บท 16: Extra Chapter: Echoes of Innoc
Valerius stared out of the window, the city below bathed in the fading light of the afternoon. The weight of the meeting with Seraphina still lingered, heavier than the armor he wore. He gripped the windowsill, his knuckles turning white as memories—ones he knew weren't truly his—started to resurface.
They were Valerius' memories, not his. And yet, the vividness of each scene made it feel like he had lived them.
---
Many years ago…
A young Valerius sprinted through the lush gardens of the palace, his small legs propelling him forward with innocent joy. He was no more than seven, his laughter bubbling up into the warm summer air as he chased a butterfly, its wings catching the sunlight. The bright, carefree boy with unruly hair, dirt on his knees, and a heart unburdened by the weight of his future.
In the shade of a grand oak tree stood Seraphina, her eyes following him, a quiet smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She was slightly older than Valerius, her hair shimmering in the light. Even then, she carried herself with the grace of royalty, a budding mage with a talent far beyond her years. But in that moment, none of that mattered. The world was simple. She was just a girl watching the boy she loved chase after a butterfly, his innocent laughter filling her heart with a warmth she had never known before.
He turned to her, beaming, his face flushed with excitement. "Look, Sera!" His voice was full of pride as he held out the delicate insect for her to see. "Isn't it beautiful?"
She had laughed, soft and melodic, as she stepped closer. "It is," she agreed, though in her heart, the most beautiful thing she saw was him. That pure, untainted joy he carried everywhere he went—something she wanted to protect, to hold onto.
And she did, for a time.
---
Present Day
Valerius blinked, snapping back to the present, his heart heavy with the weight of a memory that felt both foreign and intimately familiar. It wasn't his, but it clung to him like a shadow he couldn't escape. He felt the ghost of that boy's laughter, the warmth of the sun on his skin, and Seraphina's gentle smile.
But now, in this present moment, there was only silence, and the echoes of a past he didn't fully understand.
---
Several Years Later...
The world had changed. Valerius was no longer the boy who chased butterflies. He had grown, and with it, the burdens of duty, expectation, and power had hardened him. The once carefree child had become distant, colder, lost beneath the layers of responsibility.
Seraphina had watched him change. Watched as the light in his eyes faded, replaced by something darker, something far less innocent. And she had tried—by the gods, she had tried to reach him. But no matter how much she extended her hand, he had only drawn further away, retreating into a world she couldn't enter.
Her love for him had never wavered. Even as he grew distant, even as his words became sharper, his actions colder, she had held onto the boy who had given her a flower with a smile so bright it had melted her heart.
"Valerius," she had whispered one night, standing in the same garden where they had once played as children. The moonlight bathed the scene in a silvery glow, and she stood there, alone, her voice swallowed by the silence. "Come back to me."
But he hadn't. He never would.
---
Present Day
Valerius clenched his jaw, his mind whirling as the fragmented memories of the past continued to torment him. Seraphina's face lingered in his mind, not as the powerful mage he had met today, but as the young girl who had once looked at him with such hope, such love.
He hadn't realized it until their meeting earlier, but those feelings—the anger, the loss, the love—they weren't his. They belonged to Valerius, the man whose body he now inhabited. Yet, even knowing that, the emotions felt so real, so raw. They clawed at his heart, leaving an ache that he couldn't shake.
When he looked into her eyes today, he had seen it—the love she still carried, hidden beneath layers of duty and time. She had looked at him as if she was searching for that boy, the one she had lost so long ago. But the truth was clear: he wasn't him.
And yet, it hurt. It hurt because for a moment, he wished he could be.
---
Years Earlier...
The final nail in the coffin of their relationship had come on a night when the stars were hidden by thick clouds, the air heavy with tension. There had been a grand feast, a celebration of the empire's victories, but beneath the glittering surface, the shadows of politics and betrayal lurked.
Valerius had been accused of treason, a false claim orchestrated by those who sought to bring him down. Seraphina had stood by him, unwavering, but even her loyalty couldn't stop the storm that followed. He had changed after that. The betrayal had hardened him further, making him suspicious of everyone, including her.
