POV Max
The next day, I assumed things would be different, but not so different from how they turned out.
"Good morning Max..." As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was my mother's loving smile greeting me.
[Were you waiting for me?]
"Good morning, Mom." I smile back at him, despite how weird it seemed to me.
We both got out of bed without incident after that.
It was strange, because before she looked uncomfortable at the notion of letting me dress her, but now she even let me put my panties on her.
Which was welcome for me, but on this occasion I felt like there was something to worry about.
Mom was all smiles as long as she was around, and my magic lesson was no exception to the rule.
"Very well Max, today I will teach you real magic. Are you ready to change your life?" My mother kneeling, looking at me very proud
"I have never been more ready!" I lived up to their expectations.
My mother smiled again, before giving me a big hug.
"That's my Boy…". She took a deep breath, separated from me, and put on a serious face rarely seen on her.
"In that case… you first have to understand what mana is. "The fundamental pillar of magic."
"The force that magicians manipulate to control the underworld." I recited the textbook definition.
"So Max, but it's one thing to know it, and another thing to understand it." My mother then took a bandage that she had prepared.
"There are many methods that teachers use to make their students feel mana. But if you really want to learn magic, we will use the most complicated method for you Max." My mother showed me the bandage as she now spoke like an expert in her area.
[I don't know how important it is to start with one method or another, but I think it's more to test my tenacity]
"What do I have to do after putting on the blindfold, Mom?" I took it, before looking at it sincerely excited by my encounter with magic, although deep down I already knew what I was going to waste the entire morning on.
"You will have to breathe deeply and try to feel the mana around you, before you can manipulate the mana inside you." My mother began her explanation. "I will manipulate the mana around you, and until you are able to tell me how it behaves, I will begin to teach you many more things." She looked at me for my reaction.
[Hmph, so I'll have to meditate….]
"Okay, Mom! "I won't let you down!" I put on the blindfold sounding confident.
"It's okay Max, even I couldn't do it the first time." My mother comforted me before I even started.
She really loves me, but she does say it now. The method she is using is actually a very screwed up one to begin with.
"[Water]". My mother cast a spell, but strangely I didn't hear anything else apart from that.
[I can't even hear her movement for reference….?]
Indeed, I'll be here all damn day trying to understand something that not even my genius mother managed to do on her first try.
"Hmph…Mom, I don't feel anything."
"It's perfectly normal Max." She assured me. "Once you feel the mana, you will never see the world the same way again." She commented, surely smiling, and imagining my reaction when the time comes.
"By the way, it took me a little over a month to feel Max mana, so there is no rush." My mother commented with a somewhat mocking tone.
"W-What? "A-And how long will it take me?!" I asked reasonably alarmed.
[She's a genius and it still took her a month?! How long does it take a normal person to master this method?]
My mother didn't respond immediately, and her silence only made me a little tense.
"You will make it Max." "She said with unexpected conviction after an eternal minute. "Mommy believes in you, but you have to believe in yourself too, okay?" "She finally," she said in a more motherly tone.
"O-Okay mom! "I won't let you down!" Upon listening to her, without hesitation I responded, wanting to live up to her expectations.
[It doesn't matter how long it takes. I will become a mage even more powerful than her]
After all, what woman wouldn't feel safe in the arms of a man as sexy and powerful as I will surely be in 20 years?
"That´s my son". My mother said happily. "Mmm… You know Max?" Mom's tone changed to a more playful one.
"Yes mommy?". I asked without having any idea why.
I heard her walk towards me, at the same time I heard water falling around me.
"Now that mommy remembers, those days were very boring. And it occurred to me… Why not add fun to it?"
"Mother?". I called her somewhat bewildered when I felt myself grab my sides to lift me into the air.
[Fun? It's the last thing you think about when you talk about meditating]
"Fufu… tell me Max, did you like flying the other day?" My mother asked something very dangerous.
At that point I tried to take off the blindfold, but Mom said something that made me reconsider.
"Because I just remembered… that there are places with higher concentrations of mana than the soil of a grassland."
"As which?". I accidentally sounded nervous, which made Mom's grip on my torso tighten.
