The next time Rion opened his eyes, he was standing in the endless darkness around him. His body was no longer transparent and all the pain in his body disappeared without a trace, which he was very grateful for.
As he exhaled, Rion saw steam coming out of his mouth, "Ah, it's cold. Even when I'm dead, I can still breathe and feel cold. Strange."
Rion sat down and looked around, "Now I'm free. Thank goodness."
A light appeared from Rion's right, causing him to turn his head. There was a large screen showing something he vaguely remembered.
He looked at it doubtfully, "That..."
The screen showed little Rion standing in front of his smoking mother with his head bowed.
"Does Mother love me?" He asked doubtfully without raising his head.
His mother just gave him a bored glance, "What kind of question is that?"
For a moment, Rion hesitated to answer, "Today, someone said something strange to me. He said that Mother must not love me because she let her own son earn money by begging."
"He is a strange person. He says bad things but still gives me money." Rion said when he saw the money the strange man gave him in his hand. After looking at it again, it was quite a lot.
His mother rolled her eyes unimpressed, "Of course, I love you. That's why I asked you to help me earn money, right? I trust you."
Seeing Rion looking at her doubtfully, she seemed to refrain from clucking, "I've never loved someone I didn't trust. You're special."
"Besides, you want to go to school, right? School costs a lot of money. Mother and Father can't make that much money by themselves."
"So Rion will be a good boy and help Mother earn money, right?" His mother asked, now looking directly at him, which gave him goosebumps for a moment.
Rion nodded strongly to his mother, "I'll do everything for Mother."
She seemed satisfied with his answer and looked away from him. Rion paused and hesitated before he finally whispered.
"Rion loves Mother too."
There was a moment of silence before his mother answered his words without looking at him, "Of course, silly boy. I'm your mother."
Rion was silent as he saw flashes of his long-forgotten memories. It reminded him of his stupid question back then.
He sighed in annoyance, "How stupid of me. Of course, everything she said was fake. She just wants her money-making machine to be under her control."
Rion stared at the picture of his mother on the screen. Her words sounded different but the same as the last words he heard in ghost form. Sweet but meaningless.
"Even though her words were very sweet, she didn't mention my name. She just called me 'you'." He said unimpressed.
Now he stared at the picture of his little self. He didn't have as many wounds then as he had as an adult, but some were still visible under his long-sleeved shirt.
His mother always forbade his father to beat him for too long. The reason was not because she was worried about him, but because she was worried about trouble.
She was just afraid that someone else would connect the dots and report them to the police. Oddly enough, his father obeyed her at the time.
He looked closely at his little self, "I'm not smiling either. Maybe I realized it but didn't want to admit it?"
Rion sighed tiredly and leaned his body on his arms. He averted his eyes from the screen that had stopped at the last scene. He preferred to look at the darkness in front of him.
"At least she rarely uses corporal punishment on me. Unlike the other bastards."
After he said that, another screen appeared on his left. As he looked at it, Rion immediately groaned in annoyance at what scene was playing.
"I hate this." Rion grumbled as the screen showed his little self with his father. He hated this scene more than any other.
"You useless child!" His father shouted as he mercilessly beat Rion's little body with a broom.
Little Rion seemed to hold back tears but a few sobs escaped his lips, "Mercy, Father..."
He covered his head with his little arms. His entire body was already covered in bruises from his father's blows.
His father stopped his punch to kick Rion in the stomach, "Useless! How did you get caught? I taught you better than this!"
Rion sobbed as he held his sore stomach, "Sorry..."
His father clucked in annoyance and turned to leave. Rion looked at him with teary eyes, not having the energy to get up, but not wanting to cry because his father might get angry again.
"Don't you love me?" Rion said before he could stop himself.
His father stopped and turned to look at him. Rion shivered with fear at the sight of his father's sharp, predatory eyes.
His father chuckled loudly while covering his face, "Stupid son."
He walked over to Rion, who looked at him expectantly, thinking that his father would help him. But that hope was dashed when his hair was grabbed until he looked up in pain.
Rion looked at his father who grinned cruelly at him, "If you want Father to love you, then earn a lot of money and obey my orders. Understood?"
Swallowing, Rion nodded desperately, "Yes, Father."
Rion looked at his little self pitifully. He might have forgotten some of his childhood memories, but he still remembered what it felt like. Mostly pain and despair.
"Should I see memories of them even when I'm dead? It's annoying!" Rion complained as he laid his body down.
"Rion." He sat up in surprise when he heard a voice calling him. He turned his head to look for the source of the voice.
"Who?" Rion asked warily. There didn't seem to be a single person here besides him before an idea popped into his head, "Are you a god?"
A bright light appeared behind him and made him turn around. There stood a woman with long white hair, looking at him with a gentle smile. Her entire body glowed so brightly that it blinded Rion's eyes.
Rion looked away to avoid hurting his eyes, "So, you're going to take me to hell?"
A soft voice answered his question, "Why are you so sure you're going to hell, young boy?"
Rion shrugged, "I've never done anything good in my life. Of course, I'm going to hell."
"Rion..." This time, her voice sounded sad, almost making Rion feel guilty. He shook off his thoughts and decided to lie down again, ignoring the figure behind him.
Silence for a moment, "Are you satisfied with your life?"
Rion snorted mockingly, "Of course not. Who wants to live being tortured by their parents every day? Even my death is uneventful."
"How do you want to die?" She asked curiously. Rion thought about it for a moment.
"Perhaps die of old age? I want a peaceful death." He answered hesitantly. Not that he wanted a fancy death or anything like that. Just a painless death. He was tired of the pain.
"But look at the death I got. Blood loss and a blow to the back of the head. The funny thing is that my father was the culprit. Ironic, isn't it?" He said with a small laugh. A blow to the back of the head is a very fatal blow. It can even cause instant death.
The white-haired woman sounded hesitant when she asked next, "Have you ever been happy?"
"Never." He answered without hesitation.
"Not even a little?"
Rion snorted, "All my life, I felt only suffering. There was no happiness. I don't even remember laughing or smiling." He doesn't even remember knowing how.
"Forgive us." Her voice sounded even sadder than the first, making Rion's eyes wet. He blinked a few times to get rid of the water in his eyes.
"For what? You decide what my fate is. I have no right to protest. I'm just a human being."
"Do you have any dreams?" The question caught him off guard this time. Dreams? He never thought about them because he wasn't allowed to have them.
"I never thought about it, but I like stars. Maybe a job related to the stars? Like Astronomer?" Rion replied with a small smile.
He remembered the nights when he would sneak up to the roof just to look at the stars. It relaxed him, if only for a moment.
Without Rion noticing, the gentle smile returned to the woman's face, "So, what is your wish, Rion?"
"To have a family and to be happy with the people I love and who love me." Rion answered without hesitation. That was what he had always wanted but could never have.
The woman closed her eyes with a gentle smile that had not yet faded, "Alright."
"Time to go? I'm ready." Rion rises from his lying position. He stretched his body a bit before he left.
When Rion turned around, he was immediately enveloped in a gentle embrace that made him wide-eyed with shock. His vision was now covered with long white hair.
"We hope you find happiness, Rion."
The last thing he saw was the starry golden eyes before the light spread across the woman's body, illuminating Rion until he closed his eyes. A bright light shone on both of them until they disappeared from the void.