Path of the Elemental sage (2)

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"Who is this… Lyrium Blackwood?"

In the Path of the Elemental Sage, there was no mention of a character named Lyrium Blackwood.

Yet…

"That surname, Blackwood… it feels strangely familiar—"

SLAM—!

Lyrium's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of a door opening forcefully.

Someone had entered the room, though he couldn't see who.

'Probably a doctor. I must be in a hospital,' he mused, glancing around.

A woman hurried into the room and approached the bed where Lyrium sat upright.

Without a moment's hesitation, she positioned herself directly in front of him.

Her gaze, filled with an intense mixture of love, relief, and pent-up worry, locked onto his face.

Her deep—blooded red eyes shimmered with unshed tears as her lips trembled, forming a soft, barely audible word:

"Lyrium…"

To him, however, the woman before him was nothing more than a stranger.

Her delicate features bore the unmistakable signs of exhaustion—faint lines of worry carved into her soft face, as if sleepless nights had taken their toll.

White Hair, lightly streaked with Silver but not visible, framed her face elegantly, while her slender hands, swollen and red from overuse, quivered as she reached out to him.

Before Lyrium could react, the woman bent down and gently wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.

A flood of unfamiliar sensations overwhelmed him.

The warmth of her touch and the tenderness of her actions stirred something in his chest, yet his mind was blank, tangled in confusion.

'What is this feeling?'

For a fleeting moment, Lyrium allowed himself to remain still, captivated by the foreign sense of security she offered.

But his rational side kicked in, and he hesitantly pushed her away, his voice faltering.

"M-Ma'am… do I… know you?" Lyrium asked, his eyes scanning hers for some hint of familiarity.

Her expression froze, as if his words had struck her like lightning.

Her lips parted slightly, and disbelief flickered across her face.

"What are you saying, Lyrium?" she whispered, her voice tinged with both confusion and sadness.

Just then, a figure stepped into the room—a man wearing a white lab coat and round glasses. He couldn't have been older than 30.

"Please, don't be alarmed," the doctor said calmly. "This isn't a case of amnesia. After being in a coma for over a week, it's natural for his memories to feel fragmented and disorganized. His recollections will return gradually, but it might take some time for his mind to fully adjust."

The woman nodded slowly before returning her gaze to Lyrium. Her trembling voice broke the silence.

"I'm your mother, Lyrium… Lilian Blackwood."

Lyrium's eyes widened in shock.

'Lilian Blackwood? No way… the same Lilian Blackwood who's the mother of one of the heroines in Path of the Elemental Sage? The wealthiest woman in Eldodria? The owner of the Crimsonwood Estate?'

His thoughts spiraled as he stared at the woman before him.

''I… I remember now. M-mother?''

But an unsettling doubt crept in.

The original Lyrium Blackwood from the story—how had he addressed her? Surely not "Mother"? Had he made a mistake?

Lilian, noticing her son's uncharacteristic use of the word, looked at him in utter disbelief.

"…What did you just call me?" she asked softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

The doctor smiled faintly and turned to leave.

"I'll give you two some privacy, but don't take too long."

As the door clicked shut, Lilian reached out, pressing the back of her hand to Lyrium's forehead.

"Do you have a fever, Lyrium?" she murmured, her voice laced with worry.

Lyrium blinked at her touch, his confusion mounting, when suddenly, an unfamiliar sight materialized before his eyes:

[SYSTEM]

⟩ Synchronization Initiated ⟨

› Progress: 0% ‹

'What the hell is this?!'

The glowing screen startled him, his thoughts racing as he instinctively touched his chin, frowning in confusion.

Oblivious to the turmoil in his head, Lilian spoke again, her tone casual.

"Did you receive the academy's message?"

Lyrium gave a hesitant nod and held up his phone in response.

"Mhm."

Lilian was a minor character in Path of the Elemental Sage.

In the novel, she had been portrayed as a cold and ruthless woman—her very presence was enough to send chills down the spines of others.

But the Lilian standing before him now seemed like a completely different person.

Her icy, aloof demeanor had been replaced with warmth and gentleness.

Her kind smile radiated an energy that could brighten even the gloomiest of days.

Her mere presence exuded a comforting aura that made the entire room feel alive.

'How… how is this the same person?'

A buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts.

Lilian's phone vibrated in her pocket. She hesitated, ignoring it, but Lyrium gestured toward the device.

"Mom, you should answer it. It might be important."

Lilian's eyes softened at his words, and she retrieved her phone, answering the call.

"Hello? What is it, Alfred?"

[Lady Lilian, the board meeting is about to start.]

At those words, her entire demeanor shifted.

The warmth in her expression faded, replaced by a sharp intensity that made Lyrium's skin crawl.

Her blood eyes darkened, and her voice, once soft, became low and authoritative.

She massaged her temples, visibly irritated, before ending the call.

"Lyrium," she sighed, her tone softer again.

"The academy begins in two weeks, correct?"

"Y-Yeah," he stammered, still unnerved by the sudden transformation.

"Good. I've already transferred 300 billion Uber into your account. Use it for your academy expenses or anything else you may need. I'll be traveling to Eldodria for a meeting."

"…Oh, and don't forget to contact your sister."

Before leaving, she leaned down and kissed his forehead—a gesture so tender it left him stunned.

"Take care, Lyrium. I'll see you soon,"

She said, waving.

Just as she was about to step out of the room, a sudden thought struck her.

She paused, her hand lingering on the doorknob, before turning around once more, her eyes narrowing with realization.

"Right, I'll assign a few bodyguards to remain behind and keep watch. It's better to be cautious, especially with everything that's been happening lately. They'll report back to me regularly, and if anything seems off, they're under strict orders to act immediately."

But,

"W-What? Bodyguards? Wait, no, actually, Mom, I don't need them!"

