Before The Cataclysm

"You're me!" Younger Altair's eyes widened as he stared at his older self. He stepped forward hesitantly, as if he were afraid that his older self would disappear.

 Older Altair smirked. "You bet…", he said, dropping on one knee to meet his younger self's gaze.

"Holy crap," younger Altair circled him, his gaze darting over every detail—The neatly tousled hair, sleek compression shirt, casual sweatpants and that unmistakable look of confidence in his older self's eyes. Even his posture radiated coolness. "I look so cool. Wait… How old are you?"

"Twenty-two," Older him said, pride ever so evident in his voice. 

"You're eight years older than me. This is freaking awesome!" He turned to Seven. "Seven, are you seeing this?"

Seth Seven's gaze flickered nervously between the two Altairs. His heart thudded in his chest as he admired the older Altair's presence—his sharp features, confident smirk and his posture. Seven's usual quips seemed to falter, leaving him feeling unusually feeble. He cleared his throat, trying to find his voice.

"Umm.. hello," he finally managed to say, his words slightly breathless. Though, he wasn't sure whether it was surprise, or something else entirely.

"Seven… hey," Older Altair said softly as he shot a faint smile. 

"W-Where's Older me?," younger Seven asked, looking behind older Altair.

"I had to leave him at home," he replied, straightening to his full height "It wouldn't have been the best for both of us to have come here."

"Hey, me!," Younger Altair called out again, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "And what kinda job do I have?"

"A scientist. What else?," he replies with a confident smirk. "Oh, and take those combat lessons seriously. They'll come in handy when you're fighting the ADF."

"No. Way. For real? That's awesome!" Younger Altair's excitement bubbled over, and he kept firing off question after question. Older Altair indulged him, answering each question with a knowing smile

Stellar stood frozen, trying to make of the entire situation. 'F-future?,' she wondered, her thoughts racing. 'He's from the future? How is that even possible…?'

All of a sudden, a thought crossed Older Altair's mind. "Where're Celestia and Solaris?"

"Mum and Dad?," younger Altair blinked in confused. "The Rex summoned them. They left home yesterday…"

Older Altair's eyes darkened. His stomach sank. Too late.

"But don't worry," Younger him said with a faint smile. "Dad said they should be back in a—"

"They're not coming back," Older Altair interrupted, his voice shaky.

Younger him looked confused. "What do you mean…," His voice wavered, and then the realisation hit him. He staggered back, covering his mouth in disbelief. "You're lying… no…it not true. It can't be!"

"Why would I lie?," Older Altair said, his voice cracking as he forced a hollow smile to hold back his tears. "The Rex called them to be executed. Yesterday…Yesterday was the last time you'd ever see them. The last time you'll see them—whole"

"Whole?," Seven said, in confusion. 

Younger Altair was frozen in shock. The weight of the truth crushed him. He couldn't believe his parents were walking straight into the hands of their murderer.

"The executioners don't just kill them—they mutilate," Altair explained, his voice barely a whisper. "They destroy the bodies so badly that they're almost unrecognisable…," Altair's voice trailed off as he flinched. Vivid memories of that day flooded his mind:

There was a knock on the door that day. It was odd; the doorbell was perfectly functional. He hesitated a bit before opening the door, expecting to see his parents. Surprisingly, it was a royal guard, silent and expressionless. Without a word, he left a large box on the porch and left. Altair stared at him, confused, before dragging the heavy box inside. 

Seven and his parents, Bryce and Nana, walked into the living room after hearing the dragging sound Altair was making with the box. 'What's that, Altair?," Seven's mother, Nana, asked, her voice full of curiosity.

'Whatever it is, it reeks!,' the father, Bryce, quipped as he pinched his nose.

Altair frowned. 'Beats me. A royal guard just left it on the porch without saying a word.'

Altair gently peeled off the lid. The stench became overwhelmingly stronger. On top was a note—a handwritten one. It looked like it had been written in a hurry. Even with that, Altair recognised that handwriting—it was his mother's.

