Chapter 13

Bygone Memories

(Part 3)


-Third P.O.V-

-Murphy's Residence-

-August 2095-

It had been a couple of hours since he and Marky talked downstairs, but the man was still wide awake. His eyes were locked on the ceiling while a contemplating look was etched on his face.

Marky…Mark remembered the conflicting emotions that he had seen on his second son's face earlier. The man was very happy to see him once again, and yet he could detect some deep sadness in his eyes.

Marky…you've grown while I was gone. I'm sorry for everything. He thought with a hint of guilt. The last time he saw Marky was when he was lying on the hospital bed. The sight of his badly burnt skin was still strong in his memory and it made him feel sad for the boy. And then the truth that started this whole mess – he knew that Marky would be hurt by this, but he could not help but blame himself for the boy's mishap.

"All this thinking…and for what?" Mark, in an irate manner, sat straight up. Bad memories of his past continued to play in his mind. However, he could no longer do anything about it.

"I'm thirsty." All this thinking makes me want to drink cold water. The man stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.

The heat of the summer night greeted Mark as he walked down the stairs. He mentally grumbled after he felt the dryness of his throat. He needed a glass of water and there was a whole pitcher of one inside the fridge.

His foot made a soft pit pat sound as he approached the landing, but then he suddenly stopped dead. Mark blinked and rubbed both of his tired eyes after he noticed a figure sitting by the windowsill of the living room.


"Marky?" the man immediately recognized his second son, clothed in a white shirt and black jogging pants, who was looking outside towards the bright full moon in the night sky.

"Marky." Mark called again, with puzzled tone, and this time, the boy slowly turned his head towards him and made a calm smile.

"You can't sleep too?" Mark smiled back. If Marky could not sleep, then that meant he could still spend some extra time with him. He and his second son had so many things to catch up on.

"I am so sorry…Your Majesty. Marky is 'asleep' for now."

The man stopped on his tracks.

"What do you mean by-?" Mark was baffled by his son's response, but he noticed something else that was strange.

Markus, even if he was smiling or frowning, had a natural, innocent look that was enough to move his heart a bit. However, right now, his boy was displaying a very tranquil and kind smile in a way that was very unnatural for a human or a Viltrumite to make.

This 'unnatural' action made his son look like some kind of an angelic being…or god-like. Mark observed more. Markus was sitting by the windowsill in a very still, yet relaxing way. His chest was softly rising and falling. Both of his hands were closed and crossed on his thighs.

"Marky, what's going on?" This is so strange. You were not like this earlier. The way you are sitting, the way that you are smiling – it's almost as if…you are acting like a woman. Mark thought as his black eyes locked on his son. Based on his observation, his son was acting like he was a dignified, noble-like woman. The scene was so strange to him that he could neither comprehend nor understand what was truly happening right now.

"Do not be afraid. Markus Murphy is asleep. I, on the other hand, chose to manifest tonight…because I simply could."

What the fuck…? Thi-this is Marky, but he isn't! Mark gulped down in nervousness. The way Marky was acting was so strange to him. He could see his son, and yet at the same time, he was seeing different person too, and it confused him more.

"W-Well, if you say that my son is 'sleeping,' then to whom am I talking to right now?" he stammered his question as 'Markus' spread his smile more, turning his expression into a holy-like, mysterious one.

"Your Majesty...I am… [Shiki Ryougi]."


"Shiki…Ryogi?" What the fuck? What the hell is going on here? Mark's troubled expression showed on his face. What was his second son doing, introducing himself with a Japanese name that sounded masculine and feminine at the same time?

"Marky—I mean, Shiki, what do you mean by that?" Mark asked in a very worried tone. He decided to play along and see what was his second son was up to. What was happening right now was very strange for him. His son was clearly here, Markus, and yet he had just introduced himself with a very different name.

"For the sake of your understanding, let me explain what I am to you." Markus, or Shiki Ryougi in this case, responded after he noticed the confusion on the man's face. "I, Shiki Ryougi, am a being that is currently residing inside your son. Think of me as his second personality or identity."

Second personality? Identity? "Wait…before coming here, I talked to Abe regarding your health. He said that you're undergoing therapy for your mental health." Marky looked closely at his son with heavy seriousness. "Is this one of Marky's mental ailments?" he asked with as his expression shifted into a worried one.

Mark knew that his son was talking with a therapist named Touko Aozaki. Abe told him that his boy needed it because of the trauma that he had suffered from the truth. What was happening right now, could it be one of his son's ailments? Then, if that was so, he felt alarmed and horrified with the boy's mental health.

There is no known treatment for Viltrumite mental health. How am I supposed to handle this?! Mark was right to be alarmed. He had vast knowledge about his own people, the Viltrumites, but sadly, none of it pertained to mental health. And the reason for that was because Viltrumites were an invincible species. So why would they have any problems in their head when they were already perfect?

The man's thoughts, however, were cut after he saw his boy's head tilt. "For the sake of your understanding, we will settle for that." His second son crossed his legs and spoke more. "But again, do not worry. Your son is safe. He is sleeping soundly. I'm just here to watch this beautiful moon." Shiki said before he turned his head back towards the moon and observed it with the same calm, yet inhumane smile.

As for Mark, his mind was filled with questions about his son's actions, so he pressed this person named [Shiki] more.

"Shiki…what are you doing, really?"

"Well, to watch moon's phase, of course. But since you are here, would you allow me to ask you some questions, just so we can have conversation?"

Who are you really, Shiki, and what are you doing in my son's body? Mark gulped down in nervousness. He never thought that he would encounter his son in this kind of state.

