The magic was too intense. Eleanor’s nightly meditation had taken a wrong turn. She was still in the lotus position, but her face was contorted with pain and her three year old body was shaking. The air felt heavy and Lucian could feel the pressure in the room increasing.

“El!” Lucian called quietly, trying not to wake up their parents. Since he stopped crying they didn’t have to get up anymore and slept quite heavily at the other end of the house. “El, you need to relax.”

Eleanor couldn’t hear him and started to float in the air. Cracks formed on the wood of her bedframe and Lucian could feel faint vibrations coming from her. She’s either gonna blow up or wake up their parents. Probably both.

Eleanor tried hard to keep her secret, so Lucian felt compelled to try and help her before Dad, or even worse Mom, felt the energy and barged in. Jumping off his bed he tried to walk over but felt heavy resistance. There was a thick miasma of energy preventing him from reaching her.

Little did Eleanor know, however, was that Lucian knew how to channel his mana as well. It was definitely different from the mana of his third life, but the idea remained similar enough that he could use it.

Reinforcing his little body, he pushed through the thick magic energy and pulled himself onto her bed. It felt like he was going to be blown away, but he put his hands on her shoulder and started shaking.

“Ellie! Hey! Eleanor! Sis!” Lucian called, shaking her the entire time. Her face was in agony and small cries came out of her mouth. Was it a nightmare? Lucian thought the idea behind meditation was not falling asleep? Did possession exist in the world?

It was a miracle that their parents hadn’t woken up yet, but it was only a matter of time. With every second, the energy got more and more intense. Lucian had to make a choice. Leave her or… wake her up the hard way.

Lucian was trying not to be violent in this life, but for Eleanor’s sake he had to. He winded his hand back and slapped her as hard as he possibly could.

He winced at how hard it was. He had forgotten that he was reinforcing his body with magic and actually slapped her full force.

Her eyes shot open and she stopped floating. Falling onto the bed and covered in sweat, she brought a hand up to her red, stinging cheek.

Lucian immediately put his hands up in the air in surrender. “Sorry! I’m really sorry! It just looked like you were about to explode and I tried to use my words!” He laughed weakly in a sad attempt to lighten the mood.

She looked at him, expressionless.

The next thing Lucian knew he was on his back with hands wrapped around his throat. Eleanor was pinning him down and choking the life out of him. Her dark eyes were emotionless and showed no recognition or care that he was her brother.

Lucian tried to speak but only a strangled gasp came out of his mouth. She was going to kill him? Just to keep her secret?

Channeling all the mana he could, his body glowed with energy as he grabbed her wrists and pulled with all his power. The hands around his neck wouldn’t budge. He started punching her side but she showed no sign of even feeling his blows.

His jaw dropped as his glow started weakening. He felt his mana being sucked through his body and into hers.

Was this really happening, he wondered as he felt himself get weaker by the second.

Lucian desperately chanted a lightning incantation in his head. His hands burst with sparks and grabbed her side, hoping to electrocute her.

Even severely weakened, his lightning energy had no effect. It was sucked into her body like it was hers to begin with.

No matter how much mana Lucian gathered inside of him, Eleanor’s was greater. Lucian’s three year old body could barely move because of lack of oxygen. He was done. There was no fighting back. His life was in her hands and she wanted it gone.

“El?” Lucian got out weakly, using the last of his breath he stretched his arm and desperately grabbed on to her shoulder.

Suddenly, like a light being switched she changed, her eyes went from dull to alive and her grip weakened.

She looked at him with complex emotions. Shock. Anger. Fear. Shame. Lucian had never seen her face wretch like that before.

She lifted her trembling hands from his neck.. She tried to say something but he couldn’t hear what she said.

Lucian tried to say something too, but he lost consciousness before he could.

----------------------------------------

He half expected to wake up the next morning in his sixth body, but instead found himself in the same bed he had been using for months.

