A few hours later, in an abandoned apartment.
"Due to the sequence of explosions, I lost my Rhino," Sunny said with regret in his voice. "It hurt a little to find traces of it afterward… though maybe they were from yours…"
"Impossible to know." Arthur shrugged. "In fact, I wanted to thank you for saving Sylvie and killing the creature that did that to her."
Sunny's face darkened at the memory of that battle, but he recovered quickly.
"No need… besides, you made sure Professor Obel and Beth got on a ship, so we're even."
Currently, they were in the abandoned apartment that at one time belonged to Professor Obel and Beth. Arthur, thanks to Sylvie, had managed to get them onto the first ship along with the rest of Sunny's cohort.
In just a couple of hours, the number of inhabitants in the city had already dropped considerably.
Sunny brought his hand to the back of his neck and commented on something.
"Well, thanks to Regis not killing the creature, I… I got it as an Echo…"
His eyes widened slightly as he asked, "The Echo of a Corrupted Devil?"
Moments later, the sound of the Spell rang in his mind notifying him that Regis killed a creature.
[You have slain a Fallen Terror…]
Sunny nodded and decided to summon it.
As the storm of silver particles formed, Arthur's excitement grew.
'A Corrupted Devil as an Echo must be very powerful…'
When the particles finished forming, the only thing visible inside the apartment was the figure of a pitiful, tiny gremlin.
Arthur looked at it with expressionless eyes, then looked at Sunny. The latter put an uncomfortable smile on his face, and he looked at the Echo again.
It didn't even reach the height of the table, but its belly was ridiculously inflated.
"Is your Echo obese?" Arthur asked.
Sunny coughed to keep from laughing and responded while looking at the Echo with disdain.
"Yes." He coughed again. "But… I didn't tell you about it just so you'd know. I have something to ask you."
He signaled for him to continue, and Sunny did.
"You see… this bastard has the property of acquiring powers from the creatures it consumes. It already ate a part of me, so it gained powers related to shadows…"
Arthur interrupted him.
"Are you going to ask me to let it eat a part of me so it can get powers over Aether?"
"In fact, it already has an affinity for the element," Sunny commented. "Maybe if it eats something more, it could improve this affinity…"
He stood thinking for a moment about whether there was any reason to reject it, and the truth was there wasn't… But a correction had to be made.
Arthur cleared his throat and agreed.
"That's fine, but the Echo doesn't have to eat a part of me for that. It has to take my blood."
"Your blood?" Sunny asked, and Arthur nodded to explain.
"My primary affinity for the element comes from my blood," he said, as a sword of Aether manifested to slice across his hand.
His affinity for the Aether stems from his descent from the djinn; his body was merely the conduit through which that affinity manifested.
[You have slain a Corrupted Monster…]
The Echo moved immediately under Sunny's orders and placed itself below the hand.
He finally cut it, and a few drops of red blood began to sprout from the wound. Commanding the Aether in his body not to heal the wound, he let it bleed for a few seconds.
The Echo stood below the bloody hand and began drinking all the drops that came from it. Its throat absorbing the substance as if it were dying of hunger—though its belly indicated otherwise.
Finally, Arthur healed his wound, and the process stopped. Sunny handed him a paper to clean himself, and when he did, he threw the paper to the Echo so it could absorb even the last drop.
The Echo let out a burp when it finished, and opening its mouth, it produced a deep sound.
"Tasty."
Sunny grinned.
"See? So you can stop complaining that I don't let you eat tasty things!"
The Echo turned and looked at him with hatred in its eyes. Seconds later, it said another word.
"…Wretch!"
Arthur chuckled while Sunny dismissed it after throwing a couple more curses at it and finally asked.
"Now, what do you want in exchange?"
He responded quickly with a smile.
"Nothing special. I just want you to promise that if anything happens to me, you'll take care of my family."
Sunny frowned. He didn't like that at all.
Not because of the responsibility of caring for them, but because of the possibility of a future in which something bad had happened to his friend and he hadn't been able to prevent it.
Obviously, they weren't going to be together all the time, but even so. It wasn't something he would like to think about.
Still, he decided not to show his displeasure and accept the condition.
"Alright, in that case, I'll take care of them."
"Thank you…" He truly thanked him from the bottom of his heart. "I have another thing to ask you, but this is related to the Winter Beast."
Sunny's expression transformed instantly at that moment. All warmth left his face, and in its place, it hardened.
Arthur didn't wait for him to ask what it was.