"Yes, you may." He decided to play along. He might discover something that could help his son's ailment.

"Do you really love Markus?" The emperor froze at the question that his son had asked. The answer was very simple – of course, he loved his son very much. And yet, somehow, he couldn't say it to his son right now. Because his instincts were telling him not to because this person on the windowsill wasn't his son. This person could be planning something.


"Yes. I do love him. He's my son and I will cherish him forever more."

[Shiki]'s smile widened a bit. The boy liked the response of the emperor, so he pressed more.

"Then why did you leaved him here on this planet when you can take him anywhere?"

It's because our relation ship is very complicated, even now. "Markus has family here, and if I bring him with me all the time, he might get confused in the end. I wanted him to have a happy childhood with a normal family, although that last part is a bit…too strange already."

"Oh, now that sounds complicated. Is it?"

"Yes." Marky flatly answered him and silence shrouded the two of them. The moon outside waned in a gentle manner, its lights casting a soft glow that bathed the boy in a holy-like glow. And as seconds went by, Mark's heart pounded loudly in trepidation.

His eyes weren't wrong. He could really see his son transforming into a woman. His cheeks became smooth and his eyes turned soft like that of a woman who was looking at something beautiful.

Markus Murphy was changing right in front of him and Mark couldn't do anything except stand rooted on the spot.

"You are a kind father, Mark Grayson." The 'woman' said to him, voice becoming distorted into a feminine tone. "Marky is really lucky to have you." The person stood up and walked towards the man. "Which is why…it's very unfortunate for me to tell you, that Marky might grow into a villain."


A villain? Mark's eyes widened in shock. The 'woman' was telling him that his beloved son would become a villain with such calm and serene. It was as if she was telling the truth.

However, the boy couldn't become a villain. Marky was his very kind boy and Mark was sure that his lad would never hurt anybody.

"What do you mean by that?" the man's face darkened, readying himself to counter whatever the 'woman' will say to him.

[Shiki Ryougi] tilted her head to the left, her unmoving godlike smile lightened a bit. "It's because Markus was born from rape, a hateful and dreadful crime. And in this universe…there's an unwritten law that pertains to such offspring, and that is 'Anything that is born from hate, would receive nothing but hate, and the reason for that was because of the norms of the society.'" The woman paused as she moved her hand, placing it on the Viltrumite Emperor's cheek, before she continued. "Markus is born from rape, which means he can no longer relate with the norms of society. Therefore, no one can understand him. Because of that, he will never be loved by other people… No one will defend an existence that can be considered an 'abomination' or an anomaly." [Shiki] moved her face closer to Mark's, and said softly. "Do you understand that…your Majesty?"

Mark stood still as he absorbed the words. What the woman had said about the birth of his son was correct. Markus's birth would make any normal society shun him or even worse, judge him lowly. The boy might even find difficulty loving someone because whoever loved him might be looked down upon.

What kind of person would love a tainted boy?

However, the 'woman' also made a mistake, and the man quickly zeroed in it. "You said that Marky would become a villain because anything that was born from hate will feel nothing but hate." Mark's eyes became serious and filled with determination.

[Shiki] was right about Markus's tainted birth. However, she wrong about something else. And with that, the man was willing to throw that mistake back at her. And the reason for that was because…the boy was his son.

"Then why did he get hurt by the truth? Why did he cry his heart out right after he discovered that he was loved by me and my father?" He pushed the woman's hand away from his cheeks and towered 'her' more. "You may be right about my son's tainted birth, [Shiki], but at the end of the day, I don't give a shit about what the majority of society says about him." The man paused before he puffed his chest and declared more. "I will support him until the end of time. I will stand with him between the heavens and the earths. I will fight anyone who looks down on him…even if it's God or any other divine beings." He leaned over the 'woman' as he barred his fangs at her. "I swear on my soul…that I will always protect him, no matter what the cost is."


Mark's dismay was very evident on his face as he defends the honor and pride of his second son, however it seems it wasn't enough. [Shik] on the other hand was clearly unfazed. Her sides of her lips arched up. Her eyes, however, shifted into a contemplating one. She was thinking what the man had said about the boy and it she could tell that the man's reaction was genuine and true.

Mark truly love Markus and questioning and criticizing it any further would inflict more anger on the Emperor.

"Well, it seems that you truly love Markus. That I applaud you."

"The hell I am."

[Shiki] then moved away and back to the window. She sat again and resumed looking at the moon. "I'm very sorry if I offended you with my questioning. I'm just making sure that your feelings for Markus is real." The woman began as Mark's expression softened, he crossed his arms on his chest and asked the woman again.

"What are you really [Shiki] and what are you going to do with my son's body?"

[Shiki] slowly turned her head to the man and cast her angel-like smile again. "None, your grace, for I am merely 'living' inside of him as his other self. I will cause no harm to your son…and to you and others."

I don't know what you are saying but at least you are telling the truth. Mark still didn't know if this [Shiki] was just a product of his second son's mental ailments however he also has a dreadful feeling that this was more than that.

He continued watching over his son and the person in silence as the night passed on and as the black sky deepened its colors more.


Disclaimer : I do not own the characters of Invincible and Kara no Kyoukai. Names, places and events are purely fictional. If one exist in real life then its purely coincidental.

Special thanks to Pure Red Crane for Beta-reading.

Alright, another new chapter! And in this chapter, we saw that Marky has another side. Who could Shiki Ryougi really be? Is she something a foe, a friend? Is she even an ordinary 'person' and how did she manifested inside Markus? If you want the answers stay tuned for more! Thinker out!