Last day on earth

Mary gazed out the airplane window, her eyes tracing the contours of the airport buildings in those last moments before the plane departed.

The world outside seemed to have stopped, but inside there was a turmoil churning within her.

Deep in thought, she wrestled with concerns for Sebastian, her eldest son, who had orchestrated this drastic change in their lives.

The knowledge of the dangers he was going to face alone, coupled with the sacrifices he had made for their safety, weighed heavily on her heart.

However, despite the turmoil inside her, she knew her job wasn't done yet. Sebastian had taken his decision, and she took her.

Turning her attention to Lucius, who sat beside her, Mary was met with the innocent curiosity of her younger son. "Where's Sebastian? Is he coming with us?"

Mary forced a smile. "Sebastian is at home right now," she said, her voice sweet.

"He'll join us later." But even as she spoke the words, she knew they were a gentle fiction. Sebastian's path would not cross theirs for at least a long time.

Her smile faded into a pensive look as the reality of their situation settled in.

The airplane continued its climb, carrying them away from the life they knew, towards the unknown promise of safety and a new beginning.

Yet, for Mary, the journey was bittersweet, tainted by the absence of her eldest son.

***

Meanwhile, Sebastian stood alone, his gaze fixed on the ascending aircraft as it sliced through the sky, becoming smaller and smaller until it vanished from sight.

<I've done everything I could. Now it's up to you, mom.>

As the plane disappeared, Sebastian felt a complex blend of emotions.

He felt a mix of relief and loneliness as he knew his mother and brother were on their way to safety, but he still carried the weight of the unfinished mission.

In the end, she understood the necessity of their departure, but she didn't want to.

She didn't want to leave Sebastian behind; she made it clear in the phone call the two had the previous day, where she tried to convince her eldest son to go with them, where she tried to make him desist from his purpose.

But Sebastian had been unmoving. For too many years, he hunted those that ruined his family, for years he killed those who brought her mother and brother to death.

Even if that had been a dream, or if it was now just a distant past from which he got somehow saved, his rage was there, his hatred was burning as much as the flames that he unleashed upon his enemies.

Yet, standing alone, he couldn't help but feel the weight of the path he had chosen, a path that demanded he remain behind to confront the dangers that still threatened him and his family.

All he had left was determination and madness.

The weird madness he was able to keep at bay somehow when he wasn't in a fight.

That was exactly what Sebastian had tried to suppress in the past month. There hadn't been a single hunt during this time.

Despite killing Auditors was easy and brought him a ton of mana, he couldn't hunt anymore.

It was too risky with that madness being kindled each time he was in danger, and he couldn't jeopardize the achievements he made in these 6 months.

On top of that, the police were going all out to investigate the Slum's Reaper with a massive task force.

The slums were now littered with officers on duty. That made the underworld hate Sebastian even more, as it posed a problem for their trades, but the young man didn't care. No, that made him smile even more.

His thoughts then drifted to his artifact's hunt.

<I've been searching for a month and have found nothing I can use.>

Sebastian searched a lot of shops to find what he was searching for, but he found nothing.

It was weird, honestly. Back in the past, he was sure of having seen many times items that could do something like what he wanted.

What Sebastian didn't know was that he was the reason for that.

The Four Sacred Clans, scared that someone as crazy as Sebastian could raise again in the future, made it so that artifact that could keep emotions in check were abundant inside the market.

They also implemented rules that forced Thespians to have a psychological evaluation carried out.

If they ever so slightly showed thoughts they shouldn't have, the artifacts helped to keep them in check, and if it didn't work, these people were simply killed.

The system could claim people at any time, regardless of gender, of age, of religious belief.

There were few of them, as most died inside Somnium, so they couldn't allow Thespians not to exist. It was dangerous.

…

…

…

Five days later, Sebastian was looking around inside another artifact maker's shop.

<Damn. Nothing even here.>

Sebastian wanted to scream, and that in itself was dangerous. His rage was a catalyst, after all.

<If it wasn't for those damned Artifact Makers!>

Those guys didn't refuse Sebastian's request, but they asked for a lot of money, because almost no one knew how to affect emotions so much as to keep madness at bay.

Every single magic they imbued into an artifact had to be researched, and they didn't want to waste time on something that maybe only one person would use.

Of course, Sebastian could pay more, but he simply didn't have the money, and hunting other gangs was dangerous and suicidal.

He got proof that he couldn't do that in his current situation.

The 31st December 2456, Sebastian went back home. He went up to his room, after having walked through his now empty home.

He undressed and neatly folded his clothes and placed them on the bed.

Those would not be brought to Somnium with him. Not even the pendant was going to. For that reason, he hid it under a tile in his room.

Sebastian then lied on the bed. He was looking at his room's ceiling with a pensive look, the sound of people counting the seconds before midnight could be heard on his television.

"4."

<The time has come.>

"3."

"2."

"1."

<Here we go.>

With those last words in his mind, a burst of light enveloped Sebastian's room for a fraction of a second. His body disappeared in a shower of light sparks.

End of Volume 1, Prologue.