(News flash: Time is a fickle mistress. Although my soul is anchored to my past self, I can easily explore within a certain range of young Ryatt. My curiosity made me visit a particular perspective once it came in range. When I first encountered Dimi Lurch he was just a guard at Marc's estate in New Origin City. I had no idea he would later become a hated enemy. On this particular day in my timeline, I had only come with Haan in tow, as Micayle was injured and headed home with Mikah and Axel. Dimi another guard stopped me and harassed me before trying to beat me up! I wasted twenty minutes fighting those jerks. After that, I took Haan to my mother in hopes she could be saved. I couldn't help but wonder how things would change in this timeline, although I feared them changing too much.)

-------

Dimi Lurch's Heart:

Over at the House Raizen estate gates, there were six guards in black suits on duty at all times. It was only my second week on the job, but I had already been accepted by the others. I'm very serious about my work. You don't get to be 348 pounds without enough hard work and focused dedication. Eating must become a passion! Working must become a priority! How else could I continue to eat delicious food? Unfortunately, the captain was in Upper Acadia today with Master Raizen. This meant that the one in charge was my least favorite guard. The lanky bastard we had to call Vice-Captain. This was a man that was great friends with the captain and basically bullshitted around all day. I couldn't stand him. Always barking out orders and kicking his legs up. He seemed to constantly be getting me into messy situations.

"Hm? Isn't that young master Drakel?" my precious face-fat jiggled as I asked skeptically when I saw the odd spectacle of Ryatt Drakel running with two girls, one in the front and one on the back. "Oh? The boss said we could make a bonus on our side commission if we give this brat some 'special' treatment for the next few days," another guard looked forward and then sneered in response. He was skinny and tall with slanted eyes. Just like the other guards referred to me as Fatty Lurch, they called this man Lanky Kris. "Little punk thinks he can play with girls now, huh? We'll see about that." "Wait, Kris! Won't we get in trouble with the madam if we do this?" seeing my partner was about to act impulsively, I quickly grabbed his arm. "Get off me, fatty!" roared Lanky Kris, snatching his arm back. Seeing the fatty guard retreat two steps, the skinny guard sneered again. "Hmph, you know how this brat is, don't you? If we don't cross his bottom line, he won't say a word. Let's rough him up a bit." "Ah, I guess you're right," I shrugged in consent.

After all, the guards often bullied this boy like this, and I had long since heard them discussing it. And Master Raizen truly did promise a handsome reward to anyone who could humiliate the boy. If they hadn't been exposed for harassing Ryatt before, there was a good chance they wouldn't be exposed this time either. Meanwhile, the three youths had finally reached this place. Beads of sweat slowly appeared on Ryatt's forehead. He looked like he was just about at the over-exertion point, but he could still endure for a while more. After reaching the gates of his home, Ryatt's brow furrowed, and a frown crept onto his face.

In my mind, I knew this was our moment. It was time to blow off some steam.

"HALT!" "WHO GOES THERE?" ------- Haan's Heart:

Two of the six guards on duty suddenly shouted at Ryatt as they stepped onto our path thirty meters ahead. The lanky joker on the left had a bald head and a rather ugly face. It looked like someone smacked him a few times with a miniature mountain and his head got stuck in that shape. Next to him was a pudgy guard who jiggled with every step. Outside of his obesity, the fat fat man was actually sort of handsome. However, the goofy grin combined with the jiggling of his flesh ruined any hopes of beauty in my eyes. The lanky joker started shouting before drawing the mana gun holstered on his hip. This development stupefied me. Did Ryatt really live here or not? The boy in question was clearly not amused. We had been bullied enough today, and Micayle was in danger. I could tell Ryatt didn't want to waste any time with these guards so he hurried to speak first. "If you two dare to get in this young master's way, I swear to the gods I will beg my mother to flay you," Ryatt called out savagely, stupifying myself the two guards who wanted to mock him.

I no longer knew what to make of this situation. However, before they could process the words of the boy, he already stepped past them. As we stepped past, I stuck my tongue out at the puzzled and scared fatty. This could be seen as childish, but what can I say? Even when I was a century-old I was still a bit of a kid at heart, let alone now. "DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP OR I'LL SHOOT!" the skinny guard suddenly aimed the mana gun in his hand at the three youths before him. The red gem embedded in the side released buzzing noises as red particles were drawn into it from the atmosphere.

