Chapter 341: The Sorrows of Alden and Damien.

"...It was about you, Alden."

"The message Fate had sent... was about you." Lucia, Alden’s mother, said, her golden eyes looking straight at him.

"Even before you were born, Fate had known about you, my child."

She continued, her tone distant now.

"Fate had warned us about the storm that would soon strike this cosmos and a person who was fated to stop the storm. At that time I didn’t know it would be you."

Alden frowned.

"What do you mean?" He asked almost immediately.

"I cannot tell you much about the storm itself, as even saying HIS name would let HIM know of the arrangements I had made but... HE was someone who made even Fate itself tremble."

She looked straight into Alden’s eyes.

"Your father knew that and began making preparations. We established our little kingdom on a world we had saved. Then Caera and you were born."

"We thought we were strong enough to survive. We thought we were prepared enough, especially after your Uncle Mokah joined us as well. Your grandfather couldn’t come since he had entered the Chaos Space but we believed we would be enough... especially according to what your father knew."

Her voice lowered further.

"But the storm wasn’t alone. HE had an army of HIS own, each strong enough to end a small world, and HE was far stronger than what your father had known. HE destroyed our kingdom with a snap of HIS fingers and fate gave me its second vision, a vision of you standing against the storm. Only then I understood, the one who was supposed to stop HIM was you."

"Even your father was shocked and told us to run. In desperation, I sent Caera with your Uncle while I carried you, you were merely a year old back then when I came to this world."

She turned towards him and held his gaze.

"Later, through my visions, I even learned about the captivity of Mokah and Caera. And about how your father had gone missing as well. So, I made arrangements for you in this world and decided to try and save them."

Her eyes lowered slightly.

"Especially since our enemies had found us as well, I thought it would work as a distraction... making them focus on me, so you could survive."

"Just in case I failed... I made some extra arrangements. I nudged your fate so that one day you would meet Caera and Mokah. I even suppressed your mana and the Supreme Ability you had awakened from birth so you could integrate into this world better."

"So, you left me in that dump of the Draven family as some illegitimate son? If you were powerful enough to ’nudge fate’ and even suppress my awakening, why didn’t you make me something like the main heir of some royal family or something?" Alden snapped, all the pain he had borne since childhood flashing before his eyes.

Lucia’s expression twisted with sorrow as tears rolled down her cheeks. She leaned forward and hugged her son, the son who had suffered so much because of the damn Fate she worshipped.

"I am not omnipotent, Alden. I wish I was but I am merely a pawn in the hands of Fate. We people, no matter how strong we become, are all puppets strung to Fate but you... you are different."

He tried to push her away, but she refused to let go.

"You were born to be free from its control because only someone who isn’t bound could stand against another of the same kind. But that meant even fate couldn’t control you."

"So... to ensure you survived for as long as possible and become as strong as possible, sorrow was necessary. It was like a flame meant to forge you... a mechanism of Fate to shape you into the perfect weapon and those were things arranged by fate that even I couldn’t control."

"But... but I tried."

She broke down completely. Alden couldn’t see her face but her voice was enough.

"I... rebelled against the very force I was made to serve. I rebelled against Fate itself to make your sorrow as little as possible..."

"...and yet... Fate was merciless. Suffering at the hands of your family as Alden and losing your lover as Damien... those were the flames Fate chose to forge you with."

"What... do you mean?" Alden finally forced her back and looked into her golden eyes. "How... do you know that?"

She let out a weak smile, her body rapidly turning transparent. She looked down at herself and then back at him.

"I cannot say more, Alden... at least not now, in the incomplete form you are in. The more I say, the more Fate will push to keep its leash on you."

"You have to become whole again. You have to retrieve the last part of yourself that I left where I teleported you. Fate’s connection over you should also be severed by now... so you won’t be able to see the status window anymore... but that means you can act more freely now."

"I have left the last fragment of my soul where your bloodline is... and it should answer all your questions. You will also find where the girl who had jumped in with you is."

She continued, her voice fading now.

"Find your bloodline. I hid it somewhere within the time you currently are in..."

"And I know I have never been a good mother to you. I know I have been selfish and reckless but Mom loves you the most, my baby... and even if I die... I will always love you, my sweet baby."

"Please forgive me..."

With those words, her figure faded completely, giving Alden one last smile as the surroundings began to vanish as well.

Alden’s expression remained neutral, but as he watched everything disappear... he couldn’t help but wonder.

How did she know about the Damien part of his life? What exactly had happened to her? What kind of conditions had she endured? And if... she had truly loved him enough to suffer through hell herself?

With those thoughts, his body lost all strength as darkness engulfed his vision... When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in that strange space.

Instead, he found himself inside a cave with shining white surfaces. In their reflection, he saw his own body...

It wasn’t the same anymore