OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 26: Innocence II

Emir awoke from a nightmare with a start, gasping for breath.

His usual inky eyes now emitted an intensified black hue, making them appear as unnerving and unfocused as daisies lost in a haze.

He glanced down at his trembling hands, a vivid hallucination painting them in a grotesque coat of crimson.

The sight made his heart race, and he blinked his eyes, hoping to dispel the disturbing image.

Yet, as his eyelids opened again, the hallucinated blood stubbornly remained, as if etched into his very skin.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shut out the continued nightmare that plagued his senses.

A moment of anticipation hung in the air as he took a deep breath, hoping for the visual torment to dissipate.

When he opened his eyes again, the blood on his hands had vanished completely, as if it had never existed, bringing him a profound sense of relief.

But what followed after was a heavy weight that seemed to settle upon his chest, squeezing his heart and making each breath a struggle, as if he were submerged in the depths of the darkest ocean, desperately gasping for air.

And suddenly, a persistent thought echoed relentlessly in his mind, urging him to do something that he had sworn he would never consider under any circumstances.

It was as if a switch had been flipped, compelling him with an overwhelming, irresistible force to act upon it now.

To confess everything to his family.

He stood up from his bed, while his thoughts stormed his mind, in complete disarray.

'I can't keep going like this, I constantly lie to them and hide things from them. Bottling all of this up inside me is only going to ruin me like it did yesterday. It's time to come clean and reveal the truth. They deserve to know, and it's the least I can do for them.'

'No, NO! I don't want that, this isn't me, I'M NOT THE ONE AT FAULT!'

'Regardless of whether they hate me because of it or not, my goal wouldn't change, and it makes sense for them to hate me, they would realize that I'm not their family, that I stole their chance of having a normal son, a normal brother.'

'STOP!!'

As his body moved involuntarily, a sense of detachment washed over him, causing him to question his own agency.

He grappled with conflicting thoughts, feeling simultaneously in control and out of control, as if his brain had been divided into two separate entities vying for dominance, with him on the losing side.

With a surge of urgency, he hurried to the kitchen, determined to reveal everything to his family.

The clatter of pots and the aroma of breakfast filled the room as his mother, Laura, and his sister, Lily, busily prepared the morning meal.

His arrival, however, captured their attention, as if an invisible force compelled them to focus on him.

Emir entered the kitchen, with his face betraying the inner turmoil going on inside his head.

"Mom, Lily, I need to talk to you right now. It's really important."

Laura set down the spatula, concern etched on her face.

"What's the matter, dear? You look tired. Is everything all right?"

Lily paused as well, looking at him with curiosity, as she asked:

"Are you okay? Is it a new ability or something?"

"No, it's just something that I thought about telling you both for a while." He answered.

They exchanged puzzled glances, caught off guard by his unexpected declaration.

It seemed as if his words had emerged from the depths of his being, leaving them both anxious.

They both knew that he was hiding something and whatever it was must've been a great secret, so him telling them now was quite a surprise.

Knowing that what was coming was something incredibly serious, they all gathered around the dining table, looking at him expectantly.

He addressed his mother and sister, with a tone that lacked its usual vibrancy, a sense of detachment and emptiness prevailing in his voice:

"Listen up, both of you."

Laura narrowed her eyes, concern knitting her brows.

"W-what is it, Emir? You have our full attention. Please tell us what's on your mind."

Leaning forward, Lily's voice trembled with nervousness as she recalled the incident that occurred during their journey to the academy.

"Yeah, b-bro, we're here for you. Whatever it is, you can tell us."

'STOP THIS! GOD DAMMIT! WHY LYRA?!' He inwardly screamed, feeling his inner turmoil gradually dissipate with each passing moment.

"I've been lying to you both for a long time, I'm not who you think I am you see, ever since I came into this world, I—"

Laura cut him off, asking, "Came into this world.... You mean when you were born, right?"

"No, I meant what I said, Laura, I was reborn into this world, transmigrated, reincarnated, whatever you may call it, but at the end of it, I'm not Emir." He confirmed, his voice unfeeling.

Their eyes widened in surprise, with confusion and shock evident on their faces.

"What do you mean?" Laura asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I mean that the person in this body is not Emir," he said.

"I'm not your brother, Lily, or your son, Laura. I'm someone else."

'S-stop this, Lyra...' He thought, struggling in his attempt to speak to her again, his fight quieting down.

"Emir....something happened to you, right? Maybe the bullet back then almost hitting your head messed up your brain or something, never mind this, let's get you to the hospital." Lily said.

"NO!" He screamed.

"Only the two of you must know this, no one else."

"Are you sure nothing is wrong with you, Emir? Maybe your sister is right, and we should check on you." She said, looking at him with concern.

"No, Laura, I knew about this since I was reincarnated into this world, I took over Emir's body when he was just a newborn."

"I don't understand," Laura said, shaking her head.

"What do you mean...you took over my son's body?"

"I have memories of a past life, in a world other than this one, so the person you see in front of you is not how Emir would've turned out to be, I lived another life, and by having those memories, implanted into this body's mind, I reincarnated per se, I stole Emir's body," he repeated.

"I am not who you think I am, and I concealed this truth from both of you for all this time."