[Shit, does hearing me nervous turn you on? Because acting like this, she feels unnatural to me]
"Well…..". Mom spoke angelically, reveling in the moment. "The deep caves that are most connected to the earth, the coastal areas, the depths of the sea, the nights of the full moon… but especially the sky on stormy days"
"B-But it's sunny today mom." I tried to change her mind, even giving her one more taste of my nerves.
Flying may be incredible, but when you have such a fragile body, and a mother who loves to make you feel strong emotions...
Well... needless to say explain why I feel a little afraid.
"That's right Max." My mother accepted my argument. "But…. What if we change that?"
"Can you mom?"
"Of course Max! Although that could ruin everyone else's day..." She commented now a little more seriously.
Frankly I was surprised to learn that, but considering how powerful it is, it shouldn't be that surprising.
[Or is the advancement in magic more advanced than she imagined...?]
"But… even I have days when I want to be selfish." Mom said determinedly
"Max, is it bad if Mommy wants to be a little selfish?" She asked with a pleading tone, almost as if she was asking me for permission.
[Well... if this serves to earn me more points as a good child, I don't see why I should refuse]
"No mom! You always strive to make me happy. If being selfish will make you happy, then I have no problems!"
When I finished, my mother hugged me with some strength.
"Thank you for being so good to Mommy Max." She said with great joy, while she caressed my head.
[How he loves to crush me]
"[Fly]". Suddenly, still with the blindfold on, I heard the wind move around us.
"Mother?". I tried to remove the blindfold with one hand, while holding on to it with the other.
"Do you want to feel the mana in just one day?" Mom asked maliciously seeing me doing that.
"R-Really?" I stopped my actions upon hearing her.
"So my little one, just trust mommy, okay?"
"Okay! "I will trust you mom." I nodded, before holding on to her with all my might.
Her proposal was obviously tricky, but I prefer that to standing for hours trying to sense the mana.
"Thank you Max." My mother thanked us before stopping us.
I was going to ask about it, when my mother began to recite out loud in a mystical voice.
"[Gods, please hear the pleas of this humble vassal. God Fiash, supreme ruler of the divine winds and Goddess Lazulia supreme ruler of the oceans.]"
Suddenly, something changed in the environment, not only was an unusually strong wind starting to hit us, I also felt itchy all over my skin. Maybe static?
"[Grant me her divine strength, grant me this miracle! May the world know her glory! Change the sky, unite the clouds, drink their water, fill us with rain. Show us why you are such magnificent gods of ours!]"
Then I heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance, while raindrops began to collide with my clothes.
"[Electric storm!]". My mother dictated, before the sky began to roar loudly.
I wasn't worried, after all my mother wouldn't be foolish enough to expose me to danger, but I was intrigued as to how this was going to help me move forward faster.
"You can take off the blindfold now Max, be careful with the raindrops." She said calmly.
"Ohhh! Did you do that mom?" I pointed out in fascination the fact that my mother could summon a thunderstorm with just a magical chant.
"So my child, an advanced magician does not usually need chants, but when it comes to something so big. A little divine help is not bad." She said as she protected me from the turbulent winds that could toss me around.
[Mmm… this is the first time he has spoken directly to me about the gods of this world]
Maybe it was because she wasn't very religious, but until now we hadn't had a talk about it. I had only heard the occasional religious expression, but nothing beyond that.
"Divine help…?" I asked full of intrigue. "Are the gods helping you?
"You could say yes my child, but after I explain…" She said before pointing me to the storm occurring in front of us. "Can you feel Max? Don't you feel any tingling in your body?"
"I felt a little itchy mom, is that the mana?" My mother smiled at my innocent question.
"No, but you are beginning to understand my little one. Do you want a little more help?" She said full of emotion.
"Yeah! I want to do magic like mom!" I responded immediately.
"Very well my little one…" He caressed me lovingly. "Just trust mom, mommy has everything under control, okay?" She confirmed my determination again.
"I trust mom!"
"Fufu… very good my little one… just close your eyes for a moment, okay? Open them when mommy asks you to."
"Alright!".
Obeying my her request, I covered my eyes excitedly waiting for the result.
"Ugh…". I heard her take a deep breath, before going completely silent, only having the noise of the storm as a reference to what was happening around me.
