[Leo's POV]
Do you ever fight with yourself?
Not the normal kind. The "should I do this or that" kind. I mean real fighting. The kind where you look in the mirror and the person staring back doesn't feel like you.
I've been fighting myself my whole life.
The old me, from Earth, was a coward.
A runner.
A guy who couldn't face his parents, his failures, or anything except a screen and a bottle. He ran from expectations, ran from responsibilities, ran from every person who ever believed in him. He told himself he was being realistic, that he was just protecting himself from disappointment.
But the truth?
He was scared of trying and failing, of being seen, of mattering to anyone.
The other one — the original Leo, was a failure too.
A noble born with a B-rank core in a family of monsters. The disappointment of the Celestial house. The one who couldn't live up to the name. So he drowned himself in wine and bitterness. He pushed everyone away before they could push him.
