As they enjoyed each other's company and talked about trivial things, Lena and Luna finally noticed them together and ran up.
"Mommy!"
"[Father!]"
As both ran up to them, Lena abruptly stopped upon seeing Lucas on her mother's lap. She was still a little scared of him, even though she knew Lucas was her brother. She still got shivers from the killing intent he unconsciously released back when her father and brother almost fought each other. She didn't understand much of the situation, only knowing it had to do with her and that's why they fought, making her extremely guilty yet scared.
She had only met her brother for a day, and she didn't know how to approach him or talk to him. Seeing them so happy together, she didn't want to get close and ruin it, since she thought they might fight again because of her.
Seeing his sister frozen in place, Lucas decided to get up, thinking she was still scared of him. Yet, when he tried, he felt a soft hand on his forehead gently pushing him back down.
"Stay," his mother gently said.
"But..."
"No 'buts.' Lena, come here," his mother called out to Lena.
As she started slowly approaching nervously, while Luna watched from the sidelines, she arrived in front of them.
"Lena, Lucas is your brother, alright? You don't need to be scared of him, and if he does something stupid, you can always tell us, and we can punish him, alright?" She gently said, yet for Lucas, that last part only felt ominous.
'Why the hell does she think I would do something stupid?' he thought, but then he remembered how he made his little sister scared already twice and decided to stay quiet.
"But I don't want you both to fight because of me again..." She said in a small voice, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"We won't fight with your brother ever again, Lena. We promise you, Lena, so will you forgive us and your stupid brother?"
'Isn't she my mother? Why does she keep calling me stupid...'
"Promise?" She said as she looked at both of them with a little hope.
"Yes, we promise, dear. How about to make up for it, we all go outside today with your father?" She said, honestly shocking both Lucas and Lena at the same time.
"Really!?" She said excitedly. She barely went outside since her parents both wanted to prevent her existence from being known until Lucas returned. But now that he is back, their mother thought it would be a good idea to go outside together as a family.
"Are you sure, mother? Aren't you and father busy?" Lucas asked, still a little hesitant since it could lead to some problems.
"Fufu, don't worry. We are free for today, so let's all go outside today, alright?"
"Yes!" Lena exclaimed excitedly, already forgetting her previous attitude.
Seeing his mother's eagerness to go outside as a family and Lena being this excited, he could only sigh and release a bitter smile.
"Sure, why not."
He only hoped no trouble would find their way when they were outside.
****************
In a luxurious car, Lucas could be seen sitting inside with his parents and little sister, all dressed up to enjoy the day out as they headed to the famous restaurant, Moon Fish. They were happily talking to each other, especially with smiles directed at the excited Lena. Luna decided to stay back at home and relax, which Lucas didn't mind.
However, even though everything seemed perfect, it wasn't. Both his father and Lucas didn't really talk much to each other or meet each other's eyes. Though no one else really noticed, since his mother was busy with Lena. Both felt guilty for their actions yesterday. His father felt guilty for being so harsh and unfair to his son. He knew Lucas was right and shouldn't have kept him from when Lena was born, making him miss three years of her growth. Even if Lucas finally decided to do something on his own, he was still right. His little sister's birth wasn't something he should have missed.
As for Lucas, he was feeling guilty for almost wanting to kill his father yesterday. Just for a split few seconds, he thought about blasting his head. Even though he loved his father dearly, he couldn't help but think like that yesterday after his father scolded him. Truly, everything inside of him was a mess. His feelings, emotions, thoughts, and habits. All of them were a mix of his previous life and current life. It was like they were fighting for domination. He felt like he had to work much harder to stop letting everything from his previous life influence him anymore. This was supposed to be his second chance at life.
Currently, they were headed to Moon Fish restaurant to eat. After that, they were planning to just go around wherever interested them in the city. Lucas honestly thought this wasn't a good idea, since they, for some political reason, decided not to bring almost any guards with them. At least in the public eye, it would seem that no one was guarding them, except for highly elite guards following them around and protecting them from unforeseen situations in the shadows. Only Lucielle and William would be with them openly, as they were currently behind them in another car.
Even if it was for political reasons, Lucas still found it reckless. But it wasn't like he could judge. He had made countless reckless decisions over the years, getting scolded and making Luna almost cry every time.
As they enjoyed each other's company, Lucas decided to let them be without interfering while starting to think about something that had bothered him a lot yet he had decided not to dwell on. Back in Eldrath when he had the seer reveal how he would die yet... It didn't reveal only one death but multiple of those. His death wasn't set in stone; it kept changing by his own decisions, and she even saw his past life without understanding anything. He didn't understand why the seer could see his previous life and who the being surrounded by darkness was. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he gritted his teeth.
'Shit'
That same being was the one that killed him in his previous life according to the seer. He never saw who the driver was, yet it was the being in darkness... He, who would kill him in various different ways in the future. He didn't understand, yet just thinking about him made his heart fill with dread as his face became grim.
The dark being... maybe it was a different person, and she couldn't see the one who killed him yet... something was telling him he felt something that it was the same being who killed him in all his different deaths. Why? Just why... he didn't understand; he thought that this life was a coincidence, a second chance, but... was it really? Just why was he reincarnated and his memories only returning at the age of 12... why was he the progenitor of chaos when there was another one before him... is he really also a progenitor? He said he was the first... he had the blade of chaos before him and after the blade of chaos only recognized Lucas as his second master. So then why is he also a progenitor of chaos... Just what happened to him? To the dragons? How did they die? No, are they even dead?