"I need you to send Nightmare with Saint and Jet to destroy the foundations of the volcanoes in this area." He manifested a map with the ambient Aether and pointed out the zones. "Have Saint take care of breaking them. Jet has another task."
Sunny blinked.
"You've already developed a plan?"
"I'm working on it."
Sunny leaned slightly forward in his chair. His smile transformed into a completely malignant one.
Arthur returned the same smile…
[You have slain a Corrupted Beast…]
---
At the same time.
The weather in Ravenheart was unlike usual. Rain fell from the sky, drenching the city beneath a cold, relentless curtain.
The raindrops tried to force their way through the hollow windows of the throne room. But a simple barrier of Will made it impossible.
Seated on her throne, Ki Song looked at one of her daughters with affection in her eyes.
"Tell me, Sylvie, what brings you here this time?"
Sylvie, standing with her hands behind her back, responded calmly.
"Your Highness, I came at Arthur's request to ask you a favor."
The Queen's lips curved into a slight smile.
"Oh? And what favor would that be?"
Sylvie hesitated for a bit but responded.
"He says he needs a Memory that has the best cold resistance enchantment possible. It can be an Awakened or Transcendent Memory—he's only interested in the power of the enchantment."
Ki Song nodded and noticed there was something more, so she remained silent, waiting.
Sylvie continued with what Arthur had asked her.
"Besides that, he would also like to ask for a Supreme Shard, or multiple Transcendent ones."
The Queen maintained her smile and asked in a sweet tone.
"I can understand the first request, but would you explain the reasons for the second?"
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I don't know," Sylvie responded honestly.
Arthur hadn't told her what he needed the Shards for. In fact, if it weren't for the request being a Supreme Shard, he could have asked her to kill a couple of Corrupted Creatures and get them. Creatures of that rank weren't exactly scarce at this stage.
Ki Song remained silent for a few seconds, eventually saying,
"I will accept the first request, but not the second. There aren't many Supreme Shards available, and if he needs Transcendent ones, he can get them on his own."
"I understand, Your Highness," Sylvie said while performing a slight bow.
The throne room doors opened slowly, and she took it as the signal to withdraw to her room.
Sylvie turned around and began walking toward the exit, but before completely leaving, she heard the Queen's soft voice again.
"It's no surprise that I'm against you staying to fight that abomination, but if you're going to do it… it's best you know well what you're facing."
She made a small pause, and Sylvie turned to look at her.
"The blizzard that the Winter Beast generates around itself functions as a type of Domain. Obviously, a weak one compared to a Supreme, but a very strong one compared to Saints—let alone Ascended…"
"Within that Domain, the Titan will be impossible to defeat," Ki Song continued. "That power to freeze everything around it to death—corporeal or incorporeal, weak or strong, pure or corrupted. It will also affect time within it."
Sylvie was already beginning to understand what the Queen wanted to convey, but even so, she let her keep speaking.
"If you want to have a chance of reaching the center of the blizzard and attacking the creature, you'll have to weaken its Domain slightly. This could be achieved with the volcanoes surrounding the area."
She leaned back in her seat and placed her elbow on the armrest to support her face with her hand.
"That wouldn't be all, either. Even weakened, the deeper you go into the Domain, the slower your thoughts will become, making it difficult to fight with the necessary clarity."
Ki Song smiled with affection.
"I hope that helps you better understand what you're facing… Take care."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Sylvie bowed. "It's very important information."
Sylvie left the throne room, understanding that Ki Song hadn't told her this so they would devise the plan with what she said in mind, but rather so they would abandon the idea of wanting to face it and return to Ravenheart, abandoning all the people of Falcon Scott.
Walking through the hallways, she went to retrieve the Memories with cold resistance…
---
In a monotonous room in the government buildings.
Jet couldn't help but let out a sigh at what was in front of her…
'How am I supposed to learn this in one day?!'
The worst part was that Arthur was sitting in his wheelchair beside her with a stupid smile on his face.
The smile was so perfect that she was starting to doubt if he wasn't doing it on purpose.
'Is this his revenge for me laughing at him and Seishan over the last few months?'
She glanced at him with suspicion in her eyes and at that moment, he returned her gaze.
"If you spent that energy studying instead of judging me, you'd already be closer to understanding the runes…" he said without changing his expression.
At that moment, Jet became more paranoid.
"You're doing it on purpose!"
Arthur feigned ignorance.
"Doing what?"
"That!" She pointed at the stupid smile on his face. "Don't play smart with me! I know you're laughing at my suffering!"
