Entering Beatriz's room, Bellator nervously stared at his mother.
'Does she know something?' Bellator pondered, worried that his mother had noticed he wasn't the original Bellator.
Sweat glistened on his palms as he tried to maintain a confident facade. Seated on her bed, Beatriz patted a spot next to her, indicating for him to join her. Opening her mouth to talk, she quickly shut it again as she pondered the most suitable way to inform Bellator.
*Tap*
*Tap*
*Tap*
Bellator's foot started tapping—a habit from his previous world. 'Old habits die hard,' Bellator thought, noticing his tapping foot. This usually happened when he was either very excited or very nervous.
'Will he hate me?' This thought echoed within Beatriz's mind, making it hard for her to speak.
Finally, after 15 minutes of silence, Bellator spoke. "Ma, why did you call me here? I'm sure you didn't want to just sit in silence," Bellator said, chuckling, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.
"Oh... Uhmmm," Beatriz, still unsure how to inform Bellator, stuttered.
Grabbing his mother's hands, Bellator gazed intently into her eyes. "You know you can tell me anything, Mom. Is it work? Are the Malums hurting you again? Because if they are, I don't care if your boss is an A rank; I'll kill him myself," Bellator said, worried about his mom.
"No, it's nothing like THAT. If it was, obviously, I would let you know," Beatriz proclaimed, trying to calm Bellator down as she saw a dark glimpse in his eyes.
'He seems different... More mature and dangerous,' she thought, looking at him.
"Then what is it, Mom? You can tell me anything," Bellator said gently.
"You know that I love you, right, Bellator?" Beatriz explained.
"I know, Mom," Bellator replied, waiting for her to continue.
"And that no matter what, you will always be my son," Beatriz stated, not maintaining eye contact.
"I know, Mom," Bellator answered, getting a little impatient.
"You've probably realized this, but you don't look like me or your father," Beatriz explained hesitantly, her eyes darting around the room.
By now, Bellator knew what she wanted to say. Well, he had known, or the previous Bellator had his suspicions, but he had never questioned it, not wanting to hurt his mother's feelings.
"You're adopted," Beatriz exclaimed, finally mustering the courage to tell the truth.
An eerie silence filled the room. The only sounds heard were Bellator's heart, which was beating loudly. He had known, always known the truth, but hearing those words from his mother's mouth let it sink in.
'Does he hate me? I've lied to him his whole life,' Beatriz contemplated, tears forming in her eyes.
Bellator stayed silent. The whole revelation had surprised him, even when he had known. But noticing the tears threatening to spill from his mother's eyes, Bellator responded.
"You are my mother, even if you didn't give birth to me. You and Dad both raised me as your own, and that makes you guys my parents," he said, smiling.
Tears exploded from her eyes as the secret that had been weighing on her conscience for years was finally revealed. Beatriz continued crying as Bellator held her in his embrace, his emotions also in turmoil as he accepted the truth.
After 15 minutes of crying, Beatriz finally calmed down.
"There's more," she said, fidgeting.
"Your parents or your biological parents weren't just normal people, or at least, your father is anything but normal."
"What do you mean by not normal? It's not like he's a demon," Bellator chuckled, trying to ease his mom's emotions.
"You see, your biological mom Caroline was one of my closest friends. She was also a maid for the Arctic family."
"While working there, she got pregnant—with you."
"So, you mean..." he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, your father is the leader of the Arctic guild," Beatriz responded.
Sitting in silence, Bellator digested all the information.
'THE Arctic family' echoed in his mind, as surprise etched itself on his face.
Rightfully so, the Arctic family was the leader of the Arctic Guild, the 7th-ranked guild in the human domain. Also known for their powerful ice affinity.
If that wasn't enough, based on the novel, Bellator knew the fate of the Arctic family, and it was something he wanted nothing to do with.
"But that's not all, because from the novel, Bellator knew a lot about the Arctic family, and it wasn't anything good."
'There's no way Bellator was a normal extra in the novel, at least not with this kind of background. So what happened to him?'
'Did he die, or was he killed?' As such a dark thought entered his mind, Bellator reminded himself to tread carefully from now on, at least until he knew the truth of what happened to Bellator in the novel.
'Bellator was not mentioned at all in the novel. I would remember if he was, especially with my photographic memory.'
Beatriz continued explaining, only causing more shock to Bellator as more truths unveiled themselves.
After giving birth, assassins were sent to kill Bellator and Caroline, but she had escaped with him. She thought his father might have had a hand in the assassination attempt, so she took Bellator with her and left him with Beatriz before disappearing never to be seen again.
"Caroline loved you immensely. If she was alive, I'm sure she would have returned by now, so I can only assume that she was killed," Beatriz stated as she looked at Bellator, tears threatened to leak again so he quickly embraced her, holding her tightly.
"I thought that your father would never know you were alive. That was until two months ago when multiple men in black suits appeared by our door. They said that you are to enter Limitless Academy. When I refused, they said it wasn't a choice but an order."
"Did they hurt you?" Bellator asked worried.
"No, they left immediately after telling me that," Beatriz responded.
'How did things end up like this? Limitless Academy. I had never planned to avoid the main characters, but it seems fate is forcing us to meet sooner than expected.'
Limitless Academy was the number 1 academy for aspiring hunters and heroes. It could be said to be the dream school of all teenagers who hoped to get accepted.
Being a hunter or hero was the highest paying job in the world, and just by graduating from Limitless Academy, you would automatically become a celebrity, a figure whose future is bright.
The main differences between a hunter or a hero were that while hunters dealt with monsters from within the gates, heroes dealt with villains who appeared in the outside world, killing innocent people and causing destruction. They could be said to be the police force in this world.
Police were already established, but they only dealt with low-level criminals. The stronger ones needed to be dealt with by heroes who had the strength to fight against them.
As Bellator sat in shock, still contemplating how he would survive his new world, especially while keeping his family out of danger, he stood up from the bed. Beatriz went to a bedside table and pulled out a box.
"I have never opened this box myself, as only you can open it. Just put your blood on it; it was the last thing Candice left for you before passing away," Beatriz said with a look of sadness in her eyes.
"I'm sorry for having lied to you for such a long time," Beatriz said, hugging Bellator.
"It's fine, Mom. None of this was your fault. I should actually be thanking you for everything you've done for me. You will always be my mother," Bellator said as he tightly embraced his mother.
After some time had passed, Bellator took the box and headed to his room. A lot was on his mind as he realized he had much to think about—his future, his plans, and whether he was meant to be just a forgotten extra in the tale of [Luminous Conquest] or if fate had bigger plans in store for him.
Arriving back in his room, Bellator instantly collapsed on his bed as his mind drifted to sleep.
While he was sleeping, Beatriz headed to the showers. Getting undressed, bruises could be seen on her skin.
*Huuuhhh*
'The abuse from the Malums is only getting worse. Bellator can never find out about this. That glint I saw in his eyes earlier, if he knew the truth, he would get himself killed,' Beatriz thought as she turned the water on and took a shower.