Needless to say, things had become very awkward in their household. Eleanor never brought up what had happened and Lucian decided to play it safe and do the same. He kept a vigilant eye out for her, just in case.

She seemed regretful, or at least he thought she seemed regretful. Her usual emotionless poise was hard to decipher.

At the dinner table she stared at him blankly.

When they were outside. Blank stare.

Lucian even woke up late one night to go to the bathroom and she was staring at him!

It was getting ridiculous. She was so undecipherable that it was hard to tell whether she felt bad or was thinking about finishing the job. His plans for a stressless fifth life was not going well since his roommate could kill him at any given moment.

Their parents took Eleanor’s usual silence as her character, and didn’t seem to notice how awkward the air seemed to be between them.

Lucian had to make a choice. Live in fear of Eleanor for the rest of his life, or fight back.

Her freakish ability to absorb mana was an issue. There was no way he could beat her in a fight without magic. If she really could absorb whatever magic she wanted then she was basically a walking apocalypse in this world.

A fight would be suicide, he quickly decided. He had to think outside of the box.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It took two weeks to plan the perfect revenge.

Eleanor had decided to sneak out the window and train outside since the incident. Either she didn’t want to hurt him or didn’t want him to see what was going on, probably both. She often stayed out there all night and would just tell their parents she woke up early and wanted to meditate outside.

She only really slept a few times a week.

Unfortunately for her, her actions gave Lucian plenty of time to plan his revenge.

It was a typical morning, and Eleanor was already enjoying breakfast with their parents after another all nighter doing who knows what.

Much later, Lucian walked out of their shared room and down the hall towards the kitchen. He let out a loud, tired yawn as approached his family already eating breakfast.

“Finally kid, I thought you died!” his dad called with fake dramatism. “What takes you so long? I was about to come dump water on you.”

"Ha ha," Lucian said dryly as he watched his father pick up his glass of water. "You only get up early because you're scared of Mom."

Hearing that mid sip, Dad choked and spat his juice out.

Mom smirked and looked at Dad gravely. "Is that true John? Are you telling my kids you're afraid of me?"

"No dear. No sir! No sir, no!" He quickly defended.

Lucian had a little box he used as a stepping stool to get onto his chair. He always sat next to Mom. When he got up the first thing he always did was glance at Eleanor across from him.

She was staring deeply at him. Her emotionless eyes were unreadable, and he had no idea what was going on in her head.

He silently started to eat.

"Hey Lu?" Mom asked. "I tried to wake you up earlier, but you just wouldn't get up. Are you alright?"

"I kept having these weird dreams last night and couldn't sleep well," he explained, watching Eleanor stiffen. He had been slowly conditioning her into thinking he was a heavy sleeper for the past few weeks. As far as Eleanor was aware, he slept like a rock.

"Really?"

"Yeah… but I can't remember. I got into a fight with some crazy lady. I think it might've been a vampire? Or some sort of demon because it was freaky. Either way, I'm pretty sure I won."

"Vampires? Oh boy those things suck," Dad lamented, "Your mother and I put one down a few years ago. I had to tie it up with a rope while your mother ran to the nearest farm to get some garlic. Crazy stuff!"

"John, none of that at the table - children," Mom reminded.

"Your son's a vampire hunter already. In his dreams, yeah, but he still did it."

Mom tried to hide her chuckle, but her smile showed through.

"I guess our little man can handle the night creatures just fine," she said before her face became neutral. "Still, just in case it's a dreamwalker, I'll set another layer of protection."

So possessions did exist in this world.

"Good idea," Dad agreed.

They ate well and joked in good humor. It was just how their family operated. Dad loved to tease Mom, and Mom would usually turn his jokes against him. Lucian played both sides whenever it seemed the most fun, while Eleanor just watched.

Little did she know, because she tried to murder him, he had something special prepared just for her.

