Reborn As Papa Silva

Every beginning has an end, and every end is a new beginning - Santosh Kalwar

—

The real Sebastian despaired, over and over, for a year. He was chained, bound to that black ocean, submerged beneath a sea of malevolence and suffering, while his doppelgänger made him watch and understand his wife's plight.

He made him comprehend—Acier was wilting and wasting away, rotting like a flower deprived of care, water, or sunlight.

Sebastian, the real Sebastian, couldn't understand what the doctors, healers, apothecaries, and others tasked with tending to Acier and saving her were doing.

He couldn't understand what he was thinking.

Through the white screen in his mindscape, he read the report Alfred had given to the parasite controlling his body.

It clearly stated that Nozel, in the last week of November, had urgently summoned House Silva's medical unit to heal Acier.

An Acier they found gravely wounded, battered, and bloodied. And yet, despite the evidence of physical harm, of being wounded in battle, all the healers and doctors reached the same conclusion—that Acier was facing a backlash from childbirth.

How did that make sense?! She had been verified as perfectly healthy after giving birth. This was the fourth time she had delivered a baby, yet those fools claimed her illness stemmed from Noelle's birth.

How do you come out looking like you've been through a war zone from giving birth? Does one's shoulder bleed? Does one have holes riddled through their body, cuts on their neck, and wounds all over their figure from childbirth?!

No! That was the most ridiculous thing Sebastian had ever heard.

They were obviously battle wounds. You didn't need to be a doctor to understand that—a three-year-old child could—but everyone insisted otherwise!

How the hell did that make sense?!

And worst of all, neither Nozel nor Acier denied it.

Acier had been pristine as ever when she took Noelle and Nozel to her villa. Her midwives, who helped deliver Noelle, her maids, Hilda, Alfred, Jeeves, all the House Silva retainers, Nebra, Solid—everyone could attest to that, yet no one said anything!

Sebastian couldn't understand what on earth was going on. Where had everyone's common sense gone?!

Sure, injuries or complications from childbirth could relapse or arise later, even if someone seemed to be recovering well, but the problem was that Acier had no such suppressed or hidden conditions.

She was the picture of health! She had survived having a hole pierced through her gut long enough for Sebastian to save her—she wouldn't suddenly fall apart now.

She was the strongest woman in the kingdom, in the world. How could anyone possibly believe that Acier Silva could waste away from mere childbirth?!

He wanted to tear into all of them for their stupidity. He wanted to fire every House Silva staff member, have the licenses of every doctor revoked—but he couldn't.

He couldn't do anything. He couldn't say anything. Because he was chained, bound in his mindscape, as an imposter piloted his body.

Everywhere Sebastian went, he received dirty, dark glances from House Silva's servants—stares of disgust, as if he were a heartless monster who wouldn't even see his wife on her deathbed.

Sebastian thought he had gotten used to the hatred, but he was wrong.

He felt himself despairing all over again, sinking further and further into the abyss.

Month after month, as his wife wasted away—for nine months—he was helpless. Unable to do anything. Unable to even sit at her side. Unable to show her a hint of concern or love.

He tried to breathe. He tried to cry out—to his doppelgänger, to that boy from his memory—demanding to know what they had done to his wife and why they weren't letting him save her.

"What are you doing?! What happened to not letting me fall completely into despair?! I can't live without her! Why are you doing this?! I haven't defied you once in these sixteen years! P-Please let me save my Acier!!"

He got no response. No answer.

No matter how many times he screamed in his mind, all he was met with was silence.

Sebastian shifted between despair and hope countless times. When the church—the higher-ups of Saint Luminous Basilica—personally came to check on Acier and her condition, Sebastian felt hope.

He hoped they would see her plight for what it truly was and save her.

But they said the same thing. An unexpected complication triggered by childbirth.

They were helpless.

Sebastian, the real Sebastian, screamed and cursed in his mindscape. He cursed his doppelgänger, that boy, himself, the kingdom, the world.

