NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: Rebellion Against Heaven - Part 17
Chapter 17: Breakup
It was a quiet weekend. Ryuusei no longer thought about revenge, not with the intensity he had before. Now I just wanted to enjoy simple moments. He was in the kitchen, delicately preparing a dessert. The soft mixture in the bowl, the sweet aroma of sugar and the warmth of a home that, for a long time, felt far away. He looked at his watch and wiped his hands on his apron.
"Aiko, I'm coming back now." I'm going to buy some things that I'm missing.
She nodded with a smile, not noticing the faint melancholy in her gaze. Ryuusei took to the streets of Tokyo, enjoying the cool breeze. He walked unhurriedly, his mind at peace for the first time in a long time. But then, as he passed by an illuminated restaurant, his heart stopped.
Through the glass, he saw his family.
His mother, with the same sweet look and careful gestures. His father, serious but protective. And his two sisters, laughing together, as if nothing had changed. As if he had never existed. His chest was compressed with brutal force, as if something were ripping his soul. Without thinking, he entered the restaurant, with cautious steps, feeling a tremor run through his body.
"Mom... Dad..." he whispered, his words barely audible.
He drew closer, his breathing short, his eyes searching for some sign of recognition. But when his parents looked at him, they saw only a stranger. To a 17-year-old boy who spoke to them out of nowhere. Her mother narrowed her eyes in bewilderment, her father tensed, and her sisters exchanged confused glances.
"Excuse me?" His mother asked, with some trepidation.
Ryususei's heart broke. Why? Why didn't they recognize him? He took a step back, feeling the rejection in his eyes. It wasn't hatred, it wasn't contempt, it was worse: it was emptiness. As if it had never been a part of their lives. Unable to bear it any longer, he turned on his heel and ran away. The sound of the city became a distant echo, the world blurred as his legs led him aimlessly into a dark alley.
He leaned against the wall, his breath heavy. His throat closed and, for the first time in years, he cried.
"Mom... dad... mum... Dad..." His voice cracked in the icy air, in a wail that no one heard.
Tears fell uncontrollably, soaking his face. A deep, almost unbearable pain devoured him from within. He screamed with rage, with desperation, with the helplessness of a child abandoned in a world that no longer remembered him.
The old man's words echoed in his mind. The choice. La Paz. The purpose. But at that time, there was only emptiness. There was only a hole left in his soul that nothing could fill.
He wiped his tears with his sleeve, feeling his face harden. Sadness was transformed into something darker, something familiar. His heart beat with a heavy rhythm, shrouding himself in shadows again. His hand slid to his mask, the one he had left in storage. He held it between his fingers, staring at her.
"If the world has forgotten me," he whispered in a low but poison-laden voice, "then I'll take care to remind you.
He drew his daggers. Their hammers. The blood inside him boiled like a volcano ready to erupt. He walked firmly to his apartment, with a decision that would not allow for doubts. He slammed open the door and looked at Aiko with an icy intensity.
"Get ready," he ordered. Tonight, we are back on the hunt.
The flames of vengeance burned once more in his gaze. The child who had cried in that alley was left behind. Only Ryuusei, the specter of war, remained.