Prologue Part 9

'Fuck! He knew this was coming. That mother fucking bastard of a god, never does things himself (at least not 100% on his own). He drags poor innocent souls in to clean up his messes with deals they can't refuse. What choice do they really have? Certain death for you and all those you care about or take the deal and maybe they can live. It's a no brainer really, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant to swallow.'

Kim Rok Soo really, really wants to kill a bastard right now. Or at the very least, he would like to maim him.

"Haaa."

With a sigh, Kim Rok Soo stands up to do as he was asked. He can't get out of it really, so he may as well just get it over with.

"Hello. My name is Kim Rok Soo. I am a regressor and transmigrator."

With those words uttered, he sat back down with a pleased smirk and waited for the chaos to begin.

'Take that you fucker. Like I'll do all the work for you. Have fun dealing with the shit storm that starts.'

"What?"

"Transmigrator?"

"What the hell?"

"I have no idea what's going on anymore!"

"That can't be it! Where's the rest?"

SCREECH

The obnoxious sound cuts off all further comments and questions and any people standing immediately take their seats.

Scritch. Scritch.

"Thank you for that gem of information you provided, but more detail is needed. I am more than willing to leave you all here in limbo indefinitely."

'Fucking bastard.'

"Fine. As I said, my name is Kim Rok Soo, but previously I was Cale Henituse from group 3."

Gasps, murmurs, and exclamations ring out from those in groups 1, 3, and 5.

All eyes look from Kim Rok Soo to Cale* to Cale and then back again.

The members of Team 1 realize what that means. Their team leader is not the same man they have known all these years. They aren't sure how to feel about that. When they stop and really think about it though, they realize it doesn't bother them too much. From the reactions of those in group 5, it seems like their team leader is well loved. That makes them happy. He deserves to be happy and loved. When they think about the man that replaced him, they realize they have come to care for him too. Like the words on the screen said earlier, they now have two team leaders.

Those in group 5 with sharper minds start to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

To those that have only known Cale for the last couple years, the news that he is not the original Cale, doesn't really shake them up much. It's surprising, sure but it's not going to change how they think of the young man that did so much to save them.

•••••

Ron is conflicted. He cares about Cale and if he is truly being honest with himself, he loves him like another son. But now he finds out that the puppy young master he has served all the time changed to a completely different person and he didn't notice.

He noticed the change, he'd have to be blind, deaf, and stupid to have missed the change in Cale, but he had just assumed at first that Cale had figured out what he was. He thought his puppy young master was just frightened of him and his reactions were just too amusing to let go of.

Then he caught the scent of Arm and decided it was time to leave. He wouldn't bring that danger into the house of those that had taken his son and him in. He owed them at least that much.

But that puppy young master of his wouldn't let him go. He gave them a home and a family to return to. Now he finds out that the one to do that wasn't that little boy he watched grow up and that hurts just a bit.

Looking over at the bed, he can see the pale young man laying there and that hurt fades a little. It's not gone, he still cared for that little boy he watched grow, but the one to truly accept them, was that pale young man on the bed.

Knowing that he is someone else, doesn't change that he is his puppy young master and he will serve him until the end.

•••••

Beacrox isn't really that bothered by learning the young master they have been serving is now someone else. He wasn't close to the young master before he changed. In fact, while he didn't hate him, he also didn't like him.

He thought of him as a bit of a brat and took it as a personal challenge to make a dish he couldn't say was disgusting.

Beacrox was observant enough to notice the brat's well hidden care for his family. That's why he couldn't hate him.

But he didn't truly care for the young master until after the change. The man that is now his young master is the one to save his father. The one to give them a new home and help them get their old one back.

Knowing that he is a different person doesn't bother Beacrox at all. The young master is still the one he will happily serve to the end.

•••••

The Henituse family of group 3 sit there in stunned confusion. If that man is to be believed, he is their Cale, but at the same time their Cale* is still there with them. They don't know what to think.

The Henituse family of group 5 doesn't know what to feel. That man says he was their Cale, but he transmigrated and now he is Kim Rok Soo. That means he left them. He left them and someone else took his place.

They don't know how to deal with that. They love Cale. He is their family. They loved him before and they love him now, but that means they love two different people, right?

