The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 183: My lovely... dear father

After gently picking up the baby, the nurse looked into the pair of wide, black eyes staring back at her.

"H... cu..."

She spoke softly, looking at the baby’s adorable little face, almost wanting to gently pinch his cheeks for a moment.

Though maintaining her professionalism...

A gentle smile spread across her lips before she slowly walked toward Seraphina, who was looking at her son with a faint, blank expression.

But the moment she saw the nurse walking toward her, she slowly raised her gaze.

Carefully...

The nurse placed the child into the mother’s trembling arms.

Lucian, unable to control his own body, could only look at his mother’s face once again.

Tears still streamed down her cheeks, especially the moment her misty eyes met his.

Her icy-blue gaze lingered on her newborn’s slightly chubby face, on the few soft strands of hair resting atop his tiny head.

A gentle...

Yet a heartbreakingly fragile smile bloomed across her lips, making Lucian feel an ache in his chest—even though he knew it was merely an emotion, since his actual heart was beating perfectly calmly.

’What is even happening?’ he muttered inwardly once again.

Before he could even try to ask Akasha—

"Waa... waa...!"

Another loud cry escaped from his tiny mouth.

His small body squirmed helplessly, moving entirely on its own.

’I don’t have any control...’

No matter how much he wanted to stop crying, he couldn’t.

His body simply acted according to its own instincts.

Though amidst all those instincts, he clearly felt one overwhelming emotion.

Hunger.

The instant the infant began crying again, Seraphina blinked in surprise.

Unsure why he had suddenly become restless, she instinctively turned toward the nurse.

The nurse stepped closer, briefly looked at the baby, and softly muttered,

"M.... i.. ...st ...ngry."

Hearing those words, Seraphina lowered her gaze toward him once more.

After hesitating for a long moment...

She slowly loosened the front of her hospital gown.

For an instant, Lucian’s consciousness completely froze.

Then—

’Haa...’

He let out a long inward sigh, genuinely not knowing how to feel about his current situation.

More than anything, he wanted to close his eyes.

But he couldn’t.

Still...

As his gaze unintentionally drifted across her, he noticed something that immediately caught his attention.

The hospital gown wasn’t long enough to fully cover her arms—which meant...

Any scars should have been visible.

But there weren’t any. Not a single one.

Her pale skin was completely unblemished.

’...Is it because he only started hitting her afterward?’

Despite how calmly the thought surfaced, his mind erupted with violent rage.

The awkwardness he had been feeling was swallowed by it, leaving behind nothing but sadness for the woman before him.

She looked so young right now.

It wasn’t that she looked old in his own time, but there was still a trace of innocence in those icy-blue eyes—a faint naivety he had never seen before.

The baby—or rather, his infant body—instinctively moved closer to her breast and latched onto her nipple, greedily drinking the warm milk.

Even Lucian subconsciously found the taste comforting—

Though that was likely only because he was experiencing everything through the instincts of an infant.

But just then—

[You seem to be enjoying yourself.]

The moment Akasha’s teasing voice echoed inside his mind—

’What the hell is this memory you sent me into?! And why the fuck do I have to relive my own memories?!

Is this really the memory contained within that fragment?!’

His voice thundered throughout his consciousness, unable to escape his lips.

[...]

Seeing her remain silent, Lucian inwardly frowned, the lingering taste of milk still remaining in his mouth.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the turmoil raging within his mind, Seraphina quietly looked down at the child resting in her arms with a tender smile—one that appeared heartbreakingly fragile beneath the tears still staining her cheeks.

The nurse continued watching her with concern, yet there was little she could truly say.

Not when she couldn’t understand what Seraphina was really trying to say... or what she was truly feeling.

Several more seconds passed in silence.

’Akasha... answer.’

This time, Lucian’s voice came out much calmer.

[There’s nothing to answer.]

’What do you—’

[Just experience the memory for now.

Aren’t you even a little curious about your childhood...?

You don’t remember this moment, do you?]

’Of course I don’t.’

Lucian muttered inwardly, his physical body finally settled down, feeling satisfied before instinctively pulling away.

