Chapter 2: Ellis to Lance

Ellis awoke with a start. The images of his nightmare remained fresh in his memory, leaving him feeling nauseous and confused.

 

"Welcome, Ellis." 

 

"D-Did I die?" He asked.

 

He hadn't expected to feel this way, but the fact that he could still be dreaming made it worse. To notice he was in a white space floating over what looked like some type of ocean was a blessing; but not for him being able to move. He didn't know how he was here or where he was.

 

A woman appeared before him wearing an white gown. She looked at him with a blank look on her face. "You are alive, which is better than I anticipated."

 

"What... what did you do to me?" His heart started beating faster, and he had the sudden urge to vomit.

 

"I will provide you with answers when you can ask them yourself," The woman said simply. "However, until then, you will have your questions answered. You may ask them while I am still here.

 

"Then what am I doing here?" Ellis yelled. His voice sounded shaky and strained, as if his whole body was shook from fear.

 

"We are at the beginning. Do not worry. We will get there eventually." Her tone sounded more sympathetic now. "I need to go now, please stay put."

 

Without any further response, she vanished, causing Ellis to panic even more. He was alone in the white room, nothing around him except water. 

 

It wasn't the only thing that worried him, though. He felt completely numb, unable to think about anything else. The idea that he was dead set in his mind and would continue on to haunt him forever after. It was all too much for him to process right now, but the only thought on his mind was that he was never going home again.

 

No matter how hard he tried to deny the possibility, he knew that it was true.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in his room. Looking around, he realized that he wasn't alone this time.  A few hours must have passed by since their encounter with the man in black; he was by his bed. 

 

"I am sorry you died so young, Ellis," The man told him.

 

"Who are you? Where's my mom?!" Ellis demanded, getting up from his bed. The room spun around him as he rose; the events from the day before were catching up to him.

"Ellis hasn't come home..." Ellis's sister cried.

 

His followed close behind her, trying to comfort her surviving child. 

 

"It will be okay! Ellis isn't dead! And I'm sure that he'll be home soon!" The mother tried to convince herself.

 

The man in blue turned around.

 

"You're not the first person I've brought back to life, Ellie. But you are the first one I've brought back to life who has survived the experience."

 

Ellis stared at him, unsure of what to say.

 

"I'm sorry, Ellis. I wish I could tell you more, but I don't know everything myself. All I know is that you are safe now. So relax and just let it go."

 

Ellis sighed, and sat down on his bed as he watched his sister and mother walk away.  The memories continued to repeat in his head. He felt he should have never left the house that day he was taken and tortured by the Crimson Crow. 

 

"Do you ever wonder why you are here?" The man asked, interrupting Ellis's train of thoughts. He sounded sincere, but Ellis knew that there was always something behind every question he had heard.

 

He shook his head. He didn't want to answer. It was better that he didn't know. Maybe he wasn't dead, maybe he was just trapped in a dream. Or maybe something worse had happened to his family. 

 

"I am back!" The goddess shouted happily.

 

"Oh, welcome back, Alphine!" The man greeted. 

 

"Why did you bring him here? I am so sorry, Ellis!" Alphine apologized. 

 

She changed the scenery with the swipe of her hand back to the white background he started. Ellis looked around, seeing that the ocean they had been standing on a moment ago had disappeared entirely into a white void. It was eerily silent; no birds, no wind, nothing that indicated that they had moved forward.

 

The silence lasted only moments longer before Alphine began singing. In the background, a song Ellis recognized came on and played.

 

“Now you will be introduced to your system!” Alphine laughed. 

 

“System?” Ellis asked. 

 

[Welcome Ellis…I am your system and guide through your new journey] 

 

came the computerized voice.

 

[As you will find out in the next few days, I will be serving you.]

 

“Serve me? What does that mean?” Ellis asked.

 

[The System is designed to serve the humanoids of the system. Your goal is to gain knowledge through our interactions. You will be the son of Crimson Crow]

 

“T-The man who killed me!? But why?!” 

 

[You must be the person to take the man down] 

 

“Me? How in the world could someone like me be able to do it?” Ellis questioned. 

 

[You are strong enough to overcome your circumstances. The System cannot allow that kind of weakness]

 

“But the Crimson Crow is powerful…” Ellis frowned. “How could a simple kid like me stand against someone who is so much stronger!?”

 

[The Crimson Crow isn't very aware of you. It would be in your best interest to go after him.]

 

Ellis paused, contemplating what he was about to hear. This goddess and man wanted to help him. He couldn't leave until he got his answer. But he couldn't just follow blindly and risk his life. If this worked, if the System decided to guide him properly, then it meant that Ellis could live freely. That he'd finally find his own place in the world.

 

“All right. Tell me how we go about making that happen?” Ellis requested.

 

“Reborn as the worst super villain’s son…” Ellis wondered.

 

[That's correct. It is time for you to start living. Once the system is fully activated, I will be watching you. You shall begin learning your new life]

 

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“Will it hurt?” Ellis questioned. The man nodded solemnly.

 

[Only slightly. I promise that there will be a little pain and discomfort, but it should pass soon enough] 

"Goodluck on your journey" Alphine shouted happily. 

 

“Thank you...both,” He replied. The woman and the man disappeared from view in one last wave of energy. There was nothing left behind except for Ellis, floating in the middle of the void. 