'We're sorry we didn't come back. Stay safe. Love, Solaris and Celestia.'

Altair was confused. His fingers trembled as he unwrapped the second layer.

Then, terror struck.

Nana screamed. Seven gasped. Bryce gagged. 

Altair didn't move. He couldn't. His body was locked in place as his gaze landed on the content of the box. 

His mother, Celestia's eyes stared back at him, dull and lifeless. Her decapitated head lied on a pile of dismembered limbs, all their joints dislocated. Beside it was his father, Solaris' head. It was in the most unnatural angle—his neck bending so far back that it exposed his bone. 

"M-Mum…," Altair whispered, his voice barely audible. He didn't realise it but tears streamed down his face, unstoppable and uncontrollable. "S-she's…Dad is…." The words didn't even comet of his mouth. His gaze was blurred with tears as he turned to Nana and Bryce. "They… they killed Mum and Dad?!"

Bryce pulled his wife into a tight embrace, trying to offer her the little comfort he could as she soaked his sleeve with her tears. Seven had passed out—the brutality was far too overwhelming for the soft hearted fifteen years old. The sight in all was a grotesque one—far too much for someone, let alone a fifteen year old boy, to process in one go.

Older Altair pulled himself back to reality from the horrific flashback. Younger him stood still, tears flowing from his eyes as he tried to process the magnitude of his loss. "M-mum…and D-dad are…," he whispered to himself, his voice shaking.

Just then, a royal guard passed by, dragging a huge box behind him. Stellar's eyes widened in horror, a chilling recognition flashing across her face—almost as if she knew what was inside. Older Altair exhaled a weary sigh. "It's here…"

Without thinking, Younger Altair ran to the door to meet the guard. The guard flinched as the fifteen year old ambushed him.

"What's in the box?," Younger Altair demanded, his voice sharp and unshaken, the urgency in his eyes unmistakable.

"Don't know, can't say," the guard replied, keeping eye contact. He dropped the box, knocked on the door and left.

Younger Altair reached for the box, his fingers trembling. Stellar grabbed his wrist. Her grip was firm, unlike her voice which shook. 

"You don't want to know what's inside… trust me," she whispered, her eyes dark with horrible memories that refused to fade away.

Before he could say anything, the door flung open. It was Nana and Bryce. Immediately, they could read the tension at their front door.

"What the—," Nana started, clearly confused. "Altair, what's going on here?"

"A guard dropped it off…," Younger Altair said, glancing at the box. His voice was full of unease. "I have a bad feeling about it."

Nana brushed it off. "Oh, stop. You're so dramatic sometimes," she said, crouching down to inspect the box.

"Wait—," the words died on Stellar's lips as Nana ripped the tape with her ring. She opened the lid slowly, the sound unnervingly loud in the silence.

"There's a note for you, Altair," she said, handing him a note with his name on it.

He hesitated a bit before taking the note. As he scanned through it, his face paled. His hands shook, and he turned to look at older him, who was seated nearby with Seven cradled in his arms. He held up the note. Older Altair's gaze hardened as he met the eyes of his younger self. He nodded gravely, his focus never leaving Seven, whose soft whimpers betrayed the storm building up inside him.

"Don't open—," younger Altair began, his voice trembling as he held back his tears.

But it was too late.

"Oh my— In the name of Aria, what is this?," Bryce cried, his hand flying to his mouth as he laid eyes on the content of the box. Nana froze, her face losing colour. She dropped the lid of the box as her knees buckled, and she collapsed at the feet of her husband. 

Seven's wail shattered the loud silence around the Interstellate Manor, raw and piercing. Younger Altair stood motionless as he stared into the lifeless gaze that met his.

It was his mother.

Her voice echoed in his mind, faint and trembling. He could almost hear her crying as she wrote the note to him.

Stellar took a step closer and peered into the box, tears building up. The sight struck her like a blow. She knew this pain far too well. After all, that's how her parents died—ten years ago.