บท 4: The Start (Part-2)

"I think I just need to wait for a few hours more before it becomes one hundred percent," Apollo muttered. He glanced outside and saw the moon being shrouded by the clouds. Then his eyes turned to the wall.

There was a painting of him and his parents along with the whole family.

"My last name didn't change," he noticed that on the frame, there's an engraving of 'Leone'.

He is a different person, but his name stayed the same.

While he's thinking about his whole situation and his future, sleepiness crept in.

…

Transfer Complete.

A voice echoed inside Apollo's consciousness. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at the translucent screen in the corner of his eyes.

"Transfer Complete. Initiation…"

"Initiation? Another loading?" Apollo thought with a frown. "Forget it. What is that smell…"

Apollo shook his head.

He was about to fall asleep when a sudden knock came on his door followed by a loud bang.

"Apollo! Wake up!"

Froi walked inside Apollo's room. His back was sweaty, and he was breathing heavily.

"W-what happened?!" Apollo sat up, but he had no time to say another word as his father immediately went to his side and picked him up.

Froi then ran outside.

Wait!

Suddenly, a strong heat assaulted Apollo's face. His eyes widened from shock. Because he was being held with his face on his father's shoulder, he could see everything his father was running from.

Fire covered the hallway, and Apollo could see the mansion falling apart.

"W-what about mother?" Apollo asked. Although these people are strangers to him, he is still worried about them.

"She's–" Froi couldn't finish his words as the scene from earlier entered his mind.

His wife Gina was nothing but a scorched corpse. He wanted to cry out and hug her, but the intense fire made him unable to go forward. Froi had to hold in his tears and decided to save his son.

"Dead…" Froi said while gritting his teeth.

Dead? Apollo observed the fire. He could feel the intense heat hitting his face even with this distance. This kind of fire only needed a few seconds to turn a human into charcoal.

What the hell happened here…

Suddenly a strong explosion erupted behind Froi's back. They were only a few meters away from the exit when the shockwave hit them and shattered the wall.

Their bodies were thrown outside and landed on the courtside.

Froi held his son in time, and they rolled on the ground a couple of times before they managed to stop.

"Sh*t!" Froi cursed. Without looking back, he stood up and proceeded to run. His back was already burning, and the smell of meat permeated his son's nose.

This smell would have made Apollo frown, but instead, his eyes turned into shock.

The mansion that he stayed in for just a night was now crumbling to the ground. The fire reached the sky. Screams also accompanied this hellish scene. He could see people wearing the Leone's insignia down on the ground with blood flowing from them.

But his attention was piqued more on what was happening above the burning mansion.

"They're flying!" Apollo shouted while pointing at the two men standing in the air. His grandfather and an unknown man. They were looking at each other with intensity. They were talking, but the distance wouldn't let him read their lips.

"Don't look!" Froi said. He covered his son's eyes and continued to run with all his might.

The Leone mansion was located far north of the city. If they traveled at their top speed, they would reach the nearest district. Because of their wealth, they had their own land in the city.

But it wouldn't be long before the family completely collapsed.

Froi knew this just by looking at the man facing his father, the Leone Founder.

Apollo, on the other hand, could only see darkness. He was being held tightly while running fast. He could feel that his father was breathing heavily; Froi was probably injured.

"What's happening?!" Apollo shouted, curious about the situation.

The mansion was on fire, with his grandfather flying in the air with a stranger. That woman Aster didn't tell me this fact! A world where people can fly? That's only in fiction… wait… he already reincarnated and even became a different person.

Shaking this thought off, he heard his father. "Just don't look!"

Another explosion sounded, and the whole area shook from the shockwave. The trees around them bent, and rocks were sent flying into the air.

"Come on!" Froi could see the shattered gate of their manor. There were people watching outside, but the explosion made them run back to their houses.

"Here!" Someone shouted, and Froi noticed a person wearing a hood.

He stopped in front of him and put Apollo on his feet.

"My son…" Froi took a deep breath. He looked into Apollo's eyes. The only thing he could see was confusion. "You don't seem afraid."

The sound of explosions continued in the manor, and fire kept rising into the dark sky.

I'm more amazed than afraid, Apollo thought.

Because he had already experienced death, the fear of the unknown lessened. He was also curious about the whole situation. Everything was confusing. He had just been reborn, and now he found out that people could fly with some sort of abilities.

He glanced at the translucent screen from the corner of his eyes and noticed it was still the same.

"Transfer Complete. Initiating…"

"Keep that attitude, my son-" Froi coughed, blood seeping from his mouth. "You are the future of Leone."

What attitude? Apollo was even more confused.

Froi noticed that his son became more serious. He smiled before he stood up and nodded at the hooded man. "Take care of him."

"I will, Master Froi!"

The man wanted to kneel, but Froi shook his head. "Take care!"

"Wait!" Apollo shouted. "How can they fl–"

He was more curious about the reason why those two people could fly.

Before he could finish his question, he felt something hit the side of his neck. He went unconscious and fell into the hooded man's arms.

"We don't have time for questions and answers, kid," the hooded man whispered before he ran inside the city.

The dark sky made his body disappear. Amidst the chaotic crowd, no one noticed them.

Froi turned around. His back was aching with pain, burned to the bone. Most people would have fainted from the pain or instantly died.

But he didn't.

A haze appeared around him, and he breathed white smoke.

His body became a blur, and he ran back to the mansion. Every step covered dozens of meters. Because he covered his son's eyes, Apollo didn't manage to see why they could travel so fast.