Rise of the Rejected Deity from Chaos-Chapter 74 - 73: No Reunion, No Goodbye

Excitement radiated from Hayne, filling the room with an energy that starkly contrasted the silence lingering moments before. His voice carried an air of elation as he delivered the news about Seiya’s mother. Yet, in response, Seiya remained silent and unmoved. An eerie counterpoint to Hayne’s enthusiasm.

Frustrated by Seiya’s indifference, Hayne’s patience snapped. Without warning, he seized Seiya’s wrist and dragged him toward the woman he had once called mother.

Inside the dimly lit room, Seiya’s mother sat on the bed, her frail frame trembling as if she could barely support her own weight. Her head swayed erratically, her vacant eyes darting around as if searching for something—someone. Over and over, she whispered into the empty air:

"My Seiya… Have you seen my Seiya?"

The repetition was haunting, as if she were trapped in a moment that had long passed.

Hayne, determined, ushered Seiya inside, his face alight with hope as he gestured Seiya forward with an encouraging smile, but quickly realized the futility of it—Seiya was blindfolded. With the current condition of his eyesight, he wouldn’t be able to see her clearly even if he tried. So, without waiting for permission, Hayne guided him forward, determined to reunite the mother and son.

Seiya found the abrupt emotional weight forced upon him both unnecessary and exhausting. Yet, rather than resist, he allowed himself to be led, to avoid prolonging the matter.

Hayne quickly unwrapped the blindfold from Seiya’s eyes, wanting Seiya to face his mother without any barriers. He believed—hoped—that even after all these years, no matter how much Seiya had changed, a mother would always recognize her child.

"Go to her," Hayne urged, his voice gentle but insistent. "Call her ’Mom.’ Tell her your name."

Seiya remained rooted in place, unwilling to do as told. His eyes, still smeared with traces of blood, only stared at the woman.

A sigh of impatience escaped Hayne as he placed a hand on Seiya’s back and pushed him forward. "Call her ’Mom,’" he whispered, "and introduce yourself."

Seiya exhaled, stepping closer before lowering himself into a crouch before the frail woman.

"…I’m Seiya," he murmured, his voice void of warmth. He could not bring himself to utter the word ’Mom’ to a woman who, to him, was no more than a stranger.

The moment the name left his lips, the woman flinched. Her breath hitched with eyes widening in horror.

"Monster," she let out in a breathless whisper.

A shudder overtook her fragile frame. She recoiled from him, terror flashing across her face.

"A monster!" she shrieked in a voice raw with fear, scrambling backward, her entire body trembling.

Hayne’s joy shattered, his expression freezing in disbelief.

Advancing forward after only recoiling a moment ago, the woman’s fear twisted into fury. Her brows wrinkled tightly with eyes filled with rage as she lunged forward, seizing Seiya by the collar with trembling hands.

"My Seiya—how dare you?! Where is he?!" She shook him violently, her grip tightening as her voice cracked with rage.

"How dare a monster like you claim to be my Seiya—my baby!"

Hayne rushed forward, intending to pry her off, but before he could intervene, a sharp sound cracked through the room.

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A slap.

It landed hard against Seiya’s cheek, sending his head tilting slightly to the side.

The air instantly thickened with tension.

Hayne halted, breath caught in his throat as his pulse pounded in terror.

"S-Sei—" Hayne breathed, barely able to utter his name.

Turning back to face the woman, Seiya remained unnervingly still. He neither flinched nor retaliated. He simply stood there, letting her rage run its course.

Relief flooded Hayne. Seiya’s lack of reaction meant there was no danger, and he wouldn’t harm her.

Quickly, he stepped between them, wrenching Seiya away and shielding him behind his own frame from further outbursts.

Tears streamed down the woman’s face as she clutched her head, her anguish manifesting in restless movements. "My Seiya… my Sei…" she sobbed, pacing frantically with tears spilling down her hollow cheeks.

"He can’t be my Seiya," she murmured with trembling voice, still pacing erratically. "My Sei has beautiful eyes—golden, like sunlight. They shimmer… they shine…" She moved aimlessly about the room, her broken mind lost in distant memories.

Her gaze darted toward Hayne, her expression desperate. "Have you seen my Sei?"

Hayne stiffened, instinctively blocking Seiya from her view. But before he could even answer, she turned again, this time to the wall, speaking to it as if it would respond.

"His hair is beautiful, so soft… He loves it when I brush it. He always smiles at me." A fleeting look of joy softened her face. "But… I haven’t seen him in so long."

She staggered toward the bed, collapsing onto it. With shaking hands, she clutched at her own hair, her head jerking in erratic motions.

"He left me," she whimpered. "I don’t know why, but he left me."

Tears poured down her cheeks, her body trembling violently.

"He doesn’t even come to me in my dreams…" She suddenly sprang to her feet, approaching Hayne. "Did you know? He bumps into me a lot in the mornings because he can’t see very well." A hollow chuckle escaped her lips, as if she was momentarily lost in warmth before plunging back into despair.

Her hands trembled as she gestured in the air, her frame too weak to fully support herself.

