Ulbo sighed and bitterly smiled as he observed the mess that the boy had inadvertently created.
This was bound to happen, given how long she's waited. He closed his eyes in reflection.
He knew she had suffered much when the decision had been made; she would've preferred to send every single warship to battle than accept the high council's decision. But there were no other viable alternatives. The stars knew that they'd tried their hardest, but it had been for naught. Nothing they'd come up with could stop their endless onslaught.
A hundred thousand plans and one and a half billion higher-order simulations all converged on a single result: [IMMINENT DANGER/TOTAL COLLAPSE INEVITABLE/CODE: SUNFALL].
The world-sibyls that they had created could fully simulate entire universes and their predicted futures with ease. They could even extrapolate the divergent timelines a particular universe possessed. But not even they could come up with a feasible solution to their problem. A dozen world-sibyls worked together until they fell silent.
The stellar oracles only spoke again after the boy had proposed his own plan. It was beyond suicidal and outrageous, but the world-sibyls concluded that it was astronomically better than every other plan that had been submitted to them. He was willing and it was better than fighting it out to the bitter end.
There was no other choice. The plague had arrived back home — they were on their front doorstep — so they did what they needed to do.
They sent him down.
Ulbo opened his eyes and looked at the commotion with a complicated expression. He didn't know how he'd tell him when the time came. A part of him thought that a failure such as he did not deserve the warmth of his love. He had failed him, his sister, and his mother with his incompetence. Had he only noticed a little sooner, he could have...
Reed squirmed uncomfortably like a frightened animal. He didn't dare move and sat there like a trained house pet as he prayed for some form of divine intervention. It happened so fast that he didn't even register that it had occurred.
He blinked — that was all it took. Reed realized something had gone terribly wrong when he noticed the empty seat in between Lu'um and Itotia.
When the other people at the table saw this, they quietly smiled and went back to their meals. They seemed entirely unsurprised by the woman's action and acted as if it was none of their business. They ignored Reed and ate as they chatted with one another...
Oh, no... It's happening again. Slow, deep breaths. Go to your happy place, Reed.
Reed nearly screamed when the woman started cradling him in her arms, terrified out of his poor mind. The soft, peaceful waves of Anima that she emanated were especially horrifying to him. They passed through him effortlessly and easily pacified his control of Anima, as if she had gently taken his privileges away.
He couldn't feel the flow of Anima anymore. In her arms, he was but a normal boy, nothing more than an ant in the presence of a demigoddess. Reed trembled uncontrollably as he tried his best to not make any sudden movements. The last thing he wanted to do was draw the ire of this beautiful woman, lest he suffer a foolish, premature ending.
"Mother, let him go. It's too soon. Can't you see how uncomfortable he looks? Please stop embarrassing the family and restrain yourself," said Lu'um, clearly disgruntled. She looked none too pleased as she stared at her mother with a dark, brooding gaze.
"Nonsense. He's perfectly fine right here with me, where he naturally belongs. There is nothing embarrassing about a mother holding her baby boy," she righteously stated. The woman hugged him harder and said, "It's a mother's right to fawn over her baby boy whenever she desires. A rebellious, snot-nosed girl such as yourself has no right to tell me what I can and cannot do."
Oh boy, here we go again... They couldn't even stop just for today, of all days...
So, who are you going to put your money on?
I'll put five aetherium diamonds down on the daughter...
Ooh, it looks like we've got a high-roller over here, cousin...
Fine, I'll match you this one time, since today's a special day...
The younger people in the table snickered quietly as they whispered to one another in hushed tones about something that Reed couldn't pick up on. They spoke in a language that he'd never heard of before. Nevertheless, Reed more or less understood that they weren't saying anything nice about the situation.
The older folk ignored the conversation altogether and casually chatted amongst themselves as they ate. It looked like they couldn't even be bothered to care about the mother-daughter pair.
"Oh please, Mother. I see we're using the virtuous, motherly saint act today, hm? You always have to be right, hm? I'll have you know that I couldn't care less about what you think of me if we're going to get everything off our chests. But never forget that no matter how much you might wish for it, he will never be your—"
Anima surged like a tidal wave and the room froze under the woman's dreadful aura. Lu'um quickly swallowed her last words but did not acquiesce to her mother. Even so, it did not faze anyone at the table aside from Reed. If looks could kill, Lu'um would have been killed several times over, thought Reed. Lu'um had a wary, hateful expression on her face; she looked ready to act if required, evident by the vicious fluctuations in the surrounding Anima.
