[LSB] Chapter 118: Confusion, Warmth, and the Randomness of it All

“Did… you forget something?”

Odd. Extremely so.

The sensation crawling up Julian’s spine was stranger than the first time he transferred his consciousness to his clone. 

Back then, his mind had almost resisted the shift—fighting, stretching, like a rubber band pulled too far before snapping into place. 

This was different. 

This was raw, disjointed, as if he had been wrenched out of reality and jammed into another without warning—quite literally.

He may not be versed well in technology like that, but he knew this was wrong.

Thoughts struggled to form in his mind, tangled in the fog behind his now suddenly seeing eyes. His body felt sluggish, distant, like it wasn’t entirely his—Weird. 

All he could do was let his senses do the work.

Juliet’s voice. Trembling, worried. The distant growl of the zautoros, shifting in its harness. Cold air slipping beneath his long hair, needling at his skin. The uneven wood beneath his fingers, rough grooves cutting into his palms.

This wasn’t a dream. Not a memory. Real.

He was in Artemia.

“Julian!”

MEGAN erupted from him in a blur of pale white light, her tiny form pulsing as she darted around the cart. Her flames violently hummed against the air, too quick to track. She zipped toward Juliet, stopping just inches from her face.

“Is that you, Juliet!?”

“Yes…?” Juliet flinched, leaning away from MEGAN as her tiny, flaming hand reached toward her nose. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at her, “What exactly is—”

She didn’t get to finish her words.

MEGAN spun away, flying straight back to Julian and nearly colliding with his face. “Julian! Snap out of it! This is definitely a DEFCON 1 situation! Julian!”

No response.

Julian’s gaze remained unfocused, drifting over the cart, the road, the horizon beyond. 

“Ugghhh…” MEGAN let out an exaggerated groan, then shot forward—.

—and slammed into his forehead with a crackle of energy, sending him swaying. His back hit the cart with a dull thud, and for a moment, he lay still, blinking up at the sky.

Then, slowly, his eyes moved to MEGAN, who hovered inches above his face, hands on her hips.

“Are you awake now!?”

Julian blinked again.

MEGAN grabbed his collar, yanking him up slightly before releasing him with a huff.

His gaze shifted to Juliet, who had moved closer, concern etched across her face. The moonlight raining down from the thick clouds flickered against her face, casting uneven shadows beneath her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Her voice softened as she reached for his shoulder, her touch hesitant, unsure whether to hold him or not. “You… don’t seem okay, Boss. Did something happen back on Earth?”

Julian exhaled, finally meeting her gaze.

“Yes.”

He did not hesitate to say it..

Juliet stiffened, her fingers twitching slightly against his shoulder before she pulled back. She swallowed, her throat bobbing. “What… what happened? Did something happen between you and—No. Never mind. That’s not my business. Just—are you okay?”

Julian took a breath. “I don’t think so.”

He shifted, trying to sit up—

And the world suddenly collapsed on him.

One blink. Two.

Nothing.

A thick, swallowing blackness pressed against him, weightless yet suffocating.

Huh?

He blinked again. No difference. The cart, the cold, the light—gone. He couldn’t see again.

“MEGAN? Juliet?”

He called for them, but all he received was silence.

And then—

The air. Thick. Familiar. Heavy.

The daemon plane.

“I’m… back?” Julian exhaled sharply, tapping his foot against the ground and letting a ripple pulse outward so he could confirm where he was.

Then—

Juliet.

Juliet was suddenly there. He was back on Artemia again.

Her arms were wrapped around him, cradling him against her chest. Her breath came in quick, uneven bursts, and her fingers curled tightly around his sleeve.

“You—your eyes went white! You blacked out! What’s going on!?” Her voice trembled, the edges of it raw. “Your flame spirit isn’t acting right!”

Julian’s breath turned heavier. He turned, and MEGAN was standing on his chest.

Still.

Not hovering. Not moving. Just standing, unmoving, unblinking.

“MEGAN? Are you—”

And then, darkness again.

A violent wind roared against him. His footing shifted—no, he was standing somewhere else entirely. The wind bit harder, sharper.