"[Lightning]"
"….?!!?" As soon as I heard her, I couldn't help but get tense.
After all, summoning lightning in the middle of a thunderstorm in mid-air sounds like a terrible idea.
"Mom-?" Before I finished my sentence, I heard a rumble right in front of me along with a sudden movement.
[What has happened?!]
"U-Ufff… very good Max, you can open your eyes." My mother said with her voice strangely strained.
I quickly removed my hands from her, when something bright dazzled me for a few moments, and seconds later I could see what my mother now had in the palm of her hand.
"Mother!?". I opened my eyes full of surprise, even though the light hurt a little.
"Lightning in the palm of my hand, cool, right?" She said proudly, but without stopping to look at the lightning, which seemed to be enclosed in a kind of transparent sphere, while it moved erratically in all directions.
It was mesmerizing, and impressive beyond any comparison to whatever was in my previous world.
If I had to describe it, it would be like a much more dangerous and erratic Tesla coil.
"How did you do that mom?" I asked without stopping to look at the sphere, feeling the urge to touch it.
"Take your hand closer, Max, but not too close." She said without stopping to look at the sphere.
"…." I was a little worried that she wouldn't respond to me, but knowing that all her concentration was on containing all that power, I obeyed her without saying anything else.
[What is this…? He is attracting me…. ]
As my hand not only felt the familiar electrical static of being near a charged object, I felt something inside me that I couldn't explain begin to get closer, although not physically.
Little by little, something inside me began to move to be one with that sphere.
"Do you understand now, Max?" My mother asked with a smile.
"Yes, now I understand it, mom." I said satisfied, for not only learning, but also for having witnessed something like no other.
"Okay… put your hand away, and close your eyes Max."
Said and done in the moment. Once my mother was safe, she took another deep breath, and I heard another rumble, although this time we were not pushed.
"Open your eyes Max." She now sounded relaxed.
"Mommy!". I smiled as soon as I looked at her. "That was amazing!".
"Fufu… I'm glad my boy… you learned your lesson in record time." Little by little we began to descend, even with the rain from the storm soaking us both.
"Now will I be able to do magic?" I asked for
"Yes Max, now you can do magic." She nodded with a smile just as excited as mine.
"You will soon be as good a magician as Mommy." She hugged me with enormous sweetness and delicacy, not like on previous occasions. "I love you my little apprentice."
"And I love you, mom-teacher." I hugged her not only out of love, but also in search of her warmth.
We fly towards home. Once there, Mom let me go and I saw with my feet on the ground the storm that Mom had unleashed.
"Hehe… I think I might have ruined some people's day." She commented regretfully, seeing that the storm probably wouldn't end for a couple of hours.
[I hope Sarah doesn't catch a cold because of her]
"Mom, I'm cold." I said pulling her magician's robe.
"Then let's go inside my little one." She opened the door before sighing somewhat resigned to spending the rest of the day at the house.
For my part, I began to undress, because it was true that she was beginning to feel cold, and I didn't want to spend the rest of the week in bed either.
Seeing mom take off her clothes too, I had a somewhat malicious idea.
"Max?" As soon as mom took off her panties, I hugged her legs with an innocent suggestion.
"Mommy, can we stay like this for the rest of the day?" I asked looking directly into her eyes.
"Shall we stay like this? What do you mean Max?" She blinked, not knowing what he meant.
"Without clothes mommy, she is wet! And I like to hug you when you have nothing. I can feel your warmth more easily." I closed my eyes as she continued to hold her, as if she was about to put me to sleep.
"Well…". I saw her scratching her head a little uncomfortable. "I don't think there will be visitors, so it's okay… Just give me a moment Max, I'll lower the curtains." She pointed to the fireplace, and suddenly she was lit.
"Come closer to the fire my little one, mommy you don't want you to get sick, okay?"
"Okay!" I obeyed and moved close enough to the fire to feel the warmth of it.
[A rainy night with mom, naked and with no one to see us... it's a shame she's still a minor and there's no other entertainment either]
I sat at a reasonable distance, where I sat to enjoy the heat and cold being expelled from my body.
"Are you comfortable Max?" Soon my mother sat behind me, pressed me against her to keep warm next to me, and I began to feel extremely relaxed.
