Chapter 111: Mother and Son I

The door to Cassian’s bedroom finally clicked open.

​Cassian stepped out into the hallway, followed closely by Nyxara. The shadow elf had managed to regain most of her usual stoic composure, though a faint, telltale flush still lingered on her pale cheeks.

​Unfortunately, the moment Cassian raised his head, he found himself staring directly into his mother’s clear blue eyes.

​He froze.

​Seraphina sat quietly in the sitting room, watching him with an expression he couldn’t quite decipher.

There was no anger in her eyes, nor was there any obvious sign of disappointment, yet somehow, that calm stillness made the situation even more uncomfortable.

​Cassian sighed inwardly.

​He had barely recovered from the emotional turmoil of their earlier confrontation, and now he had to face her again. Still, avoiding the matter wouldn’t accomplish anything.

​He walked toward her, Nyxara following a few steps behind like a silent shadow.

​Seraphina’s gaze shifted smoothly to the elf. She examined Nyxara for a moment, taking in her pale skin, long ears, and light-purple hair. Then, she turned her attention back to her son.

​"And who is this?"

​"She’s my Champion."

​Seraphina’s eyebrows rose slightly. A knowing look flashed in her eyes as she glanced between the two of them. "So... you awakened an elven troop?"

​Cassian shook his head. "No. I awakened an undead troop."

​Genuine confusion appeared on Seraphina’s face. "An undead troop?"

​"Yes. As far as I know, it’s a troop type that has never appeared in the Lord’s Domain before," Cassian explained, his voice even. "It isn’t restricted to a single category of summon, either. It essentially encompasses all the troop types within the Lord’s Domain."

​Seraphina stared at him for a long beat. "Oh."

​That was all she said.

​Cassian couldn’t tell whether she was impressed or simply needed more time to process the information.

Considering everything they had discussed earlier, he supposed an unusual troop type was hardly the most shocking revelation she could receive today.

​After a moment, she tilted her head curiously. "Is this also a favor from the Lord’s Domain?"

​Cassian shook his head again. "Honestly, I don’t know. But I suspect it’s less likely to be a direct result of the domain’s intervention."

​He paused, organizing his thoughts.

​The Lord’s Domain had granted him three Divine Blessings: Infinite Mana, Fusion, and Regression.

Those alone were extraordinary enough to defy everything he understood about the cosmos. He had no reason to assume that every single anomaly in his current existence was another gift from the same source.

​His troop type, in particular, seemed to have a far more straightforward explanation.

​It aligned directly with his current mana affinity.

​Death.

​In his previous life, his affinity had been Life, and his troop type had reflected that alignment.

This time, however, he had died before regressing. His very existence had been fundamentally altered in the process, and his new affinity was a permanent reflection of that change.

​Perhaps that exact spiritual transformation had influenced the nature of the troops he could summon.

​It was only a hypothesis, but it was far more logical than blindly attributing everything to the Lord’s Domain.

​Seraphina nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with his logic.

​Meanwhile, Nyxara stood quietly behind Cassian, observing the exchange.

​She had initially been too embarrassed by what had transpired in the bedroom to pay attention to her surroundings. Now that her thoughts had settled, however, she couldn’t help noticing something unusual.

​The conversation between Cassian and his mother felt strangely cold.

​They were speaking calmly, and neither appeared hostile toward the other, yet there was a tangible distance between them that shouldn’t be there.

​Nyxara remembered the look of pure exhaustion on Cassian’s face when she had first arrived. Whatever had happened before her arrival had affected him far more deeply than he was letting on.

​’Did something happen between them?’

​Her gaze shifted to Seraphina.

​The woman appeared completely composed, but Nyxara’s sharp instincts picked up on a subtle tension beneath that calm exterior.

It was difficult to describe, yet the feeling reminded her of a soldier standing on the precipice of a cliff, terrified to take another step.

​’I wonder...’

​Nyxara lowered her eyes.

​It wasn’t her place to interfere in a family matter. Whatever lay between them, she trusted Cassian to handle it in his own way.

​Still, she hoped they could resolve it.

​After all, she knew better than most how precious the bond between a Lord and those he cared about truly was.

​A brief, heavy silence settled over the sitting room.

​Then, both Cassian and Seraphina spoke at the exact same time.

​"Mother, I wanted to—"

​"I wanted to—"

​Both of them stopped. They glanced at each other, momentarily surprised by the simultaneous interruption.

​Seraphina’s lips parted, but she closed them again, appearing uncertain how to proceed.

​"Speak first," Seraphina finally requested, her blue eyes searching his face for something she desperately wanted to find.

​Cassian didn’t speak immediately. He simply waited, gathering his resolve.

​After a brief hesitation, he drew a deep breath. "Mother, I’m sorry."

​Seraphina went completely still.

​Cassian lowered his gaze momentarily before looking back up into her eyes. "I’m sorry for how I acted earlier. I was afraid of you, and I let that instinctual fear dictate how I treated you. You didn’t deserve that."

​His voice was calm, but the words came slowly, as though he had carefully weighed each one before speaking.

​"You’re my mother. You’ve always been my mother, and you deserved better than to have your own son look at you as though you were a threat to be feared."

​Seraphina’s fingers tightened in her lap, her knuckles turning pale.

​She had imagined a hundred terrifying outcomes since his retreat into his bedroom, anger, total rejection, or a cold refusal to ever speak to her again.

​She had certainly not expected an apology.

​But Cassian wasn’t finished.

​"Your past doesn’t change who you are now," he continued softly. "Whatever you were before, whatever happened to you, and whatever secrets you still carry... none of that erases the life you’ve lived since."

​"You’re still the woman who raised me. You’re still the mother who worried about me, looked after me, and gave me a home. And I’m still your son."

​....

Author’s Note: I realized this arc was pacing a bit slowly, so I decided to release the draft Chapters early for everyone who wanted to get through it faster! Since they were released ahead of schedule, they aren’t fully edited yet, please bear with me as I polish them over the coming days. Thank you so much for reading!