Chapter 317: A Deep Warmth

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Chapter 317: A Deep Warmth

Mid Evening - Early Summer : Atlas | Bahamut

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"Dummy! Dummy! Dummy! Dummy!"

Krystallo repeatedly stomped on my head as we slowly descended to the ground, with Mother still tightly clinging to my chest as if afraid to let go of me. *Fwoosh* *Fw-Fwoosh*

As I finally touched down, I lowered my stance and looked up at Krystallo before speaking with a hopeful tone. "I-I'm assuming you won't accept an apology?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" *stomp-WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* Tears slowly welled in her eyes as she stomped on my head, managing to balance herself on my head and horns.

But while my mind raced to think of a way to calm her down, Mother finally started to ease her grip on me and looked up at me with a pure, thankful expression.

"I..I'm glad.. you're finally home safe..." The tears in her eyes quickly started streaming down her face as she spoke. "I.. thought we really lost you..." *pat* Pressing her forehead into my chest again to hide her crying expression from my gaze, her frost tears dripped down my scales.

Gently picking up Krystallo with my aura, I lowered my head next to Mother and spoke gently. "I'm sorry for making you worry..."

As I gently pressed my head into her to hold her close, she gripped me even tighter before her breathing shortened and her words became stuttery. "If this- is a dream... I hope I- never wake up!"

Seeing her sobbing, I felt my chest ache, but more than anything, I was thankful to be alive as well... -If I wasn't spared... I wouldn't be the one here right now...- A mix of worry, sadness, and anger instantly started to well in my mind.

But after a moment, I felt small pieces of ice falling onto the back of my neck and glanced up to see Krystallo sniveling while I held her with my aura. "I THOUGHT YOU REALLY DIED, YOU DUMMY!" She quickly started squirming as her icy, crystalline tears were thrown through the air.

"A.. A lot happened... A lot of things out of my control..." Guilt quickly started infecting my swirling emotions. "I'm.. sorry..."

Slowly lowering her back onto my head, she clung to me momentarily before Ilios walked up and started licking her face with a happy wag in his tail.

"Mmmm..." *Lick-Lick-Lick* "Even Ilios is bigger than me now!" She pouted as Ilios happily licked away her tears.

But the crying continued for many hours after that, until eventually, we made it to the living room where I had laid down with Krystallo and Ilios sleeping on me.

Mother was the only one besides me still awake, but after crying her heart out for so long, even she was drowsy.

However, rather than talking, we watched the massive flame in the fireplace dance and listened to the enormous tree trunks crackling under the heat.

But after a moment, she crept over and snuggled beside me.

Once she finally got comfortable, she spoke with a lethargic but warm tone. "Was it you that broke the moon..?"

She truly sounded like she already knew the answer. "It's.. a long story..."

"We have time... I have waited nearly eight years to hear it..."

-So, my guesses were close...- With Mother having grown to 30 meters and Krystallo to 21, it was clear quite a bit of time had passed. -But it's not nearly a century... Thank goodness...- "But I'm not sure where to start..." -How much should I even explain...-

As I fell silent, trying to think of what to say, she eventually turned her yearning gaze back toward the fire and rested her head on my leg. "If you wish to keep it a secret, that's fine... I'm sure you have your reasons."

"I..." I hesitated hearing her tone. "All I can say is that it was related to a god... I still don't know how to feel about it..."

Gently pressing her head into me, she finally closed her eyes before beginning to doze off. "Well.. if there comes a time you want to talk about it, you know I will always lend an ear."

A part of me wanted to keep talking, but at that moment, seeing her finally start to relax and ease enough to sleep, I stayed silent.

Her smile slowly widened. "The coming-of-age festival is in just over two years, sweetie."

My eyes shot open in an instant. "What?!"

"PWAAAH!" Finally making out of my grasp with a bit of help from Ilios, Krystallo glared up at me. "What was that for?!"

"You said you hated me. I can't just let you storm off and give such thoughts time to brew."

"Ack..." She immediately tensed up. "Well.. I can't deny that it helped calm me down a bit..."

"Is that so?" Glancing down at her, a slightly evil smile came to my face. "In that case, you should do it again."

Her eyes instantly shot open. "WAIT, NO! MOOOOOOMMM-" *muffled noises*

"Hoho, it seems her rebellious phase is nothing in front of you." Mother let out a soft chuckle hearing Krystallo, before closing her eyes again with a gentle smile. "I'm proud of how you've grown, Vasilias... I hope you know that..."

A warm smile found its way onto my face as I looked down at Mother's peaceful expression. I felt proud.

But before I could truly bathe in the warmth of the moment, there was a knock on the door. *knock-knock*

It was Chloe, and Mother was quick to let her in. "Please enter."

I was a bit worried about my new form for a moment, but as Chloe entered, she never took her eyes off the ground. "Uh, h-here to report that most estate staff, people in the streets as well as nearby buildings, and the estate lord have passed out... Many nobles around Atlas have also come to investigate the unbelievably oppressive aura as far as a hundred kilometers away... If I am not mistaken, it is my lord's aura."

-Ah... I forgot about that...- "Uh..." Slowly glancing down at Mother, I felt a cold bead of sweat form on my head. "About that..."

But she was too shocked to budge. "A hundred kilometers?!" She quickly looked up at me. "Did you fly over them or something?"

"Uhm.. that's just my aura now... It's.. uh.. pretty far beyond what I can control..."

Her mouth slowly fell open before she zoned out and turned to Chloe. "T-tell them it's one of the Ancient Fenrir."

-Huh? What?-

I was instantly thrown through a loop, but before I could think about it, Mother looked up at me. "I think.. it's time I find you a better aura control technique... Although I'm not sure we have anything in our family library for that volume of aura..."

-The family library?-

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