568 Done
Michael tried to ask his question in a neutral tone, but his emotions were not easy to control. They had never been.
However, seeing his mother hesitate and unable to answer his simple questions hurt. It hurt even more than Michael had expected. He knew that his parents abandoned Danny and him, but his mother's silent agreement to his accusations made him feel worse than expected.
Evalynn didn't know how to answer. Did that mean she never thought about them, in the first place, or did she never expect to be asked that question by her sons? Why wouldn't she expect that?
"Please, answer honestly. It doesn't matter if your answer hurts us…" Michael murmured in a voice barely loud enough for his mother to hear.
She swallowed hard and looked to the ground. Her lips quivered but they parted soon. Seeing her reaction, Michael tensed up.
"I never asked for forgiveness because it's selfish. Asking for forgiveness…we don't deserve that," Evalynn answered silently, her quivering voice reverberating through the room.
"It's selfish to ask for forgiveness after doing something you don't regret. We left because Hesta needed us more than you and Danny. You and Danny were safe and sound in the small apartment we'd bought. Most things were taken care of which makes it much easier for you and Danny to survive. Daniel has always been mature, and you were also quite mature for your young age. We believed that you and Danny could take care of yourself better than Hesta. After all, Hesta lost herself. She wreaked havoc and was on the verge of death and surrounded by the C–....enemies when we found her."
His mother wanted to say something else instead of 'enemies' but a sudden headache forced her to change her choice of words. Michael noticed that. His Spirit Eyes noticed something as well. A small intricate symbol appeared on Evalynn's forehead the moment she mentioned the 'enemies.' It appeared with the sudden headache and vanished the moment his mother changed her words.
"I do care about your well-being. It's not a sudden change. I have always been worried about you guys. But everything changed once we rescued Hesta. We encountered the Nest and other Cursed User, and –..." Evalynn tried her best to continue but couldn't speak any further. The intricate symbol appeared on her forehead once again. This time, however, it was black and much larger.
Evalynn screamed aloud. Her legs caved in and her hands shot to her head. A burst of energy circulated through her hands and shot toward the intricate symbol which Michael recognized thanks to the memories of the Elite Soldier Tekur, and some of the traitorous Descendants.
"A Geas…"
Geas, also known as Marks of the Soul, were special seals that could only be imprinted into someone's soul by a Divine Lifeform. It was similar to a Slave Mark, only that it was less restrictive, but not by much.
A Geas was usually imprinted into the soul of a living being to restrict them from talking about certain topics in every possible way. It was a restriction similar to a Soul Pact. The only issue was that a Geas could never be destroyed. It was a permanent mark on a being's soul. Often enough, beings with a Geas were considered less worthy because their soul had been tarnished.
Michael frowned deeply as he observed his mother with his Spirit Eyes activated and lingering on the black Geas. Something in his head clicked, the dots connecting to form the big picture.
"Tell me what you're allowed to say without triggering the Geas…"
Michael was not sure if he felt better after hearing what he heard until now. After all, it meant that his parents did abandon Danniel and him. They prioritized Hesta's well-being over theirs. However, there were also pieces of information his mother wanted to share but couldn't. Maybe, these details were important to understand their reasoning.
He did believe what his mother said, but something was off.
It was never a great feeling to have been abandoned by those who were supposed to love and care for you. It didn't matter whether his mother wanted to return to them after a few years or not. It was not like they should feel nice about that. They had been abandoned and left to face the cruel world from a young age. That was a clear fact. His mother acknowledged that fact, even if she worded it differently.
'We were mature enough to take care of ourselves? Hesta needed them? Hesta was, quite literally, older than our combined age.'
Hesta was a mature woman, whereas Danny had turned 12 a few weeks prior, and Michael was about to turn 8 when their parents disappeared. They could take care of themselves? That's nonsense!
Michael sighed but he decided to leave it at that. He told his mother to answer honestly. He did want to hear her honest answer. And that was what he received at last.
"It's the first time since I left that I've been given permission to travel to this part of the galaxy. Without that…I doubt that I would have ever been allowed to return to see you guys. So…to answer your question…No, I don't think I would have ever managed to return to you guys if it was not for the issue with Danny's Living Soul…"
Michael nodded almost absentmindedly. He tilted his head and felt a mix of anger and confusion surfacing from the depths of his body.
