Aiden was on the verge of tears, but it was too late, far too late.
"Liam…"
Fear crept in, a suffocating feeling that blurred the line between my own emotions and Liam's.
"What is the easiest building to lift?"
His face was solemn but his eyes remained bloodshot as he stared directly at me.
"A lighthouse."
…
"Dad, please, I'm begging you, stop!" Aiden cried out, his voice cracking as our father slapped his knees, tears streaming down his face.
I felt my throat tighten, the tension being unbearable.
Then…
"Pfth…!"
It was a classic, and I couldn't help but laugh, much to the terror of my brother, the light leaving his eyes.
"You too, Liam?"
"See, he gets my sophisticated sense of humor," Dad said with a grin.
"Dad, you have to stop. There's nothing sophisticated about this!" Aiden groaned.
"Well, your brother's laughing. That's why he's my favorite."
Aiden fell silent, clearly exasperated.
"Haha! Anyway, I've got another great one for tomorrow. I'll make dinner, then pass the fuck out."
Though Dad was laughing, I could see Aiden's annoyance creeping up, and he finally snapped. "Language, old man, language."
"Fuck off, kiddo."
Dad burst into laughter again before heading into the kitchen. I watched as he pulled fresh ingredients from the fridge, getting the stove ready for dinner.
The highlight of my day had always been his cooking, something that stuck with me in both my memories and Liam's.
This time, he won't end up the same way. Even if it's a different world and the circumstances have changed, I can't give up. No, I won't give up.
With that determination, I headed straight upstairs to my room, waiting for my father to finish dinner—something he always did for us, even after coming home late from work, even when he was dead tired.
But if I can pull this off… I'll make him retire. He could finally rest.
And he will.
Changing into something more comfortable, I reached for my backpack and pulled out a crumpled, scribbled-over set of papers. It was the script—the very one Liam had improved.
The original play was based on a historical event, a siege on a castle almost 800 years ago, but something about it felt off…
That event never happened.
At least, not in my world. Even the history was different here. And yet, so many things remained the same.
The siege was a tragic tale—a fortress once teeming with life slowly bled dry over nearly a decade. Though the defenders won, none of them lived to see the dawn of their victory.
It was the story of Castle Forknaugh and the man hailed as its savior, Doyle Page, the nation's hero.
But something felt off about this so-called hero. The more time I spent living in his memories, the more I sensed a darkness lingering beneath the surface.
Doyle wasn't a hero.
What he did was heroic, yes—but his heart was tainted, consumed by malice.
That's why I dread the idea of assimilating fully. I can't risk losing myself, becoming someone I don't recognize.
Not just a stranger… but one whose heart harbors immense darkness.
My knowledge of the script is still not where it needs to be—I have to finish reading it, not just the first act.
This, frustratingly, is basically the last act since William couldn't, for the life of him, craft a coherent script.
In medias res.
It's a storytelling technique that throws the audience right into the middle of the action, and while it can be effective, William completely botched it.
Thankfully, the script I have now is a modified version of William's. And while Liam isn't a professional scriptwriter, his version was undeniably better.
Even I, just a movie enthusiast, could tell that there were still plenty of improvements to be made.
But I'll figure out the rest after I finish reading it. With that in mind, I dove into the second act.
My eyes darted from one line to the next, and my reading speed and comprehension were unlike anything I'd ever experienced before.
It was the same feeling I had on stage when I first glanced at the script—like I was downloading the words straight into my brain.
It was a strange analogy, but the only one that seemed to capture the feeling. My eyes weren't reading in the traditional sense—they were absorbing the script's contents, as if by instinct.
And then it hit me—something felt unnatural about it.
Wait… unnatural?
"Open Skills."
At that thought, the blue window appeared in front of me, listing the skills I had. The skill from reaching 50% assimilation with Liam was there, as expected, but something new had appeared.
[???]
[Record 1/4]
Record… When did I acquire this? Was it while I was in the club?
Curious, I focused on the skill, and immediately, the window shifted, revealing a longer description beneath Record. Just as quickly, I somehow understood exactly what it meant.
[The owner of this skill is able to read and comprehend information at an accelerated rate. With the current level of the skill, the knowledge absorbed is limited in scope]
That explains the strange sensation of downloading information from the script. It wasn't just me—it was the skill-enhancing my ability to process what I was reading.
But "limited knowledge"... What does that mean exactly?
I suppose I'll find out as I push the limits of the skill.
This skill—Record—wasn't just for reading scripts or absorbing random bits of information. It felt like it had much broader potential, but for now, it was focused on knowledge.
So much potential, but the limited knowledge part is nagging at the back of my mind. I have to test its possibilities.
I can do that right after finishing the script. Just like that, I glanced back at it, my eyes instantly grasping the story it conveyed, yet it wasn't just the story itself.
I saw everything the script showed, playing out before my eyes.
In less than a minute, I had completely read through the entire script, including the scribbles scattered across it.
I couldn't help but smile, not even a minute and I absorbed all of this.
Now, time to test the limits of my new skill.
With sudden movements, I reached for my bag, pulling out all the textbooks before doing the same with the ones in my drawer.
And just like that, I had every textbook laid out in front of me.
It was overwhelming. I never thought I'd have to study like this after finishing college.
Well, time to push Record's limits.