Adam listened quietly to Cecilia as she told him her story.
This was the first time she had heard her talk about her past so freely. Her life and mischief as a kid. The games she did with her sister and the scolding she sometimes received from her parents.
Indeed. Children sometimes made the mistake to forget that their parents were also children in the past.
They made their own mistakes, had their own experience, and braved their own trials.
Cecilia's voice was steady. Even when she spoke about the darkest time of her life, she did not waver.
Adam closed his eyes and continued to listen.
He imagined this small nine years old girl, facing an unreasonable event that destroyed her whole life in an instant.
On that day, she lost everything. Her childish innocence went to the grave alongside her parents.
Adam suddenly found himself pathetic.
His life had changed one day suddenly like for Cecilia. But he had only been complaining.
Even the fact that he killed people not long ago seemed so trivial.
He...
"Hey... I hope you aren't thinking something stupid like, <she suffered so much. I don't have the right to complain.>>"
Adam didn't speak, but his reaction was enough, she sighed and took his head away from her bosom before holding tightly and looking at him deeply in the eyes.
"Pain is the one thing that should never be compared."
She said firmly.
"I was lucky. I had great parents. I still have my sister and I was adopted by a great man. Some people in the world are born with no one to love them.
"Some people, are born in war-filled countries.
"Some others will never be able to eat enough to satiate their hunger."
She continued to list different situations,
"Objectively speaking. Their pain and suffering are even more heartbreaking than mine. But does that mean I don't have the right to feel sad?"
Adam shook his head which caused Cecilia to smile,
"See. Pain is something personal. Even if all the people in the world went through the same pain, they could never truly understand each other."
Cecilia knew this reality more than anyone else.
"Well, Adam, now your turn."
He gave a bitter chuckle, "This isn't truth or dare."
"Haha. Of course, it isn't. Now speak. Stop leaving me hanging on a cliff."
"Hah..."
Adam closed his eyes and fell silent.
*Thump*
His heart was beating so fast, he felt like it would burst.
In the end, he was a mama boy down to the core.
Cecilia's opinion of him had always been one of the most important things in his opinion. He loved and respected her so much and did not want to see her look at him with disgust or disappointment.
But,
'Why am I letting my insecurities dictate my actions?'
Cecilia had proven without a shadow of a doubt that she would always be on his side.
This was why,
"I killed nine people today."
Cecilia's eyes opened wide at this declaration.
He wondered what he should ask first. Perhaps asking if the one who died where innocent. Or simply ask what happened or why.
But--"Are you alright?"
Adam was quite surprised as he saw Cecilia show worry towards him first. As if dismissing the death of the nine people.
"Mom, I am immortal."
"-- and you have to die to activate it."
Cecilia's eyes were full of sadness. She knew very well that the only way for him to activate his power was death.
How many times did he have to suffer so much?
"I killed nine people! Don't you want to ask me about that first!?"
Adam stood up and shouted but then stopped himself and bowed his head in shame.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't have raised my voice."
Adam felt ashamed about the lack of self-control he had just shown.
"Come here."
She patted the sofa and once Adam hesitated a little, she simply dragged him down.
"I understand what you did."
Cecilia spoke with a soothing tone.
"I also wish to hear in more detail what truly happened."
Still, there was one thing that Cecilia would never doubt.
"Whatever you did. There is one thing I know...My son would never hurt innocent people."
Her voice held a belief beyond measure.
In that instant, Adam understood that his mother believed more in him than he believed in himself.
"So now, tell me everything that happened."
Cecilia was calm.
Death was something all too common. But if Adam died during this fight, it means that those who faced him were hunters or supernatural creatures.
She needed to know everything that transpired to make the appropriate preparation and possible attack that might come at them.
But now, what she needed more than anything, was to make sure this did not leave a shadow in his mind.
Adam quieted down and then explained everything as he was told.
His feeling when he was attacked, and his ruthlessness when he retaliated. The way he killed them all. The new skills he obtained.
All this time, Cecilia stayed silent. Even when he spoke about Natasha's transformation and Aleksandra, she simply frowned but did not interrupt.
When Adam finished, Cecilia could only sigh and pat his head,
"You had a rough Day."
Adam chortled, "This is the understatement of the year."
Talking had helped him greatly. But he wasn't finished.
"Mom..."
"Yes?"
"You know... I am scared of myself."
He spoke softly.
"When I was attacked, I had no thought about this being a misunderstanding. Nor did I search for a peaceful option."
"You did right. Hesitation means Death in a fight. Even if you woke up later, your hesitation might have cost the life of your friend."
"I know but...Is it normal for me to think like that even though it was my first real fight to death?"
Adam wondered. He had fought many times in the past. But it was simply for money. Never did it involve his life.
Adam wondered if it had something to do with his identity.
At the end of the day -- Adam was not human.
He had moved and attacked through sheer instinct alone. Like an animal.
Even the last time when he saved Sae, he had not hesitated in using enough force to completely cripple them.
In a way...It was as if he was born to kill.
"What am I exactly?"
He was a Primogenitor. But of what? What was his race exactly? What was his weakness? His strength?
Vampires saw humans as nothing more than food or pets.
Werewolves and shapeshifters were under the influence of the instincts of their inner animals.
Dwarves were the beloved of earth.
Elves and Drows were the beloved of nature.
Then what about him?
"You are my son."
Cecilia hugged him tightly. Wishing she could show how much she loved him. Mere words were not enough.
Who he was or what he was, stopped mattering for her long ago.
In the past, she had cared about it. Worrying and even fearing what could happen.
She had considered Adam to be the source of all her suffering and though she had never abused him, she did not care for him at first when she had to raise him.
But this was the past.
Raising him, taking care of him when he was sick. Bathing him when he was dirty, going to his play, and cheering when he brought good results from school.
This was such a mundane life compared to her time as a hunter.
But she would change all of this for nothing in the world.
Cecilia knew that they indeed needed to uncover more about his power. To understand his origin in order to prepare for the future.
Perhaps one day, Adam might really stop seeing himself as a human and perhaps even reject her.
Even so...There is one truth that would never change.
"You will always be my son."
Be it now, ten years, or even thousands of years in the future.
Even if she was not the one who gave birth to him.
Even if she did not share even a drop of the same blood as him.
Even if the whole world one day went against him.
"You are my dearest child and my greatest pride. You are Adam Gospel. The son of Cecilia Gospel."
Nothing more, nothing less.
.
.
.
(AN: I really hope you liked this chapter and I think I don't need to say it after this chapter but yeah. Cecilia will go beyond /son relationship.)