After Arthur formed his mana core, his fragile body struggled to handle the backlash of its immense power. His limbs felt heavy, his breathing unstable and every fiber of his muscle ached from the strain. Restricted to his bed, he could barely muster the strength to move. His parents, worried sick, sat beside him with their faces lined with concern.
Kiara with her healing magic worked tirelessly, her hands glowing with soft light as she poured mana into Arthur's core to stabilize him. But even her efforts couldn't do much. The explosion had left a lingering strain on his body that even Kiara's rare and strong healing magic couldn't entirely heal. Raymond, despite the burn wound on his chest, refused to rest and instead stayed by Arthur's side, constantly trying to motivate him but his expression a mixture of guilt and helplessness.
"Am fine, father. Everything will be fine. Don't worry, am just exhausted." Arthur comforted his dad before drifting into an uneasy sleep, his mind clouded with exhaustion.
ARTHUR VAREN POV
As I fell asleep from the exhaustion, for the first I recalled my past life in detail ever since reincarnating. Although, it was something I wished to forget, I couldn't. And that past came back...haunting me.
My name used to be Alex Lokhart. From the very beginning, I had everything a guy could wish for. Wealth, intelligence, a strong body and admiration from everyone around me. My father, who was obsessed with status, power and money, never came back home as he was always going around countries for business trips. My mother was kind and affectionate but little did I know it was just a mask to hide her true self.
At school, I was no less than a celebrity. Everyone from school, even teachers admired me. But the most important to me was my best friend, Rowan. He was more like a brother to me, than my older brother.
Rowan was born with a weak body and couldn't fight and so, he was an easy target to get bullied. I couldn't just stand and watch as my best friend gets bullied. I always rushed to help him before anyone and eventually, end up beating all the guys who dare trash talk him.
"Alex, you don't have to protect me everytime. I owe you everything and I promise to pay you back someday." Rowan was cheerful as he said that. He was always that kind of a person.
Our peaceful days like that continued but it was just the calm before the storm.
I often went to Rowan's house to meet him and his parents. His father was in army and a high-ranking one at that. He had achieved many awards and had done a lot of services for his country. I admired his strength and discipline. He was my role model. Being a soldier, he was barely at home but that day, he came back home from his duties and joined us at dinner.
After the dinner, me and Rowan had went out to a grocery store to buy few things. But when we returned, the house was in ruins. The door broken, windows shattered and the walls in the house marked with bullets and as we stepped inside, the room was filled with stench of blood and we found Rowan's parents body lying down lifeless on the floor. As I processed, what happened here, a deep voice came from behind.
"Boss, looks like there are few kids here."
As we turned behind, we saw a group of armed men with guns and bombs. It took me only 1 glance to know that they were terrorists.
Rowan and I ran for somewhere to hide but as I turned back, but I noticed Rowan wasn't with me and when I looked around, I realized that he had already been caught by the group of scums. He tried to break free but it was useless against them. His eyes locked with mine as he shouted, "Alex, run!!"
My mind went blank and I froze. I wanted to go back and help him but my legs didn't moved the way I wanted it to. It wasn't long before the boss of the scums, shot my best friend through chest. As I looked at his face while he fell, I was reminded that next turn is mine if I get caught. My natural instincts kicked in as I made a run for it. I ran and ran for hours, cursing myself that I couldn't save him when it mattered the most. His face before getting shot was something I could never forget. It haunted me and became a nightmare.
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I kept on running until I heard the siren of police and the terrorists retreated. I didn't felt relief, rather I was filled with guilt. As I made my way back to place, where he was shot I noticed him still breathing barely. I could tell even if I take him to hospital, it's too late.
"Alex..am glad you survived. Thanks...for..a-always protecting me and being with me. I am sorry that I couldn't keep my promise," tears fell down as I saw him in such a state where he could barely speak. "Stop talking, idiot! Nothing will happen to you! Stay with me!" I tried to give myself false hope that everything will be all right but he didn't think twice to give me a reality check. "Alex, w-wait...it's fine. My life ends here, but your life will continue. I'll be always thankful, I got a friend like you. I-I'll pray for you that we again meet someday in future but till then please d-don't forget me.." he took his last breath as he closed his eyes, his body grew cold in my arms. I was now holding a lifeless body of my best friend and begged him not to leave me. I cried, not ready to accept this as reality.
The news of Rowan and his parent's death spread around the whole city like wildfire and I was left with nothing but grief. The weight of guilt bore down on me, knowing I couldn't save him.
But this was just the beginning of hell of my life. My life again took a turn for worse, after 6 months of his death when I woke up, my body feeling...different. My body felt heavier and slower. At first, I brushed it off, thinking it was nothing but as the days continued, I no longer could ignore the changes. My body grew fat and ugly uncontrollably, no matter if I ate or not or how much workout I did.
After getting a checkup from the city's best doctors, even they gave up saying that the disease that struck me was unknown and could not be treated with the current technology.
Admiration from others turned into mockery. Whispers followed me wherever I went, stinging like thousand needles. My peers who once looked up to me with respect turned into disgust. The respect I had earned over the years disappeared in an instant, replaced by cruel taunts. It made my longing for Rowan even more. How I wished him to be alive and stay by my side.
My father, who had been away on one of his business trip for years, finally returned home after getting the news of my disease from mother. When he finally saw me, he came up to me and slapped me across the face.
It was the first thing he'd done after years of absence and seeing his own son.
From that moment on, I realized how superficial the world truly is and my life became hell itself. My father, a man who once ignored my existence, now found every opportunity to berate and beat me up. His words cut more deep than his beatings. "You're pathetic. A disgrace to the family." his words became a reminder to me, how much of a failure I was.
My mother, who once showered me with affection, stopped looking at me. Her kind smile was gone, replaced by a cold glare. They pulled me out of school, locking me inside our house as if I were some shameful secret they needed to hide from the world. They started treating me like a slave, to the point they snatched all my freedom and gave me a small space in the storeroom.
On my 16th birthday, I sat alone in my so-called "room", staring at my childhood photos. The boy was unrecognizable to me now and I wished I could go back in time.
That same night, my older brother, Asher returned from his trip abroad. My parents threw a grand celebration for him, the kind of celebration I used to have on my birthday's. No-one even remembered today was my birthday.
Just as I was adapting to my life as a slave, I couldn't hold back anymore and I cried myself to sleep that night, wishing for everything to end.
And it did end.
When I tried to open my eyes, my eyes felt heavy and my body went cold. It didn't take me long to realize that I was now dead.
And when my eye's really did open, I was reincarnated as Arthur Varen in another world.
The memories of my past life ended but the emotions it stirred still lingered in my heart. The betrayal, the loneliness, the despair- they felt as fresh as the day it happened.
"Honey, why are you crying? Does it still hurt?" as I opened my eyes, I saw my mother hovering above me, looking at me with concern as her eyebrows furrowed and my dad's burned chest was now covered with bandages.
Now, my body felt better than before. I got up from my bed and went to hug my parents.
"I managed to stabilize your core with my healing but you are not allowed to move for few days." my mother ordered me, with concern all over her face. Strangely, I didn't feel sad at her order, rather I was happy.
This is my life and its in my hands, how I wanna live it.