’How do you expect me to remember my childhood?’

[Then consider yourself lucky.]

Lucian really wanted to argue, but he already knew it would be pointless.

Especially when his mind wasn’t properly working, perhaps clouded by the unfamiliar emotions as well as the unconscious, instinctive movements of his body that continued acting against his own will.

His tiny head slowly turned on its own, and only then did he notice that the nurse had already left the room.

"You ar... ...ve... ...u ...e.....ve"

Seraphina’s clipped, trembling voice reached his ears as she slowly lowered her head until her forehead rested against his own.

A few warm teardrops slipped down onto his cheek.

’Why are you crying...?’ Lucian softly asked inwardly, desperately wanting to reach out to her and wipe away those tears himself.

But...

Once again... he couldn’t.

Then—

Almost without warning, his eyelids began growing heavy. His vision blurred as his eyes slowly flickered shut.

’Again... sleep...?’

Even before the thought could fully form, his consciousness was swallowed by darkness once more.

...

After what felt like a small fleeting instant...

His eyelids slowly opened again beneath the faint voices of two people—one of them unmistakably belonging to Seraphina.

Once again, he found himself lying inside the crib—locked within yet another cage while already trapped inside the cage of the tiny body he was forced to inhabit.

After a few more moments had passed, Seraphina lowered her gaze toward him.

The instant she noticed he was awake, her eyes visibly brightened.

A gentle smile spread across her lips before she slowly and carefully picked him up, his tiny body still wrapped snugly in a soft white cloth.

Her face had already been wiped clean, the tear stains gone, revealing her beautiful pale skin and those icy-blue eyes that were no longer clouded with tears.

"He... lo... a.. yo..r fath...r."

Though her voice remained distorted, the infant’s gaze never left her face.

By now, Lucian had begun to understand.

The reason he couldn’t hear their voices properly was perhaps because of his infant senses, which hadn’t fully developed yet.

Then—

"Let m.. h..... him."

A calm, neutral male voice suddenly reached his ears.

The instant Lucian heard it, a terrible feeling surged within him.

Seraphina quietly looked up.

Despite the obvious reluctance hidden within her eyes... she carefully handed the baby over.

A pair of large hands gently received him.

A man.

Dressed in a perfectly tailored navy-blue suit, the man carried himself with effortless authority.

His neatly trimmed beard, hazel eyes, and carefully styled dark-brown hair gave him the appearance of a successful businessman.

Someone who commanded respect through his appearance alone, his arrogant gaze, and his imposing posture.

The very moment Lucian saw that face...

His thoughts came to a complete halt.

Instantly, he felt as though his blood had run cold just from looking into those calm, analytical eyes staring back at him.

’...Damien.’

The name surfaced within his mind, and his voice turned colder than ever.

’Damien Cross.

My lovely... dear father.’

An immense, overwhelming rage erupted within him, flooding every corner of his mind with such intensity that even his vision seemed to blur for an instant.

Just as instinctively as he had wanted to reach toward his mother and wipe away her tears...

He felt the very same instinct now.

Only this time...

He wanted to wrap both of his hands around that man’s throat.

To slowly strangle him, letting go just before he died—

Only to repeat the process again.

Again...

Again...

Until he begged for death...

Yet would never be allowed to have it.

[Calm down. This is only a memory.

You getting angry at him won’t do or change anything from the past.]

Lucian wanted to argue more than anything, but...

He knew she was right.

As irritating as that thought was.

No matter what he did, he couldn’t change the past that had already happened, especially not while he was merely reliving a memory.

Damien quietly looked down at the child resting in his arms.

His expression remained completely neutral, almost as though he were looking at nothing more than a tool—something that might prove useful someday.

Lucian couldn’t tell whether that impression came from his own hatred...

Or whether Damien truly saw him that way.

Then—

A faint twitch appeared between Damien’s brows as he continued staring at the child for several more silent seconds.

Meanwhile...

Seraphina remained seated upon the hospital bed, her expression calm, though her gaze never left the child resting in her husband’s arms.

And within that quiet gaze of hers, there was something that no one could identify... perhaps not even her.