Chapter 360: Mommy’s Girl!
“Mommy?” a small, golden-haired girl dressed in ragged clothes called out, her wide eyes full of innocence and concern. She looked up at another woman with the same golden hair, though the woman’s body appeared frail and thin as if she hadn’t eaten properly in days.
“Yes, Heli?” The woman’s voice was warm and loving, her smile gentle, though the little girl couldn’t quite see her mother’s face clearly… it was blurred as if hidden behind a veil.
The little girl hesitated, then tore the small piece of bread in her hand in half, offering it to her mother with a hopeful expression. “Here, Mommy.”
The woman’s smile softened further as she shook her head. “I don’t need it, dear. I already ate,” she lied, rubbing her abdomen as if to emphasize her words.
The girl frowned, confusion knitting her brow, “Is that so?” She began to eat her half of the bread, her eyes still watching her mother with innocent curiosity, “But… I never see you eating.”
A soft giggle escaped the woman’s lips as she reached out to pinch her daughter’s cheek. “Hahaha… seeing my little Heli eat fills my stomach, dear. That’s all I need.”
The little girl tilted her head, not quite understanding but comforted by her mother’s words. She nodded with a small smile, her worries easing.
“Okay, dear. I’ll be leaving for work now,” the woman said, her voice growing quieter as she turned to leave, her steps slow and heavy with exhaustion.
The little girl waved her tiny hand as her mother walked out of their small, broken home, her eyes filled with love and a hint of worry.
As soon as her mother was out of sight, the little girl quickly gathered the remaining crumbs from the bread she had hidden over the past few days. She stepped outside, surveying the surroundings… every house was as broken and worn as theirs, the entire area resembling a slum.
She hurried towards a small, shabby shop nearby and placed the bread crumbs on the counter. The shop owner, familiar with the routine, didn’t even wait for her to ask. He took the crumbs and handed her a (1ˀ) single Zenith coin in exchange.
The girl’s face lit up with a smile as she accepted the coin, offering a shy grin to the shop owner before dashing back to her house.
The shop owner watched her go.
Once home, the girl carefully placed the coin in her mother’s secret hiding spot, a tiny, worn-out box tucked away in a corner. She then spent the rest of the day inside, waiting for her mother to return, just as she did every day. And when her mother finally came back, they lay down together, huddled close for warmth and comfort.
Life continued in this quiet, repetitive cycle…. until one fateful day.
“I’m sorry, little girl, but these bread crumbs aren’t enough anymore. Their value has gone up,” the shop owner said, his voice tinged with regret.
The girl didn’t say anything, just nodded with a heavy heart and left the shop, her small shoulders slumped with disappointment. As she approached her house, she noticed something strange… someone was inside.
“M-Mommy?” she called out, her voice trembling.
“Helena! Where have you been?” her mother’s voice was sharp with anger, her eyes wide with worry. She couldn’t believe her daughter wasn’t home when she arrived.
“I-I was… playing with the others,” the girl stammered, hiding the bread crumbs behind her back. Her eyes then shifted to the other person in the room.
Her mother sighed deeply, her gaze flickering to a white-haired man standing in the corner. He was dressed in fine clothes, his appearance far too clean and elegant for their humble home. He had a handsome face, but there was something cold and unsettling about him, something that made the little girl’s heart race with fear.
“This is my only daughter,” the woman said, bowing her head slightly, her voice filled with pride. “She’s a very good child.”
The man’s eyes bore into the girl, making her feel small and frightened. “What’s your name?” he asked, his voice flat and emotionless.
The girl flinched, bowing her head as her mother had done, “H-Helena… Sir,” she whispered.
The man continued to stare at her for a long moment before nodding. “Good,” he said, his voice carrying an ominous finality. He glanced at the woman, who was smiling nervously, then turned and left the house without another word.
“Who is he, Mommy?” Helena asked, her voice tinged with curiosity and fear. But her mother didn’t answer. She simply patted Helena’s head and said, “Heli, why don’t we go eat something delicious?”
“Hmm?”
The woman smiled gently, her eyes softening as she reached into her secret stash and pulled out the coins. “Look… we can treat ourselves today.”
Clang, Clang
The coins jingled in the bag, a sound that filled Helena with both hope and unease.
“Put on something nice,” her mother instructed, dressing Helena in her best clothes before taking her to a small restaurant.
“Delicious, Mommy!” Helena exclaimed, her eyes wide with delight as she tasted the meat—rich, tender, and unlike anything, she had ever eaten before.
The woman giggled, her eyes misting over with bittersweet emotions. “Eat all you want, dear. This might be your…”
Her voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
After they had finished eating, they walked back together, but something was wrong. Helena noticed they weren’t heading towards their house.
Instead, they stood before an old, white building she had never seen before.
“Mommy, this isn’t our house?” Helena asked, her small voice filled with confusion.
The woman smiled, her expression tender yet distant. “Can you stay here for me?”
“Mommy?”
“I will be back, my dear…” she promised, her voice gentle as she turned to leave.
Helena stood there, watching as her mother disappeared into the shadows, leaving her alone before the old white building. As night fell, she waited, her heart aching with an inexplicable fear. But her mother didn’t return.
Still, she waited, standing there through the cold, lonely night until dawn.
“Awwwww…” An old nun opened the door of the old white building, rubbing her tired eyes as she yawned.
