1.
“…This energy.”
It all started when I sensed my mother’s presence while watching over the entire Gardner territory.
“I tried… to hide it, but since you’ve already noticed… I don’t know where to put myself.”
“Aah…”
Even while pretending to be kind, Hestia.
“Can the priest really endure having someone as unfortunate as me by his side?”
“I can en…”
“Aah…”
Even Asha had been deceived, but Selena knew.
‘This man…….’
…Had killed her mother.
There was no other explanation.
The faint Aura of her mother lingering on his body, her trembling hands as she got closer, and the fact that her <Analysis> did not work on him.
All of it pointed to one truth—he was not human. He was something suspicious, something that had killed her mother.
“Is this the end?”
“Yes!! Thank you, Selena!! Once I finish up the rest of the internal family matters, I’ll return!!”
“…Forget it. Just tell Asha that I’m stepping out for a bit.”
“Alright!! Don’t worry!!”
That was why, when everything was settled today, she wasted no time in tracking this man down.
Using the location she had heard from Asha, she slipped into the deepest shadows—
“……Selena?”
But he discovered her position immediately.
As expected, he was suspicious. There was no need to drag this out. She got straight to the point.
“I won’t waste words. What did you do to my mother—no, to the criminal Mother?”
“…Why are you asking me that?”
He shamelessly lied.
“It would be best if you answered properly. No matter how much Asha has come to value you, depending on your answer… I might just twist your neck.”
Only after she poured out her Mana to threaten him did he finally reveal his true colors.
“I sent her off without regrets.”
I knew it, you piece of trash.
Ian Red, the so-called free priest, was just a shell. She had expected this outcome.
“…Her body. What did you do with her body?”
“There was never a body to begin with.”
Look at that sly tongue, mocking her.
Now, she was certain. Forcing back the sleep creeping up on her, Selena declared.
“I’ll kill you.”
“Huh?”
Nahan, startled, took a calm breath.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes. The moment you arrived, the soul of your mother came to me. Perhaps what you felt was that energy.”
“I’ve sensed it before. Since the banquet.”
“Ah, that was……”
As Selena’s suspicion grew, Nahan trailed off, thinking quickly.
‘She must have heard about my second authority through Asha.’
That meant, the moment he provided an explanation, she would suppress her intent to kill and remain in a state of doubt.
‘That doubt must have started from the banquet, when she first felt Mother’s Aura from me.’
If so—
“A few days before the banquet, I was granted a second authority that allows me to communicate with souls. As a result, many spirits have been drawn to me.”
He just needed to fabricate a reasonable excuse.
“I do not fully understand the authority yet, but from what I can tell, the more someone has unresolved words, the more they seem to seek me out.”
“So you’re saying my mother did not die by your hands, but rather, after she had already passed away, she came looking for you?”
“That seems to be the case.”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“Well…”
Nahan hesitated for a moment before placing his hand on his chest with a faint smile.
“As soon as my life force recovers, I will let you meet her.”
“…Your life force?”
“You must have already heard. Yes, my second authority consumes a portion of my lifespan as its cost.”
Of course, that was a lie.
The second authority, and the idea of it consuming his life force, were nothing more than a part of Ian Red’s ‘setting.’
But if most people believed a lie to be the truth—just like how South Korea was never actually a water-scarce country, yet was perceived as one—
“Really… Are you really not the one?”
—Then it would inevitably be accepted as reality.
‘And honestly, it wasn’t me who killed Mother. It was <Eclipse>.’
In that sense, there wasn’t even a real ‘lie’ about Mother herself.
With greater confidence, Nahan nodded firmly.
His calm and gentle demeanor caused Selena’s anger to subside.
As her fury cooled, reason filled her mind, and thus, she too lowered her head.
“…So that’s how it is.”
Well.
Now that she thought about it, it was an absurd suspicion to begin with.
‘Mother was one of the Great Ten.’
She was not someone who could be killed by a mere free priest of lowly ability.
And even if—by some impossible chance—this man truly had killed her mother, Selena could not bring herself to blame him.
She was also a top-class fugitive of the Empire.
Even if someone had killed her, as a Hero, she could not blame them for it.
Rather, she should praise them, saying they had done a good deed—calling them the true Hero.
If another evil had executed her mother, then all she had to do was hunt that evil down and annihilate it. But if, by any chance, a righteous person had punished her mother—
‘…I.’
She would be left with no choice but to do nothing, to simply applaud their achievement.
But.
—Selena, you know, you are the only moonlight that brightened your mother’s dark life.
—Wow, really!?
—Has Mother ever lied to you?
—No!
—That’s right.
How could she do that?
—My beautiful daughter. I would do anything for you.
—…Mom.
—So don’t worry and sleep well. When you wake up from this long nightmare…
She would still be her mother’s daughter.
—I will make sure only happiness remains for you.
—…Okay, Mom.
And her mother would still be her mother.