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"I'm not doing anything, Jet. You're just paranoid…" He coughed slightly and focused on the runes again. "This rune here means space, but not space like beyond the sky—rather, it's the composition of space that circulates something."
Jet narrowed her eyes and decided to let it go, paying attention to the new runes.
"This rune is used in an odd combination to achieve its best effect, which means the number of times you have to draw the rune in the array will necessarily be five or more."
"But why wouldn't three be enough?" Jet interrupted upon finding something that didn't make sense.
If it has to be used in odd numbers, then why couldn't you draw it three times instead of five? Three is also odd…
Arthur looked up from the notebook and began explaining using different elements from the desk to create the scene.
"Imagine your target is in the center." He placed a stone in the center. "If you draw this rune once, it won't do anything because it needs to be in a chain to function."
He drew a point to the north of the stone, then another at the same distance but to the east.
"With two, it's not enough either, because while the rune would light up, you're not circulating anything." He drew a third point to the south. "If you put a third one in the South, then you're leaving half the stone outside the selected area."
He cleared his throat.
"Before you say it, you can draw three if you place them correctly, but the success rate of such a chain is much lower. Think about it—the more connections the chain has, the more chances the target is inside the perimeter."
Jet nodded.
"Ah, I see. So if I then do another one in the West, the problem is that it's not an odd number, which is why I absolutely have to do at least five."
Arthur smiled stupidly at her again.
"See? It wasn't hard…"
She shot him a murderous look at that moment.
"If you had explained it this way earlier, I would have understood more easily."
"Where's the fun in that?" He shot back.
The atmosphere became slightly colder, but not because of the future arrival of the Winter Beast…
"You insolent little brat!"
Arthur couldn't hold it in and started laughing at that moment. His laughter creating a slight echo in the room.
Jet let out a small laugh at the situation and her overreaction. But at the same moment, her icy blue eyes centered on Arthur's wheelchair, and a feeling of helplessness entered her being, making her laugh seem more forced.
The image of Arthur's body being consumed by those purple flames returned to her mind like a flash.
How his arms were already completely consumed. How he began hitting his head against the ground that was breaking to rid himself of the flames' control over his being.
And mainly the image of him falling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Without realizing it, her legs began moving rapidly from side to side, and her hands clenched.
Jet couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety that completely consumed her body.
Standing there, unable to do anything while the young man who was like a nephew to her was being consumed by his own abilities…
The contact of his powerless body once she reached him and held him to take him away from the battlefield…
Those were moments she never wanted to live again.
And the worst part was that in less than two days, that situation might repeat itself.
Jet knew Arthur would try everything in his power to kill that creature… but what if the situation didn't go as they wanted?
The creature was much stronger, and its abilities more bizarre…
'Could those purple flames really consume the Winter Beast?'
She didn't know, and honestly, selfishly, she wished she would never have to find out.
To a certain extent, she had questioned herself about kidnapping Arthur and Reynolds to get them on a ship and take them as far from danger as possible.
Jet knew they would never forgive her if she did that, but to forgive something, one first has to survive—and the situation approaching them didn't look good.
Still, she had limited herself to trusting the plan he was forming. But in her entire being, there wasn't a drop of doubt that if at any moment the plan started to fail…
Jet would go into the storm if necessary to get them out of it.
It was a strange feeling for someone who grew up in the Outskirts… though that wasn't entirely true at this point in her life.
She had lived a large part of her life in the Outskirts, but she had also felt the affection a family can give someone…
The Leywins had been there to help her since she became a simple Sleeper. She owed them a lot.
A large part of her life had their presence at her side like an anchor. Keeping her firm in reality, not letting her get lost in the massacre her Aspect constantly forced her to perform.
Maybe without them, her life would have been better in other aspects. Still, Jet doubted it…
Looking at Arthur in such a state only brought her more desire to protect him and ensure the plan succeeds.
Jet wouldn't know how she could forgive herself if something went wrong…
---
A few hours later.
Arthur sat on the cold rocky floor and began stretching slightly, testing the condition of his muscles.
They had stopped hurting, but they weren't in their best condition.
Definitely, the fact that his channels had widened helped greatly in his recovery…
[You have slain a Fallen Terror…]
Still, it wasn't ideal to force them, and he decided to sit back on his bed while his runes opened before him.
Arthur went directly to the Memory that was going to help him greatly in the future confrontation against the Winter Beast.
Memory Name: [Cloak of Absence]
Memory Rank: Transcendent.
