The atmosphere around the Royal garden was as serene and appeasing as always.
When I entered the pyramid of glass, I could see my mother sitting on a chair like a mystical fairy surrounded by nature and calmness.
I was happy to see that she recovered quickly.
I walked down the paved path and headed toward her, passing by a lot of exotic plants on the way, and soon as my mother saw me, a smile appeared on her face.
I somehow smiled back at her too, even though I had many worries inside my mind. It just came out naturally.
Pouring some tea inside of a cup, my mother looked at me with gentle eyes. "Adam, would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please," I said as I sat on a nearby chair.
I couldn't possibly refuse such an invitation, not when my mother's voice was so soothing.
I took a sip from the tea that my mother served me, and honestly, I felt a bit revitalized.
My mother sat across me and looked at me as if she was reading my face. "Adam, are you not feeling well?"
My shoulders flinched a little when I heard these words.
"Don't worry, Mom. Everything is fine." I said, and I didn't know what she noticed about me, but I didn't want to cause unnecessary worries for her.
I knew that Cristal suggested I talk to my mother but it didn't mean that she would solve everything.
Just seeing her smile was good enough for my mind.
However, after she heard my words, my mother's face became serious, but her eyes were compassionate.
"I know that there's a lot of chaotic emotions inside you," She said. "It might be an intuition, but I can feel it. I know that I am not as smart as you or your father, but even so, I care about you. All of you have to do is share your worries with me."
My eyes widened, and the words that my mother said made me feel weird, so I lost my usual composure.
"Mom, I-I don't know what to do. Can I save the world?" I said, and I didn't even know what I was saying. My question didn't make any sense at all, but I didn't where to begin even if I wanted to explain everything.
My memory loss? My reincarnation? My power? My goal? Everything sounded so complicated, so in the end, these were words that I could mutter.
My mother's face became gentler when she was my reaction. She didn't ask anything, and instead, she told me something unexpected.
"Adam, it's not about if you can or you cannot. If you will only regret not doing it later, then is there a need to hesitate? Is there a need to fear failure?" She said and took a sip from her cup. "Failure is not always a bad thing, it's the most effective way to learn from our mistakes, as long as we don't give up."
Then she gestured for me to look at the castle. "Look at this castle. Can you build one like this or not?'
I didn't understand what my mother was trying to tell me. "I don't know. It depends."
Then my mother looked at me again.
"You see, you don't know the answer because you never tried to build a castle, and you don't know what precisely are the things that you need to build a castle," she explained. "So, the question is not if you can or you cannot build a castle. It's the desire that makes you want to build a castle. You might come together with failure, frustration, and other problem during the process, but you will learn little by little how to build a castle if you really want to build a castle."
I was amazed by how clear my mother's explanation was.
My mother adjusted her hair a little bit. "However," she continued. "If you hesitated at the beginning, trying to think about if you can or if you cannot build a castle, in the end, you won't be able to build a castle and won't know how to build a castle."
At that moment, it felt like everything was clear. This time, I didn't only find the start line, but I also understood what I need to do to move forward.
However, I was still feeling a little bit anxious.
"I know, but what if my failure will lead to the destruction of the world?" I said.
My mother took a sip from her cup again. "Why do you care about the world?" She said.
I didn't expect to hear these words from my mother's mouth. Confusion was apparent on my face.
"But it's the world…" I muttered
My mother raised her finger and made a point. "Adam, you've got your priority backward. It's not about the world, right? It's about the people that you care about who live in this world. If you don't have people like that, then why do you care about the world? You are just forcing yourself to carry something that you feel doesn't concern you at all, She said, then she put her hand on her cheeks. "I don't know about the things that are weighing on your mind, but don't you think you should explore this world and see if there are people worth protecting here before deciding for yourself? Words alone aren't enough to change your perception of this world or motivate you to do something."
At that time, it was as if a light bulb appeared in my mind and enlightened my senses. "You are right, mom! You are completely right."
My mother nodded at my words.
"I am glad that I could help you, even a little. Still, don't push yourself too hard. I will not bear losing you, my only son."
"I will be prudent Mom," I answered, knowing that my mother was genuinely worried about me.
I didn't know why, but my mother trusted my words and didn't doubt my sanity when I told her something extremely odd.
It might have been a simple fact, but it meant a lot to me, as I never had someone to talk to about such a thing before, to the point that I become who became used to not talking about such a thing to anyone because of my trust issues.
I realized that there was still something missing and wrong in my way of changing myself.
After that, I continued to talk with my mother about various things.
But I never expected that this discussion would change my perception of things.
'I need to go discover this world with my own eyes, right?' I thought
*****
:::[Third person POV]:::
The room was dark and almost empty. There was only one bed and a chair inside it.
Sitting on the chair was a white-haired old man, wearing a ragged coat, and looking extremely frail.
The man was on the verge of passing out, but then an emotionless voice startled him.
[I have come to report: Master is now ready.]
When the man opened his eyes, a black metallic cube was floating in front of him.
He was aware of the nature of this mysterious object, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I knew that pride would mess up a bit trying to do things by himself. He was just as problematic as Adam after all. I didn't expect him to manipulate Adam's memory for ten years and create you. But there was no other choice. I hope that with this, Adam would be able to do what I couldn't."
"Cough! Cough!"
[Your time has come.]
"Yeah, my time has come. I shouldn't be here in the first place. However, the power of the original primordial authorities is our last hope. No one should be aware of their true power until Adam…" The man suddenly felt all of his strength leaving his body. "Cough, cough!"
He used all of his life's energy to come to this universe.
That was when he realized that Pride, one of the Primordial authorities had already awakened.
However, Pride and Adam were like problem children who only cared about themselves. Pride only cared about the survival of its host, and Adam only cared about trying to live an easy life.
In the end, Pride didn't follow the plan and used his power, which caught the attention of some dark forces even though it was faint, and at the same time, awakened Adam's gift sooner than expected.
Adam also told his parents about this news and a lot of people began to notice him.
It was inevitable that the Holy Church would use some kind of method to test him.
The man looked at the metallic cube again and smiled.
"I guess, this version of Pride outdid all of the previous ones. I will leave the fate of this universe to both of you." He said in an almost fading voice.
After that, the man closed his eyes, and his body turned into luminous particles.
Only his clothes were left on the chair, and the man left this world forever.