Just when he had given up, Owen—an old acquaintance, possibly the closest thing Sebastian had to a friend outside of Acier, Count Vardy, and Florian, and the greatest doctor in the Clover Kingdom—came to check on Acier.

Remembering Owen's skills, Sebastian believed he could definitely treat her, or at the very least, see through the lie.

That hope didn't last long.

His doppelgänger—his pitch-black, silhouette imposter—appeared before him in his mindscape and smiled.

He said nothing. He simply smiled, carefree.

That simple act filled Sebastian with despair all over again.

He wouldn't receive Owen's report from Alfred for another hour or so, but Sebastian already understood.

Owen would be just as helpless.

And that meant Acier—his wife, his love, his best friend, his other half, his better half, his everything—was a goner.

She wouldn't live to see the end of the month.

She wouldn't live to see her next birthday.

Sebastian despaired.

—

I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die.

Sebastian—the real Sebastian—floated on top of the black sea, his eyes dull like a void, devoid of color and light, essentially lifeless.

His body, his soul, was starting to grow transparent, like he was a ghost about to disappear at any second.

He had nothing left. Acier was his everything. She had promised him a life together until they were gray and old, and even if they couldn't be together, the thought that he could still watch and admire her from afar, as she lived happily with their children, had been enough for him.

But now, even that wouldn't be a possibility. Acier—someone with enough strength and mana in her tank to live over a century—would have her life and future cut short at merely a third of what it could have been.

And Sebastian couldn't do anything for her.

He had promised her a life together. So if she was going to die early, he figured he should go with her.

As for his children—the ones who would be left alone with the monster controlling his body, who would no longer need to restrain himself now that Acier was out of the picture—Sebastian strangely felt they'd be fine.

He didn't know why, but he felt that even if they were to suffer in the future, it wouldn't be at the hands of the parasite controlling his body.

His body would treat them as it always had—coldly, with distance.

So with that, Sebastian wanted to die. But, unfortunately, his life hadn't been in his hands for 16 years now.

Crouched beside him in his mindscape was his pitch-black doppelganger, smiling in an almost consoling way and poking his cheek, trying to get a reaction out of him.

Sebastian—the real Sebastian—remained indifferent. But he still understood: he could never truly die.

He didn't know how or why, but that boy from all those years ago still had plans for him.

Perhaps the best he could hope for was a little sleep until the supposed 33-year deadline that boy had spoken of was met.

Sebastian—the real Sebastian—felt that would be at least a little bit of a release.

With Acier out of the picture very soon, he didn't know what disgusting or revolting things he might do to Noelle. He didn't want to pull a Nicklaus.

It was safer for his baby girl if he was absent—far away from her.

The parasite in front of him could have his body for all he cared.

Sebastian couldn't stomach life anymore.

He wasn't strong. He was weak. He knew he should keep fighting, keep resisting for his family's sake, just like Nathaniel had told him to.

But a family without Acier made that future far less enticing to hold on to.

Even if he were ever freed, his son Nozel hated his guts. Nebra and Solid weren't much different. Noelle would undoubtedly come to feel the same way in the future.

Without Acier present to bridge the gap between him and his children, he could no longer be a part of their lives—a part of their family.

So he quit.

Perhaps reading his thoughts, his devil-like doppelganger smiled again and gave him a consoling pat on the chest before controlling his body to resume the paperwork it had just been doing.

Perhaps the doppelganger felt some pity and didn't force Sebastian to do it right now.

Sebastian wasn't touched.

He continued staring up at the astral sky—only to pause.

From his peripheral vision, he noticed his doppelganger abruptly freeze in his mindscape, looking almost bewildered and confused.

An emotion he had never seen from the parasite before.

A flash of light flickered in Sebastian's eyes as he looked up from his doppelganger to the white screen in his mindscape, raising a brow—only to freeze as well.

His desk was the same as always: a stack of paperwork neatly piled on the left, the current parchment he was assessing sitting right in front of him in the center, and a quill pen, ink pot, and the House Silva Patriarch stamp off to the right side.

That was normal.

What wasn't, was what was sitting on top of the current sheet of paper.