Memory Tier: VII.
Memory Description: [Once, there was a citizen who, no matter how hard he tried, could never make his existence matter.
He tried a million different ways to earn his king's attention. He fought a thousand battles, presented hundreds of gifts, and accomplished countless deeds in his name. Yet, in the eyes of his king, he remained nothing more than a pawn.
Born a commoner, yet raised to become a prince, the man eventually came to a bitter realization. If no one was willing to acknowledge his existence, then no one deserved to see him, either.
Thus, he created a cloak that granted him precisely what he desired. However, his obsession drove him beyond the boundaries of his original intent. Rather than becoming invisible to the people around him, he became invisible to the world itself.
Soon, the man realized that unless he began to leave his mark upon reality, his very existence would gradually be erased from it. Yet, his cloak, sharing the same obsession as its creator, led him down a different path.
From that moment onward, the king's neglect of his subjects became impossible to ignore. The people finally saw their ruler for what he truly was: a man who pursued nothing but wealth and power, caring little for those who lived beneath his crown.
What the king never expected was that the very citizen he had deemed unworthy of his attention would become the cause of his downfall.
The man fought one final battle, teetering on the edge of nonexistence as he struggled against his own mind. But he was never stronger than his obsession.
In the end, it consumed him.
The king was slain, the city burned, and the man vanished from reality.
Only to reappear in a frozen continent, where another king awaited him, destined to meet his end at the hands of a different ruler.]
Memory Enchantment: [Separation]
[The cloak separates its wearer from reality, rendering them imperceptible to all senses. Sight, sound, smell, and supernatural means of perception cannot detect the wearer while the enchantment remains active.]
The Memory was going to help him cross the blizzard generated by the Winter Beast, but even so, not everything was going to be simple.
Mainly because he obtained the Memory after killing the Corrupted Terror that murdered thousands of civilians during the evacuation process from Aurora Vale to Erebus Field.
This means the Memory is one tier lower than the Winter Beast…
There wasn't a great difference, anyway, but the Blizzard the Titan generated was a type of Domain of a certain kind, making Arthur's doubts about the Memory's effectiveness increase.
[You have slain a Corrupted Demon…]
Still, it only had one enchantment, making it extremely powerful… which equates to its essence cost to maintain being equally large.
Arthur knows that affecting reality isn't something very cheap, so it doesn't surprise him that the Memory was going to consume a lot of essence.
At the end of the day, he is currently a Titan—and as if that weren't enough, he is sure that somehow he is close to becoming a Saint too.
Sylvie hadn't managed to learn the method to achieve Transcendence naturally, or they would have tried it before.
There was only one thing Arthur could confirm, and it was that his connection with his element was stronger than before. Maybe that could be related… still, it wasn't the moment to ask himself those kinds of questions.
It was literally impossible to ascend to Saint in a day. Even using Former King, which was the trigger for everything.
The biggest problem with that plan is that he has no control over what to do with the extra layers created in his mind when using the Attribute… maybe some do help him transcend, but others don't.
Besides, he was going to have to use the Attribute once he was inside the blizzard generated by the Winter Beast…
[You have slain a Fallen Beast…]
Returning to his senses thanks to the sound of the Spell, Arthur shifted his gaze to other Memories in his arsenal.
Memories: [Infinite Lash], [Dawn's Ballad], [Umbral Husk], [-], [-], [-], [Ironclad Aegis], [Warden of the Fallen], [Obsidian Bulwark]
The last three were armor-type Memories of Transcendent rank, but none had high cold resistance.
For that reason, he asked Sylvie to go to Ravenheart to request a Memory with the highest possible cold resistance.
Memory Name: [Celestial Bastion]
Which ended up being a simple Awakened-rank Memory, but it had belonged to a Titan, and the armor had only one enchantment.
Enchantment Name: [Embrace of the Eternal Hearth]
Enchantment Description: [The warmth of an eternal flame resides within this armor, protecting its wearer from the harshest cold and resisting the effects of even the most unnatural frost.]
With that ready, Arthur focused on the branch of his Aspect Legacy: Legacy of Life.
Craft and Technology: You can perceive and transfer enchantments or improve Memories.
Enchantments obtained: [Protection], [Sharpness], [Adaptive], [Growth], [Living Ballad], [Infinite Reach], [-], [-], [-], [Embrace of the Eternal Hearth]
Focusing on the last one, a message appeared.
Enchantment: [Embrace of the Eternal Hearth]
[To which memory do you wish to apply it?]
