Chapter 342: My mum
When Aren opened his eyes again, he was sitting at the table with Karmela once more. The field around them stretched the same as it always did, soft grass, warm light with no clear source, the faint smell of tea drifting on a breeze that never seemed to move anything else. She had her cup in hand and sipped it slowly, in no hurry at all.
"What am I doing back here?" he asked, adjusting in his seat as he looked at her.
"Well, I did say I would reveal a little about your mother once you finally defeated Shadow.
I never thought you would actually be able to do it. If I had known, I wouldn’t have needed to go through all the processes I went through in the first place," she said with a smile.
"My mother? Who is she?" he asked. He had always been curious about his true past, and now that the chance was finally here, sitting right across from him, he wasn’t about to let it slip away.
She smiled at him, then reached out and took his hand, raising it gently. "I am Karmela, and I am Fate. I existed when Shadow did. I was born from Eternity," she said, smiling wider.
Aren’s mind immediately started churning, every piece he’d gathered since this whole nightmare began suddenly rearranging itself, faster than he could keep up with. It didn’t take long for him to put it together. His eyes widened.
"You said my true ability was Fate."
"Yes, I did."
"And I gained it from my mother."
"Yes, you did."
"Are you—"
"Yes, I am," she answered with a smile. "You, Aren, are the son of Fate, and the reincarnation of Shadow."
Aren froze, his mind struggling to hold the weight of it. He drew a sharp, deep breath. "This isn’t a joke, right?"
"I wouldn’t joke about something like this."
"So you’re telling me Fate herself is my mother?"
"You seem so shocked. You’re the spawn of Shadow. Something like this shouldn’t come as a surprise."
"Yeah, but still, a lot’s been happening and I can barely keep up. Now I’m learning my mother is a god-like being who controls fate."
She let out a soft smile and rose to her feet, walking around behind him, her steps unhurried, like she had all the time in any world to spare. "I know there’s so much you’re confused about, so much you want to know, Aren. But your story isn’t over. In fact, it’s only just beginning.
The universe is going through a lot, and you might just be what it needs. You have to keep on your journey," she explained, then hugged him from behind, her arms wrapping around his neck, warm in a way he hadn’t expected.
"Why don’t you help?" he asked.
"Because this is a prison, Aren."
Aren stiffened. He turned his head, trying to look at her even with her arms still around him.
"A prison? This whole place?"
"This whole place," she confirmed, releasing him and stepping toward the edge of the field, where the grass faded into nothing but light. "A long time ago, I had a falling out with the others. The other primordials."
"A falling out bad enough for this?"
"Bad enough," she said simply. "They sealed me here. My influence can still be felt beyond these borders — that much of me, they could never fully contain, no matter how hard they tried. But I cannot leave. This seal was woven from all their power combined. I alone cannot break it, especially not from the inside. I can invite people in. I can do plenty from in here. But leave? No. Not yet."
Aren’s jaw tightened. "What did you do?"
She turned back to him, something unreadable behind her smile. "You won’t be able to understand it yet. In time, you will. Everything in its place, Aren."
He wanted to push harder, but something in the calm certainty of her tone told him it wouldn’t get him anywhere he hadn’t already been.
"Is there a way to free you?"
"There is," she said. "But you would need power comparable to Shadow’s — not what you carry now, but what he was at his full strength, his true form. Power enough to strike this seal from the outside."
Aren didn’t hesitate. "Then I’ll get it. Whatever it takes, I’ll get you out of here."
Something flickered across her face — surprise, maybe, like she hadn’t expected him to answer so fast.
"You won’t ask whether what I did deserved this?" she said. "Whether I’m the villain in someone else’s story?"
"I’ve learned there’s no real good or bad in this universe," Aren said. "Just people chasing what benefits them. If I trust you, I trust you. And if it turns out you’re not who I thought you were—" he met her eyes, steady, "—I’ll be the one to deal with it. I’m the one who’d be letting you out. That makes it mine to carry, not yours."
She studied him for a long moment, then laughed, soft and warm. "Look at that. My son has grown."
Something tightened in Aren’s chest at that — at being called that, so plainly, like it had always just been true.
"There’s a lot more I want to ask," he admitted. "A lot more I want to say. But I should head back. A lot’s happened, and a lot’s still coming. Shadow was just one piece of it."
"Seems you understand what’s at stake," she said, warmth still in her voice. "When you come back, let’s have tea properly. We’ll talk more then."
Aren nodded once, taking in the field around him one last time — the light, the grass, the woman who was somehow both a stranger and his mother.
Then it all faded into light, until nothing remained but the quiet pull of his own consciousness returning to where it belonged, his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was his friends around him.
