Lionel Lancaster

Neo remained frozen, watching Saya smile, turn her back, and enter her house. When he finally snapped out of it, he realized what had just happened.

He celebrated briefly and hurried back to the dormitory, where he went straight to the bathroom and splashed water on his face, as if needing to convince himself it was real.

As he left the bathroom, he was startled to see a man sitting on the couch.

"Hi, Dad," Neo greeted, before lying down on the bed and covering himself with a sheet.

Neo bolted upright as he processed what had just happened. The atmosphere in the room was heavy.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

His father looked at him with a serious expression, his words coming out cold and calculated.

"I thought Leo would’ve told you I was coming."

Neo stared at his father in disbelief. He was the same height as Neo, with a lean build and long blond hair. He dressed elegantly, but there was an intense aura about him that made the air feel oppressive.

"What do you want?" Neo asked, his emotions swinging between anger and confusion.

The man remained unfazed, as if Neo's words hadn't even grazed him.

"Son," he began, pausing for a moment before continuing, "how are you? Have you been doing well?"

The question sounded hollow, devoid of sincerity, and it only heightened Neo's irritation.

"What do you mean, 'doing well'? If you could see me, why didn’t you come sooner?"

A shadow of discomfort crossed his father’s face but quickly disappeared.

"I was busy," he replied evasively.

The answer only fueled Neo's frustration, and his words came out dripping with sarcasm.

"Busy with something more important than your own family?"

The silence that followed echoed through the room, filling the space with tension.

"That’s none of your business."

Neo’s patience was wearing thin, and his voice took on a challenging tone.

"Then why are you here?"

A dark expression flickered across his father’s face, revealing a hint of bitterness.

"Did you get your powers back?"

"No."

Neo's father let out a deep sigh.

"Then there's something else more important that you can help me with. I’m here to ask about a key."

"I don’t know anything about a key."

His father studied him for a moment, as if trying to gauge the truth in his words.

"I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. The only problem is that you don’t remember."

The tension in the room was palpable, and Neo felt a mix of anger and anxiety welling up inside him.

"So, you know more about me than I do?"

His father averted his gaze.

"How much do you remember?"

Uncertain, Neo tried to piece together the fragments of his memory.

"I remember a lot about Leo and Carolina. Vaguely about Mom."

"That’s progress. And what do you remember about me?" his father asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Not much. I probably wouldn’t recognize you if I saw you on the street."

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Neo thought he saw a flicker of sadness cross his father’s face. He almost felt sorry for him, but his anger was stronger than any other emotion.

"And you’re sure you don’t remember anything about something your mother left for you? Something that could be a key?" His father pressed, almost sighing.

"I don’t know anything about a key. What does it open?"

"A box. Carolina can tell you more about it. What matters now is finding out where it is." As he spoke, Neo’s father stood and began pacing. "Look, I’m running out of patience. How about I tell you everything?"

"Everything?" Neo asked, startled.

"Yes, I’ll tell you everything you need to know—about your past, about your life, and who you used to be. It’ll make things easier."

Neo's heart began to race, and fear gripped him.

"I don’t want to know."

"You don’t want to?" His father’s impatience began to show. "You don’t know anything, Neo. Nothing that really matters. You hide behind fear. Why not face the truth for once?"

"It’s not just fear. I don’t care about the past. Who I am today is what matters most."

His father fixed a piercing gaze on him, his voice now icy.

"I miss the old Neo..." He paused briefly. "The old Neo enjoyed watching others suffer. You’d never work in a filthy place like you do now. I can hardly call you my son."

Neo thought about his friends, his baseball team, his job with Uncle and Ryu, and especially Saya.

"I’m not like that."

"Unfortunately, not anymore."

"If I was like that, I’m better now."

"Because of that girl? Saya?"

The mention of Saya’s name made Neo sit up in bed, his voice full of warning.

"Don’t you dare bring her into this. She has nothing to do with it."

His father smirked disdainfully. "You’ve really grown weak because of her."

Neo felt a surge of anger and protectiveness at the mention of Saya.

"No, it’s because of her that I’m stronger."

A shadow crossed his father’s face, and Neo felt a chill of apprehension.

"I can get rid of her if necessary. I have the power to do it. You don’t know who I am."

The implied threat in his father’s words made Neo leap to his feet, rage burning in his eyes.

"Are you insane?"

"I’m perfectly sane."

Neo felt his blood boil. His father slowly rose from the chair, opened the dormitory door, and revealed two bodyguards standing outside.

"Since you won’t give me the key, I’ll have to force you to stay away from that girl. Consider this your warning: if you don’t stay away from her, I’ll take the necessary steps. The box is something your mother left behind, and I want access to whatever she was thinking. But since you’re stopping me, I’ll stop you from being near the person you love."

The last thing Neo could do was glare at his father with pure hatred as he walked out the door.