His other foot was standing nowhere.

He was on the edge of the tower.

Julian quickly stepped forward, and then there was light.

His body jolted. He was upright. The cart swayed beneath him, the sudden motion nearly knocking him off balance. 

“Julian! Something’s definitely not right!”

MEGAN hovered in front of him, moving again. Her tiny form flickering with frantic energy before she dove back into his chest. 

[We… we need to contact Victoria as soon as possible!]

Julian’s breaths came heavier, his senses drowning in the chaos of sudden shifts—too much, too fast. The world around him twisted, blurred, stabilized, then unraveled again.

His gaze landed on Juliet, and worry had completely overtaken her. She knelt beside Cyrus, slapping his face, trying to wake him even fully knowing it was useless.

Juliet’s hands trembled. She looked desperate. She was desperate.

Julian hummed and reached for her, his fingers closing around her wrist with a careful grip. “Juliet.”

She gasped. And before she could think—before doubt could stop her—she threw her arms around him. “What’s… what’s going on!? Julian? Am I… am I losing you? No…”

“No.” Julian’s response was firm, but he had no idea what was happening. “It’s fine. We’re just… testing things out. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Juliet pulled back slightly, searching his face. “Are… are you sure?”

“Hmm.” Julian nodded, his voice quiet but steady. “But I need you to hold my hand, just to keep me still. My senses are being overstimulated—I need it to calm me down.”

Her grip tightened around his hands instantly. “O…of course.” She pressed his hands close to her head, squeezing them. “I won’t let go. I promise. I—”

Before she could finish, Julian’s body suddenly collapsed onto her.

“J…Julian?” Her voice shook as she instinctively leaned back, her body sinking against the cart’s rough surface with Julian on top of her. “Are you… okay? Please… say something.”

Silence.

Her chest tightened. Her vision blurred as tears threatened to spill.

Then—warmth.

The slow, steady brush of his breath against her neck.

A soft, shaky laugh escaped her lips, unbidden. Relief hit so hard it left her dizzy.

She turned her head slightly, her cheek brushing against his.

And she didn’t move him. Didn’t push him away. Even as his weight settled against her, even as the cart beneath them rocked slightly.

She just held his hands, anchoring him. Anchoring herself.

She would hold on for as long as she could.

“...Forever.”

***

Julian was once again drowning in darkness.

But it wasn’t the tower. He wasn’t back in his real body. He knew that much.

There was no ground beneath him. No wind. No sound. No scent.

Nothing.

And yet—he didn’t panic.

Because he had been here before.

A dream. No. A memory disguised as a dream.

Then, the familiar voices came.

“We have to hide him, Jayce! We need to protect him!”

A woman’s voice—emotional, raw.

“Charlotte… Charlotte, calm down. Okay? Look, he’s here. He’s… he’s healthy. Okay? Look at our son, he’s so healthy.”

His parents’ voices.

Not just their words, but their emotions. The same memory he had dreamt of before meeting Erin when he was swallowed by the lands of Artemia..

“We… we shouldn’t have done this. We shouldn’t have… we shouldn’t have brought him into this world, we… Oh…”

But this time, it wasn’t just sound.

Warmth. Real warmth.

Julian could feel it. A touch—not distant, not abstract. His mother’s arms wrapped around him, cradling him close. The soft press of her heartbeat against his cheek.

Safe. Protected.

For a moment, he let himself sink into it.

"Hello there. Oh, my baby…"

Julian felt the gentle trace of a finger over his tiny lips.

"He's… he's so beautiful, Jayce. Jayce, look at him."

"I know… I know."

His father’s touch followed—rough, heavy with calluses, yet impossibly careful, as if even the softest pressure might break him.

Then, his mother trembled.

"We shouldn’t have done this, Jayce. I’m scared… I’m so scared."

Her arms tightened around him, pulling him closer, shielding him in warmth.

"It’s okay."

His father’s voice carried a certainty that almost masked the fear beneath. Almost. Julian could sense it, smell it—fear, woven into his father’s steady tone.

"I know a place. We can hide there for now. I know some people…"

This was where the memory had ended before.