"My Seiya is so small. He loves sitting on my lap. He always runs to me…"

Hayne could only watch her, helpless.

Meanwhile, Seiya stood unmoving, silent behind Hayne. His condition prevented him from seeing much, but even if his sight were perfect, it was doubtful he would’ve felt anything.

The woman continued to recount her memories, her emotions swirling like a storm until, at last, exhaustion overtook her. She collapsed onto the bed, unconscious.

Hayne gently adjusted her properly, smoothing out her disheveled hair. It was clear now that she needed help—professional help.

"She’s unconscious," Hayne murmured to Seiya who stood at the door. "By the time she wakes, she’d have calmed down. I’ll feed her then. She hasn’t eaten in a while…"

He paused, then added softly, "She’s sick, Seiya. That’s why she couldn’t recognize you. When she wakes, we’ll try again."

Seiya said nothing in response.

Hayne exhaled heavily, his heart aching. He couldn’t begin to fathom the pain this woman had endured—the agony of losing her son, the torment that had left her mind so fractured, driving her to this state. And then, there was Seiya, standing silent, called a monster by the very woman who had given him life.

The weight of it all pressed heavily on Hayne’s chest.

Leaving the room, he and Seiya went back to the living room where Seiya’s elite sat alone.

Silence hung over them as they remained seated. Hayne, still reeling from what had transpired, cast nervous glances at Seiya, hoping to gauge his thoughts. But Seiya’s face was blank as always—completely unreadable and unbothered by what had happened.

Attempting to lift the tension, Hayne sighed dramatically, slouching onto the couch.

"I wonder how the others are doing," he mused, watching Seiya from the corner of his eye.

There was no response.

Determined, Hayne tried again. "Not that it matters to you because I bet you don’t even remember them." He said to Seiya.

Hayne was no stranger to Seiya’s health issues.

"I do though."

Seiya’s reply caught him off guard, taking a moment for it to click in his head.

Hayne blinked in shock. "You do?!"

He sat up abruptly. "How? You’re sick in the head so you can barely retain anything."

{Even I am curious,} Ibyu chimed in.

Seiya regarded them quietly before speaking.

"Apparently, my eyes," he stated, "do more than register and absorb skills. They also register and retain memories," Seiya explained briefly, earning a long stare from Hayne who didn’t understand one bit of his explanation.

"…Meaning?"

"It simply means," Seiya clarified, "that anything I see stays with me—so long as nothing is covering my eyes."

Hayne’s eyes widened in astonishment, excitement stirring within him. A slow, cryptic smile stretched across his face.

That means there’s a chance for revenge.

Until now, Hayne had believed justice was out of reach. Seiya had no clear memory of his time at the facility, nor of the people responsible for his suffering. Without that, there had been no way to wield Seiya’s power against them. But now… this changed everything.

He knew he had work to do.

"The two of you," Hayne began, flashing them a broad grin. "Why don’t you go get some fresh air?"

Before they could respond, he grabbed them both, shoved them outside, and shut the door in their faces. "Have fun!" he said after them.

With them present, he knew he couldn’t concentrate so he needed them gone.

Outside, Seiya and his elite exchanged a silent glance. They lingered for a moment before Seiya turned and walked away, his elite following without a word.

***

Seiya and his elite returned some time later. As they approached the house, they noticed the front door was ajar.

Silently, they stepped inside. The living room was in chaos—furniture overturned, objects scattered haphazardly, as if a fight had taken place.

Despite their arrival, Hayne did not appear so Seiya moved toward the room his mother stayed in. The door stood slightly open so he stepped inside.

In there, Hayne sat on the floor beside the bed, his hand stretched across the edge, gripping tightly onto another’s—Seiya’s mother’s. Blood soaked the sheets where she lay, her body motionless. Her head lolled at an unnatural angle, her body drenched in red.

Blood pooled beneath Hayne where he sat, his head bowed, his breath ragged. Thick blood dripped from his nose, his mouth, staining his chin. The hand clutching Seiya’s mother’s was completely red, bathed in their own blood.

Seiya’s gaze remained impassive as he looked down at him, his voice eerily calm. "Is that blood?"

"Mn," Hayne murmured, not lifting his head.

"I’m sorry." Hayne whispered hoarsely,

A deep wound gaped in his back, dark with thick, clotting blood. It oozed slowly with each shallow breath he took. His hunched posture exposed the curve of his pale nape, his light blue hair pouring forward.

"I wasn’t able to protect her." His voice cracked. "I’m sorry."

Hayne’s words were earnest. He couldn’t even lift his face to look Seiya in the eye—not when his mother laid lifeless in a pool of her blood on the bed.

Gazing at Hayne for a while, Seiya said nothing.

"Then," he finally spoke, his voice calm. "You’re going to die as well so there’s no need to attempt saving you," he said, his eyes resting on the gaping wound on Hayne’s back.

A soft smile graced Hayne’s lips as he finally lifted his bloodied face. "Mn," he hummed in quiet agreement. His eyes wrinkled slightly at the corners, an oddly gentle expression.

Without hesitation, Seiya turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.