They coldly gazed at one another with such intensity that it was almost palpable. Reed swore he saw the image of an older lioness facing off against her younger daughter. He thought he'd heard their vicious snarls, as if they were trying to gauge the other's intent.
"It is truly surprising how quickly you've grown a spine, Xitllali. Had you shown this much courage on that day, you would not have disappointed me as you did..."
The woman's words seemed to have struck a major nerve; Lu'um reacted with immense hostility and conjured a host of weapons around herself, all pointed towards the woman as they thrummed ominously. Reed shivered in fear when he saw that the argument had suddenly escalated to the max.
He wanted nothing more than to be as far away as possible from their deadly feud, but his body wouldn't listen to him, despite his protests.
Suddenly, a firm voice boomed like thunder, overwhelming everyone in the room. His voice carried an undefiable aura of authority that commanded Anima into submission. Lu'um's weapons vanished into motes of light almost instantly when he finally interjected in their fight.
"Enough, both of you. Can both of you, for a single day, put your grudges aside? This is to be a day of celebration, not of strife," said Ulbo. He appeared indifferent, but his eyes told a different story. Darker, deeper emotions could be seen within — looking into them felt like looking into a bottomless abyss.
"We've been over this already, you two. If you will not see reason, then at the very least, think of his feelings. He is not a possession for you two to fight over, am I clear?"
Perhaps, not all is well in paradise these days..... not that it's any of my business.
Neither side responded, but it didn't matter. His words were absolute and served as the final say on the topic. Ulbo snapped his fingers and Reed was instantly moved back to his seat.
Ulbo beamed at Reed and said, "Don't worry about it, little sun, they're just... passionate at heart, so they butt heads now and then." The younger kids chortled when they heard his 'explanation'— even the older folk smiled a bit as they ate.
Like mother, like daughter, huh? I wouldn't call that butting heads if you asked me, though...
Breakfast went along as smoothly as one could expect; the younger adults bombarded Reed with an endless amount of questions. Where he'd come from, stories about his past, what his hobbies were and the like. The children were especially interested in his stories as they stared at him with gleaming, astonished eyes.
Reed noticed their innocent gazes and wondered why they seemed so invested in him. Was it because he was a foreigner? He wondered if he looked weird or said something wrong. It made him feel a bit embarrassed, but he tolerated it since they meant nothing by it.
After that eventful morning, Reed wanted nothing more than to be left alone for a while. There were many things he needed to process on his own — this morning's dream, for example — away from the hubbub of Lu'um and Itotia's family. It wasn't as if he disliked their family, but he found it far too stimulating to handle.
He quite liked the energetic atmosphere their family had when he wasn't being thrown into one of their squabbles and fights. A part of him admitted that they were excessive, so to speak, but it was better than them being cold and detached. At least it meant that they actually had genuine feelings for each other, unlike, well...
Reed brushed away the unpleasant thought and tossed a somewhat flat stone out on to the lake. It skipped on the water's surface several times and then sunk into the lake.
'It might even be envy,' he thought. That would be a hilarious thing were it to be true. To think that the day would come that he'd feel envious of another person's family.
Never needed one to feel happy, so why would I need one now? Reed let out a hollow laugh of self-derision.
Reed sat under a large tree as he gazed at the vast lake in silence. He'd told Itotia that he was going to explore the city for a while as an excuse to escape the confines of the crystal palace and left before she could even answer. After a bit of wandering, he ended up near the massive lake on the surface of the city, far away from the bustling city that teemed with activity in the distance.
It was better like this. This was how he had always lived — in quiet solitude — back home in the slums. As a normal boy without fame, wealth, power, or a so-called destiny. Reed smiled as he stared at his distorted reflection on the lake's surface. It felt disgusting looking at himself smile, so he turned away and stared at the tree's branches up above.
Was this not what he wanted, what he had set out to find? He now lived a life that mortals could not possibly comprehend or even dare to dream about.
He was a famous, bright star in this world; a gifted individual unlike any of his peers.
