Rhys quickly reconciled himself with the fact that he would be Asher from now on, at least until he completed his mission here.
In the next moment, only the name Asher remained at the forefront of his consciousness.
Asher found his current situation strange.
He had not forgotten his past—except his name—yet he had the distinct feeling that his emotions were no longer the same.
The old him wasn't a baby but a grown man, an antique by any measure. The feelings he experienced now were like a filtered version of his own, the simple, direct emotions a baby was supposed to have.
It was strange, and oddly comforting.
The sound of wheels rolling over the jagged path became a surreal sensation. The warmth generating from the woman cradling him overwhelmed his underdeveloped senses.
When the unfamiliar babble of voices from the two in the carriage caused a flicker of confusion in his mind, a strange, involuntary process occurred.
A faint pull happened in his soul, taking a single speck of dust from an uncountable ocean of it.
[Lifespan Burned: 3 Hours]
Clarity bloomed.
The incoherent babbling resolved into the Aeridorian tongue, a language he now understood as if he had spoken it his entire life.
The woman holding him was Rowena; she was coaxing him to call her "mom."
The man watching her so intensely was her brother, Kaelen—his uncle. Occasionally, Kaelen's grateful eyes would fall upon him, confusing the infant further.
Regardless, this was his new family.
Surprisingly, Asher found himself excited by this notion.
He, an immortal who had lived through millennia, actually thirsted for a family. It was almost unbelievable.
He knew he was just a passenger in this body, a traveler who would have to leave one day after finishing his mission.
Still, watching his new mother coo at him, her face filled with adoration, he felt a pang of genuine curiosity.
What is this emotion? Without him even noticing, he had started to think in the new language.
[Lifespan Burned: 10 Minutes]
The answer came not in words, but in silent understanding.
Maternal love.
It was a pale imitation of the fierce, world-encompassing love he had felt for Nora, but it was warm and real, a gentle sunbeam on his frozen soul.
This involuntary education continued throughout the journey.
The craving for milk, the simple happiness of satisfying that craving, the texture of silk, the warmth of a hug—every new sensation that would take a newborn years to learn was categorised and understood by him, paid for with a few drops from his infinite lifespan.
His mother told him fairy tales of this world, while his uncle explained the interesting things he had experienced in great detail, widening Asher's knowledge.
The journey to the Lancaster estate took weeks. By the time they arrived, he was no longer just an infant but a prodigy in perception.
He could understand the complex conversations his mom and uncle occasionally had, track their movements with uncanny focus, and his golden eyes seemed to hold a depth of wisdom that sometimes worried his mother.
From her talks with his uncle, Asher understood the reason for her fear. She was afraid of his origins.
She feared losing him when the truth was revealed in the future.
In the short time they had been together, Asher had already grown closer to this warm and caring woman.
He felt happy to know she mirrored his feelings.
His uncle was the same.
Behind a veil of calmness, he hid his feelings well, but to Asher, with his System, deciphering the truth behind words was a child's play.
"Asher is incredibly talented," his uncle had told his mother. "It is no wonder he is different from other babies."
Asher noticed how sneakily his uncle avoided speaking about his origins. Regardless, his mother appeared to be calmed by his words.
Neither could have possibly guessed the truth.
But Asher knew.
Because he knew about his origins and knew no one would come searching for him, he wasn't particularly worried.
Still, his heart hurt somehow.
He didn't know why his birth mother had abandoned him. Her expression at that time had been unclear to him, but she had seemed to be in great distress.
Still, she had abandoned him.
Asher couldn't imagine abandoning his own daughter, even knowing she would be gone one day and he would be left alone.
That's because despite the short time they might have, he had cared for that time.
It seemed his birth mother did not think so.
This created a sour taste in his stomach. He didn't know if he should be angry or happy, since her actions had given him his current family.
The Lancaster Manor wasn't a grand and imposing castle. It was a sprawling, elegant home built of warm, honey-coloured stone and dark timber.
It rested on a gentle slope overlooking a vast, emerald-green valley surrounded by weeping willow trees.
It was a place of peace, a sanctuary that felt a world away from the grieving shores of his past life. This was to be his home.
The years passed in tranquil succession.
His life was a quiet routine of lessons, play, and the constant, doting affection of his new family. He learned to walk, to talk, to read. To the outside world, he was a quiet, unusually intelligent child.
Internally, he was an immortal being cataloging a new world, his System silently smoothing over every gap in his knowledge.
The day of his sixth birthday arrived. And with it, the Awakening Ceremony, which marked the beginning of his mission.
"System, so today is the day?"
[Yes, Host. Today you will call your Martial Spirit into the world. The hourglass will start from that moment.]
Despite knowing this day was imminent, Asher couldn't help but struggle a bit.
The past years had been an eye-opener.
He experienced many things his immortal life had never tasted and forgot the sorrow which was supposed to carve him into an ice block.
For a moment, he wished he could live this life forever.