It had been a couple days since then…
In the vast expanse of a cloudy space, where the endless void seemed to stretch out forever, Alister’s eyes fluttered open.
His vision was blurry, and he blinked several times to adjust to the dim light surrounding him. As his senses slowly came into focus, he saw a figure standing before him… a woman. Her long silver hair went down her back, shimmering faintly despite the dull, clouded surroundings.
She held two infants in her arms, one of them Alister, the other a baby version of his sister, Miyu. Both babies were crying loudly, the sound of their wails filling the silence.
‘Where am I… Am I crying?’ Alister wonderd.
He coid already tell what he was recalling was a memory, seeing as he couldn’t move his body and is actions were not by his will.
Espicelly the loud crying.
But there was something strange about the woman. The further Alister’s gaze traveled, the more unsettling the sight became.
Her face was marked with black cracks, her features almost too blurry to make out, as though his baby eyes couldn’t really make out the full details.
Yet he was certain of one thing… her silver hair glowed with with a bright sheen, and a radiant yellow light emanated from where her eyes should have been.
Despite the warmth of the glow, something about it felt distant and unattainable.
He also noticed two massive white dragon wings unfurling gracefully behind her. Small, delicate white scales around her neck, catching the soft glow of her aura as she moved.
She entered what seemed to be a cave… a dim, hollow space… and gently placed both infants in a small corner.
“Sorry, my darlings,” she whispered, her voice filled with sorrow. “But mommy has to go now.”
Alister could feel the weight of her words even though he couldn’t fully understand them. ‘This…. This is my mother?’ Alister thought.
‘It’s really her… She looks simmiler with the photo.’
‘And also… There is that.’
Alister’s eyes drisfed to the Overlord’s heirloom that hung as a necklace with a chain around her neck, but beside that.
He noticed a strange black cracked skull marking on her neck.
It was strenge, pulsing darkly.
He saw Miyu continue crying loudly, her tiny hands reaching out desperately, gripping the woman’s finger as if pleading with her not to leave.
The woman’s gaze softened. “Miyu, dear, mommy is sorry. Don’t cry. It’s not your fault,” she murmured, her voice soothing, though filled with a sorrow Alister could feel deep within his bones. “But if mommy stays, you’ll be in danger.”
Alister’s gaze locked onto her as she lifted one of her fingers. It glowed yellow, and as it touched Miyu’s small forehead, the baby’s cries faded away. In an instant, Miyu fell into a peaceful sleep, her small body resting in the corner of the cave.
“There, there,” the woman whispered, bending over her children. She looked at Alister then, her smile tender yet melancholic.
“There is my strong warrior,” she said, her tone filled with affection. “You aren’t even scared, are you?”
Alister’s small hands reached out toward her, his baby fingers stretching to grasp hers. Despite not fully understanding, he instinctively wanted to hold on… to not let her go. The woman chuckled softly, her warmth reaching him in a way he couldn’t explain. “Seems my little warrior wants a hand to hold,” she said with a gentle laugh. “Okay, you know what?” With a tender motion, she pulled his hand away from her own and placed it in Miyu’s tiny hand. “You can hold little Miyu,” she said. “She might cry if no one holds her, okay?”
Alister, even as a baby, could feel the weight of the responsibility, the silent promise that came with being the older brother. He didn’t cry, but he understood the woman’s words somehow… he had to take care of his little sister.
The woman’s smile softened, and she whispered one final time. “Take care of her now. You’re the big brother, so you can’t let your little sister cry.”
With that, she began to fade, her figure becoming more ethereal by the second. “Mommy will leave now, my little treasures,” she said, her voice barely more than a soft echo now. “I will always keep you in my hearts.”
As her presence dissipated into the cloudy space, the last thing Alister saw was her yellow glow, a faint light in the endless dark.
The cave grew quiet once more, and all that remained was the soft, rhythmic breathing of the two babies.
The connection between them, the bond forged in that moment, remained unbroken.
Seeing her rave Alister couldn’t help but slowly began to tear up, tears welling up in this tiny infant eyes of his.
For some reason he was cartain of eht he as a baby thought and felt in that moment, and in honesty, he presently thought and felt that way as well.
‘Mother… Please… Don’t go.’
….
“You know, crying doesn’t exactly look cool on a grown guy who everyone’s hailing as some Dragon Lord, bro.”
Alister’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and for a brief moment, he felt disoriented.
The cave, the woman, and the strange, haunting memory of his childhood faded as quickly as they had come.
He was no longer in that strange space. Instead, he was lying in his bed in his room, his living quarters to be exact.
He felt unease in his chest, an unfamiliar sensation. His hand instinctively went to his face, rubbing his eyes as if trying to wake from a bad dream.
But something was off. His mind was still lingering on the strange moment with the woman and his infant self. He blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the fog.
Alister’s gaze darted to the doorway, his breath catching in his chest.
Standing there, leaning casually against the frame with her arms crossed, was none other than Miyu… his sister. She was wearing a black crop top and Jean shorts with a playful smirk on her
face.
She then spoke, pointing at him, “Today is supposed to be my first day training with you and your team, aren’t you supposed to wake up early. Set an example for me?”
“Big brother?”