[Infinite Lash], [Dawn's Ballad], [Umbral Husk], [-], [-], [-], [Ironclad Aegis], [Warden of the Fallen], [Obsidian Bulwark]
Selecting [Warden of the Fallen], below it appeared:
[Do you wish to apply the enchantment to this Memory?]
"Yes."
[As you wish.]
Arthur didn't enter his Soul Sea to see the scene unfold. He already knew the armor was going to fill with silver sparks around it, and his essence reserves were going to take a sudden drop.
A couple of seconds later, he felt more than a quarter of one of his cores empty instantly.
[The enchantment was successfully applied to the Memory.]
Arthur smiled and began repeating the process with the other Memories—these were Sylvie's, Jet's, and his father's, in order.
---
A couple of hours later.
Sunny stood in front of the completely destroyed section of the wall.
Smoke of all colors rose over the enormous pit caused by the explosion. Down there, multiple Nightmare Creature corpses were being burned by the few living soldiers remaining in the Siege Capital.
He couldn't help but feel his mood turn grim at the thought of all the fallen and the potential for many more to join them in less than two days.
The Winter Beast was already on its way to Falcon Scott…
Which marked the time limit for many things—but mainly for the evacuation of civilians and the plan they had been developing for the past day.
Everyone had been working hard to achieve it… Reynolds had taken care of ensuring the evacuation process didn't fill with panic and that they managed to evacuate the majority.
Sylvie had been helping with the same, using her image as a princess of a Legacy Clan and at the same time using her resources to strengthen as many Awakened as possible.
Arthur had taken care of strengthening them, modifying multiple Memories with cold resistance for the future fight. Sunny, in fact, had helped him with the same.
Jet, for her part, had to adopt a different role… She had been studying to fulfill one of the main and most important parts of the plan.
One could say that a large part of the future success of this would be thanks to her.
Still, the woman didn't seem very happy about what she had to do next…
A moment later, a stygian black steed rose from the shadows. Nightmare snorted, ominous red flames burning in his eyes. The stallion's adamantine horns glinted dully in the bleak twilight of the early dawn.
Sunny summoned the Overpriced Saddle and went about strapping it on the black courser. As he did, Jet looked at him with dead eyes.
After a while, she suddenly said:
"By the way. I never asked… but how the hell did you end up being Mongrel? That doesn't make any sense!"
The secret had already been discovered among them, so there was no point in denying it. Though he couldn't have anyway.
Sunny coughed.
"I just wanted to train peacefully in the Dreamscape. Who knew people would make such a ruckus about me learning a few battle styles more? This whole thing went out of control really fast. Ugh… believe it or not, I actually wanted to use the Mongrel persona to stay under the radar. That plan… yeah..."
Soul Reaper laughed, her voice sounding a bit hoarse.
"Stay under the radar? I can say you failed spectacularly at that…"
He grimaced but quickly retorted.
"I can accept that—just as you have to accept that you're asking me questions because you're afraid to get on Nightmare."
Jet cleared her throat.
"Afraid? Nah… I don't know what you're talking about."
Sunny grinned and summoned Saint next. There was no one near them at that hour, so it didn't matter if he did it at that moment.
Soon, the figure of the taciturn Shadow appeared next to Nightmare. Her onyx body radiating a sense of vast, dreadful power, and the menacing crimson flames dancing in her ruby eyes looked at the two of them stoically.
Saint the next moment used her trait to become as light as possible and climbed onto the black steed, while extending a hand in Jet's direction.
"Come on. Climb up," he said.
She hesitated, prompting Sunny to raise an eyebrow.
"Huh? Didn't you say you weren't afraid?"
Jet shook her head.
"I'm not afraid… I just don't know how to ride a horse. Why would I know how to ride a horse? I've never ridden one! I've never even seen one before your Echo."
Sunny blinked a couple of times, then suddenly laughed.
"Gods… you don't need to ride anything. Saint will control the horse—you just sit in front of her and don't fall off. I'm sure you can handle that much, at least."
Jet sighed, then grabbed the Shadow's hand and jumped up. Nightmare exhaled loudly through his nostrils, confused as to why a corpse was sitting on top of him. Shadow God was also the God of Death, though, so the shadow steed must have been accustomed to such things happening… Or not. In any case, he would have to deal with it.
Jet looked down nervously.
"Sunny… how fast is your horse, exactly?"
He smirked.
"Pretty fast."