He was wealthier than he had ever been and had been invited to live amongst the gods of this world.
He possessed power greater than any mortal could ever imagine; he could summon storms and part the skies with a single finger.
And now, he too possessed a boundless future, unlike his former self. He could do anything or be anyone so as long as he wished for it.
This is what I wished for — dreamt of — a genuine life filled with meaning...
Reed tried his hardest to hold it in, but could no longer contain what he had kept locked under for so long. He crumpled over and gazed at the lake with his blurry eyes, wishing that he had not been reminded. He would have rather not received those memories at all.
"...I knew you'd be here, silly boy."
He quickly turned away when he heard the voice and said, "Who is it?! Why have you come—"He paused when he finally recognized who the soft voice had belonged to and said, "I... did not expect to meet you so soon again, milady. I beg your pardon for my—"
The woman sat down and simply patted his back as she gazed at the lake beside him. She had a serene expression on her face like she already knew everything. As if it were a matter of course for her, she said, "What troubles you so? Tell me what pains you, my son."
"Why would I be troubled? I'm perfectly fine, milady, I swear. It's nothing, really..." said Reed. He forced himself back toward the dark and slowly regained his composure.
"You can't lie to me, my boy. The only time you'd come here was when my foolish daughter made you cry or when you wanted to be alone." She'd been through this so many times, she couldn't remember them all. It was a second-hand instinct for her by now.
Reed went quiet when he heard that. His scrambled memories held many a story, but she had never appeared in any of them, at least, so far. He considered everything he knew and guessed that she was someone from a different period — she wasn't in the earliest of the memories that he'd been burdened with.
"I don't remember you, though. Neither you, them, or this place. Even though everyone seems to already know who I am..." It hurt sometimes when he looked at their expectant gazes, full of affection and warmth. His skin prickled at the thought of it.
"Patience, my boy. There is no need to rush yourself; not a single soul in this city will blame you for your ignorance — that, I can assure you. They, in fact, are already forever in your debt. They have no right to judge you."
"If you ever hear someone speak ill of you, all you need to do is tell me, my boy. I will have them executed for it." Her words rang with a tone of authority that did not permit any objections.
"...Isn't that too excessive? I don't think that badmouthing anyone should be grounds for death. Not that I have a say in your city's affairs, milady..." Reed hurriedly protested to the woman, afraid that he might've sentenced someone to death today.
"It is forbidden for a member of the lower castes to ever judge someone of noble origin. This has been the law since before even I was born, my childe. The punishment for such an offense would be imprisonment in the Well of Sorrows, a place where the damned are sent to reflect upon their sins." Her words sounded sweet and calming to the senses, but the content was everything but that.
She sounded like a cold-blooded warden or an emissary from hell in disguise.
"But it would be completely different if someone spoke ill of you, my son. The punishment for insulting a member of the sacred family is final death. The destruction of the soul, thereby freeing the blasphemer from the eternal cycle."
She had a peaceful, almost saint-like mein despite the nature of their discussion. It secretly unnerved Reed down to his bones. The woman sounded like a tyrannical executor who'd crush anything that'd dare stand in her path.
"It sounds like you have, um, a lot of authority in this city, milady... May I have the honor of learning your esteemed name? This humble one's name is... Reed."
The woman's face bloomed when she heard his question and said, "I am the sister of the Noble Princess of the Sun, Mother of the Moon, Judge of the Scales, Commander of the Old Guard, and former High Saintess of the Seas, Acuecucyoticihuati."
"Acuecu... M-Milady, is there some other form I can address you by?" Reed's cheeks were dyed crimson when he forced out his pitiful question.
When the woman heard Reed's plea and his embarrassed face, she laughed so hard she actually keeled over.
The world itself seemed to take delight in her joy as she laughed. Flowers bloomed and the cloudy sky above vanished, as if to not dampen her joy. Who could ever come to hate her, who was once closest to the stars in the firmament? Certainly not the world, that was for sure...
The beautiful lady rubbed her eyes and then held Reed close like one would their beloved.
"The only thing you can call me is Mom. I won't accept anything else, my little sun. Mom's orders."
Reed couldn't help but smile when he heard her answer. Straightforward and overbearing, but not in a bad way. She really resembled a certain someone in that sense. It was very amusing seeing that resemblance, if even for a second.