Chapter 53: 5★ Mother of Bad Omens Karne – (4)

The charred saint, Selene, took a deep breath and set down the Ember Wedge Sword.  

The sword was smeared with flesh and blood, and around her lay the ashes of thousands, tens of thousands of the Omens.  

In just a few minutes, Selene had slaughtered all of Karne’s minions that had rushed at her.  

But it wasn’t a victory.  

Instead, Selene shuddered with a crushing sense of defeat.  

“…Ugh.”  

She had failed.  

Karne, the Mother of the Omens, had outmaneuvered her and kidnapped her lord.  

It was entirely Selene’s fault.  

In the end, she had failed to protect her lord.  

“… .”  

Selene’s posture crumbled.  

Collapsing to the ground, she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.  

“…Stupid woman…”  

Selene berated herself, tearing at her hair.  

When she had faced her lord again, she had vowed to protect him, even at the cost of her life.  

But what had she done? 

Her promise had been rendered meaningless by her own mistake, putting her lord in danger. 

The moment she realized this, she could no longer remain sane.  

“…That, whore.”  

The tip of her sword pointed toward Karne.  

Selene gazed at the seething swarm of the ominous horde in the distance.  

Without her lord, the world held no meaning. 

There was no reason for Selene to live.  

If that was the case, then she would burn the entire world to the ground.  

She had done it before, so it wouldn’t be difficult. 

Selene summoned all the fire within her.  

[5★ Charred Saint Selene activates the skill ‘Falling Embers’.]  

The Saint’s Flame Crest began to burn white.  

Falling Embers. 

The most destructive of Selene’s unique skills. 

A final resort that would burn her own body to incinerate the entire world.  

But Selene’s flames would not engulf the world.  

“Suicide is one thing, but isn’t the timing a bit awkward?”  

At the sudden voice, Selene turned her head to see a woman with short, deep blue hair standing there.  

“Mirien.”  

Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, was glaring at Selene with a look of pity.  

“…What exactly is going on here?”  

“Can’t you see?”  

“No, I know the Actor was kidnapped. But I don’t understand why you’re here like this.”  

“Is there any meaning to a world without my lord? How can you remain so calm?”  

“…Sigh.”  

Mirien sighed and gestured. 

With a simple manifestation of mana, the Ember Wedge Sword Selene was holding flew far away. 

Something that would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances.  

“You’ve lost your composure. Idiot, pull yourself together.”  

Despite Mirien’s words, Selene’s eyes burned coldly.  

Seeing this, Mirien also let out a bitter smile.  

‘Did I look like that in the Actor’s eyes too?’  

Not long ago, when she had confronted the Actor at the tower, Mirien herself must have looked just like Selene did now.  

Seeing it firsthand, it was utterly pitiful. 

She could understand why Selene had berated her so harshly.  

But Mirien didn’t have the luxury of teasing Selene.  

“To put it simply, the Actor is alive.”  

At those words, the flames around Selene subsided.  

“My lord…?”  

“Yes. If Karne truly intended to kill him, why go through the trouble of kidnapping him?”  

Mirien’s left eye was already tracking the Actor, who was no longer here.  

“Karne is skilled at hiding her presence, so even my magic can’t locate her. But the Actor is in a human body now. It’s somewhat difficult to track him within the nest, but not impossible.”  

“…Where, where is he? If my lord is alive, is he safe?”  

Selene grabbed Mirien’s cloak and pleaded desperately.  

“Hey, hey, what’s with you? You’re going to tear it off!”  

Mirien hastily adjusted her clothes and spoke.  

“Don’t worry. The Actor is alive. I can’t say for sure if he’s unharmed, but stop whining and pull yourself together. Fix that disheveled hair of yours. If the Actor sees you like this, he’ll think you’re pathetic.”  

“…Ugh.”  

At the mention of the Actor, Selene regained her composure. 

She re-equipped the Ember Wedge Sword that Mirien had sent flying and straightened her disheveled clothes.  

Selene coughed awkwardly and looked at Mirien.  

“Did you see anything embarrassing?”  

“Shut up and lead the way, you magic nerd.”  

“About that ‘magic nerd’ thing…”  

Mirien shook her head mid-sentence.  

“Never mind. If you’re joking around like this, you must be fine.”  

Mirien chuckled, and Selene quietly turned her head away.  

*  

[5★ Mother of the Omens, Karne, gazes at the ruler ‘Actor’.]  

The Mother of the Omens, Karne, narrowed her eyes as she stared at the Actor.  

A word that had just escaped his lips echoed in her mind.  

He had clearly said this:  

—Mother.  

That was it.  

It was a term the ruler of the rift, the Actor, had never once used to address her before.  

Karne’s black wings trembled slightly.  

At first, she was stunned. 

But the emotion that followed was intense.  

How dare he, after all this time, call her that?  

“…Actor, are you trying to mock me with such foolish wordplay?”  

Karne’s tone remained gentle, but her anger was unmistakable. 

Having been betrayed twice, she could not allow a third. 

