to him by the Duchess of Dark. In practice, he spent a long time with Leon nearing eight years but he was separated from the boy for another eight.
Should things be this strange then?
Leon had an array of strange behaviors, bad common sense, eyes full of wonder, a very stern day and night routine, flexibility to living in any condition or eating anything, adaptability to all situations, and most importantly a great mindset for combat, tactics, strategy, and hunting.
The feats one accomplishes with those talents are as high as the very sky itself but Leon's ability and magic are still a mystery since there is no magic he can't use.
But that was one fraction of what annoyed Vadim. More to the strange ability and adaptability, Leon had a peculiar way of eating, drinking, sleeping, and behaving in general.
Contrary to what others may think, he is well-mannered and speaks in a respectful tone to the general public as if he has no eye for status or social hierarchy. He is also sociable especially among other men as he is easy to mix with and always knows how to make a friend. During the past two weeks, they traveled with some caravans and met some mercenaries and villagers, as well as people who wanted to admire the great beasts both Vadim and Leon were riding.
Such a down-to-earth personality wasn't how Leon was raised till the age of ten or how he was expected to have lived for the past eight years.
Still, he can change 180° if he feels offended. He becomes some sort of a bandit and thinks of nothing but harm to whoever offended him. A few days ago, some merchant wanted to buy the Assassin Bison from him for a very large sum of money but Leon was not interested. That night, the merchant sent some of his men to steal the Bison thinking it was some docile creature but Leon kept watching, and even eating a fruit as the great beast tore through two men as if they were nothing. Leon wouldn't have stopped the Bison even if it killed the merchant but Vadim arrived at the nick of time and stopped the Bison that raged around.
Leon then escaped with the Bison to not get it reported to a local lord as a man-killing monster. It took a day for Vadim to catch up afterwards.
This attitude proved Leon to be the Chaotic Neutral type at his best since he lived by no code and acted on no moral basis most of the time.
As for the other habits, Leon acted as if he was used to camping outside as if he would eat anything presented to him, and he would sleep anywhere when it is time to sleep. Even the way he ate was rushed rather than classy or elegant.
It all made Vadim fall into deep thoughts.
People with amnesia don't change their common sense and habits. Still, eight years are a lot of time and are enough for someone to change, there was no use dwelling on it.
If Vadim asked himself, what are the similarities between this Leon and the one he once knew, the answer will be difficult. Aside from the looks, there is this one thing Leon seemed to still have and it is that burden he always carries in his heart.
In the past, Leon knew he was a weakness to all those who love him from a very young age. It was as if he knew things would unfold this way one day but now, he is no longer a weakness. It is safe to say that he is a powerhouse.
Then why does he always look at nothing and keep brooding a lot? He looks like someone who is completely lost and moves on the tiniest hint of guidance as if his only purpose is to merely make it to the next day.
Is it because he is not used to this power? Is it because he is not remembering anything? Or is it something else?
"What do ye wish for, Lad?" Vadim asked.
The question that bugged him for two straight weeks was now facing him head-on. He broke his vow of silence and spoke while brooding.
"I wish…" Leon spoke and just became silent after two words with a look in his eyes that he struggles for the answer more than Vadim.
Vadim almost looked away accepting the fact that Leon's memories are still a barrier.
"I wished for closure." He then spoke looking at the sky, "I was about to retire from it all… the running, the killing, the stealing… I just wanted to keep my life as it is and go somewhere quiet. It was supposed to be my last job ever."
Vadim couldn't understand but in those two weeks, this is the moment where Leon opened up the most. Still, was it a metaphor just now?
"There was this girl… she came to me before it all went down, she told me things that made me wish to live for… and then she died. So that wish is impossible. I don't know if I have the right to wish for anything again or just keep going with the days." Leon continued in a tired lazy tone.
"Ya talk like someone way older than ye are." Vadim narrowed his eyes, "Lad, what did those McKormick bastards do to ya?"
"Who?" Leon woke up from his brooding to the words of Vadim and looked at him in confusion. It seemed that he said more than what he should have.
Meanwhile, Vadim walked to him.
"The McKormick family, the family of Lady Catherine." Vadim explained.
Leon made a more confused face.
"Yer stepmother."
"I have no idea who my stepmother is to know her family." Leon replied with an annoyed face.
Here he was ranting about his previous life and Vadim brings up Leon's previous life. It is not like it is not his life too but he holds more attachment towards the other side.
