[Lucas POV]
The world distorted and succumbed to darkness once again.
When the blurry darkness subsided, I found myself standing in another familiar place.
With hollow eyes, I stared up and saw a frail Lucas traversing a rugged muddy terrain of a forest cautiously.
At that time a weird thought came into my mind.
'Is this a different past of some sort? If it is, then why is he taking this path instead of the train like the previous one.'
'Did he know about the misfortune waiting on him?'
'Is he a regressor or can he see the future images like a seer? What is going on?'
My mind was completely overwhelmed by the influx of questions as I tried to figure out the answers.
There must be a reason behind all the scenes and a clue that might hold great significance later.
That guy who took over for me must surely be real Lucas and if he is then what does he want?
Was he the one who brought me to this world?
And what ploy was he cooking with him using me as a pawn?
The feeling of being controlled and used irked my nerves for some reason.
As I carefully observed Lucas's trail, my heart suddenly jolted in shock knowing the path he was taking and what lay ahead of him.
A scene that was too memorable for me to forget.
Lucas, who was trailing cautiously, stood like a block of ice the moment he walked out of the forest.
Coming out of the forest, he was greeted by a huge Direwolf resting on a glade who gave an eerie smile staring at a frail boy shivering in fear.
It stood up and took a slow step.
Under my widened eyes, Lucas took a step back corresponding to Direwolf's steps. Soon, a play of cats and mice ensued.
The play of cat and mice went on.
Lucas, unable to ease his nerves, turned his back and started running in fear.
However, this was the worst mistake he could make.
The moment he took his eyes off it, the Direwolf, like lightning stretched its limbs and chasing Lucas, pounced on him.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Lucas shrieked in pain as the dire wolf's huge claw dug into his back and then tore his flesh apart.
Lucas tried to struggle but opening its sharp fangs, Direwolf lodged its claws in his shoulder followed by a bloody mess.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!''
The moment Lucas's body started getting torn apart, the vibrant deadly sensation was suddenly transferred to me, scaring the shits out of me.
I groaned in pain and fell to the ground as my body quivered and jolted like a flapping fish that was thrown out of water.
I can feel his flesh getting torn away from bones, sharp nails and fangs piercing inside his body and breaking through his bones.
I can feel the strength of the bite that squeezes all of his organs.
Foam appeared on my lips, my vision started becoming cloudy and soon, I lost consciousness again.
....
The world blurred again, the pain subsided and the mental trauma that I suffered vanished as if it never existed.
The moment I opened my lips, another pain coursed through my body.
Unlike before, the sharp pain assaulted me even before I opened my eyes.
Fortunately, this was the level of pain I was used to.
Opening my eyes, I looked down and saw many bruises all over my body along with blue and black spots.
Raising my head, I found that this was the rooftop of the 1st year.
'Now what's happening here?'
Just as I wondered what was going on, I heard loud pleas for forgiveness.
"Plea….Please…."
A quivering voice echoed from afar.
"Please forgive me."
"Please let me go."
"Shut up, you son of a bitch."
I turned my head and saw three people kicking someone and it didn't take long for me to figure out who that someone was since I could feel a deep wrenching pain in my guts as their kicks connected.
I could see several other students standing a bit away and watching with interest.
Some were smoking, shooting out a puff while some were taking a drink while gambling on something.
I knew there was a group of drunkards and gamblers who mostly used this place but they have never been punished. There might be an instance where they were caught red-handed but they were freed after investigation as the cigarette had medicinal herbs instead of weed or drugs, and the drinks were fruit wine for minors.
However, as I looked at them, I was sure these were groups of addicts and the more I watched them giggling and laughing, the more anger rose inside me.
My heart burned with anger and a flurry of flames started to burn my blood watching the scene.
I ran towards the group wanting to save Lucas from the repeated flurry of strikes but as I reached there, my hand passed through them as if I was a ghost.
It was only then, that I realized that I could move freely unlike before when my body was carried by invariable forces.
Sadly, I wasn't able to touch them otherwise I would have cut these bastards down.
Unable to do anything I just swallowed my anger and pain, while taking note of them
"At least, it was still better than the previous times. The pain of getting beaten could never be compared to the pain of death."
However, that didn't mean I can forgive them.
The three boys who looked to be seniors of 2nd year, kicked Lucas again and again while cursing at him.
"Filthy fucking commoner, how dare you refuse to lick my shoes to clean them."
"Hey, idiot, don't you know it's because of your good luck that you were given a chance to lick Sir Flyod's shoes? We were giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you."
The boot licker standing beside Flyod raised his burly legs and slammed it into the boy's guts as he sank into a gut-wrenching pain, his whole body was filled with scratches and bruises.
"Ahhhh!"
"Ahhhh!"
The screams stopped for a moment.
Lucas' whole body was just a rag of bones, there was no hint of fat or muscles in his body and his skin seemed to be merged with his bone. He looked more like a skeleton zombie than a human.
"Wait, did he pass out? Get him up, I didn't have my fill?''
"Tsk... seriously. The commoners nowadays don't have guts like those of the past who retaliated at the slightest grievance and it was so much more enjoyable to crush their minds and turn them into slaves. This filth can't even take a few kicks, how frustrating."
Floyd with a sneer looked at his sidekicks with a meaningful gaze.
"Boss, don't worry about him. It's this guy who is useless. Can't even take some measly beating. He doesn't know how lucky he is for him to be beaten by you."