•••••

Basen can't figure out what he feels. His brother has changed and he can't figure out if he thinks of it as a bad thing or not. He loves his brother and the last couple years he has felt like they are finally family. That he has finally been accepted.

But that's not true. The brother that he always wanted to accept him and let him in, isn't the brother that finally did.

He knows that Cale had cared about him in his own way. He wouldn't have told him to say he had Henituse blood no matter what all those years ago if he hadn't. But he had never let him in. Then he left them. It hurts and he doesn't know what to do with that hurt. Part of him wants to be mad at his brother and the transmigrator for making him feel this way, but he can't actually bring himself to do it.

He is sure Cale wouldn't have left them without a good reason and the transmigrator isn't to blame in this situation either.

In fact, he knows the transmigrator cares about them. If he didn't, why would he have worked so hard to save them? Basen has watched him fight and bleed for them. He could have just run away and left them all on their own. He didn't know them after all. Why should he struggle so much just to protect strangers?

The answer is simple. He cares. The transmigrator has treated them all like family from the moment he showed up in this world.

His brother has treated them all like family since he arrived. His brother has struggled to keep them safe. His brother has bled for them.

Basen knows how he feels now. It was simple really. There are still complicated feelings, but the main point is that now he has two brothers to love.

•••••

Lily is still a child. She is still too young to know about everything that has been happening in the world. She is still too young to fight for her family. At least that is what they tell her.

Lily is only 9 years old, but she understands and knows more than her family thinks she does. She hears the gossip about what her brother has done. How hard he has fought. How often he has coughed up blood while saving others.

Lily is young and while she is a bit confused and surprised by the information that her brother has become a completely different person, she knows what she feels.

She loves her brothers. She loves all three of her brothers.

•••••

As a mother, Violan feels like she has failed her son.

Cale may not have been hers by birth, but he was still her son. Even if he didn't see her as a mother figure.

That's why she wouldn't let the cousins kick him out. That was Cale's home first. Basen and she were the intruders and Cale had every right to be upset at them. He was just a boy who had recently lost his mother. It was normal to expect a child to be upset when confronted with strangers only to be told they were now his family.

It was okay. She was the adult. She could wait for him to accept her as family and if he never did, that was okay too. The Henituse Estate would always be his home. She would make sure of that.

Then one day Cale changed. He finally seemed to accept them as family. She was happy. She felt that she had truly gained another son. Not just her seeing him as a son, but him accepting her as a mother figure too.

But now? Now she learns that the one to accept her was someone else. Not that sad, angry little boy she watched grow up.

She feels like she failed that little boy.

Her eyes are drawn to the Cale laying pale and unmoving on the bed and at that moment she swears to herself that she will not fail this young man. Once was more than enough.

The man calling himself Kim Rok Soo has somewhere else to call home now, but she will make sure Cale will always have a home to come back to.

She can no longer watch over one of her sons, but she can still protect two of them.

•••••

Deruth feels like he can't breathe.

His son is someone else now and that feels like a slap in the face. His son changed and he didn't know it.

Logically he knows that suspecting your child of having their soul swapped out with another person's is not really something that would be considered by most people, but still. That is his son. He should have known.

He knew that Cale had changed, but he just assumed that he had decided it was finally time he stopped acting like trash. He was just happy that Cale was spending time with them. He thought he finally had his son back.

He thought that he could finally make up for shutting down and drowning himself in work to hide from his grief after Jour died. He knows he handled her loss and the aftermath poorly. It wasn't until he met Violan and she opened his eyes, that he realized he still had family he needed to keep safe.

He thought he could make up for that year of failure after he married Violan, but Cale started to act out shortly after that and he realized he had messed up again.

He wasn't trying to replace Cale and Jour with a new family. He just wanted to give both Cale and himself a new family to be happy with, but he failed to properly communicate that to Cale.

He thought he messed up again and that this time Cale hated him. He didn't know how to fix it either. Any time he tried to speak to him, Cale would yell at him and tell him to leave him alone. So he did. He thought giving him space and time to think would make things better. He would wait until Cale was ready to forgive him instead of forcing him, but he didn't come to him.

In fact, he saw less of Cale as the years went by and Cale's behavior worsened. He didn't know what to do other than to keep an eye on him. He made sure Cale was safe and took care of any mess he caused. He invited Cale to breakfast with the family every morning in the hopes that they could fix things, but it wasn't working.

