Coming clean (1)

As Sebastian approached his home, the familiar outlines of the building offered a semblance of comfort amidst the storm of thoughts swirling in his mind.

His steps were measured, each one taken with a deliberateness that mirrored the pensive state he found himself in.

The decision he had made, the future he had set in motion for his family, weighed heavily on him.

Upon entering, the warmth of the household enveloped him.

His mother was the first to greet him, her smile a beacon of warmth in the dimly lit room. "Sebastian, you're back," she said.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm home," the young man said, managing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Mom, we need to talk. Something important." His tone shifted to one of seriousness.

Mary's expression mirrored her son's sudden gravity. "Of course, dear. What is it?" she asked, concern knitting her brow.

Sebastian glanced around the modest living space. Then His gaze drifted to his brother, seated in a corner, before returning to his mother.

"Not here. Let's step outside, just to be safe."

The idea that their home could be under surveillance, though far-fetched, prompted him to get how. If it was, though, nothing ensured there weren't microphones or cameras outside, but with that thought in mind, Sebastian wasn't willing to risk.

Together, they stepped outside, the cool night air a sharp contrast to the warmth of the interior.

Sebastian didn't immediately speak, increasing her mother's worry. After two minutes of silence, spent looking at the ground, and sometime at the sky, the young man turned to look at his mother.

"Mom, what was the nickname they gave you back in Somnium?" he asked.

"Mary the Deceitful," she said. Though she was confused. Why was her son so serious? Why was she asking those questions?

Sebastian took a deep breath before revealing his own. "Mine was the Butcher of Exidia."

Mary's eyes widened in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

"How did you come to be known by that nickname, considering you're not a Thespian?"

Such an epithet, it was clear, could have been given only to those who took many lives.

Sebastian's expression was one of sadness and resignation, the weight of his past actions a silent testament to the road he had walked—a path marked by violence and survival.

"Besides—"

Sebastian interrupted his mother before she could say something else.

"That's exactly why I was given that epithet," he said. Mary looked at him, bewildered. She couldn't comprehend.

Sebastian reached for the pendant hanging around his neck.

Holding it out for his mother to see, he started explaining.

"Mom, I believe there's a reason Dad left this to me. This medallion," he paused, searching for the right words, "It has the power to take someone back in time."

Mary's confusion deepened, the concept so far removed from their reality that it bordered on the unbelievable. "Back in time?" she asked, skepticism and concern mingling in her voice.

"Yes, but I haven't fully understood how it works. I suspect it activates upon the wearer's death, but it needs time to recharge. In my case," Sebastian's gaze locked with his mother's, "It brought me back thirty years."

The silence that followed was charged, Mary trying to wrap her mind around the impossibility of her son's claim. Mary was hoping he was joking, but the look in his eyes said something else.

Sebastian wasn't someone who made pranks, especially in the last six months; his demeanor changed.

Her son had always been a little gloomy, but he was still a little naïve, considering his age. But Six months ago, that changed.

He was clearly sharper and more focused than he had ever been.

Besides, even when he clearly didn't want to go to school, he never dared to disobey her. But that changed six months ago.

"Did you take drugs, Sebastian?"

"No mom, that would have been many times better than the truth."

Mary recalled something.

"So, you're saying... you've lived through all of this before? That you've come back to change… the past?" she asked.

Sebastian nodded, sadness touching the corners of his eyes. "Exactly. That's why I'm doing everything I can now."

"And what is that you doing?" She asked.

He thought for a second about what to say, but then he told her the most pressing matter.

"I've made arrangements for you and Lucius to move. To Pariorn."

"Pariorn? What?" She paused for a second to think. "Seb, if this is a joke, you better stop it now."

She was still clinging to the hope that was a prank.

"It's not a joke. The place it's safe, secluded. It's what you need right now," Sebastian's voice was steady despite the turmoil inside him.

"I've already bought a house there. It's going to be your new home."

"I... I don't know what to say, Sebastian. This is a lot to take in. You didn't even ask my opinion," she said.

"I don't want to go." But despite the hope, Mary was starting to believe Sebastian, and that trust only increased as she thought about the past. Besides, the tone of his voice, or the look in his eyes, fortified the feeling of what her son was saying was the truth. But there were still many questions.

"This is a joke, right? Seb, tell me this is a joke."

Sebastian sighed. "I didn't expect you to believe me right away. But I needed you to know. To understand why I've made the choices I have," Sebastian said, the pendant in his hand a tangible link to the unbelievable journey he had embarked upon.

A shift occurred within Mary. One particular memory surged through her, a memory of her husband. Very often, Argus was caught by sudden flashes of fear, both in and out of Somnium.

These expressions of dread had been noticeable in the days leading up to his untimely death.

She connected these memories with an incident a few months prior when Sebastian had awoken screaming from a nightmare so vivid it seemed more memory than dream.

She thought for a second. "Sometimes, I've seen your father worried, terrified even, with no explanation. And then, your episode... If what you say is true, and this is not some kind of sick joke, then everything make sense."

But then Sebastian continued, seizing upon his mother's budding understanding. "In the future I came from, both you and Lucius... you were killed by the Four Sacred Clans."

Mary's eyes widened in shock and fear at the mention of the Four Sacred Clans.

"The reason they couldn't get to me, back then," Sebastian pressed on, his voice steady despite the tremor of emotion that threatened to break through, "is because I had already awakened and found myself in Somnium. That's why I survived, but in a sense, it was also the reason for your death."