"Now that I'm with mom, I'm better than ever." I yawned as I finished my comment.
"Hehe... I'm glad that's the way it is Max..." I heard her yawn before wrapping her arms around me tighter. "Mommy loves you like you have no idea…"
"Are you sleepy, mom?" I asked to make conversation.
Although the response was anything but what was expected.
"A little bit my child…". She admitted without shame. "Containing lightning is exhausting, not to mention the concentration required."
"Using magic also makes you tired?" I asked wanting to know more about it.
As we both watched the fire dance, my mother began to caress my head.
"Of course my child." She responded sweetly as always. "But that only happens when you exhaust all your mana or have to make a lot of mental effort."
I turned my head to look at her.
"Is the mana depleted?" I asked innocently, aware of the answer.
I knew that sooner or later she would teach me, but it didn't hurt to tell me a few things.
"Of course, Max." She said with an amused smile. "I have a lot of mana, so it doesn't usually happen to me often, but when it does, it's like running until you're exhausted."
"And how do you recover mana?" I asked another question.
"Resting my child, resting. Doing nothing is good, but sleeping is much better." She clarified my doubt.
"Are you recovering mana right now?"
"That's right Max, and you are recharging me right now with your love." She commented playfully.
"I see". I said with a big smile. "I love you so much mommy, get well soon!"
I rubbed my face against her body, earning a touched sigh from her.
"Thank you Max, you are my one true treasure." We hugged each other with great love for a minute until we returned to our original positions.
[This is nice….]
Interestingly, I had many opportunities to experience moments like this in my previous life with the people I loved the most, but how I took the future for granted…. I always left them for later.
It's not that I'm experiencing things again as if I were a child... This is the first time I have warmed a cabin fire in the middle of a cold rainy afternoon.
[…Wow…that's hitting me right now]
I felt a little sad, but also relieved.
Now I had a new mother, with whom I could be with basically without interruptions daily.
Every day I woke up with her by my side, and every night I slept with her by my side.
She was there at all times, she fulfilled all my whims, and she could never say no to me even when she made a sad child's face.
[… What's wrong with her?]
I still remember our first meeting, I couldn't see her because... Baby vision, but he could hear her clearly.
Even after realizing that my origin was supernatural, he didn't care and continued to care for me, being in a time when religion was something people actually believed.
[What happened to her family?]
I had this doubt for a long time, mostly to know how to manipulate her, but at this moment I really want to know how to console her, even if I am a child in her eyes.
[Maybe it's a mistake... but I won't save things for later again]
"Mother". I called her with a soft voice.
"Yes Max?" She looked at me with a curious look at my sudden intervention.
"Did you also sit in front of the fireplace with your family?"
"…" Shocked by my question, she opened her eyes.
She opened her mouth and immediately closed it, not knowing what to say.
"I-I…". She stopped looking at me to focus on the fire.
She then just hugged me as if she was afraid of losing me forever.
"…."
And she remained silent, looking at the fire with an anguished expression.
Gwendolyn POV
"Did you also sit in front of the fireplace with your family?"
Max's question... was so unexpected and natural that it terrified me.
Until now I had not told him about my family, my former colleagues and friends, or anything else about myself.
I thought she was going to continue creating beautiful memories when Max reminded me of what had happened before.
Mom Dad…
Illya….
"I…". I looked away from him, I didn't want him to see his trusting mother like that.
But by doing so I made things worse.
The fire... now that I see that fire... the memories come back to me and I start to feel afraid... very afraid...
To much fear….
[My little Max... What's going to happen when I teach him everything I know about magic?]
Today we begin... I wanted to advance a month of boring contemplation, but now I regret it.
It was because of that understanding of mana, and not so much because of my memorization ability or religious faith, that I was able to advance so far along the path of magic.
And now I was going to teach all that, the experience of an entire decade to a child with above-average intelligence, who would undoubtedly want to repeat my steps and even surpass me.
[He…he's going to leave me…too…]
I wanted to push those thoughts away from me, like many other times before.
But this time, if I wanted to have my future with my son, I had to at least tell him a little about my past.
