(Carl POV)

My axe cut through his neck, killing him.

However, I didn't feel my axe cutting through any bone nor was any blood spilled. The Julius in front of me flickered out of existence.

"—!"

An arm was piercing through my chest holding my heart.

"Huh, what happened?"

I slurred my words. I was breathing heavily. My heartbeat was slowing and the arteries connected to my heart were torn. I was going to die soon.

"Illusion clone. I'm not particularly good at using construction mana properties so this took a lot of me."

I was feeling light-headed. My body was going numb. It was painful, yet I couldn't scream. I wanted to move, but my body wasn't listening to me. I felt an inescapable darkness pull me.

It was terrifying. It was like I was going into the abyss.

'No no no no, I'm not dying here.'

Those were my final thoughts before my soul was dragged out of my body and sucked into the void.

***

(Julius POV)

I wish I could have tortured him before he died. He deserved a much more painful death. But, I wasn't strong enough to capture him.

The heart in my hand stopped beating and the body I was holding slumped. I let go of him, and the body fell on the floor, blood spilling out of his body.

My mana capacity was dangerously low and I would've died if he saw through my clone. My arm was bloody and started to stink. I pointlessly crushed the heart in my hand and threw it onto the ground.

I was satisfied. Revenge tasted sweet. I was ecstatic, relieved. I could feel my anger slowly dissipating. My emotions, on the verge of erupting now pacified. I felt refreshed.

However, replacing that anger. I could slowly feel an emptiness filling me, a sense of hollowness.

'Is this what Moria meant, by becoming an empty shell.'

I shook my head. I couldn't let myself be consumed by this. I remembered what I wanted to do and my rivalry with Amina. If I lost myself here, she wouldn't let me see the end of it.

I explored Carl's room. It was very spacious. However, most of the furniture was ruined because of our fight. The entire room was destroyed. I turn my head to see a hole in the floor.

The only object left undamaged was a door at the end of the room. I opened it and I saw a lot of mostly naked women inside.

As soon as they saw me, they backed away into the corner in fear. I was an unknown person.

"How disgusting."

Their mana felt unusual. Like they were under the influence of something. They looked like they were under the influence of alcohol.

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"Gicephamine?"

Their mana resembled the effects of the drug. They were addicted to it. They weren't going to recover from this.

However, from the corner of my eye, I saw someone I had long written off as dead.

"MOTHER!"

The women were all surprised at my outburst. I immediately ran toward her and hugged her. Yet she didn't even recognise me. She was only paralysed in fear.

"FUCK YOU CARL RAMIREZ!"

Even after his death, he continued to torment me.

I looked into her eyes. Despite her fear for me her eyes seemed to say.

"Please son, kill me. I'll be fine and I'll join your father. Please accept my selfish request."

She was suffering. Everyone here was suffering. I resolved myself.

'I'll end all of Carl's work here. I needed to resolve my past. I'm sorry father. I couldn't save my mother.'

I used my frost attribute to cool the surrounding area. The women all started feeling drowsy and soon they all fell asleep.

I wanted them to die in the most peaceful way possible. Dying while sleeping seemed the most peaceful to me.

One by one, I quietly tiptoed to each woman and stabbed them in the heart. They did not react to me. I hoped I killed them painlessly.

Finally, I was left with my mother. I covered her with a cloth, covering her entire body, except her face.

I took a deep breath. As much as I wanted to cure her, that would only prolong her suffering. Death would be mercy for them.

I slowly reduced her body temperature until her heart stopped beating and she died.

I covered the rest of the women with a blanket. They probably didn't want to be seen so shamelessly. They didn't deserve this. They were victims of a terrible drug that had to be eliminated.

I returned to the base and asked them to clean up my mess. Also requested to have my mother's body. I wanted to bury her myself.

***

After finishing the reports, I rented an ATV and took a trip to Burton Town. Since I was unable to drive, a SUITE agent came along with me. After several days without any incidents, I reached my destination.

When we arrived, I requested that the agent didn't follow me as I wanted to be alone. The agent nodded and let me off on my own.

The town hadn't changed much since I last came here. The infrastructure was almost the same, except with some buildings starting to cave in.

Animals had taken up residence in this town after the humans were gone. All animals in this world were magical creatures, like humans. Some animals had low magical potential while others were higher. Animals that were especially strong and dangerous to humans were usually referred to as monsters.

None of the animals here were strong enough to defeat me so I let out my {Haki}. Their animal instincts made them stay well away from me.

I carried her body to a hill with a single tombstone on it. I buried her body next to my father. They could finally rest together.

I stared at the two tombstones overlooking our small town.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't save you. I hope your next life will have less suffering. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine."

I was sniffling and tearing up. Despite them being my second parents and only knowing them for a short time, I loved them as much as the ones in my previous life.

"-?"

I felt two hands on my shoulder. I look around but I couldn't find anything. I looked up at the clouds and I saw my parents' smiling faces looking down at me.

I shook my head and the sky returned to normal.

'I must be imagining things.'

Though some part of me actually thought they were going to watch my journey.

'If they are watching, I must show them my best then.'

It wasn't dark yet, so I wandered around aimlessly, reminiscing. I could imagine the residents of the town living their daily lives.

I didn't know how many hours past, but when I looked up it was already dark.

I stayed in the town for the night. None of the animals disturbed my sleep. I woke up to a clear sky with the sunrise beaming down on me.

"Goodbye."

As I left the town, I said my last farewells to Burten Town. As much as I yearned to have my previous life, I had to let it go. I probably wasn't coming back ever again.

Despite my loss, I was happy that I could leave my dark past behind me. I had no more burdens and could look toward the future instead of being haunted by my past.

I soon as I got to the vehicle, I realised I left the agent alone throughout the night. He was sleeping peacefully in the car, while the TV on the dashboard was playing a show.

After apologising to the agent, we returned to New Blackwell.

End of Volume 1

AN: I hope you readers enjoyed the first volume. This was the prologue to my story and I'm excited for the future arcs I have planned.

I probably made quite a lot of mistakes and grammatical errors. In the future, I might rewrite this volume, though that's probably far into the future.

If you are asking about how long this book is going to be, well I don't know. I'll keep writing as long as I have ideas.

Thank you guys for reading and stay tuned for Volume 2.