Chapter 213: Memories Of Anomaly #33

Memories of Anomaly #33 rushed into Neo's mind.

"I'm sorry, mom! I won't do it again!"

The child cried.

His mom continued to spank him.

"You almost died!" She increased the force behind her hits. "What would you've done if the monster noticed you?!"

"But it was going to destroy the bookstore—ahh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

Tears slipped down his face as he rubbed his behind after the beating.

'It hurts.'

While the kid was busy soothing his injury, the woman wiped her own tears.

Her arms were trembling even now.

If they had been unlucky, she would've lost her child.

The thoughts of the earlier situation sent shivers down her spine.

"I'm sorry, mom. I won't do it again."

The child approached her gloomily, hugging her to help her calm down.

She bit her lips and patted his head.

"Let's sleep now."

The mother-son duo slept on the first floor of the broken bookstore.

The place was in complete ruins.

But they had no proper place to sleep.

Their previous base had been destroyed a week ago, and the survivors were scattered as they tried to escape the monsters.

While the woman was about to sleep, she noticed her son reading a book.

"Are you reading that book again?"

"Huh?" The child turned to her. "No, this one is different. I found it in the bookstore's wreckage."

The child flipped through the book—

Hanged King's Tragedy

—in a few seconds and closed it.

"You've completed it?" the woman asked.

"Yup, my trait is only useful for things like this."

The child gave a bitter smile.

Traits were the most important aspect of an Awakener.

He had awakened an F-rank Trait, and his mother was unawakened.

"It's a good trait."

"If I had a good trait, we wouldn't have been used as bait by the base leader to escape the monsters…."

The child stopped speaking when he noticed his mother was crying because of his joke.

Before he could say anything, she turned around and closed her eyes, unwilling to talk anymore.

The child sighed.

He took out another book—one that was his favorite and the reason he started to love reading.

"What's so good about that book?" the woman suddenly spoke without turning back to him.

"Err…. It's written by [The Myth of Wisdom]."

The child scratched his cheek.

He had a lot more good points about the book.

But he doubted his mother would understand.

"The B-rank Awakener Athena?" she asked.

"Yeah, she was an author before the apocalypse hit decades ago. Failed author, though.

"Her only famous book is this one,

Son of Zeus: The Lightning Thief

."

The child became excited as he talked about his favorite book.

"Oh, right. The book is not based on [The Myth of Invincibility]. The Zeus in the book is from mythology of…."

He stopped speaking when he realized she had fallen asleep.

"…"

The child raised his body and stared at the back of his mother.

His gaze moved towards her shoulder.

She was missing an arm.

She had cut her own arm and used it as bait to save him during the day when the monster almost caught him.

The scent of the blood was the only reason he was alive.

He could still picture the scene in his mind.

She had taken a gamble. The monster could've chased her or gone after the arm, both covered in the scent of blood.

"I'm sorry."

He bit his lips to stop himself from crying.

Throughout the day, none of them had spoken about her missing arm.

It was a tacit understanding. seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The woman didn't want her child to blame himself for it, and the child was too stunned to talk about it.

"I'm sorry…"

He closed his eyes and slept.

A few minutes later, a warm hand patted him and his mother sung him a lullaby.

"It's not your fault. You are not even eight," she whispered and kissed him on the forehead.

Exhaustion took over the boy, and he fell asleep.

The next few weeks were hellish.

The mother-son duo lived their life on the edge, searching for food, hiding from monsters.

They were no longer tormented by the people because they were weak, but it didn't make life easier.

Things changed when they encountered another survivor base.

"What should we do?" the child questioned. "If that place is anything like our last base, I don't want to go there."

"…"

The woman stared at the child instead of looking at the gates.

Even though she looked unfamished due to the past weeks, her attention was focused on the child's injuries.

Bloody cuts, sunken cheeks, deep dark circles.

Life in a survivor's base might not be easy; however, it would be safer.

For her child at least.

She made her decision and approached the city gates.

The procedure to enter the place was surprisingly easy.

"Ma'am, our city Arzew welcomes survivors without any bias. Our leader's goal is to create a haven for everyone," said the man who had opened the gates.

"Your leader must be a good person," the woman said, her words empty praise.

"I know. I'm just too good."

The man laughed and flashed a grin.

"…."

"…."