Until one day it did. He thought Cale was finally ready to forgive him. He thought he could have his son back. He was so happy.

And now this. With this, he knows he never did get his son back. His son is gone and he doesn't know how to process that. It feels like someone has ripped his heart out of his chest. It feels just like it did when he lost Jour.

Then he looks over at the bed and the prone form (of his son) on it and feels that pain ease just the slightest and he can finally take a breath.

He looks over at the man his son has become. He looks back and they make eye contact. Deruth studies those eyes. In those eyes he can see grief, loss, and sadness, but those are small compared to the happiness he sees in them.

His son looks down at the little girl beside him and the look in his eyes is filled with love. He then looks back at Deruth and gives a small nod.

It is at that moment, Deruth knows his son is happy. Well and truly happy. There is still sadness and grief for the loss of his family (Deruth may not be the most intelligent person, but he knows that a doomed world means a dead world), but the happiness he has found has dulled that loss.

Deruth can finally breathe easy again. His son is not lost. He is no longer with him, but he is happy and that is all that matters.

He has also gained another son. One he will not fail with. Once was enough.

Taking a breath, Deruth looks again at his son and mouths the words he should have said so many years ago, "I'm proud of you, I love you, and I am glad you are happy, son."

•••••

Kim Rok Soo can feel a weight he didn't even realize he carried lifted from him the moment he sees his father mouth words he wasn't even aware he wanted to hear.

Deep down he knew his father cared about him, but over the years of acting as trash and enduring the disgusted looks and disappointed glares of the extended family, his sense of self worth was worn down.

At his lowest, he truly believed he was the useless trash he pretended to be. Then he lost everyone and the guilt of being the only survivor as well as the helpless rage of not being good enough to protect them when it really mattered, crushed any remaining feelings of self worth he had left.

When he was confronted with his impending death, he felt many things. Disappointment that he couldn't get his revenge, anger that the bastard responsible for taking his loved ones got to continue living, but most of all, he just felt relief. Relief that he didn't have to continue on alone anymore. Relief that the never ending pain of grief was coming to an end.

Then the God of Death (that bastard) offered his deal and his treacherous heart felt hope. Hope that it could be different. Hope that his family could live. Hope that he could see his mother again. So he grasped that hope like the lifeline it was. Held on to it like his life depended on it (it actually did too) and said yes.

It was the best (and smartest) decision he has ever made. He misses his family and he still loves them, but they are alive and happy and that's all that matters. Plus, he has his mother now and he is well and truly happy himself.

He thought that was all he needed and really it is, but knowing his father is proud of him, loves him, and is happy for him makes him even happier. Lifts a weight he didn't know was there and he can breath completely at ease now.

So he nods back at his father and opens his mouth to explain more.

"I died at the age of 40 at the hands of the White Star. He's the bastard in charge of the organization responsible for the terror attacks."

Those in group 5 smile viciously as they remember his demise while those in group 3 clench their fists in anger at the reminder of what he has done.

"By the time I died, both the Eastern and Western Continents were decimated by a war that had been raging for 20 years. The entire Eastern Continent was in the White Star's hands while the Empire, Caro, Breck, and Whipper Kingdoms were under his control or destroyed. The Jungle was also subjugated and the entire eastern half of the Roan Kingdom was in his hands as well. I was the only survivor from the Henituse household. Crown Prince Alberu gathered the surviving strong individuals and whoever else was left from the Western Continent for one final attack at Puzzle City. By the time the White Star killed me, there was barely anyone left from our side. We were not going to win that war."

Group 3 all have horrified looks on their faces after hearing what their future holds.

Group 5 all have horrified looks on their faces at what their future could have been. They all turn to look at the slumbering Cale and can only feel immense gratitude. They knew he had saved them during this war, but they didn't know how truly bad it could have been.

The sound of Kim Rok Soo's voice pulls their attention back to him and off of their sleeping commander.

"I am not sure exactly how group 5 is fairing in their war, since it should have begun a while back, but I can tell just by looking at those here that you are doing way better already. I can see several people there that should have already been dead."

His words started a frenzy in group 3 as several people turned to study group 5 with hope in their hearts.

"Taylor!"

"Paseton!"

"Pendrick! Maes!"