Looking at the serious expressions his mother and father had on their faces, Lucas knew that something wasn't right, and he had a pretty good idea what that was.
It had been 10 days since he woke up from his coma, so aside from some scars, he had completely recovered to his usual healthy self; able to run, jump, and play just like any other boy his age.
However, faintly, Lucas had noticed that he wasn't quite the same as he was before he was 'struck by lightning'.
Although he had been injured in the Great Western Forest by 'something' that resembled a bolt of lightning, Lucas, Anna, and Drake all knew that it wasn't nearly that simple. What's more, out of the three, it was Lucas himself who best understood what had transpired, even though that should've been impossible given his utter lack of worldly experience compared to his parents.
After 10 days, Lucas had diligently taught both his parents the first part of the exercises that had become ingrained in his memory somehow. In the beginning, Anna and Drake were primarily concerned about where their son had learned these exercises, wondering if he had picked them up from some traveling soldier or wandering Cultivator who he had a chance to interact with at some point outside their knowledge.
As time went on, though, and Lucas continued to teach them more and more about these exercises, the pair soon realized that what Lucas was showing and teaching them about was far, far beyond something one could pick up from just a casual interaction or observation.
Both Anna and Drake had a fair bit of experience when it came to fighting and cultivating. While Drake was mostly self-taught, Anna had some formal training from her youth; so together, the two of them could be considered at least somewhat competent in strengthening themselves and training for combat.
It thus came as no small shock to them that the exercises their son had taught them over the last 10 days turned out to be an extremely well organized, comprehensive, and effective Martial Art. As far as they could tell, this was a profound Body Tempering Technique, one that seemed to have been perfectly refined to enhance all aspects of one's physique and fitness, including flexibility, balance, speed, and strength.
On top of that, this set of exercises even addressed multiple other aspects such as mental condition, spatial awareness, reflexes, and focus.
In total, Lucas explained to his parents what he called the 22 Stances, 41 Figures, 94 Motions, and 284 Forms, all of which put together made up the complete set of exercises.
Anna came from a fairly well-off family, not a noble house, but not far off, so though she had abandoned her name in order to be with Drake, she had still learned some fairly good quality Body Tempering exercises, but compared to the extraordinary Art her son was teaching her now, the techniques she knew might as well have been ramblings of an incoherent drunkard.
Deeply understanding this, Anna and Drake both became a bit worried and frightened.
Such an Art could be considered a great treasure for anyone wishing to pursue the Martial Way, to the point that even big families and forces would probably kill to get their hands on it. In short, these exercises their son had inexplicably come to possess were far too valuable for them to hold onto safely.
Another point of concern for the two parents was how Lucas came to not only know, but also achieve such high comprehension of these exercises. It was to the point that he could freely teach others about them, all while apparently not having mastered them himself.
Their son was able to explain how to execute each of the exercises and movements, and what the purpose of each of them was, but he was unable to actually perform all of them currently because he lacked the necessary strength and flexibility, which simply made no sense!
Learning such a complex set of exercises to a level where one could teach others was a labour of not just days and months, but of years, possibly even decades!
While it might have been possible for them to miss their son picking up a couple of random stretches from a mysterious traveler one day, Anna and Drake couldn't possibly have missed Lucas studying and perfecting such a complex Art over an extended period of time.
When he was asked again by his mother and father about where he had learned this Body Tempering Art, Lucas frowned hard he debated internally how to respond. If he was being honest, he was a little frightened about what would happen if he told his parents the truth, or at least what he thought was the truth.
For the past 10 days, Lucas had spent almost all of his free time pondering over what exactly had happened to him, as well as where all the new, fantastical, and somewhat incomprehensible knowledge in his head had come from.
Eventually, the boy came up with a theory which he felt was the most likely answer, but in the process, he began to have serious doubts about himself. Simply arriving at such an outrageous conclusion already made Lucas aware of how much his mentality had changed, as he would never have believed he could come up with such an explanation for his current situation before the accident.
In short, he had changed.
It wasn't to the extent that he had become a completely different person, but there was no denying that certain aspects of his way of thinking had been altered. Lucas now felt he considered things from a much more mature, informed, and analytical perspective, and while he didn't think his personality had changed much, feelings and emotions were always difficult to understand and explain, so even in this regard, he was hesitant to make any conclusions.
Anna and Drake both saw their son, who for some reason didn't seem to look so young and immature anymore, fall into a state of contemplation and didn't know how to react. They very much wanted to just let this matter drop as they could see it was making Lucas feel incredibly uncomfortable, but they also knew that this was too important to just brush off and ignore.
During their younger days, when they were off adventuring together with Charles and Sasha, Anna and Drake had heard about and even experienced a number of shocking things, so their son learning a profound Body Tempering Art out of nowhere wasn't completely beyond their ability to accept. However, whether it was a blessing or a misfortune was something they needed to determine before they could take any further action. As such, they hardened their hearts and pressed Lucas for answers.
