When Lars heard his teenage son remark how he had gotten younger, he momentarily froze as many things came to him. There had been too much happening at once, and so he had failed to notice a severe discrepancy. He was only eighteen years old, how was he supposed to have a son who was in his teenage years?

The alternative life he had lived on the other side of the wormhole naturally bore a few differences when compared to his own. However, his old self must have been older than him; perhaps by over a decade. This was far more apparent than a dishevelled appearance or newly acquired clothing.

Did I replace another me when I came here…? Lars already had a conjecture in place: that there was someone else, wearing the same face and assuming his identity, that resided in this world with its own consciousness. But he had previously assumed himself to have awoken with his own sense of self instead—as if the other him had recalled memories of a past life.

However, from the physiological effects to the retaining of his clothing, and now that he was confirmed to be younger than he should, it was evident that Lars had replaced the old him entirely. It was as if this world’s Lars—the husband, father, and master of the mansion—was erased from existence entirely with Lars now in his stead.

Did my arrival necessitate the total eradication of the other me? Lars lamented, mulling over the implications of this revelation.

Lars wanted to sigh in exasperation, but he still had to act in front of his son as if nothing was wrong. He smiled, chuckling, “Well, I’ll take the compliment. Who knows how long I have before I become an old man?”

“Didn’t you say you were already an old man?” Lars’ teenage son remarked, “That’s why you can’t spar with me as much now.”

“Did I?” Lars responded, pondering, “Then I must be an old man after all, since I’m already forgetting things.”

His son laughed, then asked eagerly, “Will you practice with me today? I’ve been training hard like you said, but I don’t know what to do next. Muscle training gets boring after a while.”

Lars thought about the question and how to respond. He instinctively wanted to refuse, but then realised that he may come off as unusually cold if he kept avoiding contact with his family. It was best to act as natural as he could considering there was already a lot against him.

Unable to refuse an earnest request from his oldest, Lars smiled in resignation.

“Sure, why not? Let’s do it. It has been a while since we last practiced together, Damien.”

His eyes then widened in shock, realising what he had just said. The name ‘Damien’ came out of his mouth without thinking. Lars had said it naturally, as if he was incredibly familiar with calling it out. It was something intrinsic to a part of his memories that he couldn’t access by normal means.

“Thank you, Father!” Damien didn’t notice his shock, evidently excited by the rare opportunity to train again with his father. It was unclear to him why Lars had gotten younger, but he was happy if it meant that he could play in the way they used to do.

Lars regained his composure and moved on to what he had in mind for his son, who he learnt the name of mere moments ago. Sword fighting techniques was a completely foreign concept to him as using various types of rifles and pistols obviously fared better for a modern military. For that reason, he absolutely had to steer clear from wielding a sword in any capacity if he wanted to avoid arousing suspicion.

He decided to teach something else instead; a discipline that would be useful no matter the age or weapon common for the times, which every skilled combatant should be trained in. It was none other than hand-to-hand combat or military CQC!

Close quarters combat, entailing a variety of established martial arts methods, was imperative to know. No one was equipped with a weapon each and every hour of the day. Furthermore, there would be times when an opponent is able to disarm you or your weapon malfunctions in practice. It was slightly different for a sword, but the same logic applied.

“Damien,” Lars prodded.

“Yes, Father?”

“How much do you know about bare-handed fighting?”

After some time, the father and son duo stood side by side. They were both in the same pose: guards up with their hands at either side of the temples, elbows tucked in, and one leg facing outwards behind the other. Before doing anything complicated, it was important to teach the basics!

Lars explained, “When facing an opponent, your body should be turned at a slight angle. This gives your left arm longer reach while giving them less of an area to hit you.”

Damien listened carefully, treating every word as valuable as gold. He did his best to copy Lars' form and pay attention to the position of his limbs. As he did so, he suddenly felt his back leg getting sweeped further out.

“You can’t have such a short stance, or it’s useless. You’ll fall over as soon as you get punched, kicked, or tackled.”

“Oh… That makes sense,” Damien replied. He felt that having such a wide stance limited his mobility, but he’d already been told about how important centre of gravity was. If he didn’t keep himself firm, then it was easy to be knocked off his feet.

“Let’s go for a jab then.”

“A jab?”

“Yeah, it’s a quick punch using your left arm. It doesn’t hold a lot of power but it’s fast—so it’s harder to react to and can be thrown around often. You’ll be using your left more than your right.”

Lars exhibited a quick, run-of-the-mill left jab. He extended his arm quickly and cut through the air. The power it lacked was apparent, but the rapid snap of the movement proved that it shouldn't be underestimated by any means.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Damien watched his father’s quick punch a few more times, then tried his best to copy it for himself. The wind rushed by his arm as it soared forth but he couldn’t not notice how sluggish his jab looked in comparison.