As she blinked away her sleepiness, her gaze fell upon a small, golden-haired girl curled up on the cold stone steps, her face streaked with tears and exhaustion. The girl’s eyes were red and puffy, and she seemed barely able to keep them open.
The nun’s heart ached at the sight. “Oh, dear child,” she murmured, rushing to the girl’s side. She gently shook the girl’s shoulder, trying to rouse her from her restless sleep.
“M-Mommy said… s-she will come… she will… definitely… M-Mommy…” The girl’s voice was weak and trembling, her words slurred with exhaustion and hope.
The nun’s heart broke as she listened. It didn’t take much for her to understand the situation. She sighed softly, her weathered face filled with sorrow. With gentle hands, she coaxed the girl into the warmth of the building, her voice soothing as she led her inside.
The white building was an orphanage, a place where children like the girl found shelter after being abandoned by those they loved most.
Ever since that day, the golden-haired girl would stand outside, waiting, always waiting for her mother, clinging to the hope that she would keep her promise and return.
But years passed, and her mother never appeared. The old nun, feeling a deep sympathy for the child, took her back to what was once her home…. a home that had been reduced to ashes, burned down long ago.
The girl’s heart shattered as they stood before the charred remains.
They asked the neighbours about the woman, but the only stories they heard were cruel and heart-wrenching.
People spoke of seeing the woman in the arms of a white-haired nobleman, dressed in fine clothes….. They were the ones who had set the house ablaze before vanishing!!
“NO!! MY MOM NEVER DO THAT!!” the girl cried out, her voice filled with pain and denial. The house had been her sanctuary, a place of warmth and happiness shared with her mother. There was no way her mother would have destroyed it.
….. Yet, despite her protests, there was no evidence to prove otherwise.
The little girl wept before the burned house, her cries echoing in the emptiness when suddenly…
“Yes, dear. I would never do that. I always keep my promises,” a familiar, soothing voice echoed in her ears. The girl spun around and saw her mother standing there, just as she remembered her… golden-haired and smiling warmly.
“MOMMY!!” The girl’s eyes widened in disbelief, her tears flowing freely as she ran toward her mother, her heart bursting with a decade of longing and love.
But as she reached out to embrace her mother, the world around them shifted, transforming into an endless white void…. The small girl’s form began to change, growing taller, and older, until she was no longer a child but the woman she had become…. Helena.
Just as she was about to hug her mother, a sudden
!~Ding~!
A interrupted her, freezing her in place. A black, transparent screen appeared before her, its letters glowing ominously:
[Warning: You are entering the Eternal Seal Bond, which means you cannot break this even if you die… Your soul will always be bonded with Aether Forever to Eternity.]
[Warning: Are you willing to proceed?]
Helena stared at the screen, her brow furrowing in confusion. “What is this?” she murmured, her voice laced with uncertainty.
“Reject it, dear,” her mother’s voice echoed softly, still as soothing as ever.
“Reject?” Helena echoed, turning to look at her mother, her confusion deepening.
“Yes,” the woman urged, her tone gentle but firm.
For Helena, her mother’s words had always been law, more important than anyone else’s. Without hesitation, she answered, “I reject.”
[Warning: Are you sure?]
“Yes”
[Warning: 100%?]
“…. Yes”
[Warning: 1000%?]
“…Hmmm” Helena hesitated, a frown creasing her brow. Something didn’t feel right, a nagging doubt creeping into her mind.
“Just reject it, dear,” her mother repeated, but this time there was a hint of annoyance in her voice, a sharpness that hadn’t been there before.
[Warning: Are you 1000000000% sure?]
Before Helena could respond, the warnings continued:
[Warning: You might lose everything… including Aether!! Are you truly willing to proceed? Please don’t listen to that woman who is clearly not your mother!!]
“Huh? Aether? Not my mother?” Helena’s eyes widened in confusion and alarm. She turned back to the woman with the golden hair, whose face was still blurred. “But… this is my mother.”
The woman smiled warmly, though something in her expression seemed off, “Yes, I am your mother, Helena Sunfire. Just listen to me, dear. Reject it, and you will always be in my arms… until the end. I will protect you, my dear~”
Helena’s eyes filled with tears at the words she had longed to hear for so many years. How could she ignore them? She had always loved her mother, even after she had abandoned her.
However, something didn’t sit right.
“Sunfire?” Helena repeated, her frown deepening. The surname ‘Sunfire’ had been given to her by the Archpriestess when she was awakened and chosen. And her mother… her mother had never called her by her full name unless she was angry.
A chilling realization began to dawn on Helena. She took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest. “Y-You’re not my mother!”
The woman, who had been smiling so sweetly, suddenly stiffened, her expression freezing before she clicked her tongue in irritation. “Tsk, Helena, listen to me—”
But before the woman could finish, another warning flashed on the screen:
[Warning: Aether was about to get raped by Kenley? Are you sure you do not want to form a contract?]
Helena blinked, her mind racing as she remembered the way Aether’s cheeks had been licked by Kenley… that woman. A surge of anger, pure and intense, flared up inside her, her golden eyes narrowing with rage.
“How dare she?!! That wretched woman!!! I WILL KILL HER!” Helena shouted, her body igniting with a burst of pure, holy energy.
[Hehe…]
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