Something that shouldn't have been there.

Because neither of them had placed it there.

Something he hadn't seen in 16 long years—since the morning of New Year's Eve in 1603, the day he and Acier lost their happiness.

It was the plain cross Pope Benedictus had given him all those years ago at Aurelia's coming-of-age ceremony.

Looking as clean and pristine as the day it was gifted to him—not containing a hint of dust.

Sebastian blinked—only to smile.

A devilish smile.

A mocking smile.

Because he noticed another new emotion on his doppelganger's face.

Fear.

Just as the doppelganger was about to control his body to do something, the cross struck first. It suddenly glowed, floated upward, and then shot like a beam of light into his body—straight at his forehead.

And then his body froze.

Sebastian's and his doppelganger's eyes widened as that same cross appeared in his mindscape, growing and growing until it loomed over them like a celestial body.

And then, from the center of the cross, something floated out—a tiny, almost unnoticeable speck of orange.

Sixteen years ago, a speck of orange, a piece of Sebastian, had floated into this cross, unbeknownst to him.

And now it was coming back.

The cross faded into motes of light in his mindscape, while the orange speck began to swirl, revolving like a sphere, growing rapidly—large like a sun.

It illuminated the black astral mindscape, turning the celestial starry sky a clear blue, while the black ocean of malevolence and impurity was burned away, leaving only a clear sea beneath it.

"Aggggggh!!!"

Sebastian smiled as he watched his doppelganger scream in pain, as if he were being burned alive.

Suddenly, as if desperate, his doppelganger lunged forward—straight into the sun, seemingly seeking to corrupt it or resume absolute control of this space.

And then Sebastian—the real Sebastian—saw a flash as his doppelganger touched the orange sphere.

And then he saw a life.

Another life.

A life belonging to someone with the same name as him, the same birthday—looking nothing like him, yet, at the same time, seeming to be him.

The person was far shorter, with tanned skin like a foreigner.

Sebastian watched that life unfold, seeing everything and anything in a split second—understanding, with certainty, that it was another him.

Aurora…

Sebastian—the real Sebastian—choked up, tears streaming down his face as he continued to float on the sea, now a clear blue reflecting the sky, as color returned to his eyes.

And then he saw the other him take control of his body, walking around his office, trying to figure out who he was.

He made a scathing, snapping remark at Solid. That displeased Sebastian somewhat—but he could live with it.

It was somewhat deserved… after what I saw Solid do to Noelle in the other me's memory.

Sebastian then watched as the other him stood before a mirror—before his grimoire flew out of his satchel and filled him.

With an identity.

With his identity.

But not quite his identity—an identity corrupted by his doppelganger.

It filled the other him with memories of all the crimes and sins his doppelganger had committed using his body, weaving a tale that all the love and care Sebastian had shown Acier before December 31st, 1603, had been a lie—a scheme to take House Silva for himself.

It tweaked things.

It erased the love Nathaniel, Aurelia, and Amara had once shown him.

It removed the part of that boy—the one responsible for all of this.

And that made the real Sebastian… happy.

Even if it wasn't truly him who had committed those sins, he was still responsible.

I want the new me—whoever he is—to feel guilty… and then work to make it up to my family.

He—Sebastian—didn't deserve happiness.

He didn't deserve to act as if those sixteen years of suffering for his family hadn't happened.

Because they had.

It was real to Acier. To Nozel, Nebra, Aurelia, Amara… and so many more.

So he was fine with his doppelganger corrupting those memories.

Because he understood what the other him was like.

He's the type of person who will feel guilt… and work to fix things. Fix the sins. Atone for my sins.

That satisfied Sebastian.

The real Sebastian.

Who, although finally free of his doppelganger, was still chained.

It seemed the other hadn't noticed him or his doppelganger—he was still lost, still confused.

Sebastian looked down at his transparent form, his body flickering as if he could disappear at any moment.

He closed his eyes with a content smile.

Maybe I'll disappear like a ghost…

Or maybe I'll wake up again later, be able to tell them some things, clear up some confusion…

But for now…

The real Sebastian—who hadn't slept in sixteen years.