He stammered, still sitting upright in the hospital bed, his blanket slightly crumpled from the sudden tension.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at her, raising one hand weakly in protest.

"I'm fine, really. You don't have to go that far. It's not like I'm in danger or anything..."

"No, absolutely not. You're getting protection, and that's final,"

His mother said, her voice echoing slightly.

She turned slowly, letting go of the doorknob as her gaze settled back on him, sharp, unwavering, full of the worry only a mother could carry.

"You think I'm just being dramatic, don't you? That I'm overreacting. But do you even realize how I felt getting that call? Hearing that my son, my child, was hurt, alone, and in danger? You might brush it off like it's nothing, but I can't. I won't. Not when I almost lost you."

She stepped closer to the bed, her tone firm but emotional, layered with the exhaustion of fear turned into resolve.

"You don't understand what it's like to sit in a waiting room not knowing if your own flesh and blood is going to survive. To walk into a room and see you hooked up to wires, bruised and barely conscious. I will not let anything like that happen again. If that means putting two, ten, or even twenty bodyguards at your side, then so be it. I'd rather have you annoyed and safe than take even the slightest risk with your life."

She crossed her arms, voice softening but no less intense.

"So no, this isn't negotiable. You can pout, roll your eyes, or come up with sarcastic remarks, but the bodyguards are staying. You're my son, and protecting you is my job, whether you like it or not."

He let out a long sigh, running a hand through his messy hair as he looked up at her with tired, pleading eyes.

"Mom… I get it. I really do. You're scared, I was scared too. But this isn't the answer."

He shifted slightly in the bed, wincing but pushing through.

"I understand why you're doing this. You think surrounding me with guards will stop something bad from happening again. But you can't shield me from everything. I'm not trying to be reckless or ungrateful. I know you were terrified, and I hate that I put you through that. But locking me behind a wall of protection isn't going to solve anything."

He paused, voice steady and thoughtful now.

"What happened was out of our control. That doesn't mean I need to live like a prisoner just because the world's unpredictable. I need space to breathe, to heal, to live. Being watched constantly, followed by bodyguards everywhere I go, it's going to suffocate me. I won't be able to think, let alone recover properly. What I need right now is peace. Normalcy. A chance to feel human again, not like some fragile thing that's always about to break."

He looked at her with a mixture of determination and softness.

"Let me try standing on my own. If I really can't… I'll ask for help. I promise. But please, just trust me a little. I'm your son, yeah, but I'm also someone who wants to grow, not just survive."

His mother stood in silence for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

The tension in her shoulders slowly loosened as his words sank in, her stern demeanor beginning to soften.

She looked at him, not just as her son lying bruised in a hospital bed, but as a young man trying to reclaim a sense of control over his life.

Finally, she let out a quiet breath and stepped back toward the doorway, her voice quieter this time, gentler.

"You always were good at talking sense when you really tried,"

She said, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"It's hard, you know… letting go, even just a little. But you're right. You're not a child anymore. And maybe I needed to hear that as much as you needed to say it."

She turned the doorknob, then looked back over her shoulder.

"Alright. No bodyguards. Not for now. But the second you feel unsafe, I want to be the first person you call. Deal?"

Her eyes met his, not with stubbornness this time, but trust.

"Deal,"

He said softly, a small, grateful smile forming on his lips.

She gave him one last lingering look, eyes scanning his face as if memorizing every feature, then slowly stepped through the doorway.

Her heels echoed softly against the sterile hospital floor as she walked down the corridor, her figure gradually fading from view.

The door clicked gently shut behind her, leaving behind a strange, almost weightless silence.

For the first time since waking up in that bed, he was truly alone.

He stared at the door for a moment, as if half-expecting her to come back and change her mind.

But she didn't.

The room felt bigger now, quieter too.

The faint hum of machines and the distant chatter from the hallway were the only sounds that remained.

He shifted slightly, the sheets rustling beneath him as he leaned back against the pillows, eyes drifting to the ceiling.

"Damn…"

He muttered under his breath.

"That actually worked."

But even as he smirked, a hollow ache sat quietly in his chest.

He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes.

"I said I'd stand on my own… I just hope I'm not lying to both of us."

Then,

He let out a faint chuckle, eyes still fixed on the ceiling as his thoughts wandered.

"Did the original Lyrium also have a habit of talking way too much in perfect, flowery words, huh?"

He murmured to no one in particular, the corners of his lips twitching into a tired, amused smile.

There was a trace of self-awareness in his voice, a subtle edge of irony.

He remembered how easily the words had poured out of him just moments ago, like it had been rehearsed in his head a hundred times.

Calm, logical, even poetic at times, far too polished for someone who'd been knocked half-unconscious a few days ago.

And yet, it felt natural… too natural.

He tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing.

"It's weird. It's like the words just come when I need them, even when I don't mean to sound like that."

He sighed and glanced at his reflection faintly visible in the darkened screen across the room.

"Was he like that too? Always saying the right things, sounding noble and composed even when everything was falling apart?"

The thought lingered, heavy with curiosity and something else, something bordering on doubt.

Was he really still himself?

Or were the traces of Lyrium, his memories, his instincts, his personality, starting to bleed through?

He didn't have the answer.

Not yet.

So he closed his eyes again, muttering softly,

"Man… I need to stop thinking so much."

But even then, his mind wouldn't quiet.

"And…"

"Whats with that money?!! Like She just handed me 300 billion Uber like it's pocket change…"

But he just ignore it and,

He turned his attention back to the glowing screen in front of him.

[SYSTEM]

⟩ Synchronization Ongoing ⟨

› Progression: 10% ‹

"What the hell is this thing supposed to be?"

Lyrium muttered, staring at the strange display in both fascination and apprehension.

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Edited