Lars explained to Damien, “Not bad, but you’re leaving your arm out for too long. You’ve got to pull it back as soon as your arm fully extends. Remember, the jab only uses your arm to generate power. You have to rely on the motion of quickly snapping back to make it have the desired effect.”

Under Lars’ guidance, Damien attempted the left jab a few more times until he managed to make it snap. He was proud of his achievement and Lars wholeheartedly commended him for it. The both of them smiled, bonding as father and son in a way they had not done in recent times.

“Let’s move on to the right straight now. This is your heaviest punch, but it’s easier to see in motion and expends more energy. It should only be used in combination with multiple left jabs—when you’ve eroded their guard.”

Damien nodded, listening to Lars’ explanation. After realising that there was more to a punch using his left arm than he initially assumed, his expectations and excitement had grown rapidly. He wanted to learn more of his father’s martial arts and didn’t hide that fact.

“This time, we’re using our whole body to throw the punch. Don’t be tempted to swing it, though, or you’ll lose power and make it very easy to see.”

Lars got back into a boxing stance and prepared to throw a right straight. He twisted his hips, bending his knee slightly, and pushed through with his entire body behind him. A powerful punch was sent forward that was noticeably louder than the jab despite only hitting air.

Lars asked, “Can you give that a try?”

Damien nodded, attempting the right straight. Lars spent some time adjusting his son’s form, teaching him which part of his body to move and when exactly to move it. Damien soon pulled it off successfully.

After finishing that lesson, Lars and Damien heard a voice shouting at them, “What are you two doing? It’s time to eat lunch—come inside already!”

Lars noticed that it was his wife, Vanessa, who had come to fetch them after they had gone missing for some time. But he then froze once again, repeating the name that had surfaced in his mind.

“Vanessa,” he muttered.

Vanessa was closer now, no longer needing to shout to respond. She answered helplessly, “What is it, Lars?”

“Uhm…” Lars stumbled, not knowing what to say. “It’s nothing. We’ll be heading over now, Vanessa. Don’t worry.”

Vanessa harrumphed, then stated in a joking tone, “You better. There’ll be hell to pay if it’s cold by the time you’re back.”

She turned towards Damien, “You too, as well, mister. Training is fine but you can’t forget about everything else. Especially your studies!”

Damien responded deflatedly, “Okay, Mother.”

Vanessa repeated in an incredulous tone, “Okay?”

He quickly responded, correcting himself, “Yes, Mother!”

“Good,” Vanessa smiled as the sternness instantly faded away.

She turned back to Lars one last time, walking up to him and giving him a peck on the lips, “Wash up before you come to lunch, okay?”

Did she just...? Lars was stunned. It was a normal action for her to take, but he had only known Vanessa properly from this day. He did not hold any romantic inclinations towards her and wasn’t sure how to respond.

Vanessa seemed clueless, on the other hand, leaving the courtyard in no hurry. Her mood had improved visibly when she saw her husband getting along so well with Damien. Before today, she had been worried; her husband had been so swamped in his work and personal affairs that he had hardly spent time with his sons!

But now, he had taken the initiative to engage with Damien during his routine training. It was an endearing sight to see after the worrying sight this morning. He looked strange, after all, wearing clothes she hadn’t seen before and looking different somehow.

Furthermore, waking up late was unlike him. Lars typically was the type to wake in the early hours; sometimes before the maidservants even. Vanessa had noticed changes before today as well and was becoming increasingly worried. However, if this was actually a herald for positive change, then Vanessa could accept a few surfacing eccentricities.

Lars did as Vanessa had asked him to, once again searching for a bathroom in the labyrinth he called his own home and washing up. He preferably wanted to take a shower but there was a reason he was only told to wash up. There didn’t seem to be time, since he had to join his family for lunch.

He passed the next hour engaging in conversation with his family. It was stressful and problematic, being trapped at the dinner table as he was, but there was a natural inclination that led him in the right direction. As such, Lars managed to avoid garnering suspicion. He also recalled the name of his younger son—Charles.

The rest of the day passed rather idly. He couldn’t find any clues on how to progress the situation, nor were there any more abnormalities to uncover. He ended up returning to his bed after achieving nothing else. Of course, he located the bathing room and washed himself earlier in the day.

Naturally, his wife was there too. It was strange at first because he was forced to accept sleeping with a stranger. But he managed to acclimatise, having a lot of experience sleeping in much harsher environments surrounded by less tolerable people.

He woke up the next day, feeling refreshed compared to the previous day. Vanessa was still lying beside him this time and hadn’t yet woken up. Lars took the opportunity to slowly pull himself out of bed, taking the time to decide what to do next.