Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: Family

This isn't normal… Lars, with the ability to calm himself and think rationally, realised that his emotional stability had been severely affected by some external force. This wasn't his own hopeless realisation that made him give up on life—but rather it was some kind of external force.

He decided not to focus too heavily on this. If he thought too extensively over it, then that could create issues for his mental health. It was important now to consider the situation and figure out what steps to take next. In accordance with that, Lars slowly pulled himself up and looked around.

He had a certain expectation of what he would see after falling thousands of feet into a wormhole and getting sent who knows where. However, opening his eyes and taking a glance around him revealed a confusing sight. Lars found himself not meeting an open field or wild terrain, but rather, he discovered that his lower half was covered by a blanket.

The surface beneath him was soft and springy, but was also cold and wet with his sweat. Lars was actually lying in a cosy bed. It was alien to him; not because the room or location was otherworldly, but simply because a comfortable mattress that allowed him to sink into it wasn't something he was used to. This bed was by far the highest quality he'd ever slept in.

It also happened to be king-sized and his spot was evidently sectioned off to one side. No one else was in the bed with him, much to Lars' relief, but having this amount of room felt abnormal. The room itself was spacious and highly decorated. He noticed a few things, including typical furniture such as dressers, wardrobes, a desk, a recliner chair, and more.

That's…

Lars froze, finding something peculiar.

That's me! Lars' eyes widened in shock, beholding a picture frame. He found his own face and stature in a photo along with three others—a woman and two boys.

Lars quickly jumped out of bed, looking down at himself briefly. Everything looked normal and nothing had changed from before. However, approaching the photo, he scrutinised it and confirmed that he was completely in the dark about its existence. He had no idea when it had been taken or who the other people in it were!

The person who looked like him—who he instinctively wanted to deny was him, even if their features were identical—wore clothes he had never seen before. It was stiff and reminiscent of an old military uniform you would see in movies. Although he had worn archaic-looking ceremonial pieces, he knew for certain that this wasn't something he had worn previously. However, his attention was more drawn to the others standing beside him.

"Who are you…?" Lars asked inadvertently as he stared at the woman. He also wanted to know the identities of the two boys, standing in front of himself and the woman in the picture.

Lars then turned towards the door, considering whether or not he should exit the room through it. He was in such a strange place with abnormalities already making themselves apparent and thus felt apprehensive about brazenly walking out. There were windows, which he could use to leave without notice if he wanted. But he also wondered if acting strangely would only serve for making a greater commotion.

In the end, Lars decided to play it safe. He wanted answers as well and running away hardly contributed to finding them. Walking towards the door, he reached out and turned the door knob before pushing outwards.

A woman was standing outside as if waiting for him to come through the door. He was alarmed at first, but then Lars saw that the face was not the same as the woman in the picture frame. It was someone else—a stranger to him, but someone he preferred to meet over the woman who he seemed to have some kind of relationship with.

The woman humbly bowed, "Morning, Master. You're up late today."

Befitting her language and strange usage of 'master' when referring to Lars, this woman wore an old-fashioned maid uniform. It was immediately obvious that she held subservience towards him for an unknown reason. Not questioning his silence, the maid continued, "Then, if you will excuse me, please. Her Ladyship is just up ahead."

Lars nodded unwittingly, letting the maid pass by him and enter the room he had just left. He spared a glance at her back and noticed how she moved through the room with practised ease. Without saying a word or looking back, she started changing the bed and replacing the sheets with fresh ones.

"What is going on…" Lars muttered, before looking towards where the maidservant had alluded to.

Her Ladyship…? Lars was confused as to who this referred to, or why it was relevant to him, but he was smart enough to connect the dots. It was probably about the woman from the picture.

As he had predicted, he soon spotted a woman walking down the upscale corridor. She wore long flaxen hair tied in exquisite curls that framed her face. Her eyes were dark, yet captivating like a moonlit sea.

Lars noticed that her outfit was modest, but undeniably high-quality and expensive-looking. It was an intricate dress with many flowing layers. Around her hips, it conformed to accentuate her long legs; strips of cloth hung at her skirt like a graceful butterfly. This style and technique was something he didn't often see in the mass-produced clothing brands that he was used to.

The woman walked hand-in-hand with a young boy, who didn't look even ten years old. Lars recognised him to be one of the two boys from the picture frame. Now seeing the two of them in person, he noticed that they matched many of the same facial features and were probably family—perhaps even mother and son.

Since they were already so close, Lars didn't bother trying to evade the two of them and instead cautiously approached them. He tried his best to look normal on the outside as he did so.

