"What is this…? What's happening? I survived? How? Why is it so dark?"

Questions flooded my mind as I struggled to grasp my situation. My heart pounded in my chest, my body swallowed by the shadows.

"Young master! Young master, where are you?"

A voice—familiar, yet impossible. A voice that should belong to the dead. My breath hitched as a shiver ran down my spine.

"This doesn't make any sense!" I screamed, my voice cracking under the weight of confusion.

"There you are, young master," she said, lifting a veil from my face. Tears rolled down my cheeks—tears I hadn't felt in what seemed like an eternity.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, her amber eyes filled with warmth and concern. Beautiful, kind… a sight I never thought I would see again.

"I must be hallucinating," I thought, grasping at reason. "It's normal for a dying mind to conjure illusions—to create comfort in its final moments. I've lived a life fueled by hatred and vengeance. Not that I regret it now."

I awaited death's cold embrace in the chaos I had both started and ended, perched atop a mountain of corpses—human and beast alike. A fitting end for one who walked this path.

"Why, you little—!"

Her voice cut through my thoughts, laced with anger.

Then—SMACK!

A sharp sting on my backside yanked me from my delirium.

"Gouya isn't someone you'd want to upset…"

Before my mind could fully process reality, another hard spank followed.

"Young master, when will you stop lazing around? The Patriarch—your mother—is expecting you! You'd better be ready before I return."

Gouya scolded, her voice firm as she turned and left, trying—and failing—to maintain the tough nanny act.

I sat there, frozen. My words faltered as I took in my surroundings.

This room… this room…

It was supposed to be gone—burnt away, reduced to nothing but painful memories.

"What—?!"

My gaze snapped to the mirror. My reflection stared back at me, younger, untouched by time and scars.

Then, realization struck like a lightning bolt.

"Did I… regress?"