The Cheat Seed

Chapter 25

"MOMMMMMM!!"

Marcus hugged his mother who stood frozen in shock. Before his disappearance, Marcus had barely reached her shoulders. Now he towered over her, his frame solid and powerful against her slight figure.

Reirin G Orno didn't push away the masked stranger. Something in her heart recognized the desperate embrace. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, feeling a familiar warmth radiating from this peculiar visitor. A wild thought flashed through her mind—could this person possibly be her lost son?

Albert G Orno reacted with the speed and precision of a trained mage. In a heartbeat, he stood behind his wife, eyes narrowed with suspicion. With a powerful shove, he separated the stranger from Reirin.

"Who are you?" Albert's voice carried the authority he'd once wielded in the royal court.

When the masked figure didn't answer, Albert's voice rose. "Are you one of the King's men?"

Marcus stood stunned, staring at his hands—the same hands that had just embraced his mother. How many years had it been since he'd hugged her? When he reached middle school, he'd thought it embarrassing to show affection, especially in public. Now he regretted every missed opportunity.

"HEYYY!!!!"

Marcus snapped back to reality, meeting his father's fierce gaze.

"Tell me who you are, or things will get messy." Albert summoned flames that danced menacingly around his fingers, taking a combat stance that Marcus recognized from his childhood.

Marcus stepped back, shoulders dropping with a deep sigh. His fingers found the edge of his Oni mask, fumbling slightly before pulling it free.

Albert and Reirin stared at his face, initially frowning in confusion. Then recognition struck them both simultaneously. Albert's jaw went slack while Reirin gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Mar...cus?" Her trembling finger pointed at him, voice barely above a whisper.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he nodded frantically, smiling through the emotion.

For a heartbeat, time seemed suspended. Then Albert tackled his son to the ground with such force that Marcus hit the curb with a thud.

"Dad?" Marcus stared down in surprise at his father, who had buried his face against his chest.

Something wet soaked through his sweatshirt beneath the kimono.

"Dad?" he repeated, realizing with a start what was happening.

Albert was weeping openly, his tears dampening Marcus's clothes as his body shook with emotion.

"I knew... you were alive, son. Y-you came back!!"

Marcus tried to sit up but found himself pinned by his father's grip. He surrendered to the embrace, impressed that his old man still possessed such strength.

Reirin knelt beside them, stroking first Albert's hair, then her son's, tears streaming down her face. Marcus recognized these as tears of pure joy—the release of two years of grief and uncertainty.

He reached out with his free arm and pulled his mother close. The family clung to each other, a reunion that had seemed impossible just moments ago.

A soft thud and tiny footsteps at the doorway caught their attention. Marcus looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of a small figure watching them curiously.

His smile grew so wide it hurt his face. His baby sister—no longer just a vision from his dreams but a flesh-and-blood toddler—stood observing the tangle of bodies on the ground.

"Momma?... Dadda??" the little girl called, her voice high and sweet.

The three adults scrambled to their feet, wiping tears and straightening clothes. Reirin called to her daughter, "Evy, come to Mama."

The little girl toddled toward her mother, stumbling slightly but maintaining her balance. She reached Reirin's side, casting suspicious glances at Marcus.

Reirin embraced her daughter, kissing her cheek before lifting her toward Marcus. "Look, Evy."

Marcus extended his hands, heart racing with anticipation. The child hesitated briefly before curiosity overcame caution. She smiled and reached for him, her tiny hands opening and closing.

Marcus suppressed the urge to squeal with delight as he took his sister into his arms.

"Her name is Evelyn, Evelyn G Orno. We call her Evy," Reirin whispered from beside him.

"Hello, Evy," Marcus said softly.

The child studied his face intently before her eyes lit with recognition. "Brow-dah?"

Marcus's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing. "HAIZZZZZZZ," he sighed contentedly.

'ACTUAL KAWAIIIIIIII,' the System screamed in his mind.

'I know right, what less would you expect from my sister?' Marcus thought back.

Since their successful integration, telepathic communication had become possible. Marcus needed only to think his responses, which saved him from looking like a lunatic talking to himself.

A sudden chill spread through his arm holding Evy. "Huh?" He glanced down, seeing nothing unusual. He shifted the child to his other arm, and the cold sensation followed, spreading through his opposite limb.

Now that he had a closer look, Marcus noticed how pale his sister was—her skin almost translucent, like fresh snow.

"Um, Mom, Dad? Is something wrong with Evy?" he whispered.

"Ah, Marcus," Albert began, "we meant to keep this a secret between us four, but now that you're back, it will be between the five of us."

"Uhuh," Marcus nodded.

[Did she say four of them?] the System questioned.

'Shut up,' Marcus replied mentally.

"Son, the thing is, Evy is a gifted child," Albert explained.

"Say what?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.

Reirin clarified, "What your father means is that our Evy is a God-gifted child. She has an inborn affinity with the ICE Element."

Marcus's expression went blank for a moment. Then he lifted Evy high into the air, his face breaking into an enormous grin.

"MY SISTER IS THE MOST AWESOMEST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!"

Reirin and Albert leaned against each other, smiling warmly at the scene.

"He's back," Reirin whispered.

"Yes, he is," Albert agreed with a chuckle as they watched their son give Evelyn a piggyback ride.

Their smiles faded simultaneously as they remembered they had one more revelation to make.

"Um... Marcus?" Albert called to his son, who was now playfully wrestling with Evelyn on the floor, allowing the toddler to "defeat" him with a small branch.

"Yeah?" Marcus gently restrained his sister's hand and looked up.

"Ahem, we had something... else to say." Reirin's voice wavered as she pinched her husband's arm.

"Ouch!"

"Eh?" Marcus frowned, not liking their suddenly nervous demeanor.

"Um.... We... We have another new member in our family," Albert blurted out.

"Huh?"

Soft footsteps sounded behind Marcus. They were deliberate and cautious, nothing like Evelyn's enthusiastic toddle.

"Are... you... going to be... My... Brother?" a timid voice asked.

Marcus turned slowly, every nerve in his body tensing. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen was a girl who appeared to be about twelve years old. Her long black hair framed a delicate face dominated by large, uncertain eyes. She clutched a stuffed animal to her chest like a shield, watching Marcus with a mixture of hope and fear.