The woman and her son stared at the man, confused. Discover more content at m,v l'e-NovelFire.net

He scratched the back of his neck when he realized they didn't understand his joke.

"…I'm the city leader. I was praising myself to… you know, make a joke."

Watching their unamused stare, the man's face turned red from shame.

It was a stark contrast to his rugged, bearded appearance.

A chuckle escaped the woman's lips and the child started to laugh.

...

Life was indeed good in Arzew city.

The child and the mother were not treated badly for being weak.

In fact, quite a few normal humans lived in Arzew city.

There was no mandatory prescription, no using non-awakened as bait.

"Goodnight," the city leader said and kissed the child on the forehead before tucking him in the bed. "Have sweet dreams."

The man turned around to leave the room.

Just as he was about to step outside, the child called out to him.

"Hey…"

"Yeah?"

"…."

"Why aren't you speaking, scared of sleeping alone?" the man teased him. "Our dear-"

"The walls are thin."

"…?"

"It's hard to sleep when you come home at night and make noises."

"…!?"

The man and child stared at each other for a few seconds.

The first to break the stare was the man.

He coughed.

"…We'll keep it quiet."

The man closed the door and left.

The child sighed.

He hadn't spoken of the issue to his mother.

She would ask him where he learned about these things, and he didn't want to embarrass his mother by telling her he could hear her and her best friend 'working hard' at night.

The man?

He could get kicked in the balls and the child wouldn't spare him a glance.

Unable to sleep at night, the child took out a book and started to read it.

Time passed.

The days spent in Arzew were fulfilling.

The man had proposed to his mother and they were officially dating.

Everything was good until the expedition.

The man and his friends left the city to make a safe passage connecting Arzew City base and Oran city base.

"I'll be back in a few weeks."

The man had left with a cheerful smile.

The passage of time turned out to be extremely slow.

Days that used to pass quickly refused to end.

The woman prayed day and night for the man's safety.

They returned a week later than the scheduled time.

…The man didn't return.

Only his corpse came back.

It was a common occurrence in the world torn apart by the apocalypse.

The city and the citizens mourned.

But everything returned to normal after a few days and a new city leader was elected.

The woman, however, changed.

She refused to eat or leave the graveyard where the man was buried.

The child continued to bring food to her every day after his work and before his work.

He didn't say anything. He didn't tell her to stop or return.

'She needs time. I'm sure she will accept his death.'

The melancholic days continued.

The child kept bringing her meals.

But.

Everything changed on the day when he noticed his mother hugging someone in tears.

"You're back…. You're back…"

She muttered gibberish as an ethereal glow covered herself and the man.

The boy was shocked.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

The man….

He was the previous leader of the city and his mom's dead boyfriend.

His mom revived him.

It took the child days to come to terms with the situation.

His mother had awakened.

Her trait was extraordinary.

S-rank Trait: Lifebringer

"You'll become a Myth with your trait! Our family member is going to become famous!"

"Stop, it's embarrassing."

The man and woman snuggled in each other's arms as they sat on the sofa.

The city had been plunged into a festive atmosphere.

The appearance of an S-rank trait was a cause for celebration.

Myths were defenders of humanity.

The woman, who had the potential to become a Myth, was a light for the people who were lost in the dark times of the apocalypse.

She had become a symbol of hope.

But.

"Hey, you fucking mute! I told you to bring me something that can be used as a weakness of your mother!

"What the fuck do you mean you won't do it!?" another man, who had become the city leader after the previous city leader died, shouted.

The new city leader had lost his position when the dead city leader – now the child's father – was revived, and the citizens happily elected the revived man as the city leader.

"Should I tell everyone that your mother is a whore!?

"Hell, she is a monster!"

The man hit the child.

"She… isn't a monster…."

"Hahahah, what do you mean she isn't a monster?

"Dead don't stand again, kid. Only a Necromancer can bring the dead to life.

"I bet your mother is the [Myth of Walking Corpses]! That man, Niles Radcliff, said he would return before he was sealed.

"Your mother must be his reincarnation!"

The child shuddered.

There was no one who did not know about the Necromancer.

"My mom… isn't a… monster!" the child shouted in anger.

He tried to hit the man, but the man dodged easily.

"Fucking runt, don't try to fight back. Or did you forget about the photos!"

The man grinned and revealed pictures to the child.

…The naked picture of his mother.

A surge of anger rose from the depths of the child's heart.