I can't always be the depressed mother who is unable to do anything when she is sad. If I give Max that impression, little by little he will seek other sources of wisdom, ending up distancing himself from me until he simply no longer needs me.
But... if I tell him everything... he will look for a way to become stronger... like all men do to protect those they love.
And maybe… by doing that… he… he…
[NO! N-Never that! I won't let him!]
"They….". I finally gathered the strength to talk to Max.
I can't hide everything from him... but I can't tell him everything either...
[Gods… Why did he have to be such an extraordinary little guy?]
I looked at Max again, forcing myself to smile despite the guilt and remorse that was beginning to plague me.
"They abandoned me Max…" I said full of pain because, although it was true, it was not the whole truth.
I could see the surprise in his beautiful amethyst eyes like mine, full of disbelief, doubt and concern.
[Sorry Max…]
I immediately regretted saying it that way.
"They did not want to…". I said to prevent myself from blaming and hating them, as that would certainly break my heart. "I wasn't there when they needed me…. And now they are gone..." A tear escaped my eye and fell onto his clay-soft cheek.
"It was my fault Max…" I said as I wiped away the sadness that had fallen on my little one in the form of that little drop. "And mommy… she doesn't want to leave her family behind again…."
[Gods… forgive me…. I don't know what his plan is with Max. But I am his mother, and I don't want her to risk his life for his cause...]
"Mother…". Max quickly got up and hugged me with the clear intention of comforting me, and in his eyes I could see that concern... of not continuing with me.
[I'm sorry... but... otherwise you could leave my little one...]
Our hug felt so warm and yet so embarrassing.
[At this rate I will be the one taking care of Max]
And the worst thing is that it doesn't seem to bother me.
"Thank you my child, I'm better now." I smiled at him with some tears still running down my cheeks.
"I will never leave you". Max said with a reassuring smile.
"….." I blinked in surprise at his words.
[B-But what is this little guy saying?]
It wasn't the first time Max had told me that, I was quite encouraged to hear it, but deep down I knew that he would never be able to keep his word.
And maybe it was the fact that Max was my son… or that Max was…. Max, but what he said next gave me real hope.
"You're everything to me". I shuddered, because those were my sister's exact words.
"And I will never leave your side mom, I just won't."
"….."
For a moment I didn't know what to say, because those words said by a child would only be a child's dream.
But Max was not just any child, and although still very young, he understood things beyond his age.
As he absorbed that in me, I realized how reckless his intentions were.
"D-Do you understand what you're saying Max!?" I asked alarmed
Wouldn't it be a burden if he always had to take me into account? How would the other kids see him seeing that he is a momma's boy!
I-I couldn't be the one to ruin his life in a moment of my weakness!
"Of course yes mom." She nodded without the slightest shadow of a doubt.
[Ehhhhhh?!]
How I wish at this moment that he were a normal child!
Now somewhat annoyed by his lack of self-awareness, I decided to try to get him to see things in perspective.
"What if one day you want to leave town?"
"Then I will take you with me." He responded immediately without hesitation.
And just with that answer my whole plan fell apart
[W-What am I supposed to tell him now?!]
Confused and withdrawn for a moment, I tried to act like my mother when she heard me say something rude.
"W-What if one day you love someone else besides me? Y-Your girlfriends will be disappointed in you if you can't get away from mom!" I asked trying to embarrass him.
"Then I will love you much more." He responded as if once again full of confidence.
Unfortunately in the heat of the moment, I forgot that my son is a shameless little boy.
"W-What will you do if that person hates me because you love me too much? I-I don't want your heart to be broken just because of that Max!" I then considered another possibility
If any girl accepts Max, she will surely assume that I am the one who is manipulating him to have him all to myself.
A-Although t-technically it's true. T-That doesn't mean I'm going to be serious about my plans!
"So that person didn't love me either."
[Uggghhh… but what an unreasonable boy!]
Well... let's pose another case.
Some girl falls madly in love with Max, and she manages to overlook me due to divine intervention.
How will she feel to see that my son pays more attention to me than to her?
"What if one day your wife feels jealous of me? I don't want you to be a bad husband Max!"
"Even so, I will continue to spend time with you."
[M-Max….]
A little moved by her response, I felt a pang in my heart.
[D-Don't fall for her charms! Y-You're the adult here!]