He felt scared and anxious; he didn't know anything. Every time he tries to find out something only more and more things become unknown to him. Just thinking about the dark being made him for some reason shiver in fear.
"...cas"
Just who or what is that being? Why was it seen in both of his lives? Does that mean it reincarnated as well? Or is it something so mysterious and powerful that it can go between his current world and previous one?
"Lu.."
But he is supposed to fight that thing in the future... he dies by its hands countless times in the future. Every time it would take someone he cares about away from him... he can't let that happen no matter what. He started clutching his own hands hard as his nails started digging into his palms. He can't let that being toy with his life anymore if it is true that it killed him the previous time then he won't let him get away with that and more importantly he will do whatever it takes to kill it so it won't harm anyone he cares about even if it means to kill hims-
"LUCAS!"
Suddenly a voice screamed at him, making him flinch and snapping him out of his thoughts. Looking in front, he saw his mother's face inches apart from his as she looked at him filled with anxiety and worry.
"H-huh m-mother what happened?" He asked worried, not understanding the situation.
"What do you mean what happened!? Look at yourself!" She screamed at his state as he was bewildered, not understanding what he did. He turned around looking at the window, seeing his own reflection. His face looked pale as white as sweat was visible around his whole face, making his hair stick to him. Looking down, he saw that he dug his own nails deep into his own palms as blood came out of it.
"Ah... I-i am sorry I didn't notice" He said still perplexed at how lost he was in front of his own family.
"W-what happened dear? Just what were you thinking about to behave like that?" She asked in worry.
"I..." He tried to speak yet nothing came out of his mouth. His words were stuck in his throat.
"Did something happen son?" His father asked also worried after seeing his behavior as Lena just watched in worry, not understanding fully what just happened but got scared seeing blood on her brother's hand.
'S-should I really tell them about what I was thinking? about my previous life, about the dark being and how it will kill me in the future... No I can't do that I don't think I just can..."
"Sorry mom dad I was just thinking something stupid and got lost in thought" He said with a bitter smile and reassuring them while scratching his cheek.
"Are you sure dear? I-i have said it before but please tell us when you feel hurt... We are your parents. I am your mother I won't ever want you to feel burdened or hurt Lucas." His mother said seeing through his lies.
He could only warmly smile and answer
"mm I know mom just... maybe one day I will tell you just not now please..."
"Luc-" before his father could say something the car stopped by the driver as they finally arrived at the restaurant stopping the conversation they had.
"Looks like we've arrived. Let's just go and have fun, right Lena?" Lucas looked at Lena, hoping she would save him from his situation. Luckily for him, that is exactly what she did.
"Unn! Food!" She happily nodded and wanted to go and eat outside.
Seeing her excited expression, everyone released a warm smile as well, and his father and mother decided to let it go for now.
"Lucas, your hands are still injured. Take this before leaving the car," his mother said as she pulled out a 3-star health potion, which he thought was overkill.
As he stretched out his hand to take it, he suddenly froze as he watched his hand. The wound he inflicted was already healed, and there was only blood left...
'D-did my wound just regenerate?' Lucas was perplexed once again. Only when someone reached the Grandmaster stage would their wounds start regenerating, though if you lost a limb, then that would be impossible to regenerate unless you had multiple 5-star health potions, which were the highest grade a potion could get.
Health potions, mana potions, skillbooks, and weapons were all divided by star levels. The higher the star level, the harder to get and the more expensive one would be.
For health and mana potions, it would go from 1-star level to 5-star level. 1-2-star health potions were mostly used for when you were sick or had small wounds, while 3-4-star levels, which were only for the rich, could heal extreme wounds to the point where a 4-star could reconnect a limb. As for 5-star level health potions, those could potentially regenerate a limb depending on the limb and body itself. For mana potions, the higher the star level, the faster your mana would recover.
Weapons and skillbooks, on the other hand, were different. They were divided instead into 7-star levels. The higher the star level of a weapon, the better it would be, though that wouldn't mean you would be able to wield them properly. The same could be said for skill books, as you wouldn't be able to use every skill properly unless you were strong enough.
Soul weapons and skills you acquire by yourself by breaking through to the next star level don't have a star level since they evolve with the person itself always.
As Lucas knew, he didn't have any regenerative skills. Even the one he picked at the treasury in Eldrath wasn't a regenerative type of skill, so what could possibly lead to this? Lucas already knew it like it was basic instinct. It was because he was a dragon, or at least a half-dragon, making his body already regenerate to the point he wouldn't need a 1 or 2-star level health potion, and he wasn't even a Grandmaster yet! Dragons really are an awesome race! But he had never regenerated before, so that means that he is still growing and unlocking new traits as a half-dragon.
"S-son, your wound, it healed?" his father asked, not believing his own eyes.
"A-ah, yes, you see, since I am a half-dragon, it looks like small wounds like these regenerate themselves," Lucas said as he pulled his hand back. "So no need for using a health potion, mom."
"R-right, well, give me your hand, dear, and don't move. Let me freshen you up a little bit. You still look like a mess," she said as she used her cleansing spell to wash his hands and face, and she fixed his hair as well, as Lena giggled happily from behind, calling him a 'Clumsy brother."
After that, they finally decided to exit the car and enter the restaurant, which had been emptied beforehand to eat. Though he was sure almost everyone knew they were outside, since the main family car had been spotted multiple times on the street, and afterward, they would be walking around on foot as well...
'Yeah, I really hope nothing goes wrong...'