Saga of Atlantis

Chapter 197 The Unawakened Holder [3]

....Her gaze slowly turned from confusion to horror.

"....."

As Nadya's mother trembled, staring at me, a weird sense of anxiety creeped within me.

I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like I have wronged Nadya somehow or in someway.

"Y-you are—?"

"Whoever you are thinking about," I firmly said, staring into her trembling eyes. "I am not him."

I could feel Nadya's gaze boring into me, but I tried my best to ignore her.

Her mother—

What was her name again?

[Raima.]

'...Right, thanks.'

She kept on staring at me, her expression changing from fear to distress before settling on confusion.

"T-those e-eyes," she whispered weakly, trying to hide her fear.

'My eyes?'

I wondered, placing my finger just below my eyes.

"Mother."

Elysia whispered, shaking her vigorously to snap her out of her trance.

"H-huh?"

She finally turned her gaze towards Elysia and Nadya.

Fogginess cleared from her eyes as she knitted her brows together.

"W-who are you guys?" she stammered, staring at her daughters.

And even though they knew this could happen, both of them couldn't hide their disappointment and sadness.

"I am your daughter," Nadya replied, her voice soft as if she were explaining to a child. "You don't remember your lovely daughter?"

Confusion filled her eyes as she mumbled uncertainly, "But my daughter is a child...."

Her words trailed off as something clicked in her mind.

"N-no w-way," she whispered softly, her trembling hand reaching out to cover her mouth. "No, t-this can't be happening."

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she broke down.

Nadya, kneeling beside her, slowly crawled forward before hugging her tightly.

And Elysia did the same, albeit more awkwardly.

"I a-am s-sorry," she whispered through her trembling lips as she hugged both of them. "I a-am such a b-bad mother."

"Stop crying," Elysia whispered back, even though she couldn't hold back her own tears.

And finally, Nadya, who was keeping a strong front, broke down in tears.

I slowly stepped away from them.

It's been so long since I have seen Nadya cry, and the absurd feeling of being the one who made her cry was eating me from within.

Was I really the one who kidnapped their mother?

Am I the one who caused her this much misery and pain?

'I need to ask her about this.'

I mentally noted as I looked at their crying mother.

I do have one clue, though...

...my eyes.

"...."

I blankly looked at them as my thoughts trailed off.

Even though I didn't want it, uneasiness crawled into my mind.

[Is your sadism waking up looking at them crying—?]

'I am in no mood for jokes, Edda.'

I cut her words, snapping out of my negative thoughts.

[Fine, anyway, look around. You might find something.]

'....'

I quietly looked around the place before my gaze shifted towards the book that was still encapsulated.

The cube around it vanished as soon as I placed my hand below it.

'A grimoire.'

I thought as I noticed the old book, which had the texture of human skin.

I tried to open it, but just as I expected, it didn't budge.

Well, that's how they work.

They find their own master they want to have a contract with.

Even though its main use was to store star energy, that didn't mean it couldn't be used another way.

I drew in a deep breath before I started to fill it with star energy.

The orb burned in a whitish hue as the star energy started to fill it completely.

And just as it started to crack, I placed it down and made a connection with it through a star thread.

'Edda!'

[Y-yes?]

'What was that!?'

I yelled at her as I skipped the steps to move out.

Wait, did she stutter?

[I genuinely have no idea about this.]

She replied, and for once, it didn't sound like a lie.

'Fuck.'

I bit my lip to alleviate my attention from my ever-increasing heartbeat as I reached them.

"We need to move."

I urged as soon as I was closer to them.

They all looked at me in confusion, and only Nadya noticed my distress.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at me with concern.

"There is no time to explain," I replied as I moved closer. "Grab my hand."

Though still confused, she did as I told her, while I turned to look at Elysia.

"Do you need a separate invitation?" I asked sarcastically as I extended my hand toward her, urging her to grab it.

And finally, my gaze landed on their mother, who was staring at me.

"Mother-in-law can hug me—."

""No.""

Both Nadya and Elysia exclaimed at the same time, glaring at me.

They extended their hands toward their mother.

Still too confused about what the fuck was happening, their mother just grabbed their hands.

"Hah."

I drew in a deep breath, closed my eyes, and in the next instant, a 3D map of the world around me emerged in my mind.

This time I didn't look at the "space nodes" around me but at the farthest place.

It was barely over a few hundred meters, but I didn't stop there.

Slowly, my brain started to melt down as I tried to find a space node a bit further, pushing my limits.

Blood dripped down from my nose and ears as I finally found a passable space node.

Without thinking, I made a connection with the help of a star thread.

The world around us warped, turning blurry before everything shifted.

"Cough, cough."

I coughed violently as I opened my eyes, then looked around the place.

It was a jungle thick with trees, far away from the broken civilization.

"Neil!"

Nadya rushed to my aid as soon as she got a grip of herself.

"I am fine," I mumbled before I looked back at the place.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the star thread I was still connected with.

"Hah.."

I exhaled softly, allowing a single spark to ignite along the thread's length.

A brief flash of light shimmered in my mind before I severed the connection entirely.

A heartbeat later, my eyes snapped open.

BOOOOOM!!!!

A deafening roar tore through the forest as the hidden city, shrouded from all eyes, detonated in an explosive burst.

The white-hot hue of star energy consumed my vision, blinding me.

My breath caught, but I didn't look away. I couldn't.

The explosion twisted in upon itself, its brilliant light collapsing in an instant.

And then, I felt it.

A monstrous gravitational force yanked at the air, dragging everything toward its epicenter mercilessly.

But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished—gone in an instant, leaving behind an eerie, unnatural stillness.

"...."

I made a black hole churn into existence, even if just for a split second.