Eyes turning red.
A burning sensation in her nose.
Her vision blurring.
As Selena staggered and collapsed, her hands trembling, Nahan, who had approached unnoticed, seemed to make a decision. He held her hands and whispered,
“I still need more time to recover, but for a Hero, I will bring back at least a single word.”
“…What?”
“Please wait a moment.”
That gentle smile once again.
Even though she had rashly threatened him, overwhelmed by her emotions and anxiety—
This man was now saying he would burn away his own life to let her find peace.
Only then did Selena realize.
—Ian Red, you say? A fine man!!
—Interesting.
—He is someone we must protect first and foremost, a sanctuary for the Heroes.
Why every member of the Heroes of Light had spoken so highly of Ian Red.
But regardless.
‘If I alter just a tiny fraction of <Veil of Shadows> to resemble Mother’s presence, it will feel as if she really had been here. Can I do it? I should be able to, right now.’
With a faint smile, Nahan was, as always, thinking of a way to ensure his survival.
And moments later—
【<Veil of Shadows (Ex)> activated.】
【Adjusting rank.】
【<Veil of Shadows (S-)> activated.】
From Nahan’s body, an Aura identical to Mother’s flowed out. After a brief pause to choose his words, he reached out to Selena with trembling hands.
“Selena, my beloved daughter.”
A brief moment of reunion began.
2.
Selena.
A woman who was separated from her parents due to an incurable, unknown disease, <Eternal Nightmare>.
A hundred years?
Two hundred?
Perhaps even thousands?
Among the countless nightmares that repeated over an eternity, the only memory that remained untouched was of the father she lost as a child—
—Selena, my beautiful daughter.
—Mom!
And her mother, who had always protected her.
Her mother’s face had faded, the details blurred over time, yet some parts remained vividly clear.
—I’m going to be a strong mercenary like you, Mom!
A cheerful, determined voice—her own as a child.
—Pfft! You can’t even do a single sit-up.
—That’s not true!? I can do one now!?
—Even an E-rank mercenary can do a hundred with ease.
—Eh…
And the gaze of her ash-gray-haired mother, looking at her as if she was the most lovable thing in the world.
Even though she lost her father at an early age, they were always happy.
But then, she fell ill.
—M-Mom, I…
A disease that, once she fell asleep, would trap her in an endless nightmare.
—An incurable disease?
—I’m sorry. The intervals between her awakenings will gradually grow longer, and eventually…
—No… That can’t be…!! She’s never even caught a cold before!!
That day, for the first time, she saw it.
Her mother, who was always brave and strong, trembling in fear.
So, every time she managed to overcome the nightmares and wake up, she forced herself to smile and ask,
—Mom! Don’t I seem a little better?
—Yes, my daughter.
Even though she suspected the truth, even though it scared her terribly—
—Right? I have to get better soon so I can start training. Even if I start late, I can still become like you someday, right?
—Yes. Of course.
She smiled over and over again, just so her mother wouldn’t be sad.
But as expected, the illness only worsened. There was no sign of improvement.
Every time she awoke, her hair had grown longer, her vision was higher, her body felt unfamiliar—like it didn’t belong to her.
While Selena was trapped, walking in place within her nightmare, time outside continued to pass mercilessly.
A couple more times.
After that, she would never wake again.
‘…Maybe this is for the best.’
Closing her eyes and accepting death might be the best choice for both her and her mother.
She had instinctively realized this.
And right around that time, her mother brought her good news.
—…Is that true?
—Yes. In exchange for hiring me permanently, they promised to take care of everything. So, Selena, you don’t need to worry. Just rest.
Even though the memory had faded, her mother’s face had looked so unbearably sad in that moment that Selena had unknowingly opened her mouth to speak—
—…Mom. If it’s too hard—
—Silence. No more… No more words.
—……Okay. I’m sorry.
In the end, all she did was leave behind even greater sorrow.
That day was the second-to-last sleep.
The more the nightmares repeated, the longer it took her to wake. She had reached out, hoping to finally say what she wanted to—
—…Sleep well, my daughter.
But before she could reach her, she fell asleep once more.
—Mom…
Within the blurred nightmare, the only thing that remained clear was the words she never got to say.
“Selena, my beloved daughter.”
【<Veil of Shadows (EX)> activated.】
【Adjusting rank.】
【<Veil of Shadows (S-)> activated.】
‘It’s Mom. It’s definitely Mom.’
Having finally come face-to-face with Mother after an eternity of nightmares, Selena reached out with trembling hands, carefully grasped her, and held her tightly, whispering—
“I love you, Mom.”
It was just a single sentence.
But that made it all the more precious.
“Thank you… for trying so hard for me.”
And then—
【Easter Egg – <Celestial Snare – Selena> cleared.】
【Clear Reward: <Artifact Guaranteed Enhancement Ticket (EX)> awarded.】
‘…Sweet.’
And with that, one man profited from it all.
