It seemed that due to the pain and adrenaline rush, Lucamir had gone mad.
But on the contrary, the young boy had never been as certain as he was now of his action.
Or so he believed.
'The Trance doesn't just let us go into trials with mere resolve.'
He thought to himself as he inwardly counted the number of floors he had crossed.
Eight were gone, and two more were left beneath him. At that point, at the corner of his eyes, he had spotted the Null Spawn.
'I think… I think we've already begun to tap into this Alter Persona that grants us our strength.'
Alter Personas. Inner Demons. Egos. It doesn't matter what they were called, as they carried the same weight.
The parts of us unseen. The parts that push human limits.
'The Trance is simply trying to unlock the rest.'
Wouldn't that explain the sudden spike in speed at the time? Or the sudden durability he couldn't explain.
He had lost so much blood that a normal human should have died by now, but here he was despite the pain it caused.
Pushing through, not just by mere tenacity, but by his strength.
'I am already beyond human limits.'
A second later, the hospital quaked.
Luca hit the floor with a bone-jarring thud, a crater spiderwebbing beneath his feet.
'It worked, but it still hurts.'
The Null Spawn dashed out from the stairway at that moment.
Locking eyes with Luca in a flash, before the young boy charged in the next second.
"I've got you now!"
He screamed as he jumped towards the left, where the baby, who still cried, was held limply.
'How… how is it still alive?'
He wondered, just as the Spawn shifted to the right, evading the boy with unhurried steps.
Its throat vibrated with a low gurgle before rushing towards the door— the exit.
Luca's eyes bulged in realisation.
"HEY! WAIT!" He screamed, and surprisingly, the Spawn listened.
Right at the entrance door of the Hospital, the ill-looking creature grinned as it stopped and faced Luca. Its chest rose and fell; it chuckled.
Releasing a wet, cracked voice in the process.
Luca's face twisted slightly in disgust at the sight.
But then he shook his head and signalled down to the creature with his finger.
The Spawn seemed to understand.
Glancing down at its legs. An unfamiliar sound reached their ears.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A long, silver, rod-like pen dangled from the side of its leg— a stab bomb, as it was called.
Its tip pulsed with a red light. Blinking ever so softly.
The creature's snarl shrank slightly, as if it recognised the object.
BOOM!
The bomb, with its leg, exploded as the Creature screamed in pain.
Flesh and blood scattering like minced meat across the Reception room.
Falling on one knee, its grip on the crying baby slipped.
Luca was already on the move by that time.
Reaching the baby in seconds and grabbing it. He spun around to flee when the Creature snarled and reached out to grab him.
'perfect.'
He thought as he spun away from the creature's stretched hand and walked forward— into the Spawn's path.
It was comical because one would expect him to avoid it, but instead, he chose to approach it.
Luca's expression strained as, in one quick motion, four more Stab bombs were placed across the Spawn's chest and head.
Just before the creature's arm finally reached him.
'Too late.'
The bombs blew in quick succession. Contained explosions, focused on the surface or structure they were attached to.
Unable to grab the boy, it screamed in pain once more as it fell on the other knee, and tipped face down towards the floor.
Luca backed away immediately.
Holding the baby tightly as the creature fell limply to the ground.
A loud thud echoed from the collision.
Seconds went by as the reception room went silent.
Heavy breathing escaped from the boy's lips as he stared at the fallen body of the Null Spawn.
'Oh my goodness.' Luca thought as a chuckle escaped his lips. 'I… I actually did it?'
Lost in his thoughts, he couldn't help but feel a great sense of accomplishment.
But his satisfaction was cut short.
"Mavrik?"
Liora's voice echoed in his ears as he snapped to the side.
Beside him, descending from the staircase was Liora, his mother.
Her eyes trembled at the scene before her.
Luca turned towards the scene. His eyes narrowed at the image of his father.
"Oh… oh no."
He muttered under his breath.
Overwhelmed by the series of events and even his quick conflict with the Null Spawn, he had failed to remember the other.
Now, Mavrik lay still on the ground beside the Spawn. Long talons protruded from his body while blood formed a pool below him.
Luca's breath hitched as tears swelled up in his eyes.
Liora ran towards him, voice shaky in a scream. She fell on her knees. Tears fell like rain from her worn-out cheeks.