"Yeah, his stamina is too poor. No girl is gonna like him. Boss, we are not at fault for all this."
"Do I need to look for a new target? What trash gets done in just a few days of beating?"Floyd spoke, flickering his soft shiny blonde hair.
"Hey, wake him up."
"Yes Boss."
The two sidekicks spoke monotonously and one of them took a bottle of water to throw at the fallen boy but was stopped by Floyd.
"You little shit. Do you want to waste water on this piece of trash? A commoner was woken up by a noble sprinkling water on him. If words spread out, our faces are going to burn to ashes. We can't even show our faces in public!"Floyd screamed at the top of his lungs trying to contain his urge to kick his servant.
"Then boss, how do you want us to wake him up?"
"Just piss on him," Floyd said nonchalantly.
"Boss!"
"Boss!"
Both the people screamed with a hint of embarrassment.
"What? The CCTV camera is facing off to the other side. It is not even working so just finish emptying."
"But boss the students..."The duo hesitated a bit.
"Empty it quickly."
"If anyone dares to play hero, I will crush their balls and gauge their eyes out of them!" Floyd shouted looking around at the group of people on the other side who stepped back in fear of hearing his blatant provocation.
This guy seemed like he was a bully and a sinister bastard to the core who liked to take joy in others' suffering.
Though he flaunts his power, his strength is much weaker and he must be a bottom dweller in his second year his ego is too big to accept this and to fuel his so-called ego, he looks for a weakling 1st-year student without any prominent background and bully them until he is satisfied.
Once satisfied with the current toy, he goes around looking for another toy.
Though his strength was weaker, his family held a great deal of authority. Last time, a bullied person snitched him for which he was punished. He stepped back at the time but after a week it was found that the student's house was burnt, his parent's business was ruined and they were forced to beg on the road.
"Such a vicious bastard"
"Stop watching and wake him up."
"Yes..."The two boys nodded with a slight hesitation and unzipped their pants to let the hot water gush out.
Lucas blinked and suddenly woke and yelled as he felt hot water dripping on him but he trembled as he saw a group of people who were standing before him and were looking at him, giving him a menacing look.
They smiled evilly seeing him tremble in fear.
Waking up from his stupor, he raised his trembling hands, joined it, begged for mercy and said, "Lord Flyod, please don't beat me. I will do everything you say, please leave me alone. I am just a commoner who doesn't value anything so, please...."
Crying frantically, Lucas jumped up to hold Flyod's legs who stepped back with a disgusted look and kicked him.
BANG!
Floyd forgot to hold back, didn't control his strength and sent Lucas flying over the rooftop which is the height of three storeys.
"Holyshit!"
"Boss!"The two boys screamed with panicked expressions, seeing the boy falling down the roof, whether he was dead or alive was unknown.
Floyd's eyes widened with horror as he knew that if the boy died, things might get worse.
"Let's run away."
Floyd muttered and ran away leaving his two sidekicks alone unaware of the boy who was looking at them with eyes as dark as a black hole that could suck the life out of them.
Before I could react, the scene changed before my eyes and I saw Lucas lying on the ground choking up on his blood.
He might have managed to protect his head but in doing so, his hands had snapped out at an odd angle.
His mouth was opened wide but no voice emerged from his lips.
I was startled to see him remaining conscious despite his injuries. I looked around but there was none to help as his broken detached body had fallen at the narrow corner of the garden.
If this was a concrete surface, death was imminent.
Soon, drops of rain poured from the sky, drenching and washing away the blood soaking the ground.
The boy's eyes soon became moist, unknown to him whether it was a tear shed from an untold grievance or a sprinkle of rain.
As I stood beside him silently, seeing his bleak eyes that were overwhelmed by sadness and loneliness, a small sound of splashing water due to footsteps echoed drawing my attention.
An umbrella of ice materialized above startling me and him, whose pupil just rotated like a lifeless person.
A woman filled with valour and coldness, with an expression of detachment, appeared casting her blue crystalline pupils at the broken boy.
Her body paused for a moment with a look of bewilderment and sympathy.
A series of emotions flashed over her cold face and a soft warm voice, contrary to the aura of iciness emerged.
"I don't know how this happened to you nor did I know who did this but I am sure I am partially…No, it's my fault."
"It's my fault for being a useless President who didn't handle things well and allows scums to run free so please forgive me for not working hard."
My mind blew apart seeing drenched Julian, and my heart started beating faster, going crazy witnessing the sigh, which I might not be able to forget in my entire life.
Creating ripples both over the surface and in the hearts, a beautiful girl with white hair possessing an ethereal charm, walked over. Her hair drenched in rain, was pure as freshly fallen snow framing her face with an otherworldly allure. Her eyes were like sparkling red sapphires, holding a depth of wisdom and mystery.
Exuding an aura of grace she squatted down before Lucas with grace and extended her hand towards him with elegance, captivating all who have the privilege of encountering her.
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she cast a faint smile, bewitching enough to sweep away all the pain and caressed Lucas gently with a warm soft tone, shocking me enough to make me think that the world was going to end tomorrow.
"From now on, I will make sure that no one will harm or bully you for unjust reasons."
Lucas' eyes which looked bleak suddenly moved as the boy felt that the world was changing and the tears he had been holding back, finally burst out as he spoke in a choking voice.
"Tha…Thank you, Miss.''
...….
I am not good at writing POVs. Though this chapter was too much of a mess and even unsatisfactory for me, I hope this isn't unreadable.
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