First of all, it was quite obvious that his mother was trying to tell him more, but the Geas restricted her. But no matter what his mother was trying to say, the Geas wouldn't restrict her from saying "I'm sorry, I wanted to be there for you guys," or something along those lines.
His mother was trying to make it sound like she had been forced to leave them and that she didn't have a choice. And that her actions were the most logical and that her rational mindset allowed her family to survive as a whole.
While that might contain some truth, it was a fact that his mother didn't even think about apologizing. The words 'I am sorry' never escaped her lips. If that wasn't hurtful already, his mother said that she would never ask for forgiveness. But apologizing for being a bad mother and asking for forgiveness were different things.
Michael was done. He had heard enough.
"Alright. If you have anything else to say, say it now. I…need time to think…"
"If you have any more questions…please come and find me. I will answer as much as possible," His mother offered instead of saying anything else. She pressed her lips together and continued to look at the ground.
Evalynn took a deep breath, and lifted her head. Her gaze was filled with sudden resolution as she locked eyes with her youngest child, "If you cannot manage to rescue Danny in the next few months, or give me a valid reason to believe that you can actually save Danny without causing a Hellbound Cataclysm, I will have to take him by force."
"That…sounds fair…Thanks…"
His mother had been given the mission to retrieve Danny' Living Soul to prevent the Hellbound Cataclysm, but she took a step back by giving Michael a chance to rescue his brother. That was more than he could ask for according to her.
The answers he'd received today were not that pleasant, but it could have been much worse. He was hurt, but now that he received some answers to the questions that had tormented his mind for several years, Michael felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off his chest.
His relationship with his mother didn't improve all of a sudden, but he could tell that something had changed. Some of the anger and fury that had been buried deep within his heart had dispersed. It was relieving, if only just a little, however, it was worth a lot.
Michael decided to part ways with his mother. He had a lot to think about, and it was time for him to fill his stomach once again. It had been a few days since he ate something. He was starving to death.
On his way to the cafeteria, Michael met a few unknown Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. They must have entered the spaceship not too long ago. Their journey back to the Saphirelake Military Academy began a week ago, yet it would take a few more weeks before they would arrive. Their detour was longer than expected.
But it was worth it. The presence of some Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs was intense. They were probably stronger than Thaor, Lokai, and the others.
'Why did they not participate in the Flag War? Are they too old, or did they not bother with it?'
Michael reached the cafeteria in no time. He filled two metal trays with a wide variety of dishes and headed to one of the tables. Most tables were empty. Only few Awakened would spend their valuable time in the spaceship if they could spend twice as long in the Origin Expanse ruling over their territory.
Even Michael's subordinates would rarely leave the Origin Expanse. After all, the outside world was not as intriguing as the Origin Expanse.
He began to feast on the delicacies in his trays while his eyes were glued to the tempered glass windows. His attention lingered on the twinkling stars in space and the planets nearby.
"I wonder what Danny will say about all of this once he's back."
His brother would love to travel through space. Michael could imagine his brother spending several years with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Daniel Fang was not the type of person who needed humans. He didn't really care about mankind either. The things he experienced in the past were more than enough to unravel the most disgusting side of mankind.
His mother's return and her honest answers to some of Michael's questions wouldn't improve Daniel's view of humans either. Nonetheless, he was curious what his brother would do. Michael was looking forward to it.
"Michael!"
Michael lowered his fork and looked up upon hearing a familiar voice. Kaleb and Lincoln emerged in front of him with a metal tray in their hands.
"Hey," Michael waved at them with a thin smile.
"How have you been?" Kaleb asked, his ocean-blue eyes glued on his friend.
"I've decided to join a Regional War, a Native Empire is probably about to attack us soon after a red dragon youngling and his rider wreaked havoc in their lands, and stronger monsters are approaching my territory slowly but steadily," Michael shrugged, "Also…I talked to my mother before coming over to eat something. Talking with her was… informative."
Michael forced himself to chuckle lightly, but instead of elaborating further, he continued to eat.
"That sounds rough. Thaor told me a little bit about your Regional War earlier. He returned from the Origin Expanse to rest for a few minutes outside the range of his enemies just to jump back into the Origin Expanse to wreak havoc. He looked like he was having fun," Kaleb responded, clearly recalling the blood and grime covering Thaor when he emerged in the main hallway of the spaceship without warning.
