### A Forgotten Past
The scene shifted.
A dark-skinned boy, around four years old, lay on a small bed in a cramped room. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
*Where the fuck am I? This place kinda looks familiar.*
He turned his head to the side, looking at the cracked walls and a cockroach scurrying across them.
*Walls full of cracks and cockroaches everywhere... This is definitely the room I lived in as a kid in my past life.*
He climbed out of bed, raised his hands, and rubbed his eyes.
*Why the fuck am I here? I thought I passed out in my room because I couldn't breathe with all that blood coming out of my nose. Since I passed out, this must be a dream. Though I might be dead or die soon if I remain like that but if this is a dream why the hell will I be dreaming about this? And why is my body moving on its own?*
He walked toward the door.
*I don't really have any good memories of this crappy dumb.*
Opening the door, he saw a dark-skinned man and woman arguing with each other.
Looking at them, he thought, *I only have memories of these two fighting every single fucking day. Back then, I didn't know why, since I was only four years old. But I soon found out that I was the reason.*
The man was shouting at the woman.
"I told you to get rid of it back then, but you didn't listen! Now, with all these expenses, we can barely—"
Before he could finish, the woman swung her hand and slapped him across the face.
"How dare you!" she exclaimed. "How dare you say such a thing! He's your son, not some kind of object!"
The man's expression twisted with anger.
"Bitch, you dare slap me?"
He swung his hand and struck her, sending her tumbling to the ground.
"I told you I didn't want it in the first place!"
*I was a mistake they failed to get rid of.*
The woman, still on the ground, turned her eyes toward Draven.
Meanwhile, little Daniel stood at the doorway, crying.
"Babe, what are you doing awake? Go back to bed," she said.
Daniel ran toward her.
"Mommy!"
The man grabbed him by the hand before he could reach her.
"Hey, kid, go back to your room. I'm talking with Mommy right now."
*I'm a mistake to this bastard. Someone who doesn't deserve to be called a father.*
Little Daniel began crying harder, struggling to free his hand from the man's grip.
"Dammit, kid! I said go back to your room!" the man shouted.
His mother immediately stood up and grabbed the man's hand.
"Let go of him!"
The man looked at the woman, whose gaze remained strong and fearless as she stared back at him.
Seeing this, he averted his eyes and clicked his tongue before releasing little Daniel's hand. The boy was still crying softly.
His mother turned toward him and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Babe, why are you awake?"
Daniel continued to sob as the man suddenly snapped, "Goddammit, will you shut the fucking hell up?"
His mother looked at the man fearlessly.
"Don't talk to him like that. He's just a kid."
"Then make him shut the fuck up before I do it myself damnit!" the man retorted.
Little Daniel's cries gradually subsided as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
The entire scene slowly faded into darkness.
*Fucking bastard... Seeing That Damn Face Again? He really makes me want to kill him all over again.*
The scene changed.
Draven was still lying on the floor, covered in blood. He slowly opened his eyes, then gasped for air as he coughed up blood.
He struggled to get up, thinking, *I guess nobody came in, since I'm still lying here covered in blood if I was dying I would've died.*
Now sitting on the floor, he continued coughing before raising his hand.
*I guess there's still some left.*
He wiped the blood from his mouth, then blew his nose to clear out the blood inside.
Finally, he stood up.
*Fuck, I can finally breathe.*
He straightened up and took a deep breath.
*And I can see even more Mana in the air now. My body also feels lighter.*
He turned his head toward the table.
"I guess I ate all of it. Oh well, I guess it was fun while it lasted."
He glanced down at himself.
"I should probably clean myself up, but before that, I have to clean this up."
Looking at the floor, which was covered in blood, Draven immediately changed his mind.
"Fuck no. On second thought, I'm just gonna ask the maid to do it."
He paused, trying to remember her name.
"Hmmm, what was her name again… Lila? No, Liora? Lyra? Ugh, it was something soft, something kind of... floaty."
He snapped his fingers.
"Lyri… Lyriana! Yes—Lyriana. That's it."
As soon as he called her name, Lyriana opened the door, walked inside, and closed it behind her.
"Young Master, you called?"
Her eyes immediately fell on Draven, who was covered in blood, before shifting to the dark red stains spreading across the floor.
Although her voice remained steady, it carried a hint of unease.
"Young Master... you're hurt. What happened?"
*What the hell happened here? Why's he covered in blood?*
Draven looked at her and replied casually, "Don't worry, I'm okay."