"Son, I don't know what it is you're worried about, but whatever it is, you can tell us. I promise you that we won't be mad. Your mother and I only want what's best for you, but you need to open up to us about what is happening or we won't be able to help," Drake said as he knelt down to meet Lucas, eye-to-eye.
Anna also squatted down and lovingly stroked her son's head as she added, "Your father and I will always love and protect you, no matter what. You're our precious son who we're both so proud of, after all."
Staring into the eyes of his parents, Lucas felt like he could see their concern and love for him, and he couldn't help feeling like all the worries he had were pointless. If he couldn't be honest and upfront with his own family, who could he trust in this life?
Although he was still a bit frightened by what he was about to say, Lucas decided to trust in the care he felt from his mother and father and answered, "Mom, Dad, I… I think I gained someone else's memories."
Momentarily stunned, Anna and Drake were uncertain about how to respond.
Previously, they had been wondering if Lucas had found some old book or something which contained the strange Body Tempering Art and quietly studied it on his own. Or perhaps he had met some old hermit in town and had secretly received lessons from them.
Never did they expect their son to say he had simply gained the knowledge and memory of this Art directly.
Not wanting to scare Lucas, Drake quickly composed himself and asked, "You mean this Body Tempering Art you taught us just appeared in your head one day, son?"
Lucas blinked and soon realized that his parents hadn't grasped the full extent of what he was trying to explain to them, a fact that he found a little confusing. Upon further thought, though, the young boy understood. It wasn't that his parents weren't able to understand his words, but rather that he failed to describe what he truly meant.
Lucas shook his head before trying again, "It's not just the exercises I taught you and Mom, but many, many things that suddenly appeared in my head."
Frowning slightly, Anna asked, "So, what you're trying to say is that you have… the complete memories of another person now?"
Lucas nodded weakly, then shook his head, then frowned, not quite sure how to explain.
Drake and Anna also frowned deeply when they received this answer. It would appear that the situation was far more serious than they initially anticipated.
They didn't think their son was lying to them, but they also couldn't just accept that he had another set of memories now as that didn't make any sense. Sure, the two of them had heard about people gaining fantastical treasures which had ancient knowledge stored in them, but those were much closer to rumours and legends that drunken adventurers bragged about, trying to impress the crowds in the taverns.
At first, they wanted to say that something like inheriting another person's memories was impossible, and that their son was just confused somehow, but they also couldn't just deny the possibility.
Lucas wasn't the only one to notice that he had undergone some subtle changes these past 1o days. Anna and Drake had been observing him closely because they were worried about his condition after the accident, so they too had realized that their son was acting a bit differently from before.
Suddenly thinking of something, Anna muttered under her breath, "The accident… that strange bolt of white and black light…"
Hurriedly picking up on what his wife was thinking, Drake followed up, "Lucas, tell us honestly, when did all of this start."
Understanding that trying to hide anything now was pointless, Lucas lowered his head slightly and answered, "Ever since I woke up from the accident, I felt like I had forgotten certain things. Nothing serious, I think, but there are definitely things I can't recall that I should be able to. On top of that, every now and then, I'll see… flashes? Faces, places, things I know I've never seen before, but that now seem familiar somehow..."
Frowning deeply, the young boy began speaking quicker, seemingly not wanting to be cut off, "At first, I thought I was just imagining things, or that I was remembering some story I heard before, but when I focused really hard on some of those images, I could sometimes learn more about them."
"Most of the memories were very vague, but there are some which are easier to recall, like the exercises I taught you. It almost feels like I had done them thousands of times before and they had become ingrained in my memory, but I know that's impossible."
"There's also the face of a girl that keeps appearing in my dreams, she looks older than Big Sister Eris, but whenever I think about her, it feels like my chest tightens with sadness, like I'm looking at someone I care about but can never see again… Her name… her name is…"
Scrunching up his brow tightly, Lucas desperately tried to make sense of his ramblings, all while his parents exchanged shocked glances, uncertain of how they were supposed to handle this situation.
If what Lucas was saying was true, then he had received more than just some injuries in his accident, but the two of them weren't even certain whether such a thing was possible.
As far as they knew, memories were a part of one's Soul, but removing one's Soul from their body was impossible. The only time one's Soul left their body was when they died, but even then, the Soul of the one who perished was supposed to immediately be sent to the cycle of reincarnation.
Anna and Drake had no idea if any of this talk about one's Soul, memories, life, death, and reincarnation was even true as it was all too far removed from their lived experiences, so they were at a loss for how to respond.
"Lillian… her name was Lillian… my little sister Lily…" Lucas suddenly muttered out, drawing his parents out of their dazed state.
Looking up and seeing the confused, serious, and even somewhat worried looks on his parent's faces as they stared at him, Lucas felt his heart suddenly clench up tight.
His breath caught in his chest and he felt as if he was about to pass out from panic as he stuttered, "I-I-I'm s-sorry… I w-won't… I don't want… M-Mom… Dad… am I… am I still… am I still me?"