"W-Well, what a bad young man! B-Because rest assured that someday I will get tired of you." I proceeded to pinch his cheeks a little harder than normal.
"Haha! Liar Mommy!"
"D-Don't laugh at your mom!"
[And now what do I do….?]
Annoyed more with myself than with my son, I understood that I couldn't change Max's mind.
And although I had what I wanted, the guarantee that my son would always stay by my side, far from feeling happy, I now felt guilty.
"Mother?". Which Max quickly noticed as she was suddenly down.
"Did I do something wrong?". I soon saw that sincere concern that I had been disappointed, which only aggravated my regret.
"….No Max… it's just…." I considered telling the truth for a few seconds.
"I just don't want to be a burden to you…" I looked at him helplessly.
"Mommy?". He called me very confused by my comment.
"…. "It's okay Max." I just stroked his head without wanting to say anything else.
"…." However, his face did not accept my refusal as an answer.
"I'm fine Max, really." I hardened my face and my smile so that this time he wouldn't see through me.
"…. Mommy… Why are you lying?" I ask with a mix of anxiety and worry.
"…. W-What are you talking about Max? I'm fine… Everything is fine!" I smiled at him more, but now he was much more worried than before.
[…Why did my son have to be so smart?]
"Mommy…". He just hugged me, which hurt me more than any insult or recrimination could have given me.
"….."
[…. Why does it hurt so much…?]
I wanted to hug him... but I couldn't...
"It's okay mommy, I love you, if you don't want to tell me it's okay."
"...."
[...]
My hand that was going to go to his head lost all strength.
My previously turbulent heart was now a storm.
On the one hand, I wanted to tell Max to stay away from me, that even though I was his mother, I didn't have to be so important in his life.
On the other hand, I felt pathetic for not having the courage to act like a confident mother in front of him.
[I'm a terrible mother….]
I know I'm doing things wrong Max.
I should have refused when he asked me to continue taking milk from me directly.
I had to teach him boundaries when he asked me to put on my underwear.
I should have waited until he was older to teach him something as powerful as magic.
I should have scolded him and called him naive when he said that his goal is to always be with me.
Why didn't I do any of those things when I should have...?
"….Max…" I called him with a trembling voice.
"Mom?". He looked up at me.
She was met with a pained face, but also full of maternal love for him.
"I'm sorry Max…". I apologized, deeply ashamed of myself.
"Because…?". She asked impatiently.
I stroked his head with a knot in his throat.
"The thing is…. I also want to always be with you….." As soon as I said that, tears ran from my eyes like an overflowing river.
"I don't want you to leave me son! I-It's wrong but I love you son! I love you! I-I love you more than anything in the world!"
I hugged him as if he was trying to prevent someone from taking him from me.
"I-I don't want you to go Max! I-I'm too selfish and cowardly to let you go! A-And that's why I'm sorry son! I-I want you to never leave me! B-But also be happy! E-Even without me!"
I cried like a little girl full of guilt, but also full of relief.
[I'm sorry Max, it's my fault you never want to leave me, I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry….]
"I-I'm sorry my child! S-Sorry Max! M-Mom loves you! D-Don't l-leave me, please! I don't want to!".
[I'm so pathetic…..]
"I don't want, I don't want, I don't want! I DON'T WANT TO!".
[Sorry Max…. I ruined your life...
But I think I did from the moment I picked you up from that place.
You noticed my sadness and loneliness... and since then you could never separate yourself from me...]
What kind of gods give such an extraordinary son to a mortal as whiny and pathetic as me...?
"Maaasshhhhhhh!…."
I cried until I ran out of tears.
I continued hugging Max, even when he fell tired and slept among my hug
And even in my dreams... The only thing I could think about was how relieved I was that Max wanted to spend his entire life with me.
Because I simply love him… I want to love him, and I want to continue loving him.
It doesn't matter what he does, how do you turn out, or what you decide.
I just want to love him, I want to love someone as much as I did as my sister...
But this time, hoping to never lose them….
Not at least until my time comes.
Maybe later Max will learn that he has to get away from me, even a little if he wants to live his own life.
But until he decides that...
[He is my son…..]
"And he is mine…."