He was just waiting for them to finish breakfast as a courtesy. Revenge was something he wanted to savor with a full stomach

Lucian took a deep breath before addressing his parents. "Mom, Dad… I actually have something important to tell you," he paused for a while, "It's about El."

Eleanor froze, her face turning pale.

"What is it, sweetie?" Mom asked, unaware of the tension in the room.

"I-" He closed his eyes and shook his head, “It's just that-”

.

"What's wrong?" Concern started to mount.

"She… she wet the bed!"

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"What!?" cried Eleanor and Dad at the same time. Mom tried to stifle her laughter, but it bubbled up inside her. She blew out a burst of air and raised an eyebrow at Eleanor, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Ellie? You wet yourself last night?" Dad exclaimed.

"No!" Eleanor cried with emotion she had never displayed before. "I absolutely did not!"

"Yes!" Dad shouted, "I mean no! Yes to her no! My daughter is a respectable lady and she doesn’t do that!”

"She did," Lucian cried dramatically. "Go check! She didn't even clean up after herself!"

Dad looked at Eleanor, shocked. Completely forgetting he was supposed to be defending her, he stared incredulously. "You didn't clean up after yourself? You were just gonna let your bed stink like that?"

Eleanor's pale face had turned into a bright red. She glared at her brother, then to Dad. She stood up dramatically and marched to their room, the rest of the family following closely behind.

When they got to her bed, they noticed that yes, indeed, it was soiled.

He had spent probably eighty years living across five different worlds. During those eighty years, he had fought hard and to the death many times.

An eye for an eye. If someone tries to take your life you must retaliate. Eleanor had tried to kill him, so he had to retaliate. She spared his life, and he was barely three years old, so he had to improvise.

Yes. He had pissed in her bed. Was that ridiculously petty and beneath his existence? Perhaps, yes.

Lucian did not care.

He was only three years old and he had to use the tools and resources that were available for a three year old.

Lucian cried out, pointing at Eleanor, "The smell! Mom, the smell! She knew what she did and didn’t even care! She’s so obsessed with training that she got right up and left!"

"No!" Eleanor protested. "It’s a misunderstanding! That is not what happened. I did not do that in my own bed!"

Dad asked hollowly, "So did a ghost come and piss your bed?" He couldn't believe what was happening as Eleanor was the embodiment of perfection in his eyes.

Eleanor tried to defend herself, but all she ended up doing was stuttering a bunch of nonsense. Mom bent over and hugged her, partly to hide her amused smile from her daughter.

"It’s okay, baby," Mom assured. "It happens at your age. You know we still have those diapers from when you were young. Dear?"

"I’m on it!" Dad said, pulling Eleanor’s sheets off the bed and running away to who knows where.

Eleanor had no chance of defending herself. They knew she was up early exercising and meditating, but as far as their parents knew, she was asleep in that bed every night. They had no idea she was out in the yard all night, and there was no way she would expose herself.

She broke down.

"Mom!" Eleanor cried pitifully, her voice trembling as if she was on the verge of tears. “I didn’t. I didn’t…”

Lucian said gravely, "She needs the diaper, Mom. Once it starts, it may never stop. She’s only three, it’s only a little shameful."

"Lu!" Eleanor roared with her little fists clenched, but she couldn't charge at him while still held tightly in Mom’s arms.

"It’s not Lulu’'s fault, Eleanor," Mom explained, stroking her back. "It’s just something that happens to kids like you. It’s okay."

Lucian had hoped for a conflict free life, but teasing Eleanor brought a new excitement that he had never felt before. Seeing her mask break and watching her stomp around like a child was so refreshing, it almost made him forget the crazy, hollow look she had given him the other night. It made him wonder if this was what family was all about.

Although Eleanor had tried to kill him, Lucian figured that fighting and getting into tough situations was just part of being in a family. After all, it didn't seem like she meant to try to kill him. It was a new experience for him, this family stuff, but he could try to move on.

After all, she was his sister.