The tired Sebastian—who hadn't found rest or happiness in sixteen years.

Was about to rest.

However, the moment he closed his eyes—

He heard a crack.

His eyes snapped wide open, pupils dilating as he took in what was in front of him.

—

The real Sebastian found himself standing on the now-clear ocean, unchained, unbound, and no longer transparent.

In front of him stood the other him—several inches shorter, tanned almost like a Latino, wearing a Nike hoodie, cargo pants, and flip-flops.

Looking nothing like him, yet strangely so much like him at the same time.

His facial proportions and features made him seem like an uncanny twin—one who had lost out on the height genes and tanned under the sun for a bit too long.

The other him coughed awkwardly and pointed at the real Sebastian, unsure—yet positive at the same time.

"Inner voice?"

Huh?

Sebastian froze, confused for a second, before he saw it—a mere twelve days.

But the twelve days the other him had lived in his body.

And then he understood.

With a weak, awkward smile, Sebastian nodded inwardly. Yeah… I'm your 'Inner Voice.'

The other him smiled and scratched his head. "Yeah… I figured as much…"

Sebastian nodded awkwardly.

And then, silence.

Like two introverts.

Like two strangers.

Like pen pals who knew and understood one another but didn't know how to strike up a conversation face-to-face.

Both trying to figure out how to react—where to go from here.

After a minute, the other him struck first, glancing at the chains that had once bound the original Sebastian. He looked a bit apologetic.

"Now I get what you meant by me suppressing you… sorry about that…"

The original Sebastian paused before shaking his head with a soft, more genuine smile.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know. I'm free now, and that's all that matters."

He expected the other him to chuckle—not to frown, not to look at him with that somber expression.

Before Sebastian could say anything, the other him stretched out his right hand, clearly offering a handshake.

Sebastian frowned in confusion—

And then froze.

Because the other him spoke.

"All right. You've kept her waiting for sixteen years. It's time for you to come back."

Sebastian stiffened.

The other him clarified, his sad smile unwavering.

"Absorb me, and you'll be able to take your body back. You'll be the one and only controller of this place—like it's supposed to be."

Sebastian's pupils dilated as he stared at him in shock.

"A-absorb y-you? B-but then y-you w-would— w-what are you talking about?!"

The other him held his gaze, his hand still extended, still waiting, still offering.

His smile softened.

"This is your body. This isn't a place I should be. This isn't a place I should control."

"It's time for you to come back, Sebastian."

Sebastian gulped.

He wanted to take the other him's hand—it was so enticing—but he needed to understand first.

"W-why are you doing this?"

The other him spoke softly.

"Because, at the end of the day… no matter how much I wish it to be… this body, this family, this life isn't mine."

"My life was in that beautiful dream with Aurora. My Aurora. I promised to be with her always. And now that she's gone… it's time for me to disappear, too."

Sebastian bit his lip, his voice hoarse as he whispered,

"You love Acier. You love her children. Y-you're really willing to give this all up? Give it all back to me?!"

The other him blinked.

His eyes watered as he shot Sebastian a shaky smile.

"If you'd asked me that b-before this dream… I'd have said no."

"When you first spoke in my head, I already understood what and who you were. I felt some sympathy for you… but I would never have been willing to switch with you."

"But after living as you for twenty years… after experiencing all the ups and downs you've been through… after seeing how much you suffered…"

"I can't do anything but feel for you."

"While you suffered, endured, and were tortured… I lived a beautiful life with Aurora in that fake world."

You endured for this family. Not me.

You wept for this family. Not me.

You deserve this family. Not me.

"At the end of the day, no matter how much I wish it to be…" The other him swallowed thickly.

"…You are Acier's husband."

"You are the one she loves."

"You are those childrens' father."

"This is your family."

"My family was Aurora."

"I'm going to be with my sister again."

"You should be with your wife and kids once more."

Sebastian—the real Sebastian—wept.

It was rare for him to feel this touched.

