Agent of Seraphim-Chapter 65: Memories

"So you do know her..."

"Yea, the lizard woman who thinks size matters."

The little cat shoved its head into Ruby’s arm, pretending not to hear anything.

"So what did she said?" Seraphine asked.

"She asked me to look for the four worm statue scattered in the ruin." Brand told her what happened back in the void with Black Lake. The giant wyrm was so large that it could wrap around the whole dimensional space a few times.

"The mission had also been updated." He explained the updated mission, which required him to find the four other worm statues scattered throughout the ruin.

With that in mind, he decided to take time for planning the exploration. Considering that he had no access to his Map.

"Oh, I also recevied a black orb from the queen of dragon." He told Seraphine about the orb that seeped into him.

Hearing this, Seraphine’s hair tingled. She was surprised.

"She was really desperate, huh?" Lately, Seraphine has been showing more emotions besides excitement and joy.

’Since they had been arriving in the ruin?’

"The System didn’t show up anything, though, when I checked with it on the orb." By right, he should have no issue with using his skills. He had escaped the dimensional space.

But still, he had not been able to check on the information on the black orb.

"You won’t be able to scan it, it’s a unique skill from the women." Seraphine explained. "Just eat it."

"... It does not look edible..."

"You don’t need to chew it, just swallow it." Seraphine looked impatient, likely stemming from her rivalry with the wyrm...

He stared at the black orb for a moment, then clenched his eyes shut and swallowed it.

A burning swirl gathered in his stomach. He felt a sharp pain as his energy was violently spinning around the orb. It felt like it had been caught in its gravity.

"Focus on the energy’s movement." He heard Seraphine’s voice beside him, guiding him. "Track the energy’s path."

"Try to guide it into your heart area." She continued. "This is where most of your energy is stored."

Brand followed the flow of energy, his focus narrowing until nothing else remained. The longer he held on, the harder the current dragged at him. His thoughts drifted away as his consciousness was drawn into the stream.

At this point, he couldn’t hear the voice outside anymore. Not even Seraphine’s.

***

There was a slight tremble in the air, and the spirit beast in Ruby’s arm was the first to sense it. It jumped as he felt the intense energy in Brand’s heart.

’Is it really possible?!’ Ifrit, the spirit beast of flame, exclaimed. He felt a stir in his heart as well. This was the first time a human manifested a Dragon’s Heart.

"For a mere human to..." He stared at the trembling energy in the space, resonating with Brand’s energy.

"Of course, he was the man I acknowledged," Seraphine said calmly, carrying a solemn gaze.

"Though, I couldn’t believe the lizard woman would share her energy essence to Brand." Her eyes narrowed as she knew the consequences she would suffer for sharing a part of her essence to a mortal being.

"What’re you two talking about?" Ruby felt unpleasant, as she couldn’t hear Seraphine’s voice. She tried to guess what Ifrit and the angel were talking about.

She could feel the violent energy in the air as well, and that they were gathering in Brand’s heart. She knew there was nothing she could do now but wait.

Interrupting him now would cause him great harm and risk an energy overload. Ruby knew that he would suffer the same consequences she had in the past. Losing control over one’s energy and, in her case, her kingdom was burned to the ground.

She looked at the demon worms around the chamber. The demon worms had curled up, their bodies disintegrating into ash, which then lit up, glowing brightly.

At that moment, she noticed Brand’s fingers tingling.

’He would be waking up soon...’ Her spirit beast, Ifrit, reassured her. All she would do now was to wait for him to finish cultivating the energy.

***

Brand found himself inside a foreign space. He was back to the void again, but this time, it was pure white.

However, he was familiar with this void. He knew it instantly that this was his internal mind. In the center of the void was a boy.

The boy was weeping. He seemed to be lost. In fact, Brand knew why the boy felt that way because this was his memory.

’Why was my memory showing up? I was absorbing the energy from the black orb...’

The day was his birthday. The day after his dad went missing from the fire rescue mission. The day marked the start of the catastrophic event unfolding across the world.

"Brand! Brand!" A woman’s urgent voice echoed in the space.

He turned to the voice along with the young boy. His mother was around 24 at this time, but she looked older than other women her age.

His attention shifted back to the young boy. He was more curious about himself. How did he react to the passing of his father? How did he get past the grieving stage?

’!!!’

The boy had wiped away all his tears and put on a big smile when his mom called.

"What were you doing here!" His mom asked worriedly.

"I came to talk to dad!" The little boy grabbed his mom’s hand and swung, while pulling her to walk back to their home.

"Hmm, what did you all talk about?" She asks while smiling, probably thinking her son was being sweet.

"He asked me to pass on message to you." The little boy stopped in his tracks and turned to his mom.

Surprised, she stopped in her tracks. Brand would never know what she was thinking at that time, nor even his younger self’s thoughts.

"He asked you to stop crying alone."

His mother’s lips parted, but no words came out. Her throat tightened, choked full with a sudden swell of emotion. She swallowed hard, eyes shining as she fought the tears gathering at the edges.

Because she saw her son’s tear dripping down while telling her this. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

His mother leaned down to him and wiped the tears. She then hugged him tight.

Brand felt the memory thinning around him, softening at the edges like a dream losing its shape.

His mother’s embrace, the boy’s trembling shoulders—everything drifted into light.

He reached out, wanting to hold on just a little longer.

But it was only a memory.

And memories, no matter how warm, always slipped away.

From the distant edges, the world began to crumble, the unravelling slowly closing in on him.