Chapter 105: Family Matters

Cassian finally managed to calm himself down.

​It took several minutes of sitting against the cold bedroom door and staring blankly at the ceiling before his scattered thoughts became coherent enough to process.

​His mother had ties to the Endless Blackness, the very primordial entity that the Eternal Will and the twelve Cosmic Pillars were actively fighting against, a cosmic darkness that had existed long before creation itself.

​Just thinking about it made a dull ache throb behind his temples.

​Wait.

​Cassian suddenly frowned, his gaze sharpening.

​The Eternal Serpent hadn’t mentioned a single word about his mother. Despite possessing vast knowledge of everything within the Lord’s Domain, that fragment of the Eternal Will had never once indicated that such an existence was connected to the Endless Blackness.

​Why?

​Cassian’s thoughts slowed as he recalled something the serpent had explicitly told him: Anything within the Endless Blackness is beyond my knowledge.

​His eyes widened slightly.

​That was it. The Eternal Serpent’s omniscience had an absolute boundary, and that boundary was precisely the primordial entity his mother seemed to be connected to.

​The realization brought him a small, fragile measure of relief. At least the serpent hadn’t necessarily been lying or hiding it from him, it simply didn’t know.

​And if a fragment of the Eternal Will didn’t know either, then perhaps his mother’s true nature remained completely undetected.

​Hopefully.

​Cassian rubbed his forehead, exhaling heavily. The mere possibility of the Eternal Will discovering his mother’s connection to the Endless Blackness was something he didn’t even want to contemplate.

​What would happen if the cosmic entity responsible for the Lord’s System discovered that the mother of one of its Blessed Lords was linked to the very darkness it fought to eradicate?

​Would it investigate her? Would it immediately deem her an existential threat? Would it attempt to purge her from reality before she could compromise creation?

​Cassian didn’t know, and that ignorance terrified him.

​However, a pragmatic counter-thought soon followed: Does it even matter whether the Eternal Will knows right now?

​Cassian lowered his hand, his eyes narrowing slightly.

​His mother might be connected to the Endless Blackness, but what did that actually mean in practice? Was she an unwitting sleeper agent? Had she been planted on Earth to infiltrate creation, quietly gathering intelligence before tearing reality apart from within?

​Or had something else entirely occurred?

​She had claimed that the voices simply stopped one day and that she woke up on this planet with her own distinct identity.

Perhaps she had escaped that hive mind; perhaps she had been discarded, or perhaps her current human life had nothing to do with whatever she had been before.

​Or perhaps it was all an elaborate ploy engineered by the Endless Blackness.

​There were far too many variables, and not a single one could be verified with his current level of information.

​Cassian closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath. Then, a sudden, chilling realization struck him like a physical blow.

​’Wait... what about Ruby?’

​They shared the exact same bloodline. If his mother’s true origin stemmed from the Endless Blackness, could Ruby have inherited a dormant trace of that dark existence?

​What about his father? What about the entire Voss family bloodline? Could they all be intertwined with this anomaly somehow?

​His headache intensified. The more he analyzed the situation, the more horrific possibilities multiplied in his mind, and every single thread seemed to lead toward the exact same outcome.

​Eradication.

​Not because his family was guilty of treason, but because if the wrong cosmic entities discovered their connection to the Endless Blackness, no one would bother investigating whether they were innocent. They would simply be purged as a safety precaution.

​Cassian’s fingers tightened against his knees until his knuckles turned white.

​Damn it.

​He had strived to become stronger so he could protect his family, only to discover that his family might be tied to something that even the Eternal Will couldn’t fully comprehend.

​How was he supposed to navigate this? He couldn’t even determine whether his mother was an impending threat or someone who desperately needed his protection.

For all he knew, she was merely a victim of circumstances beyond her control, yet he couldn’t afford to naively dismiss the possibility that she might become dangerous.

​Think.

​He forced himself to take a deep, measured breath. Panic wouldn’t solve anything, blind speculation wouldn’t help, and making rash decisions on incomplete information would only guarantee disaster.

​Unfortunately, his mind refused to settle easily, the worst-case scenarios continuing to spiral out of control.

​Then, just as Cassian felt himself sliding deeper into the mental abyss, he sensed a faint, rhythmic pulse within his [Lord Seed].

​His eyes snapped open.

​The familiar, warm resonance brought an unexpected wave of mental clarity.

​Nyxara.

​He had completely forgotten about her. Before returning to the Astral Dominion, he had promised to summon his champion to his side shortly after.

​Cassian stared blankly at the far wall.

​"...Right."

​Rising slowly to his feet, he brushed the dust off his trousers, focused his mind on his [Lord Seed], and initiated the summoning sequence.

....

A few minutes earlier, Nyxara sat alone in her Lord’s bedroom within the territory, waiting patiently for Cassian to summon her.

​Two hours had already passed since he had promised to call for her. Now, nearly three hours had gone by, yet there was still no sign of his summons reaching her connection.

​Seated on the edge of the bed, the undead elf glanced toward the closed door, her violet eyes narrowing slightly in contemplation.

​’Did something happen to my Lord?’

​The thought surfaced before she could stop it, but she quickly dismissed it. Cassian was powerful, far more powerful than most beings she had ever encountered, and his strength had grown at an absurd, almost unnatural rate since she had first bound her loyalty to him.

​Even if he encountered an opponent he couldn’t outright defeat, escaping should be well within his capabilities.

​Besides, her Lord possessed several terrifying trump cards. She didn’t know the exact nature of all of them, but considering the few he had already casually revealed, she had little doubt they were more than capable of keeping him alive when a situation became dire.

​’Still, three hours is rather long...’

​Nyxara rested her chin against her palm, her gaze remaining fixed on the heavy wooden door.

​She wasn’t particularly worried about being left alone. The chamber was comfortable enough, and she had no shortage of strategic matters to ponder.

Nevertheless, waiting in absolute isolation without knowing what was happening beyond this realm was beginning to test her lingering patience.

​’Perhaps something unexpected came up on the other side.’

​That was the most reasonable explanation. Her Lord had always been unpredictable, and she had long since learned not to overthink every strange decision he made.

​Just as Nyxara settled on that conclusion, her ears twitched slightly, followed by the sound of the door handle turning.

​Click.

​Her eyes immediately shifted toward the entrance.

​The bedroom door swung open.

....

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