But Julian, aware now in a way he wasn’t before, willed himself to move—to lift a hand, to reach for his mother’s face, to remember.

Nothing.

His fingers didn’t respond.

Of course not. This was only a memory.

A memory he shouldn’t even remember.

Julian took a slow breath, forcing himself to stop fighting it. If he couldn’t change anything, then all he could do was feel—absorb the warmth, the voices, the presence of the parents he barely knew before it all faded again.

But then—

"They’re here! They’re hiding here! Find them!"

The memory continued.

Unfamiliar voices, roaring and closing in fast toward them.

"They’ve already caught up!?" His father’s voice, extremely worried now, edged with frustration. He didn’t move for a second, but then Julian heard the fabric of his clothes rustle as he moved closer to him, to them.

Julian felt himself pressed tighter between his parents as his father leaned in.

"Charlotte. Look at me—take him to Prince. I’ve already… I’ve already talked to him about the plan."

"What… what plan!?" His mother jerked, her movements panicked, jostling Julian against her chest. "That’s impossible, Jayce. My love, you told me that was impossible."

"We… might have found a way."

His father suddenly pulled her into a fierce embrace, pressing Julian further between them. "We’ll be together again soon, I promise. All of us."

"What… what are you—"

His mother reached for him, but his father was already pulling away. The sound of a door creaking open cut through the noise.

Then, Julian felt it—the subtle, rhythmic sway.

A vehicle. Moving. Familiar.

His awareness sharpened. He knew this feeling. He had been in a similar place.

"Charlotte, I love you. Okay? I love our son…"

His father’s voice was forceful, cutting through the voices roaring from afar.

"…I promise you, I’ll be there."

"But what if you’re not!?" His mother’s voice cracked. She was crying again, gasping between words. "You… you said so yourself…"

She sucked in a breath, as if speaking the next words might break her.

"We… we don’t even see the same stars."

A silence. A breath.

Then, his father whispered—soft, steady, unwavering.

"But I am closer to you than you could ever imagine."

The moment between them stretched. Fragile, as if time itself was holding its breath.

"Whether it’s on Earth…"

The shouts of their pursuers swelled, hooves thundering against the ground—but his father’s voice remained clear.

"There he is! There is the Evil Spirit!"

They roared and screamed, but his father didn’t acknowledge it. His words remained for them—only for them.

"Whether it’s on Earth… or billions and billions of lightyears away here on Artemia… my love for you reaches out."

"Jayce!"

Julian heard his father leap—

His mother screamed.

They were on a cart, and the people chasing them, galloping—a gallop that Julian could recognize. 

The people chasing them were riding seikrobos. 

They were on Artemia. 

He… was born in Artemia?

"Why are you doing this!?"

His father’s voice—distant now. Fading.

"I trusted you! We trusted you! Why are you doing this!? Have you… have you gone insane!?"

Another voice answered. A woman’s. Strong. Cold.

"Do not listen to the words of the Evil Spirit!"

Julian could barely make out her voice, but her words carried weight.

"I have told all of you… they are real!"

She paused, and the world stopped around her.

"Kill him! This is the will of Artemia. This… is the Order of Artemia!"

"No…"

His mother scrambled forward, reaching, pleading—

But his father’s voice was gone.

"Jayce… Jayce!"

And then—nothing.

Everything faded. The world blurred, unraveled, fell away into the void.

A cold wind swept over Julian’s skin, pulling him back—back to the present, back to the tower, standing alone beneath an empty gray sky.

His chest rose and fell in slow, uneven breaths. He didn’t speak. He couldn’t.

He just stood there.

Silent. Blind.

[Ju… Julian…How?]

MEGAN’s voice echoed in his mind, thin and unsteady.

[I… I saw that too. You… you’re from Artemia? That’s… so random.]

[LAST CHAPTER] <-----> [NEXT CHAPTER]

AUTHOR NOTES

Right when Julian thought he would finally become a legit blacksmith providing weapons for Earth, the plot hammered.

The plot aside, can I just get a shoutout for Juliet? Imagine if Ellie weren't present.