He doesn't know why but it seems familiar to him. He tried to remember which room is it and who was there. But then he remembered that he was the one occupying the room above the boys' bathroom.
Without hesitation, he left his unfinished business and started running to his room anxiously.
His face darkened as he imagine his son being harassed by someone. He didn't mind0 the stare of the foster carers and he didn't care about children being affected by his bad energy right now. The most important thing in his mind was his son.
'I will save you!...'
He slipped accidentally as he climb the stairs but he didn't let that prevent him from coming to see his son. He used his right hand to grip the handrail as he climb with difficulty.
Anna was one of the foster carers that were stunned by the sudden panic run of Victor. As she was the fiancee of Victor's once, she knew something is wrong with Victor. The only time he saw Victor act like that was when he saw her with blood.
'I hope nothing happened too serious...'
She ran after Victor. She was concerned about what made Victor panic like this. She hopes nothing happens so seriously.
*thud!*
She reached where he remember Victor ran to. But just as she was about to reach the end of the hallway and turned right to start climbing the stairs, she was instead welcomed by Victor who was falling down the stairs.
"..."
She just stares at Victor as she was still stunned at what happened just now. While Victor didn't notice her as his eyes were empty as he stare forward him. He reached his hand to grab the handrail and step forward.
Anna witnessed everything just happened. She was stunned at what he saw. Even then she was still his fiancee, she did not ever see an empty expression on Victor's face. She knew something was wrong with Victor.
Victor was contemplating the question he always wanted an answer: did I had ever do wrong in my life?
His downfall start when he was quitted his work in a certain company. Since then his life turned over, he cannot find a job, his savings were drained out, everything he owns somehow vanished one by one but Anna...
'Anna was the one who raise me, she was my only one, my other half who lighted up my darkest times'
He still remembers clearly when he and Anna met.
---
The sky was blue at that time. The sun was at its brightest but it's seems gloomy to a certain man - Victor.
He was just kicked out by his tenant for not paying rent for months. He walked through the alley carrying his baggage. It was one little baggage but it seems heavy to him. His chest felt heavy like there was a weight pulling him down.
With chin on his chest, he walked through the alley as he drag his baggage on the ground forward.
The sunlight shone on him as he was near the exit of the alley. With a face dark and gloomy, contrasting the bright sun above him.
'So warm...'
He raised his head at the warmth he felt. It was warm and comforting somehow making him have hope in life... But that hope was about to be erased.
Three men with each having a knife in their hands walk towards Victor with nefarious intentions. One was buff, one was chubby, one was thin.
The buff guy walk towards him as he walked with his hands in his pockets.
"You seem lost... why don't you let us guide you?" the Buff guy said smirking as he hold the knife in his pocket.
Victor is really lost just what the guy said but he also knows their intention was bad.
'...has to get away here quickly!...' he thought.
*swish*
He started running in the opposite direction of them while carrying his bag. He was fast as he was about to break through to Tier 1 magia. But the thin man was much faster than him and immediately prevented him from going forward that way.
"Hihihi where are you going, sad boy?" the thin man said as he laughed.
'So fast...' the thin man in front of him was faster than him.
The thin man a wind attribute magia was also about to break through to Tier 1 magia.
Seeing that his front was blocked, he turned his body around and ran in his right direction.
*swish*
Then, a chubby man landed suddenly in front of him.
*Boom!*
Because of his heaviness, he made the ground crack and sink slightly. Victor didn't admire that as he just wanted to get away from here quickly.
He turned his body once again to his right but the buff guy was already there.
"Where ya' going, little guy?" the buff man said as he walked normally in his direction.
"Huff... huff... huff" Victor was gasping for breath at the exhaustion from running. His breathing was slow as well as his heartbeat.
He looked over to see where the sound came from. After seeing that it was one of the came, he clicked his tongue at irritation then he ran forward in his right direction again.
*swish*
He accelerated his speed even more by using all his strength. He wanted to quickly get away from this alley at once and immediately call for help.