The fact that this world is a game world made Leon feel less attached. In truth, he thought many times that this life is nothing but a mere dream and he can just kill himself and escape it yet some painful and pleasant experiences gave him assurance about his reality.
But it is still not easy to accept. He didn't want to concern himself with those problems thinking that someone else will solve them but at the same time, realizing that he was deep to his nose in some trouble that he has no idea how to solve.
In a way, Leon put himself in a problem worse than what he is already in. He concerned himself about the life of Shady which no longer exists and discarded the life of Leon which is ongoing. He cried over the spilled milk and neglected what was important.
But he still realized that.
He knew he should focus yet his heavy heart caused him more pain. He turned to Vadim, a dwarf, a fictional character that somehow turned real, but a good man either way.
"Say, Vadim. What worth does the past hold?" Leon asked.
"Everything." Vadim immediately replied with an obvious face.
"I am not talking about the past which you and the supposed me spent together." Leon wryly shook his head, "I am talking about the pain, the suffering, the struggle, the fighting, the suffocating feeling that comes with each failure, and the small happiness that comes with each small victory. More importantly, the experiences that scarred us the most… what are they worth?"
The question was deep and the answer had to be very clear and careful. Vadim realized that as he held onto his beard and looked at the river they were sitting on its bank.
"To be honest, Lad, I wish that I could tell ya to forget all about pain and suffering but that's not how a man is made. I know ya've been through some tough times. I don't even fathom most of them but I can see it all over yer face. It breaks me heart. I'd want to tell ye to forget and live for a better chance but that thing whatever it is, the experiences that ye faced, it's everything. It's part of ya. It's who you are. The pain was made not to weaken us but to tell us one thing. You know what that is?"
Leon nodded.
"That we are alive." And he spoke.
"Damn right. Ye're alive. Ye can't just give up because ye lost. It is not fair to waste yer life in regret and depression. Look through yer pain, know what caused it so that you can be stronger when you face it next time. Part of me wanted to tell ye to forget about the pain and lean on me but… it ain't fair to ya. I want ye one day to look at whatever caused ya pain and dig your fingers in its eyes next time ya see it. And ya said you lost a girl, make sure you don't lose anyone again."
Leon smiled as he heard this good talk from Vadim. He would have asked "But if you've already lost everything?" yet the words never came out. He felt nostalgia and attachment… as well as a calling somewhere in this world.
"I have to see some things through." Leon nodded as he looked at the Ring of Horus on his finger.
"Whatever it is, count on me, Lad." Vadim said.
"Thank you." Leon nodded, "Now, what was that thing again about my stepmother?"
"Hmmm… Lady Catherine McKormick, Cathrine Dark now, her father is a Count. Initially, she was the concubine of the Duke after yer mother had a conflict with him, he made it that Lady Cathrine is the face of the family instead of yer mother but whatever he tried, he couldn't give the Duchess title to Lady Cathrine."
"So, that woman, who I was supposed to be under her care for the past eight years, had done things for the previous me?" Leon asked.
"Yes." Vadim nodded, "When ye were taken by the Duke, yer nurse accompanied ye afterward by the orders of yer mother. She was a good and kind woman. After less than a year, she was shipped back home dead."
"That bad?"
"Aye! Those who prepared her for burial said that her body carried injuries from whipping and had many dark bruises. Yer mother couldn't eat or sleep for a month after that thinking that she would lose you like that."
"Damn." Leon's face darkened.
If those people made a woman feel like that about her child, they are nothing more than scum.
"The McKormick family?" Leon asked.
"Aye. They are the ones gathering around Duke Dark nowadays. He married their daughter and he uses them in the highest position they can fill."
"What else?"
"Nothing much. They come from the West and have a few roots in the country's army and the Palace guards. The Duke made connections with them long before he married your mother. Their eldest daughter is Lady Cathrine and has a few children, Lady Cathrine has three children who are your half-siblings."
"Had the pleasure of punching one of them when I escaped." Leon said, "I don't remember his name."
"Dean Dark, the only son of Lady Cathrine, the second son and third child of the Duke."
"Aside from him?"
"Diane Dark, Dean's twin. She's the second child of Lady Cathrine, the fourth child of the Duke, and his second daughter. The twins are a year older than ye are. After that, there's Dawn Dark, the youngest child. That little prodigy made a lot of problems for ya."
"Problems?" Leon asked.