She had just delivered a child, bringing new life into the world, yet the world took another.
Her chest tightened as she gripped it.
Whimpering as she held his face.
Luca watched quietly. Unable to move, think or even feel.
Everything seemed to wash away from his skin like a cold shower. Leaving him with a feeling that seemed to tear him from within.
'If this weren't a trial… then I would have been in the same state as her?'
The trial was a curious thing. For some reason, it let the Trancers know that they were in an illusion. A world that was not actually the real thing, yet it carried so much weight that one wouldn't be foolish to at least consider it real.
Luca couldn't, though.
Not like this.
A sigh escaped his lips as he finally built the strength. He walked towards his Mother, falling to his knees beside her.
"I… I apologise for your loss, Madam."
He stated firmly.
The woman continued to cry. Raising her head slightly to meet his.
Their eyes locked, and Luca's nearly gave in to the tears.
'Her eyes… her eyes are the same as Mother.'
It felt so real. So real that he almost wanted it to be.
But never would he want such a fate to be real.
"You…"Liora muttered as she held her arms out.
Luca glanced at it and nodded as he slowly handed the baby over, but as he did so, he felt his Mother's fingers freeze.
Startled, he looked up to her face, his eyes bulging from her expression.
Then, he turned to the child. His body jerked in shock.
Dead.
'What?'
The world began to spin.
'When? What?!'
His gaze shifted back to Liora, whose gaze was now fixed on his.
Gone was the pain. Gone were the tears. Gone… was the sadness.
Now, it was hatred.
"No, I didn't."
He instinctively pushed himself back, falling on his bum.
"I didn't… I didn't…"
His voice broke. His mouth turned dry.
He crawled backwards away from his mother.
Not out of the guild, but out of fear.
"It… it wasn't…"
Confusion and reality danced a bitter game of roulette in his head.
Voices of laughter, guttural and wet, bounced in his ears.
The world seemed to swallow itself in a black hole before him, and it made his stomach churn.
Still, Liora remained unmoved. Lost were those emotions as she held her still baby. Replaced by an expression that twisted under a dark shadow of unrestrained bitterness.
She looked down at her baby, and then the boy who had appeared from nowhere.
Her chapped lips parted as a sigh escaped her.
"Today was meant to be monumental." She said. "Lucamir was meant to grow with his father… and mother…"
A soft cackle escaped her lips.
"He was meant to learn the ways of the world."
Luca's heart thundered against his chest.
'what… What is with this trial? This… this wasn't supposed to happen!'
How was he supposed to fix this?
'... father.. and the baby died… I… I..'
His facade broke.
"There is a way to fix this."
And his facade was sewn back together.
He looked up at her. His golden pupils shifted ever so slightly with the dim lights under the Reception room.
Watching as she pulled out an object from her blood-soaked gown.
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at what lay in her grasp.
"You can make all this pain go away." She said with a wicked smile. "Make me happy… satisfied."
Then she threw the object at the boy, letting it slide across the tiled floor until it reached his foot.
Luca sat on the floor and grabbed it.
The gun he had handed to his mother was now held firmly in his grasp.
"A life for a life… a son for a son… my happiness… for yours."
Luca swallowed. His body trembled as his chest thumped loudly.
'Wha… what is going on?' He wondered. 'Was… wasn't the test meant…'
His lips shivered. His teeth chattered.
'Why…?'
Did Luca… underestimate the Trance?
The young boy looked up at his mother.
Watching as the blood from his father expanded around her. Soaking her dress and the baby. She placed them on the floor in undiluted blood.
The scenery nearly stole his last breath away, yet he shook it.
In a flash, the gun clicked as he pointed it towards his head.
"I apologise for being unable to save your child… nor your husband, Madam."
These weren't his parents. Definitely.
"I understand your pain, your fears… but I'm sure I could never understand your loss."
His parents would never ask him to judge between their happiness and his.
They would never ask a child to take their life just because they lost theirs.
He bit down on his lips.
'If this will make her satisfied… if it returns all that she loses to her…'
He pulled the trigger. But nothing happened.
The Mother rose to her feet, arms folded as her face shifted in all kinds of different shades of darkness.
And the trance spoke.
"So, this is your answer."