Ryatt ignored this guard as he suddenly bellowed, "MOM! MOM, FIND ME. I NEED YOU!" I was totally dumbstruck. I knew the only reason he didn't fight first and ask questions later was because of Micayle and me. I just never imagined Ryatt was serious in his earlier threat, but now I couldn't help but wonder about the personality of the youth's mother. The two guards were immediately panic-stricken and collapsed to their knees as the other four guards ran over when they heard the loud shout. ------- Kiya Prozen's Heart:

"Mommy, mommy, I want to go to the market and pick some new linen," a little girl's sweet voice constantly rings out within the most beautiful courtyard of our enormous estate.

An estate whose decorative style made me sick to my stomach. Marvelous and expensive paintings, statues, and furnishings, but the theme was all black and grey. It was all completely dreary. No woman in her right mind would find this appealing. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of being a woman in my right mind. The moments when my heart was clear of the pink haze that clouded it and took over my faculties were few and far between. It was too bad I was unable to see my son while I was in this state...I wished to observe his growth with a sober mind. I absent-mindedly tended to my flowers, the only splash of color in this dismal estate, while Chevy played loudly in my surroundings.

I glanced at the reflection in the waterfall fountain behind me and admired the view. A pretty little girl with jet black hair and eyes ran in circles around a tall and shapely woman with waist-length wavy azure hair and oceanic blue eyes. The woman's thin and angular face was completely devoid of blemishes, and her golden-brown skin seemed to shine in the sun. She was scantily clad in a near-transparent lavender skirt, a stylish white top that only covered her chest, and was adorned with all manner of elegant jewelry.

I must say, I never tired of admiring my reflection. My acclaimed countenance seemed to be all I had left to distract me from my dismal fate. Yes, for all my beauty, I still landed in the most unfavorable of circumstances with no real hope of returning to a semblance of normalcy.

"Be still, Chevy," I felt exasperated as I looked at my beautiful but chaotic little daughter. However, I knew I was just frustrated for other reasons. I decided to just let the haze take back over, as it would happen soon anyway. I spoke to my daughter one last time before the trance took me, "We can go to the market later. I need to..."

However, before I could finish my sentence, I heard a distant shout.

"MOM! MOM, FIND ME. I NEED YOU!"

Although the little girl in front of me had heard nothing, her little head cocked to the side seemingly wondering why I stopped speaking; I had exceptional hearing. There was a cracking sound in my mind as I sobered up from the trance that was started to enwrap me once more. I clearly heard my son's voice shouting for help, and I instantly used the perceptive powers of my soul force, sending a stand of awareness towards the front of the estate.

"What? How dare that dirty dog, ah? AAHH!!" I quickly identified the drama, and what I saw enraged me.

My instincts as a mother went into overdrive. Immediately after, I clutched my skull and screamed miserably. A pain that felt similar to a thousand little hammers pounding on my head.

"Mom! Mommy!" shrieked Chevy in a panic. My sudden scream terrified my little daughter. "Are you okay mommy? Don't scare Chevy..."

Chevy was confused and frozen on the spot. She looked like she thought this old mother of hers would break if she got too close.

Considering how destructive the child was, I guess I should be thankful she cares about my safety.

I'm not sure what was happening. When I saw the scene of a guard pointing a weapon at my son, something snapped in my mind. It was as if some sealed urn in my heart had been cracked. From this crack spilled countless memories and thought fragments, giving me a splitting headache. The seal that had plagued my mind for nearly a decade was no longer capable of suppressing my will. The curse had weakened many times before, but never like this.

"Tier 3? So I've broken through..." An instant later, I wore a completely different expression from before. My faculties rapidly recovered and even evolved to new heights as the pounding in my skull subsided. "Mommy...wuuu....wuu...are you okay?" Chevy's face was a mess of tears and snot already.