Perhaps infected by that, the other him did the same—choking up.

"Hurry up, man…" The other him let out a teary, trembling laugh. "Take my hand and be done with it already."

"I-I'm trying to put on a brave face here and look cool… but fading away is pretty damn scary…"

"You're kind of torturing me, prolonging this…"

Sebastian nodded and raised his hand forward.

Just as he was about to make contact with the other him, he gritted his teeth, bit his lip—

And pulled back.

The other him froze as Sebastian spat hoarsely,

"T-this is utterly unacceptable."

His counterpart stared at him, wide-eyed. "W-what? Why—"

"Have you forgotten Acier's words to you?"

Sebastian cut him off with a tired smile.

"You are Dorothy's dad."

He watched as the other him stiffened.

And he carried on.

"You—and only you—have ever been that sweet girl's dad. She loves you. You don't get to just disappear."

The other him bit his lip, hissing hoarsely, "S-she doesn't need to know—"

"Stop. Just stop."

Sebastian shook his head with a sigh.

"I can't, and I won't, hide something like this from her."

Before his counterpart could argue, Sebastian continued.

"What's more—although Acier loved the old me the most, that doesn't mean she doesn't love you as well."

The other him froze all over again.

Sebastian whispered softly, almost hurt,

"She wouldn't kiss you… lean on you… weep in your arms if she didn't. Even when she wasn't sure whether you were me or not."

"Before her infatuation with me… was her loyalty. Her unconditional love for me."

"And yet, you were able to shake that pretty quickly."

His counterpart bit his lip, hanging his head in shame.

"I—I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologize."

Sebastian interrupted him again.

His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

"Because even if you aren't me… you are also me. A part of me. Yet, your own person."

"It was you who gave Nozel his smile back."

"It was you who played the part of Nebra's and Solid's dad."

"It was you who saved Acier."

"You are also her husband."

"And you are also their father."

"Just like I am also Aurora's brother."

"You yearn for them, just like I yearn for her."

"This is a family both of us deserve."

"Deserve to have."

"Deserve to be a part of."

His counterpart trembled.

Sebastian reached out his hand with a shaky smile.

"None of us will absorb the other."

"We are both Sebastian."

"We are both pieces of Sebastian."

"So we will be Sebastian once more."

"If they love both of us…"

"…then let's give them both of us."

"Let's fuse—and be whole again."

The other him choked up, staring at Sebastian's outstretched hand before locking eyes with him.

"We will be both of us…" he whispered.

"But at the same time… we will be neither of us."

"Something different."

"Something new."

Sebastian's eyes watered, and he nodded.

"I know."

"But as long as we continue to love our family…"

"That's all that matters."

"Maybe Metatron—or whoever manipulated all of this—intended for you to let me absorb you."

"Maybe he meant for you to absorb me."

"But I couldn't care less."

"We are—and have always been—selfish people."

"We do what puts our hearts at ease."

"And so, we will do this."

The other him felt tears running down his face.

"B-but w-what if she doesn't love us anymore because of this…?"

"She knows what's happening—"

"I know."

Sebastian nodded again.

"And I also know that you know—"

"That whatever form we appear before her in…"

"As long as we are who we are…"

"That love will still persevere."

"Now…"

Sebastian's eyes softened.

"Let's go see our wife."

His counterpart froze—

And then, with a broken smile, took Sebastian's hand.

Light enveloped them.

They glowed—

And then they merged.

When the glow faded…

What remained was a person identical in appearance to Sebastian.

But with a personality, memory, and soul of someone who had lived two distinct—

Yet so similar—lifetimes.

Sebastian was back.

But at the same time…

He wasn't.

Sebastian was complete and whole once more.

But at the same time…

He was gone.

Forever.

Both Sebastians were present.

Yet neither existed any longer.

And Sebastian didn't care.

He felt his mana shifting—

The purity of his magic changing, growing, evolving—

But he didn't care.

He resumed complete control of his body.

Not caring whether he'd ever return to this mindscape again.

He only cared about one thing.

He wanted to see his wife.

