<h4>Chapter 23: A Distant Memory Or Dream?</h4>


    Where am I?


    I know that I just sleep after I got my ass kicked by Evelyn in Sparring Match.


    He frowned as he saw his surroundings.


    - "Hey did youplete the assignment that Miss Dora gave us yesterday?"


    -"No man, I did not Ipletely forgot about it."


    - Ohh, Shit me too."


    How to say there are many students around him? And they are probably 3 or 4 years younger than him.


    "Seriously what are the hacks going on?" Lucas mutters to himself, confused as he finds himself in a new ce.


    Soon finds his answer, as looks at a veryrge building behind him. The building is rectangr. This is the same building where he went to study when he was a student.


    Yes, this building is an old school of Lucas.


    I looked at the school again.


    The school towered over me like a fortress of knowledge. Its imposing fa?ade held the secrets of countless students who had walked its hallowed halls. The polished marble steps gleamed in the morning sunlight, an invitation to ascend to greater heights. Each brick seemed to whisper tales of friendships forged and dreams shattered.


    The courtyard was a lively battleground of students, a mingling of hope and ambition. Laughter filled the air, echoing off the walls of ivy-covered buildings, while the scent of freshly cut grass wafted through the breeze.


    At that moment, it was just another day at the Academy, but to me, it was a battleground of self-doubt and inner turmoil.


    "But why am I here?" he asks nothing but air.


    Soon he found his answer as he came to the face of a younger version of himself.


    "L-Lucas and E-Evleyn?"


    ***


    3rd POV


    As Lucas drifted into a restless slumber, his dream unfolded like fragmented memories, each moment racing by like a rapid series of images.


    He saw himself at the age of thirteen, attending the same school as Evelyn.


    It was a day of awakening, a day when their mana cores came to life. Evelyn''s face lit up with joy as she discovered her potential, marked as ?SS-? rank – a remarkable achievement.


    Excitement coursed through her veins as she hurried to share her incredible news with Lucas. But when she arrived at his doorstep, the anticipation was reced by shock and disbelief.


    Lucas had awakened with a mana core potential barely high enough to be called average – a modest ''B rank.'' He was devastated, feeling that his dreams and ambitions had been shattered in an instant.


    Evelyn tried to console him, to be there for him as he had been for her, but Lucas was a changed person.


    He withdrew from everyone, disappearing for a week, burying himself in disappointment and self-doubt.


    His father''s reassurances did little to quell Lucas''s internal turmoil. He had set his sights on greatness, and now he believed that path was forever closed to him.


    Evelyn persistently reached out to him, refusing to abandon her friend, but Lucas''s frustration and despair pushed her away.


    He asked her to leave him alone, to give him space, but she remained steadfast.


    "Why can''t you just go?" Lucas had implored, his voice strained.


    "Because I''m your girlfriend, you idiot," Evelyn had retorted, her words tinged with frustration and determination.


    "That''s not a good reason now go!" Lucas also


    retorted.


    Their arguments escted, leaving Lucas overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions he couldn''t fullyprehend.


    He had pped Evelyn in a moment of frustration, leaving her with tears in her eyes as she silently departed.


    For months, they didn''t speak.


    Evelyn attempted reconciliation numerous times, but Lucas ignored her every advance. And then, he spiralled further into darkness.


    Alcohol, drugs, delinquency – Lucas was a mere teenager when he descended into this self-destructive behaviour.


    His personality soured, and the gap between him and Evelyn grew.


    But one day, when they were both fourteen, Lucas''s life had taken a darker turn. He had be involved in bullying, theft, and gambling, frequently disappearing for nights on end.


    Evelyn had confronted him once more, but instead of words, they resorted to violence.


    In a desperate attempt to reach him, she fought him, dagger against sword.


    It became a brutal sh, and Lucas''sck of training over the past year showed.


    Evelyn begged him to stop, her face a mix of anger, frustration, disappointment, and worry.


    But Lucas was unrelenting, his anger and bitterness pouring out.


    "You just don''t understand, Evelyn," he had yelled, "you never do!"


    Evelyn tried to speak, to reason with him, but he didn''t give her the chance. He used her, ming her for the path his life had taken.


    "It''s all your fault, Evelyn, had I not met with you nothing of this happened," he shouted venomously, his voiceced with bitterness.


    "What do you mean?"


    Confused and hurt, she asked for rification, unable toprehend why he was ming her.


    "Oh, you want to hear then hear~" he did notplete his sentence as the image of a man appeared in his mind.


    "You do understand this right? You are not worthy of her, you are just a Boy with his little B-rank potential"


    "But-"


    "If you stay near not only you will suffer but she also will suffer, I will make sure that happens.."


    "How can you say that isn''t she your-"


    "Do not utter any word, Boy" Suddenly Lucas felt extreme pressure on his shoulders, Blood started to leak out from his Nose, ear, and mouth.


    Seeing the pitiful site of Lucas he cancelled his pressure.


    "Pitiful, just five seconds and that''s the state you are in, Just go and don''te near her again if you do you lose everything precious you hold."


    At the sudden memory, Lucas shut up.


    Lucas who was watching all of this can''t see the face of a man who is talking with the younger Lucas.


    There is bluer on the face of man, like someone or something trying to not see the face of Man his younger version talking too. The


    "Tell me Lucas what were you saying?" and here Evelyn kept questioning him.


    He turns his attention again to Evelyn, still thinking about the man he faced.


    ( Younger ) Lucas, however, was in no mood for exnation.


    "Tell me, Lucas, what were you saying?" she persisted, her confusion growing.


    "Nothing. Just go, and please never let me see your face again," Lucas retorted bitterly.


    Evelyn''s eyes welled with tears as she absorbed his harsh words.


    "Fine if that''s what you want I will dly grant you" She acquiesced, dering that she would grant his wish. With that, she walked away, leaving Lucas alone.


    Hey on the cold, unforgiving ground, gazing at the starless night sky. A solitary tear escaped his eye as he whispered, "I''m so sorry, please forgive me."


    The next day, Evelyn transferred to a different school, severing their ties, and leaving Lucas with a lingering sense of regret and sorrow.


    "Cadet Lucas wake up, what happened to him? Why is he sweating so much?"


    Lucas suddenly jolted awake, finding himself back in reality.


    ***


    I found myself in an unfamiliar ce, my eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the sterile, white surroundings. The voice, sharp and concerned, continued to echo in my ears.


    "Cadet Lucas, wake up. What happened to him? Why is he sweating so much?"


    My heart raced as I realized I was lying on a cot in the school''s infirmary. Panic surged through me as I tried to piece together what had just happened. It was just a dream, I told myself, but the images were still vivid in my mind.


    The nurse, a middle-aged woman with a kind face, approached me, her brow furrowed with worry. "Are you all right? You were sweating and seemed distressed. Did something happen?"


    I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart. "It was just... a nightmare," I managed to say, my voice trembling slightly. "I''m okay now, I think. Sorry for the trouble."


    She studied me for a moment, concern still etched on her face. "Nightmares can be quite unsettling. If you ever need someone to talk to, don''t hesitate to reach out, Cadet Lucas. We''re here to help."


    I nodded in gratitude, my mind still reeling from the vivid memories of that dream.