Back in the present time, a younger version of Lucas was finally regaining consciousness. Another banging headache that had been waiting for it's chance to ambush him almost forced him to lay back down again but he sat up anyway. He looked around, taking in and relishing the calming familiar setting that was his room.
"I'm back to my room…", Lucas muttered aloud, half in relief and half skeptical. He didn't want to take comfort in some dream he was having but at the same time, Lucas wished in his heart that it could all be real.
Lucas couldn't seem to recall a single thing that had happened after he had trigged that massive explosion back in the dungeon. He could only guess that he had either passed out from the strain of harnessing that power-
...or his own body had exploded.
'Well on the bright side, I probably managed to avenge her by blowing up that bastard' thought Lucas with a small half-hearted smile. Despite his words, Lucas couldn't stop a few tears from trickling down his face as he recalled the sacrifice Caitlin had made for him.
What was worse was that Lucas had only discovered just how much love she had for him in her final moments. Several memories suddenly seemed to come to mind of them growing together, training together and hanging out together. Back in the good old days when they could still share a laugh and criticize Ben on his poor choices in lovers.
Ben…his big, lovable idiot of a friend. Someone who would have gladly taken a bullet for him and then complain about it over some drinks like it was no big deal.
"I miss you guys already…", Lucas sniffled as he tried to wipe some of his tears away, "I wish I could have protected you both…I'm sorry for being so weak"
Lucas bit his lip hard in frustration, drawing blood and filling his mouth with a taste of iron. If only he could have a chance to get stronger, no matter the trials or circumstances he would have to face as long as he could protect what he loved.
'If I had that chance, I would take it in a heartbeat' Lucas thought to himself.
DING!
[System: Attention! The soul of the subject
[System: Congratulations! The subj-]
The system still seemed to have more information to deliver but Lucas' mind had gone numb after reading just the first message. He could almost hear his own heart racing at the possibility of what that message meant.
"Reincarnated…?", said Lucas as he slowly read the message once again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, "Does that…does that mean that I've gone back in time?"
CREAK~
"Lu…?"
As if to answer his question, the door to his room opened and a familiar face walked in. Lucas almost didn't want to believe his eyes when he saw the person in front of him. After all this was the person he cherished the most more than anyone.
"Big bro…", Lucas whispered in disbelief as he stared at his brother's face.
His brother stood an inch taller than him. He was handsome, with long dark brown hair and a face that simply oozed with the word mischief. But the there was no mistaking the kindness and love in those pale blue eyes that were so similar to Lucas'.
Without thinking, Lucas got up and tackled his brother in a hug.
"Oof! Easy there buddy!" Tyler grunted as he patted his little brother on the back before he chided, "Aren't you a little too old to be shaken over a little nightmare?"
"Oh, piss off!" Lucas let out a shaky laugh, continuing to hug his brother tighter.
Before Lucas had been reincarnated, Tyler had been one of humanity's most promising talents and at one point had even helped fend off an invasion from the vampires. His contributions during that short time of war had earned him the nickname 'The Vanishing Swordsman'. The reason for the nickname was because he always overwhelmed his enemies with his incredible speed and superior sword skills.
To many people, Tyler was someone who was idolized and worshipped as one of humanity's strongest. Unfortunately, during a particular raid in a certain high ranked dungeon something had happened to Tyler. The raid had failed miserably and the casualties hadn't been few either. What was worse was that after their return, Tyler became crippled and bedridden which put him completely out of commission as a fighter.
Shortly afterwards, people slowly began distancing themselves from their family. With Tyler no longer as influential as he was while he was still a fighter, he and Lucas were simply tossed aside to fend for themselves. All their backers, teammates and even people they considered close friends all up and left.
'Lucian…', Lucas suddenly remembered the face of his so called 'best friend'. Lucian and the rest of his family had been the first ones to jump on their downfall. Using their influence as one of the five chosen families, Lucian's family completely cut off any connections Tyler and Lucas had and caused them to fall and became bankrupt.
'But now I have a chance to change that…A chance to change everything' Lucas thought to himself, his mind abuzz with all sorts of plans for this new life.
"So, you had a bad dream or somethin?", Tyler finally asked after Lucas had stopped sniffing. He'd never seen his brother this rattled before.
"Oh", Lucas stepped back in embarrassment after realizing that he'd still been hugging Tyler. He wiped his tears as he said, "Yeah…something like that. But I feel a lot better now so you don't have to worry"
Tyler didn't look the least bit convinced but he didn't say anything more. He knew his little brother best. If Lucas told him there was nothing to worry about, that meant he could handle whatever the problem was on his own.
"Right", said Tyler as he was about leave, "Get some sleep crybaby, you have training first thing tomorrow"
"Hey!", Lucas threw one of his pillows at Tyler and complained, "I didn't even cry that much"
Tyler chuckled and smiled at him, "Right. Night lil' bro"
"Yeah, good night Tyler", said Lucas with a warm smile as Tyler left, closing the door softly behind him. Lucas allowed himself to fall back onto his bed and let out a sigh.
"I really am back…", Lucas muttered to himself once again, "Even if I have to sweat and cry rivers of blood, I swear that I am going to protect those I love"
As he made that vow, Caitlin's beautiful face popped into his mind and he closed his eyes.
"And also make some better decisions while I'm at it…", he added.
With his declaration said and done, Lucas was ready to go back to sleep but when he opened his eyes he was surprised to find the system screen flashing in front of him. However he was in for an even bigger surprise when he read what the message said.
[Chaos System: Congratulations! The subject's race has successfully been altered to the system's liking. You are now a
For a moment Lucas could do nothing but stare and blink at the system screen in front him before he muttered:
"…huh?"
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A/N: Hey everybody! I just thought of a really fun idea!
The first ten people to comment on this chapter and vote with power stones will have their names added somewhere in the story as one of the characters.
You know, cause why not?
Have a good rest of your days! ;)