Introspection

Leus sat alone in his room, the weight of what happened hanging over him like a dense fog

'How did end up like this ...'

The silence in the room was deafening ...

No answers, just the quiet echo of his own thoughts ...

'I didn’t mean to kill him… so why did it happen? What went wrong?'

Again, nothing.

It was as if the world refused to offer him any clarity, declined to give him any peace ...

He sighed, a strange emptiness gnawing at his chest.

'Why does this feel so ... wrong (?)'

It wasn’t just the death. It was something else—an unsettling feeling growing deep within him.

He tried to focus, to name the emotion, but it slipped through his fingers like water. Confusion? Guilt? Maybe fear? It was all too tangled.

' ... I feel like something’s broken?'

'I didn’t want to hurt him'

He couldn’t shake the sense that something had shifted inside him. Something darker. But what was it?

'I have no idea ...'

.....

Leus used Water and washed his face

'FOCUS'

'What exactly am I upset about?'

He started searching within him ...

He thought so deeply that he re-lived the entire experience in his mind, over and over and over ...

Then a question popped into his mind

'Am I really upset about the act, or ... am I upset because I lost control?'

'I think that I'm upset because I didn't want to kill him ... but I'm not really upset about killing him ... '

It sounded complicated, but that's how he genuinely felt ...

For some reason, he wasn't really all that sad about the guy's death ...

' ... It's more about myself rather than him'

'It's strange ...'

' ... Does that make me a bad person?'

Leus realized that dwelling on that would lead him nowhere, so he changed his mindset ...

He looked at his hands

'How did he die by that?'

Leus cast Hydraulic in front of him, trying to replicate the attack

'50% speed, 1 meter distance'

Release

The Hydraulic hit Leus' skull, Between his eyes

'Nothing?'

Leus repeated it, 1 time, 2 times, 5 times, 50 times, 100 times .....

'Nothing at all'

'It doesn't even hurt'

'Why?'

And then Leus remembered

'Oh right, my mana won't hurt me'

He burst into laughter ...

"Ahahahahahaha ..."

"That's so funny ... How did I forget that? Haahahaha"

For a while, Leus kept laughing ...

However, it wasn’t cheerful laughter; it was broken, almost crazed—anything but normal ...

After a while, Leus got tired and collapsed onto his bed.

'How did I fuck up so badly'

His thoughts wandered back to the boy

'That kid didn't deserve to die .....'

"I'm .... sorry" He whispered ...

There was no guilt, no overwhelming sense of grief. But Leus couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong, and because of that, he vowed

'I promise to do better'

And he'd begin from now

'To do better, I need to be able to know how powerful my opponent is, and I need to know how powerful I actually am'

'I only fought with Dad'

'That clearly is an issue'

'My perception of power is warped'

'It's completely distorted'

He knew that he had to fix that

'Maybe there's a spell that allows me to see my opponent's strength?'

'I'll ask Arno'

'Then I need more fights. Not just with Dad, real ones'

Once Leus was done formulating his plan, he tried to cope with his emotions; he pushed everything aside and tried to move forward ...

However, it wasn't easy ...

' ... It's like there's a hole in my heart'

"Ughhhhhhhhh" He ground his teeth in frustration

'I really didn't want him to kill him ...'

'It was a mistake'

The words echoed in his mind, and in that instant, he latched onto them.

' ... That's it!'

'It was a mistake!'

He took a deep breath and pushed all the other thoughts away.

From that moment on, whenever Leus thought about that incident, he would just keep saying to himself that it was a mistake and push it away.

'What I did after the incident was a mistake too ... I need to be able to control my emotions'

'It was reckless ... I'll make sure not to do that again'

Leus wasn't in the mood to go out of his room, so he just stayed in it for the rest of the day.

When night came, he wasn't able to sleep

'Doesn't matter, if it isn't coming, then I'll bring it'

And so, without hesitation, Leus consumed his Mana until exhaustion overtook him, and finally, he fainted ...

That night, Leus got up many times due to nightmares ...

Each time, he found himself staring at the boy’s lifeless body, the haunting image of the hole in his forehead vivid in his mind. The sight twisted in his gut, making him feel nauseous every time ...

Then there was the strange nightmare that followed—a darkness enveloping him, standing before a massive, shadowy entity with two glowing red eyes. It loomed ominously, sending chills down his spine.

Unlike the other nightmare, this one felt disturbingly real, as if the red eyes were gazing into his very soul ...

Regardless, Leus didn't think much of it ...

'Dreams are nothing more than dreams'

He forced himself to sleep until morning, then he used Water to freshen up and then got out of his room ...

In the living room Viorica was sitting on the couch, looking tired

As soon as she saw Leus she came to him and hugged him

"Leus! My little genius ... I love you so much"

'She's so warm'

Leus hugged her tightly. Feeling like her hug was giving him strength, he forgot everything that was worrying him and felt immersed in love ...

He didn't let go, and Viorica didn't either

Many minutes passed like that ...

Viorica felt Leus' chest heaving from time to time, nevertheless, she didn't react and just hugged him for as long as he needed ...

Eventually, Leus let go

"Thanks so much, Mom, I really needed it"

Viorica just smiled brightly at Leus and asked

"Are you okay now?"

'Her smile is out of this world ....'

"I'm better"

Leus wasn't lying, he really felt much better; the pain in his heart didn't go away, but he was no longer consumed by his thoughts ...

'Family is everything ... As long as I have all of you everything is okay'

'That reminds me'

"Mom, where is Dad?"

"Outside ... You should talk to him, he's a little upset too"

Leus nodded

"Don't worry mom"

He went outside and found Blaze standing in the yard, gazing at the sky ...

"Leus?" His voice had a tinge of surprise in it

"Yes, Dad"

He turned to look at Leus, and immediately, his eyes narrowed

"Your aura has changed" He murmured, almost to himself.

Leus furrowed his brows

"What do you mean?"

"Something became darker, and something became brighter"

"Uhhh ... is that good or bad?"

Blaze's tone was so neutral it almost sounded cold

"Changes aren't inherently good nor bad; they simply indicate that something within you has changed"

Leus pondered over these words

'Is that so .....'

However, he couldn't really conclude anything ...

When Leus didn't reply, Blaze's gaze sharpened, and he asked

"Did you overcome it?"

"Yes, I'll learn from my mistakes"

Blaze found Leus' answer strange

'That's much quicker than I expected ....'

'I don't even know if overcoming that situation this quickly is a good or a bad thing'

He sighed

'Nothing is normal about this kid'

However, he didn't voice out his thoughts, and Leus asked

"Now what, Dad?"

a genuine smile adorned Blaze's face when he heard that

"You still ... want to learn from me?"

"Duh! Ovciously. Why wouldn't I?"

Blaze scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment

"I honestly thought that you lost trust in me ..."

"No, Dad! Of course not"

His smile turned bittersweet, and he silently vowed in his heart

'Sorry, I promise to do better'

Then his tone brightened, becoming a bit more cheerful

"I'll take you to The Guild"

Leus nodded

"Let's go today"

Blaze responded with a chuckle

"Alright, but let's have breakfast, otherwise your Mom would kill me."

With that, the two of them headed back inside, their spirits lifted as the promise of a brighter day unfolded ...