The forsaken goddess glared coldly at the ruler who had once been part of her.  

Yet, even under that menacing gaze, the Actor’s expression remained unshaken.  

“No, I mean it. I have never abandoned you, Mother.”  

Before Karne could point out the sudden shift to polite speech, the Actor continued with a resolute expression.  

“Please listen to me, Mother. I can explain everything.”  

“…Actor.”  

“Yes. You can at least hear me out, can’t you? I trust you, Mother.”  

“Stop calling me that…”  

The Actor cut her off.  

“I know that you are still kind and that you care for me. Before you sought to annihilate the world, you went through the trouble of placing me in a safe place, didn’t you?”  

He had struck a nerve.  

Karne had kidnapped the Actor precisely because she couldn’t bear to see him buried under the swarm of the ominous horde.  

“To put it simply, I wish to serve you once again.”  

“It’s too late, child.”  

“It’s not too late yet.”  

“Even if you call me Mother again, nothing will change. …I have been abandoned twice, and the curse of the Omens will consume us all.”  

Karne had already given up on everything.  

Gathering her minions and covering the world with black feathers was nothing more than a desperate struggle.  

The Actor seemed well aware of this fact.  

“Mother, I intend to become the Absolute.”  

“…I had a feeling.”  

“To achieve that goal, I was the first to discard my immortal body. As you can see, I am now speaking to you in a human form.”  

“…You willingly became a mortal.”  

“Yes.”  

The Actor smiled bitterly.  

A divine being reduced to a mortal.  

Karne, once the mother of all creation and a goddess, could understand the hardship that entailed.  

“But I don’t think it was in vain. This way, you can touch me, and I can do the same, isn’t that right?”  

As if entranced by his words, Karne’s hand slowly reached out to touch the Actor’s face.  

A soft sensation.  

Naturally, Karne’s reasoning led her to one conclusion.  

“Actor, could it be that you abandoned us all because…”  

“Yes. The path to becoming the Absolute is inevitably lonely. Knowing that I would bring misfortune to everyone someday, I decided to leave them all behind.”  

The Actor explained clearly.  

His voice showed no sign of wavering.  

“So, I never intended to abandon you, Mother. The reason I didn’t explain it to you earlier… was because, as your child, I didn’t want to see your sad expression.”  

“… .”  

Karne fell silent.  

But in her mind, she kept repeating one word.  

‘Mother…’  

How long had it been since she had been called that?  

Many children had followed Karne before. 

The lives born from her hands had all worshipped, revered, and sworn loyalty to her. 

They had all called her Mother, but only one had never done so.  

The man standing before her now.  

And now, he was calling her Mother.  

“… .”  

At first, she was stunned.  

Why now, of all times?  

He knew full well how much that word had shattered her.  

Was he trying to deceive her again?  

Karne’s black wings trembled. 

Wings that had once embraced countless children now carried only death.  

Yet, somewhere deep within Karne’s chest, there was a faint ache.  

Faintly, ever so faintly.  

If the Actor was truly sincere.  

No, had he ever lied to her before?  

A crack formed in the void of her heart.  

“…I am not your birth mother… but even so… I truly thought of you as my child.”  

“Isn’t that still the case?”  

“…Yes. I can’t deny that.”  

“Yes. I also think of you as my mother, Karne.”  

The Actor called her “Mother” again.  

And the possibility that, this time, it might not be a lie—  

It shook her heart in a way that was almost cruel.  

A moment of silence.  

As Karne was lost in nostalgia, the Actor spoke again.  

“I have resolved to become the Absolute and have let go of everything. And now, I wish to reclaim it. That’s why I came here to find you, Mother.”  

“Actor.”  

“Yes. As you might have guessed, those who accompany me will never find happiness.”  

“…Even so.”  

“Yes. Even so, I need you, Mother.”  

“… .”  

“Will you become my mother once again?”  

Karne smiled bitterly.  

From the lips of the one who had left her in the past.  

From the child who had betrayed her most cruelly, those words tore her heart apart.  

This was undoubtedly a deception, she thought.  

She had to believe that.  

Because if she didn’t, she would waver.  

But.  

“How vexing. If you say it like that, I can’t refuse.”  

Just the word “Mother.”  

That single word.  

It became a blade that could neither deny nor affirm, piercing her heart.  

Once again, she couldn’t hide her true nature.  

She placed a hand over her chest. 

For a moment, she felt as if the corrupted essence within her had been touched by light once more.  

The Actor pressed on, driving the wedge deeper.  

“Mother, will you stay with me?”  

“…If you insist.”  

Karne’s black wings folded quietly.  

As if it had never been there, the barrier surrounding them disappeared.  

*  

[Progress has been updated.]  

[5★ Mother of the Omens, Karne, pledges her loyalty to you.]  

[Congratulations. Ruler ‘Actor’, you have cleared the dungeon ‘Nest of the Omens’.]  

[Rewards: 2000 Exp / 5★ Mother of the Omens, Karne]  

“…It actually worked.”