They had argued—fiercely. Valerius had pushed her away, his words cruel, his heart locked behind an impenetrable wall. "I don't need your pity," he had spat at her, his eyes cold and distant. "I don't need anyone."
Her heart had broken that night. She had left him, but her love for him had never died. It had remained, hidden in the recesses of her heart, a flickering flame that refused to be extinguished.
---
Present Day
Seraphina had known, even before seeing him today, that the man she was about to meet was not the boy she had once loved. Valerius had died long ago, replaced by the cold, calculating Duke. But even knowing that, her heart had ached when she looked at him, the memories of their shared childhood surfacing with an intensity she hadn't expected.
And now, after their meeting, that ache had deepened. She had seen a flicker in his eyes—something familiar, something that reminded her of the boy she had once known. But it wasn't enough. He wasn't the same Valerius. She knew that. And yet, her heart refused to listen.
As she left him behind in that grand hall, her heart felt heavier than it had in years. The man she loved was gone, and in his place stood a stranger. But the love she had carried all these years… it hadn't disappeared. It had only grown, twisted by time and loss into something she could no longer control.
---
The Duke's Reflection
Valerius stood before the mirror, his reflection staring back at him with cold, hollow eyes. He could feel the weight of Valerius' memories pressing down on him—the love, the loss, the anger. They weren't his, but they had become a part of him, woven into the fabric of his being.
He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as he tried to push the emotions away. He wasn't that boy. He wasn't the man Seraphina loved. He was something else, something new. But even as he told himself that, the ache in his chest refused to fade.
For the first time since he had been reincarnated into this world, Valerius felt truly lost. Not because of the dangers that surrounded him, or the enemies that lurked in the shadows, but because of the emotions that had been forced upon him—emotions that weren't his, but that had rooted themselves deep in his heart.
And for a brief, fleeting moment, he allowed himself to mourn. Not for himself, but for the boy who had once been loved so deeply, and who had been lost to time and circumstance.
---
And in the back of his mind, a single thought persisted: She loves him. Not me.
The realization hit him like a cold wind. Seraphina would never truly love him, because he wasn't the Valerius she remembered.
He was just a ghost wearing another man's skin, and no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, the truth was undeniable.
As Valerius turned away from the mirror, the weight of that realization pressed down on him. He had a path to walk, and he couldn't afford to be distracted by the past. But as he stepped into the cold, empty hallway, the echo of Seraphina's love lingered, a haunting reminder of the boy he could never be again.
And somewhere, deep inside, the man who now wore Valerius' face couldn't help but feel that something irreplaceable had been lost.
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
Hey_you_there
Hey_you_there This chapter was emotionally heavy and served as a reflective moment for Valerius. In many stories of reincarnation or transmigration, the protagonist often inherits memories or relationships from their new life, but rarely do they feel the full weight of those emotions. I wanted to capture the complexity of this situation. Valerius, the reincarnated protagonist, is not the same person, yet the emotions tied to his body’s former life still haunt him.
The bond between Valerius and Seraphina was once pure, built in the innocence of childhood, but life’s cruel circumstances and political games tore them apart. Seraphina’s love, even after years of distance and change, lingers. She knows the man before her isn’t the same boy she loved, but her heart refuses to fully accept it. It’s a tragic love, one rooted in lost potential and lingering hope.
For Valerius, the reincarnated man, there’s a constant tension between who he is and the memories he’s inherited. He doesn’t want to be tied down by someone else’s past, but the emotions keep surfacing, and they’re hard to ignore. This chapter served as a slow, introspective moment—a pause in the action, a dive into the emotional consequences of inhabiting another’s life.
In future chapters, I’ll continue to explore this theme of duality and identity, while slowly advancing the plot. I aim to make Valerius’ internal struggles as important as the external ones, as he navigates this dangerous world and the relationships he never chose but can’t escape from. The slow burn of his emotional journey will continue to develop alongside the unfolding events in the empire.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง