July 7th, 1513;
In front of a massive teleportation gate, Lucien was standing, followed by an army of maids and butlers, when he suddenly spoke. "Oliver."
Oliver, who was sitting right in front of Lucien, replied, "Yes, your Highness?"
"Do you reckon I can skip the events, the banquets, and the other boring stuff that would happen on the 9th?" Lucien asked, his voice sounding tired.
"Of course not, Your Highness," Oliver replied calmly. "Is there a reason why you have asked the same question for the fourth time right now?"
"Solstice just held a small event to say farewell to me. I nearly ran away from here." His voice seemed detached, as if he were fed up with everything. "There's no way I can handle such a grand banquet a day after tomorrow, Oliver."
This anti-social trait was common in both him and old Lucien, so Oliver wasn't surprised at this behavior.
His life over the last three days was full of exchanging pleasantries with people he barely knew.
He didn't get a single minute for himself, much less any time for him to train his new body.
"Let's just go, Oliver. Back to Veltara"
Lucien said, stepping into the teleportation gate connecting the outskirts of Astreon to the outskirts of Veltara, the capital city of Cythos.
'Ugh!' Lucien was barely holding back, since the technology of 900 years ago didn't have this.
However, since old Lucien was accustomed to this, he had to put on a brave front and not just hurl everything everywhere.
Sure, their memories and emotions were assimilated, albeit fragmented, but their experiences? Not one bit.
'Wait, I am going to fall-' Just as his legs were about to give up due to the dizziness, he was suddenly lifted tightly.
He realized he was in a tight hug with someone.
The first thing he felt was inexplicable warmth, a warmth he wanted to stay forever inside.
But it didn't last long, since the next thing he felt right after was a crushing force, and a rotational force was added immediately.
'Crap, I can't breathe.' Lucien couldn't even comprehend what was going on, since the initial warmth made him relax, and the rotation made everything pass by super fast.
"My baby!!!" A high-pitched, sweet, and love-filled voice entered his ears as he realized what was going on.
The loving voice of the person who loved Lucien the most.
That also explained the warmth he felt, since he had the fragmented emotions and memories of the old Lucien.
It must be Maria Callastre.
His mother.
'...My mother.'
"Mo-th-er, I-I can-t breathe." He barely squeezed out any air from his compressed chest, asking her to put him down.
"Oh!" Her voice sounded surprised, as if she wasn't just squeezing the life out of her son.
Lucien was now even more dizzy, barely standing straight, when he was suddenly caught by Oliver.
For a moment, the entire gate was silent, staring at the Prince as he recovered.
Suddenly, his dizziness vanished almost instantly, and even Oliver vanished from behind.
'Huh?' Lucien was taken aback, slowly opening his eyes to witness what had just happened.
"Pretty!" His eyes shone as he witnessed a vast, limitless garden, full of dense rainforest and flowers growing on the ground everywhere.
A sweet scent wafted through the breeze, making him go into a momentary trance.
'Wait, this is not natural.' His brain immediately blared an alarm, triggering his survival instincts.
He remembered something from a few days ago.
The spirits he was fighting against mocked him, saying that he would never be able to break through into the next realm of power due to his body composition.
He didn't mind them back then, but he remembered one thing they'd mentioned as a requirement to break through into the seventh realm.
The explanation was something extremely similar to what was happening just now.
'A domain.'
He was in the domain of someone.
A Paragon was nearby.
"Don't be scared, honey. It's just me here."
"Mother, you are a Paragon!" Lucien blurted out, his tongue was weirdly very slippery.
A beautiful red-haired woman suddenly materialized in front of him.
Her silky hair was swaying gently with the wind, and her fiery amber eyes looked at him lovingly.
Her chiseled, symmetrical, and mature-looking pretty face perfectly complemented her curvaceous and alluring body.
"You know about the domains, baby?" Her eyes were wide, but they had nothing but love for him.
Lucien nodded slightly and added, "Oliver told me about it." He made Oliver the scapegoat.
She immediately rushed to him and kissed both of his cheeks; now her calmness was replaced with excitement.
"I heard my baby boy and his fiancée were lovey-dovey with each other. Is that true?"
Lucien didn't know how to even answer this.
"Not lovey-dovey, mother. I think it's because we share a common goal that we click." He answered vaguely, not being able to put it in words without actually telling her the motive.
Maria's mouth curled up slightly, and her brows were raised, "Heh! What do you think about her, son? Is there something specific you like about her?"
"I…" Lucien thought about it carefully. "I like her boldness and her sense of humor. I also like that we are a bit similar to a certain extent."
The so-called strongest human of the era of dusk was unable to form a proper sentence about what he liked in a person.
"Hehehe!" She pulled him in a hug again, loving the expression her son was making, even though he didn't move a muscle on his face.
"Oh my! My womanizer son is blushing while talking about another girl?" She teased him even further
"I am not blushing." He wanted to deny the 'womanizer' part, too, but he knew what kind of man old Lucien was.
His reputation in the palace was only good with his mother, and only because she loved him to death.
Even his younger sister was disgusted by him.
"Mother, let's go back. I don't feel so good right now." The reason was Maria herself, but Lucien held back.
"Also, hide me from public view, I want to be alone till my birthday."
"Anything for you, sugarpie." She didn't even hesitate and accepted it regardless.
Lucien, who didn't have a mother for over a decade in his previous life, felt this warmth to be such an alien feeling.
'But I don't hate this feeling.'