"She's younger than ye but was born with one of the best talents in the Family. The Rank S Talent, aye! People in the family kept comparing her to ye, especially the great uncles and the branch families."
"Whatever… but Dean, Diane, and Dawn. Why the D pattern?"
"It is a tradition among ye humans. Parents call their children names that start with the same letter just to strengthen their bond. Yer name is Leon, your eldest brother is Lance, your eldest sister is Lara."
"So on one side, we have Lady Cathrine with her children Dean, Diane, and Dawn, and on the other hand, we have Lady Annabelle with her children Lance, Lara, and Leon. The Duke favors Lady Cathrine and her children because… he thinks that Leon is not his child."
"He's a madman!" Vadim snorted.
"But something doesn't make sense. If Lance and Lara are the eldest two, then Dean and Diane were the third and fourth, how come I am the fifth when there is a sixth child?"
"Eh?"
"I mean, the Duke must have had a fallout with… you know… Lady Annabelle…" Leon said awkwardly.
"Your mother." Vadim corrected him.
"Alright, with my mother. The Duke had a falling out with her earlier than my birth judging by the fact that he has children with another woman." Leon said.
"He just had children with his second wife, it is nothing when it comes to Dukes. He should have had more children than that to be honest with ya. The reason why yer birth was necessary is because of the competition with Lady Cathrine. If the second wife had more children than the first, problems would arise."
"I see." Leon nodded.
So there is this kind of thinking in this world. On one hand, it was irritating but on the other, imaginable to exist.
In other words, Leon's mother was threatened by the fact that she was now on equal footing with the second Lady since the latter had twins. Her third child was the declaration that she is the superior wife but he turned up talentless. On the other hand, the second Lady has given birth to a very talented third child which was the point where she felt secure.
Was that all there is to it? A fight between two women over a man… a man who neglected his child because he was talentless even to the point of disowning him if not for the fact that he had a use as a bargaining chip.
Leon was suddenly irritated by the ideas that came to him but Vadim said something strange.
"I know it may sound like a plain old wives struggle but what is between your Mother and your Father has indeed crumbled before your birth even. I know it sounds strange but your mother endured a lot of humiliation even in the main house when the Duke was always spending time with the second Lady. The Dark Family is filled with poisonous snakes yet after all that time, she maintained a good grasp over them even with the Duke himself working against her. So far, there has been balance but your return will throw a wrench in everyone's plan. If you do not wish to take part in all of this, I understand…"
"I don't wish to take part in any of that," Leon said.
Vadim halted his words looking meaningfully at Leon who seemed to be a little bit hostile with his words.
"To be completely honest, I am not going to bother playing family with people I can hardly relate to but one thing is true." Leon turned to Vadim, "There's a Devil trapped in here."
He said so while pointing to his head.
"A Devil I believe only his mother can quieten."
Leon finally revealed his intentions. He indeed was a thief but he was also a man of action, he liked straightforwardness.
What he was after from the start was a method to stop that darkness inside of him. The darkness which makes him bitter and loses control of the old grudges and hostilities that the former Leon had.
He doesn't want to make a mistake like how it happened in the forest during the Goblin Raid or when he met Eleanor face-to-face for the first time.
If that wretched dead person lurking around his head can be pacified by the woman called Duchess Annabelle, Leon would meet her for just that.
He still feels that darkness swelling every time he hears about something that may upset the former Leon. If he let it out, it would lose control again thus he must always satisfy it but not oppose it.
With that, Leon no longer hid his real intentions. He looked at Vadim, whom he expected to get angry or pissed at him that he merely thinks of this journey or of Leon's mother as a way to end that thing in his head, but contrary to what he expected, the Dwarf was smiling.
Vadim was smiling so much, almost to the verge of tears.
"I knew it." He said, "Every cub will always return to his mother when he's wounded."
"It's not…"
"Rest assured, lad. I'll deliver ya to her even if it's the last thing I do."
Seeing Vadim acting all emotional, Leon had a sudden urge to cringe but suddenly the fishing rod in his hand started moving.
"Eh! It is… it is doing it." Leon immediately became flustered.
"Oh! Finally, I told you it needs patience." Vadim ran back to Leon, "Slowly, hold the line, pull against the direction it's trying to escape from… not too strong, the line will snap… just tire it off… river fish are tough as nails so tense your shoulders against it, it will win that way."
From the beginning of the day, Leon was learning how to fish from Vadim along with many other things.
The journey together is going to be recorded as one of the journeys that will forever alter the face of the world.
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