Noah, or rather Kaelen, stood at the edge of the small apartment building, gazing out at the dull cityscape. The sun was setting, casting an orange hue over the crumbling structures that surrounded him. The world seemed indifferent to his presence, and he found that he didn't care. In fact, he welcomed the emptiness of it all.
This was not his world. This was not his life. The real Noah Alaric had died long ago, leaving behind only this shell—this new identity. The ties that had once bound him to his past, to his so-called "family," had dissolved the moment his old life ended.
He had no reason to continue pretending.
His "mother" lived in a small, run-down apartment. It was a poor excuse for a home, much like her—struggling to survive in a world that had no place for her. His two brothers, no different from her, were naive, their futures already set on a path of mediocrity. They were innocent, but they were also irrelevant. They had no true place in his plans. In his mind, they had never been his family. They were simply strangers wearing the same faces as those from his past.
But that didn't mean they didn't have their uses.
Kaelen knew that the life he had now, the one that had been granted to him after the death of the real Noah, could be used to benefit them, even if he would never be a part of their future. He didn't care about them—he never would—but he would ensure they had everything they needed to live comfortably. He would ensure they lived in luxury, free from the poverty that had shackled them.
**"I owe them nothing,"** he thought, but his cold, calculating mind quickly amended that. **"But wealth… I can grant them that. Let them live in comfort, but I will never be part of their lives again."**
He had no intention of returning to their lives as the son, the brother, they once knew. In his mind, that Noah was dead. In his place stood only Kaelen—a being driven by his own ambitions, by his need to conquer and reshape this world. Family, bonds, love—these were weaknesses, shackles to be broken. The only thing that mattered was power.
And power, he knew, was not something he would find in this world's familial ties.
---
That evening, Kaelen paid a visit to the apartment, slipping inside with the ease of someone who had long ago cut all emotional attachments. His mother greeted him with that familiar warmth, the same naive hope in her eyes as always.
"Kaelen, you're home," she said, smiling with that all-too-familiar love. Her voice, soft and filled with a tenderness he hadn't felt in ages, reached him, but it did nothing to stir any emotion within him.
He didn't want to say what he was about to say, but he knew it was necessary. **"You don't know me,"** he thought, **"but it's time you learned the truth."**
"I'm not the son you think I am," he said, his tone cold and distant. "The man you once knew is gone. And the family you think you have is nothing but a relic of a life that doesn't belong to me."
Her smile faltered, and the warmth in her eyes turned to confusion. **"What… what do you mean, Kaelen?"**
Kaelen took a deep breath, the words slipping from his tongue with a chilling finality. "I'm not your son. The boy you raised… he's dead. And I have no place in this life anymore."
Her face twisted, trying to grasp what he was saying. "Kaelen, please… You're my son. I raised you. I…" She reached for him, desperate for some semblance of connection, but Kaelen stepped back, his expression hard.
"I've severed my ties with you, and with this world. I have my own plans. And you, all of you, are nothing more than fleeting figures in my past."
Her hands shook as she withdrew them. "But you… you're still my son," she whispered, barely audible.
Kaelen stared at her, cold and unwavering. **"No. I'm not. I never was. The real Noah died, and with him, any connection to you."**
For a moment, the silence between them stretched, heavy and suffocating. He could see the hurt in her eyes, the confusion, but he didn't care. He had no place for this. He had no use for her love.
"I'll provide for you," Kaelen said, his voice almost bored now. "You'll live in comfort, but I will never be a part of your life again. You won't see me, and I won't see you. This is the last time I'll come here."
He turned to leave, the finality of his words hanging in the air. But before he could step out the door, he paused and glanced back at her. Her face was pale, her lips trembling, but she was silent now, resigned to the truth he had delivered.
Without a word, he left.
---
As he walked away from the apartment, Kaelen's mind was already on the next steps. He would ensure their future—his mother, his brothers—was one of wealth and comfort. He would provide them with everything they needed, so long as they remained out of his way. But he would never be their son again.
He had no use for family. No use for love.
In this world, the only thing that mattered was power—and Kaelen had no intention of being distracted by the past.