 

He slowly began swimming towards the horizon. Ellis woke up feeling like shit. His vision was blurry, making it hard to open his eyes, and the world around him seemed extremely bright. He closed his eyes tightly, groaning as he forced them to open once again. The sun was shining directly overhead, and a slight breeze blew by.

 

After several minutes spent trying to adjust to whatever the hell was happening to him, Ellis was finally able to open his eyes without squinting at the light surrounding him. Once the spots cleared away, Ellis looked around. Nothing seemed wrong with his surroundings, other than a distinct lack of anyone else around him.

 

[Level:0]

 

He opened his eyes to notice he was being held pair of gentle hands which were supporting his upper body and keeping him upright while looking up at his new mother who he recognized when he died in those same hands. She lowered her head to look at him.

 

“Hello, darling,” She smiled.

 

Ellis took in a deep breath, looking up. He tried to talk, but only gibberish came out. He looked over her shoulder at the familiar silhouette of a man, standing next to her. 

 

I am really a baby! He thought. 

 

"What are you staring at?" A woman spoke. The tone of her voice caused him to turn his attention back to her. When she looked at him, Ellis noticed that she was smiling, her cheeks filled with joy and happiness.

 

I am back! Ellis cheered in his mind. He grinned widely, waving.

 

He didn’t expect an immediate response. Instead, the woman looked confused for a brief moment, and then burst out laughing. Her laughter startled Ellis so much that he dropped backwards onto the ground, causing him to laugh along with her. After calming down, she placed both of her hands over his small head patting it gently and began to sing.

 

She sang the song that he had heard from the goddess, but in that same voice. Ellis was unable to keep his excitement under control as he listened to her sing.

 

"Don't fucking spoil the brat!" The man shouted. 

 

"We agreed to call him Lance!" She spouted. 

 

"I haven't heard you sing in a long time!" The man scoffed.

 

Ellis began to feel nervous, unsure of what was going to happen next. He had a nagging feeling he did not want to see. However, as he watched the woman and the man walk over to him, the fear did not subside leaving an overwhelming sense of anticipation in its wake.

 

When the man reached him, he extended a hand out. The man's skin had lost all color and had grown dark. 

 

"We should find out his power at around age ten..." He mumbled to himself. 

 

Power…I wonder what my power will be? He wondered. 

 

He grasped the boy's hand with his own cold one and lifted him up. Ellis' heart sank slightly. The warmth had disappeared from the man's skin. But the man made a sound before moving his hand back and dropping Lance on his head laughing dropping his newborn son. Ellis screamed as he fell onto the ground, landing roughly. 

 

"Damn, I can't believe that actually worked," The man said, scratching the side of his neck nervously.

 

Lance cried out as his mother picked him back up tenderly staring angrily at the man whom she had a child with. 

 

"Get out! Get out! I will never let you hold our child again. Never!!" She growled angrily, holding her child protectively close. She ran away into another room, carrying Lance as she went.

 

Ellis stared at where his mother and father had vanished, confused and scared by what was supposed to happen now. He stared at where his mother and father had vanished, confused and scared by what was supposed to happen now. She stayed with Lance for days nursing her child and weeping silently to herself . Ellis didn't understand the situation anymore.

 

"I am only his mistress, but I loved him so much I agreed to have his child..." She cried. "Why would you bring him into to the world when someone like Crimson Crow is in it? Where did you even find him? How? I swear, if you brought this bastard in here to torture him then so help me…" 

 

The Crimson Crow simply looked amused by the entire encounter by abusing their child. 

 

"Are you deaf, too? That kid is our heir! Our child!" He shouted. 

 

He kicked the door in to find her huddled in the corner , sobbing.

"I don't care how old the brat is. You know damn well what he is going to taking over the business!" The Crimson Crow snapped.

 

The man chuckled. He walked over to his wife and pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her softly. He hugged her closely, whispering something in her ear while staring at his son.

 

"Let me take him," He asked. 

 

“Not over my dead over body!” She yelled. 

 

“Well that can be arranged…” He smiled. 

 

The man grabbed his son gently and carried him out of the room and away. Ellis struggled inside his mother's hold, trying to get free. She held him closer, refusing to let him go. They walked outside, passing countless strangers.

 

She sat down on an empty bench nearby and continued to hold her son tight. Ellis felt trapped in the embrace, unable to get away. He continued struggling as he kept trying to break free. He managed to slip from his mother's grip falling to the ground gasping out crying like a child does , tears rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably.

 

"It'll be alright, darling. Everything will be alright." His mother cooed gently.

 

Ellis continued crying loudly.

 

Ellis was completely wanted to be unaware of everything that was happening around him. All he knew was that he needed his mother. He needed his mother's warmth, her love, her touch. He needed her to comfort him. He needed her to tell him everything would be okay.

 

His mother continued to hold him close, rocking him back and forth.

 

"Shh, shh, it's alright. Everything will be fine. Everything will be alright." She whispered.

 

Ellis continued to cry, continuing to plead with his mother for help. But no matter how hard she tried, she was powerless to stop him from crying out. She just sat quietly rocking him back and forth while watching him as he cried. The man stood behind her. She never looked away or let him out of her sight.

 

Eventually, she stopped rocking him. Slowly, the tears began to slow. He continued to weep quietly into her chest, but eventually ceased his cries. As she held him, Ellis turned his head to the side and looked up at his new father. The man's face was blank. Ellis couldn't tell if he was pleased or angry.

 

"Stop babying him soon as he stops breastfeeding!" He argued. 

"Understood..." She sighed.

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