I looked at my reflection in the nearby fountain before picking up and consoling my frightened child, "Mommy's okay, baby. Mommy's all better now. Everything's okay, okay little dove?" "Sniff...okay mommy, sniff, okay," Chevy replied with her face buried in my chest. My heart couldn't help but melt at the sight of her. However, an iciness that came from the depths of my soul quickly overtook the shred of warmth.

"Marc Raizen," I snorted furiously. Raising my head so my daughter wouldn't see, a grave light sparkled in my eyes.

"Did daddy do something, mommy?" little Chevy asked in a confused and concerned voice.

"No, little dove, don't worry," I consoled gently, remembering my bearings. I couldn't think out loud as I did in the past. 'The last time I was anywhere near this level of consciousness, Chevy was just an infant. Just like that, I've spent another five years as the wife of this rapist maniac. Shit, shit, shit! I wasn't supposed to be under for that long. Did something go wrong? Did that bastard reinforce the seal for some reason? Is Meno okay...? How he let me...ugh. Like he cares at all. Well, less of that. I need to retrieve my son.'

I used my heart to recite an incantation rapidly, and a magic circle appeared beneath my feet. In a flash, my daughter and I vanished from the courtyard at a speed the maids and servants couldn't even comprehend. ------- Ryatt Drakel's Heart:

"Young Master Drakel, please do not misunderstand," Fatty Lurch pleaded with the utmost respect in his voice. The change was so drastic it felt like comedy. "We didn't realize it was the young master and his two friends. We only wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Young boy Ryatt, please," started Lanky Kris nervously. "We got off on the wrong foot just now. How about this? I can morouf..."

Before the skinny man could continue talking, a stylish black heel crashed through his teeth and dyed his mouth red with blood. I hadn't even seen anyone appear before the slender leg that was equal parts athletic and feminine slowly lowered from its strike. The kick's force threw the guard thirty meters before he crashed into one of the garden's grass demon sculptures. He completely ruined my favorite grass demon sculpture, but now wasn't the time for that.

"Marx Kris," a light and melodic voice floats into my ears like thousands of bells chiming in chorus. However, this voice currently carried a terrifying chill that made me nearly wet myself. "Am I mistaken, or did you just point your gun...at my son?" "Madam, please this is just a big misunderstanding...NO, NO, NOOO!" Fatty Lurch just wanted to appease the wrath of the lady of the house, he didn't really expect her to attack them again.

Who knew this thought was so naive?

Fatty could finish, he screamed no repeatedly as he rapidly retreated. Seconds later he was already wailing in pain. The remaining guards, my friends, and I watched in awe as that dainty-looking woman I called mother mud-stomped that poor crying guard over and over until he was unrecognizable. (News flash: This absolutely never happened in my timeline. At this point, I'm growing doubtful. Did my spell backlash somehow? I have no way of knowing.)

"You pointed a gun at my big brudder?" the little girl in my mother's arms shouted angrily. "Get him, mommy, crush him, step, step, step!"

"M-mom?! Chevy?" It took me a moment to process the changes in front of me. My eyes suddenly shined as I saw my mother. This imposing bearing. This graceful and powerful pressure. Wasn't this the warrior goddess who seemed to only appear in my nostalgic dreams of the past? However, feeling a lick on my neck from the girl I held in my arms, I shivered and was dragged out of my thoughts. That was right. I didn't have time to worry about the change in my mother, "Mom, quick, I need your help!"

"Hm?" My mother elegantly swept her azure hair over her shoulder as she stopped stomping this man who had angered her to the point of doing her a favor. It felt good venting her frustration, but she seemed to realize she had gotten carried away.

She turned back to face me, seeming to notice the girls I carried for the first time. She flashed over to my side in a step. That's right, a single step! I was amazed, momentarily forgetting to speak. However, when I saw her gaze fall to the tattoo on my left hand and then to my changed body, my mother suddenly frowned.

I felt a true chill run down my spine, seeing that cold and violent look in my mother's eyes at this moment. I was truly cowed to the max. She looked ready to obliterate me from the face of the planet at that moment, making my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

My mother seemed to notice my reaction and closed her eyes for a moment. Calming herself, she smiled and said, "What's going on, baby? Why did you run home so desperately? What do you need help with? Why is that mark on your hand? Has something happened?" Haan mused to herself, suddenly understanding that Ryatt was just like his mother.