When the woman noticed him, she smiled warmly and greeted him with her eyes. Meanwhile, the moment the boy laid eyes upon Lars, he broke away from his 'mother' and sprinted up to him, holding his arms out expectantly. Lars wasn't sure what to do upon seeing this.

The woman asked in a gentle tone, "What's wrong, Lars, aren't you going to pick him up?"

Oh… he wants me to pick him up? Lars thought. He understood now, but he hadn't experienced a child exhibiting any similar behaviour towards him before. It wasn't something that he considered until it was brought up just now.

Lars awkwardly bent down, lifting the boy into his arms. He didn't really want to do it but he found it best to act accordingly until he had a better grasp of the situation. It was important that he gleaned his relations to the woman and the two boys as soon as he could.

He only realised a moment later how the woman had addressed him. She did in fact call him 'Lars', his real name, confirming that the man in the picture was undoubtedly him. It still wasn't long ago since he had felt his world turning upside-down as he was rapidly thrown across Tirynn before being sent into the singularity. Now, it seemed as if he had suddenly gained a family!

However, there was one last thing that he needed to confirm. Lars quickly requested, "Uhm, sorry but… can you take him from me? There's something I need to do."

His wife looked confused for a moment but then smiled, "No problem, honey."

Lars handed his son back over to his wife, nodding politely before heading in the opposite direction. He walked until he was out of sight and then searched for a servant. When he eventually found a male servant passing by, he stopped them and asked where the bathroom was located.

The servant was confused when the master of the house suddenly approached him and asked where the bathroom was, but he answered accurately anyway. He assumed it must have been a spontaneous test on his own grasp of where everything was, since he would never come to the correct conclusion that Lars really didn't know. Lars then thanked him and followed the given directions.

He entered the bathroom and stood in front of a mirror. Even the mirror had a silver frame, embellished with a lavish design. But Lars didn't care for that. He only cared for one thing, seeing who would look back at him in its reflection.

The man in the mirror had straight, medium-length hair, pale-blonde in colour and framing his face. His eyes were a little on the smaller side with brown irises. With fair skin, weathered by rough conditions during war-time but still reasonably clear thanks to his youth, it was undoubtedly Lars.

I haven't woken up in someone else's body—I'm still me… Lars sighed in relief. With strange incidents occurring repeatedly, he was afraid that he had inhabited someone else's body. He further confirmed it to be his own as he realised that his clothing hadn't changed either.

Lars thought back to his meeting with his wife. She was acting strangely too, now that I think about it. I cut off the conversation before she could but… it looked like she wanted to bring something up. Could it have been about my clothing…?

If the clothing differed here, seeming off and peculiar to Lars, then an outfit brought over would also be noticeable in many ways. It was probably something that made her curious—with questions like where he had gotten it from and why he was wearing it surfacing to mind.

Lars left the bathroom after washing up a little. He was covered in sweat too, potentially another reason why his wife would be concerned. The situation was too strange, however, making him feel unconcerned about such matters. What concerned him the most was his purpose in coming here and what he was meant to do.

I haven't met the other boy yet… Lars lamented, wondering when he would encounter his other, older son. He also wanted to quickly learn the names of his new family to avoid suspicion.

After wandering around and getting used to the mansion's interior, Lars finally stepped outside into a large courtyard. He only realised how spacious this estate was after attempting to move throughout the entire thing. To him, it appeared to be the size of a small military base, but it was only a single family's house!

Lars couldn't associate such luxury with his own property. He doubted himself ever finding a sense of belonging with it; and he didn't want to achieve such a thing, feeling much the same towards his family of strangers. This world might not even be real. It would explain a lot…

As Lars was thinking such a thing, he entered an open ground where he noticed a boy from afar. It was a teenager dressed in a simple leather cuirass and clothing that seemed meant for training. He swung a dull sword around toilsomely as sweat dripped down his forehead.

Lars had apparently gotten too close because the boy soon noticed him watching, his eyes widening. He stopped swinging and waved towards Lars—trying to get his attention.

The boy's face was now in clear view. Lars felt like he was looking at his younger self, only departing in slight areas from what he remembered. The eyes were the same and his hair contained a pale-blonde hue. This was the other boy in the photograph.

Lars walked over and mentioned, "I saw you practising. It was impressive."

The boy smiled proudly, happy to be praised by his father. But he then furrowed his brows and exclaimed, "Father—you look different."

"I look different?" Lars repeated.

His older son nodded, "You do! It's like you've gotten younger."