With that, Saint sent Nightmare forward. Soul Reaper yelped due to the speed and held tighter to the nightmarish steed's fur that carried a dead woman and a stone saint across the esplanade and, in the future, to the snowy mountains of the doomed continent.
---
Cassie opened her eyes in the darkness.
For a few moments, she was disoriented by the onslaught of colors and sensations.
She was looking at the bright blue sky and the sea of white clouds rolling beneath the Ivory Tower. Sunlight was caressing her skin, and gentle winds were singing into her ears.
She was enveloped in heat, red sparks flying from a crucible where molten steel was shining with an incandescent glow.
She was locked in a small office, reading a document. The paper was cold to the touch and smelled of fresh ink. Her vision was blurry from the lack of sleep, and her heart was heavy. The contents of the document were grave…
There were other places, other people. It took her some time to find herself among the strangers.
She could feel the soft fabric of her pajamas touching her skin and the warmth of her bed. The smell was all wrong, though. Wrong, but nice and familiar.
'…Where am I?'
She frowned, and then remembered. She was home…
Cassie allowed the perspectives of various people marked by her Ability to fade into the background and concentrated on her own.
She rose from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. After a short but pleasant shower—way better than anything they had been able to arrange in the Ivory Tower—she walked over to her wardrobe and got dressed.
Finally ready, she left her room and headed downstairs. Outside of her own space, she felt less confident. In a way, Cassie felt… felt like a stranger in her own home.
But there was nothing to be done about it. Her parents tried to be mindful of her Flaw, but it was still something unfamiliar to them. In the years after becoming blind, Cassie spent most of her time someplace else, after all. How could they have grown accustomed to it?
She was almost sure that there would not be a piece of furniture moved or a random item left carelessly in the way. But the mere possibility of stumbling into something or falling down made her feel tense.
She hated that feeling.
After hesitating for a moment, she activated her Awakening Ability.
Immediately, the world changed.
Cassie was standing near the stairs, but she was also cautiously descending them. One step, two steps, three steps…
Cassie lowered her foot to the first step, but she was also on the fourth step.
Cassie reached the fourth step, but she was also on the landing.
Her hand was sliding along the banister, but it was also hanging by her side. She did not smell anything in particular, but she could also feel the scent of her mom's shampoo and… flowers?
Cassie was still on the stairs, but she also felt a pang of pain as her shin slammed into something hard, followed by the sound of a glass vase shattering as it hit the floor.
'There was nothing there before…'
Cassie moved to the side, avoiding the unfamiliar stand, and leaned forward a little to smell the flowers. The vase was standing still and perfectly whole.
At the same time, there was the sound of an opening door, and her mother's scent became stronger. Cassie turned to the closed door.
The door opened, and her mother walked inside from the street.
"Ah! My baby is awake!"
Cassie smiled and released her Awakened Ability. Instead, she sent her essence forward and substituted her sight with her mom's. Immediately, the full room came into view, including an unfamiliar wooden stand with a beautiful vase of natural flowers on top of it.
…She saw herself, too.
Cassie could see her own face, but not that of her mother.
She frowned a little.
'My skirt is wrinkled…'
Before she could say anything, her mom enveloped her in a hug.
"I am so glad that you managed to come! Work is work, but a young lady like you should not forget about her poor, old parents. Would it kill you to visit more often? Ah, what am I saying? Visit, what visit? This is still your home, you know! You live here!"
Cassie's smile widened.
"I know."
Cassie just hugged her mom tighter. She couldn't help but cling to her a little longer than she should have.
"Alright, baby, let me go so that I can cook you something very special to celebrate that you came."
She reluctantly ended the hug and sighed.
"I am not a baby, you know. I am an Ascended."
Her mom laughed.
"Who says that an Ascended can't be a little baby? Now tell me what you want for breakfast!"
Cassie masterfully hid her sorrow and put a big, bright smile on her face.
"How about eggs? With bacon?"
Her mother was already walking to the kitchen.
"No problem! We only have synthetic bacon, though. Will that be alright, Miss Ascended?"
Cassie followed, careful not to smash into anything else.
"That's the best kind!"
There was a digital clock in the kitchen, and when her mother glanced at it in passing, the time was ten in the morning.
Cassie quietly sat down and turned to the clock, even though she could not see it.
A few minutes later, when a delicious smell filled the kitchen, she sighed and stared into the distance, as if able to see something far, far away.
Her smile faltered a little.
'I'm sorry, Sunny. I'm sorry, Arthur… I'll make it up to you in the future…'