It had been an entertaining sight.
"Zeke is also having problems with his territory. In fact, I heard that many people have issues nowadays. It's probably war season again, especially in the Sacred Desert," Lincoln joined the conversation.
"I heard a lot about the Sacred Desert's Undead issue. Do you think it's going to be solved soon? The Sacred Desert doesn't have many Higher Lifeforms and as far as I know, none of the Higher Lifeforms is a Descendant. They must be struggling against the Undead forces," Michael fell into deep thought.
"I think the higher-ups are considering sending an elite unit to aid the Lords in the Savannah region, but the problem is that no Lord is strong enough to create temporary Links of Loyalty with the Elite Unit's Tier-4 Adventurers. Even the Super Elite Adventurers at the Peak of Tier-3 are too strong for the Tier-4 Lords. The problem is that their Souls haven't been refined…
which would have been the case if they were Descendants."
It was common knowledge that Lords couldn't establish Links of Loyalty with beings at a higher Tier. Usually, it was already quite taxing to establish a Link of Loyalty with someone who was only one sub-rank higher than oneself. That meant most ordinary Lords would be struggling to link a Peak Tier-3 Adventurer while being at the Late rank of the 3rd Tier themselves.
But there were also exceptions. Most Descendants whose souls had been refined over and over again could establish Links of Loyalty with Adventurers one rank higher than them. In fact, Michael was certain that he could do the same easily. He had yet to start refining his Soul with special techniques, but given that his Curse tempered his Body, Mind, and Soul since the day he was born, Michael was confident that he didn't lack in comparison.
"What are they going to do then? Sending a rescue team that's too weak to handle the Undead forces is suicidal," Michael pointed out, but Lincoln was able only shrug.
"If the higher-ups want to save the Sacred Desert, they'll think of something. In the worst case, they will use Obsidian Transportation Tokens or Teleportation Scrolls. That's an expensive ordeal but if it allows mankind to stay in charge of the Sacred Desert it will be worth it."
Obsidian Transportation Tokens and Teleportation Scrolls were expensive items that rarely dropped, however, their use was simple. Teleportation Scrolls teleported an Awakened to the linked location. The Transportation Tokens did the same. The good thing about these items was that one didn't have to be linked to a Lord to teleport to their location.
That meant Lords and Higher Lifeforms was able come to the Sacred Desert's rescue.
"I doubt that they'll use Obsidian Transportation Tokens. If they do, it would be Platinum, at most. And Lesser Teleportation Scrolls. They wouldn't want a single powerhouse to crush the Undead forces because he, or she, can claim the entire Sacred Desert as his/her territory once the Undeads have been taken care of. The higher-ups aren't willing to give their shares of the Sacred Desert to anyone."
"Furthermore, the Sacred Desert is an Inferior Region. It will be harder for Higher Lifeforms to enter the Sacred Desert. The stronger they are, the higher their restrictions. Using Lesser Teleportation Scrolls to allow weaker powerhouses to rescue the Lords in the Sacred Desert is probably the best solution," Kaleb reasoned, attracting Michael and Lincoln's attention.
The two boys stared blankly at their friend.
"W-what?" Kaleb asked in defense, waving his fork at them.
"Nothing. You just seemed way too smart for your own good," Lincoln laughed, "Your sister informed you about this, didn't she?"
Kaleb blushed but he didn't say anything. His focus switched over to the food. Michael smiled at his friends and finished his first round. He got up and went back to the cooks to ask for seconds.
Michael did that three times before he was done eating. His stomach was filled to the brim and he was happier than before. The confrontation with his mother was almost forgotten, leaving him in a much better mood.
Since he felt much better, Michael talked a little bit more with Kaleb and Lincoln. They had a lot to talk about since there had been countless interesting events in the Origin Expanse. Simultaneously, Michael prepared a list of items and materials he required for his territory. He'd forgotten to purchase a few things, and it was better to purchase them now when he was able still remember what he had to buy rather than later when his subjects thrashed him for neglecting them.
As he forwarded the item list to KraftViton, Michael concluded something else as well.
He thought that it was time for Kraft Viton to teach him!