—

Sebastian burst through his office door—

Startling Alfred, who had just been about to knock.

He didn't stop.

Didn't acknowledge the butler's shock.

Didn't notice the parting servants bowing hurriedly as he passed.

They weren't real.

None of them were real.

There was only one other person—one other thing—real in this world.

And he needed to get to her.

The moment he stepped out of the castle, his water eagle materialized beneath his feet, and he shot forward, audibly breaking the sound barrier as he raced toward Acier's villa.

His target.

Faster.

Faster.

Faster.

He pushed past every limit he had ever known, moving with a speed and intensity unlike anything before.

The sky blurred around him—like a comet streaking across the heavens.

And then—

He was there.

In mere seconds, he reached the other end of the estate.

Acier's villa.

Despite his inhuman velocity, he felt no pushback, no impedance, landing in a fluid motion at the entrance.

Yanking the door open, he stormed down the hall—

Dashing past startled servants—

And then—

He was there.

The room.

Nozel, Nebra, Solid, Aurelia—

Even the babies, Mimosa and Noelle—

They all turned to him with curious gazes.

But he didn't see them.

Didn't register them.

They weren't real.

Only she was.

Only Acier.

Lying there—

Like a corpse on her deathbed—

Just like the day he first reawoke.

Sebastian's eyes burned.

So did hers.

He stepped to her bedside, trying to find his words—

But she spoke first.

"H-hey, boy," Acier rasped. "C-come here often?"

Sebastian let out a shaky breath.

He nodded, kneeling beside her.

"Y-yeah, I do…"

A weak smile tugged at his lips.

"H-honey… I'm home."

Acier choked on a laugh, fresh tears slipping down her cheeks.

"T-took you long enough, dummy."

Then, with trembling fingers, she tapped her pale lips.

"W-welcome back."

Sebastian trembled—

And leaned down, capturing her lips with his own.

As they kissed, Acier's form shifted—

Returning to the picture of health.

The curse on her soul shrank ever so slightly more.

Perhaps she felt it.

But she didn't care.

She was absorbed in the moment.

And then—

A crack.

Both of them froze.

Their throats tightened.

Their pupils dilated.

A white void surrounded them—

Silver orbs floating in every direction.

But they didn't care.

Their focus was only on what was before them.

They barely registered Nicklaus and Alden offering them a light nod—

Before they, too, became orbs and floated away, pulling Lux with them.

They barely noticed the tall figure in the distance—

Shrouded in a black robe and hood—

Idly spinning a strange scythe and sickle, chained together.

Their focus was only on him.

The man in front of them.

Their father.

Nathaniel smiled softly, giving them a light nod.

And then—

He, too, turned into an orb.

Tears welled in their eyes once more.

And then—

Another crack.

And then—

They woke up.

Their eyes snapped open, finding themselves sitting beside one another in Sebastian's study.

The same chairs.

The same positions.

As if they had never moved.

Water streamed down their faces.

They smiled shakily.

And then Acier lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him in a desperate embrace.

Dorothy and François ended their spell—

Dorothy's clone retracting its hand from Glamour World, the cloudy gate connecting their spell to reality vanishing with a quiet poof.

Both of them were drained.

They had channeled magic for hours.

Dorothy the most spent.

Alfred, Hilda, Jeeves, Amara, Aurelia, and Nozel had left earlier—after their memories were transported—so that Dorothy and François could concentrate.

Now, as they watched the weeping couple, they shared a soft nod—

And walked out of the room in silence.

At the door, François gave Dorothy a polite bow before taking his leave.

He needed to return home.

Dorothy responded with a light curtsy, then spared one last glance at the office door—

Before turning in another direction.

To Nozel's room.

He had made a request of her, secretly before she and Francois started the spell.

He had asked her for a favor.

Asked something of her, something from her.

So in the dead of the night she headed to her fiancé's room.

—

Author's Note:

[1] Well the dream arc, no I guess saga is more appropriate for how long it is, is finally over. 

[2] Feel free to join the discord: https://discord.gg/s3MME8X8ar