[Twenty Minutes Earlier - Military Interrogation room]
The interrogation room was quiet except for Ryan’s voice explaining the horrors of the portal world, his words heavy with trauma and guilt.
But the room wasn’t as empty as the survivors and the military officers believed.
Two figures stood in the corner, completely invisible thanks to Alaric’s skills, their presence undetectable to anyone below S-rank.
Alaric and Lyandra Valcor listened to every word, their faces growing progressively paler as the testimony continued.
Ryan’s voice described the Devourer Body Art, the consumption of Giant flesh and the systematic transformation of their son into sothing that crossed fundantal boundaries of human morality.
"He would kill Giants, then consu parts of their bodies – arms, legs, organs, blood – and his body would transform, gaining their imnse physical strength."
Lyandra’s hand began trembling uncontrollably.
Alaric grabbed it imdiately, squeezing tight, his own face showing barely controlled horror.
The testimony continued... Hundreds of kills, eating hearts, drinking blood and transforming himself into a weapon through thods that made even hardened soldiers sick.
Lyandra’s breathing beca irregular, her normally composed face showing cracks in the maternal facade.
’That’s not... that can’t be... our Damy wouldn’t...’
But the evidence was undeniable with all ten survivors telling the sa horrifying details.
Their son had beco sothing that scared even the people he’d saved...
Alaric waved his hand, creating an isolated barrier around them that prevented sound from escaping.
The mont the barrier ford, Lyandra’s composure shattered.
"I-I’ve been avoiding this."
Her voice ca out choked, tears forming in her black eyes.
"I have been trying not to say anything. Trying not to think about it. But Alaric... is Damian still our Damy? I don’t understand any of this."
She turned to face him, her expression desperate.
"Past life mories? I’ve never heard of anyone gaining them. Not once in the many years of military service... What kind of mories did he even have?
What could possibly transform a sweet, gentle boy into soone who eats sentient beings without hesitation?"
Her voice grew stronger, more frantic.
"Is this so kind of sche?! So plot by our enemies?! We’ve made so many during our careers. People who would do anything to hurt us!
Did soone get to Damy that night when he regained his mories and scread?! Did they replace him with sothing else? Or did he really just suddenly, magically, gain mories from another life?!"
Tears were flowing freely now, her hands clenched into fists.
"What is all this, Alaric?! I’m losing my patience! I need to know! Is he still our child? Or did soone replace him with a monster wearing his face?!"
Alaric stayed silent for a long mont, his silver eyes troubled with his stern face showing rare vulnerability.
Then he sighed, the sound carrying the weight of secrets and difficult truths.
"You and I both know that no one could have escaped our senses to harm him. We were present in the house that night. Our detection skills would have caught any intrusion, any replacent and every form of manipulation."
His hand tightened on hers.
"And as for whether he’s Damian... I scanned his body thoroughly that very night. Examined every cell. Even sensing his soul directly using techniques I promised I’d never use on our kids."
Alaric’s voice was carefully controlled.
"No changes were present. No foreign soul fragnts... No possession... No replacent...
Just his own soul becoming more powerful and more complete, like sothing that had always been there was finally being allowed to erge fully. I explained this to you that very night."
"I don’t care about explanations!"
Lyandra’s voice cracked completely.
"I want to see it with my own eyes! I love Damy more than anything! And if there’s even the slightest possibility that our boy was replaced by soone else... I will... I will..."
She couldn’t finish, the words choking in her throat.
Alaric pulled her into a tight embrace, his hand running through her black hair in the soothing gesture he’d used countless tis over their decades together.
"I know. I understand. We’ll make sure and verify again... We will do whatever you need to feel certain."
What Lyandra couldn’t see, pressed against his chest, was the complex expression on Alaric’s face.
Like soone who knew sothing that couldn’t be said and was trying to protect his wife from the sa burden.
His eyes were distant, troubled and hiding secrets even from the woman he trusted the most.
Lyandra pulled back slightly, her tear-stained face showing determination beneath the pain.
"I-I’ll use my hypnosis skill on him. Even if he hates for it afterward. Even if he never forgives ... I need to know for certain!"
Alaric’s expression shifted imdiately to stern refusal, his protective instincts flaring.
"Lyandra, that skill is–"
"I don’t care! I need to know!"
The rare sight of his normally gentle wife this desperate made Alaric pause.
He was typically henpecked in their relationship, deferring to her judgnt on most matters, showing the soft side he revealed to no one else.
But his face now showed the stern authority that had made enemies fear him across multiple war zones.
"We need to ask him first. Only if he permits it will I allow you to use that skill on our son."
Lyandra nodded slowly, recognizing this was the only way forward.
Alaric dispelled the isolation barrier and his invisibility skill, allowing them to beco visible in the hallway just as Eric approached Damian’s door.
****
[Present Ti - Damian’s Room]
Alaric and Lyandra entered their son’s room, the door closing quietly behind them.
Damian lay sleeping, his exhausted body finally getting the rest it desperately needed after two months of constant survival pressure.
But looking at him now – the changes in his physique, the new scars, the harder edge to his features even in sleep – Lyandra’s cold and composed mask cracked completely.
Her maternal instincts overwheld the suspicion and fear, seeing her boy injured and changed and needing protection.
She waved her hand gently, her Aura wrapping around Damian like invisible silk, lifting him from the bed without disturbing his sleep.
He didn’t even stir, his exhaustion too deep to sense anything.
Alaric opened a spatial portal with practiced ease with the dinsional tear appearing silently in the center of the room.
Together, they carried their sleeping son ho.
Whatever answers they needed could wait until he’d recovered properly.
For now, he just needed to be safe... To be with family.
And to be... ho.
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