His sweat flew behind him as he run. He was gasping for breath every step he took and his heartbeat intensified as he go on.
"huff... huff... huff"
He was too focused on running and didn't know what was happening to his surrounding.
*swoosh*
Suddenly, he felt a wind beside him. The wind touched his face lightly and he smelled a fragrant like a field of roses not strong or light. He unconsciously stops running to look where the smell came from.
There he saw a woman in a red dress. She was beautiful yet even more stunning in that red dress. Every part of her seems to be colored red: her lips, her eyes, her hair, her shoes. While he was admiring the girl in front of him, the girl suddenly moved her lips and asked.
"...Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah... want to have lunch together?" Victor said unconsciously and added a question without notice.
"What?"
"What?" Victor said.
"I said are you okay?"
"Yes... no! we have to run they're coming!" Victor said suddenly then took the arm of the girl and run away together.
That was the start of their love. Unfortunately, he can only reminisce it as a happy memory deep in his mind.
'Anna was simply my catharsis in life. Alife-changing person I met accidentally...'
But now that they have broken up, Victor felt sadness and depression but because of Arledge it somehow alleviated to tolerable aching.
However, since then he and Anna had broken up, his luck seems to have plummeted suddenly and touch the ground. He lost his fiancee, his phone got stolen and his savings were emptied, he experienced all of those within 1 month.
Now, his son was about to vanish in front of him.
'I can't let that happen. Even if I defy my destiny, I will save my son no matter what... What if bad luck comes after? he will gladly take it in, money? take it! phone? take it! But a losing a person? I just don't want to lose something precious to me. Things value doesn't mat...' but as he was about to continue his thoughts, a voice seems to call him.
"...tor!..."
"Huh?"
"Wake up!..." Anna said loudly as he slap Victor.
*smack*
Victor who had just woken up from his thoughts was unexpectedly slapped to Jerusalem.
"....Anna?..." he said while holding his swollen cheek. He also felt throbbing on his back from falling down from the stairs earlier.
"... I was calling you countless times now. What are you doing of?" Anna said without even letting Victor say a word.
Victor was about to answer but suddenly remembered his son after Anna's last question.
"No!... Arledge!" then he started climbing faster than his original speed. He was basically jumping on the handrail of the stairs to climb faster.
'... at least answer my question before you leave! you bastard'
Anna was left behind again. She quickly followed Victor and immediately arrived beside him.
---
Arledge who was still in the room was woken up from his thought from the loud sound below.
'What was that?' he asked curiously.
His hearing was enhanced to a certain extent by the strengthening potion or else he wouldn't have heard that. He was deducing what happen on the first floor.
'Did the kids break some things? But I'm pretty sure that's not the sound of some things. Did something fall? most likely... Where do the sounds come from?... stairs... what something that fell on the stairs... a thing... If it's a thing it will not produce that low sound... a human... why did he fall... from slipping... is he an idiot to slip while climbing normally?... definitely running... why was he running?..." He came to the conclusion that a human fell down the stairs as he climb hastily. Arledge deduced all of that information by just listening once at the sound.
As he thought of that, he wanted to deduce more so he activated his thought machinery.
"Why was he running hastily? Because something happens above..." then he remembered himself speaking earlier.
'Oh f*ck! Did they discover me?' Arledge exclaimed as he thought that the man was Victor who heard him talk below.
He let himself fall on the mattress as he was standing. He intend to quickly get to bed without much movement included so he thought about it this way.
*thud*
'Ow ow ow ow ow ow...' he said as his head hit the side rail. He thought that the crib was big enough for him to fall without thinking much about it.
If it was before he drank the potion, he will fall without hurting himself but his height had increased as part of his change.
*Bang!* (door opening forcefully)
'Idiot is here!' Arledge thought as he turned on his not so excellent acting skills.
"Wahhhh!..." he cried but no tears came out from his eyes.