POV: Yuuna Mizushino
Place: Mizushino Household, Forest of Withered Stars
Date: September 13, 2214 (17 Years Before the Fall)
The scent of simmering herbs filled the air as Yuuna stirred the pot gently, her fingers moving almost automatically. Her mind, however, was far from the kitchen. The wooden ladle in her hand dipped and circled through the broth, but she didn't notice the way steam clung to her skin or how the taste of the evening meal no longer mattered.
Kai had come home with a scratch on his cheek again.
He'd smiled at her, told her it was just a fall during training, but Yuuna knew better. A mother always does.
She glanced at the wooden door, closed firmly against the night. On the other side, Kai's muffled laughter could be heard as he spoke to Akito and Touya. The boys had become a constant presence lately, bringing with them not just companionship, but something Kai sorely needed—strength. She could hear the clinks of wooden swords, the soft thuds as they practiced out back, pretending to be knights, heroes, protectors of the realm.
And yet… Yuuna's heart was heavy.
Kai was trying so hard. Too hard. He came home with sore arms, bruised legs, and eyes that burned with unspoken determination. Every night, after he collapsed into bed, she would quietly sneak into his room to check for new wounds, sometimes finding his hands blistered or knees scraped raw from the day's relentless training.
"I'll become stronger," he whispered in his sleep one night. "I have to…"
She held his hand then and wept silently.
Yuuna stepped outside to catch a breath of cool air. The Forest of Withered Stars was unusually quiet tonight. Not even the wind stirred the trees. A full moon bathed the world in pale silver light, casting long shadows across the garden.
That was when she sensed it.
A shift in the air.
A presence—cold, ancient, and deeply familiar.
She turned slowly. "You shouldn't be here."
From the shadows stepped a man clad in black robes, tall and ethereal, his presence consuming the night around him. His eyes, dark as the abyss, met hers with a rare gentleness.
"Yuuna," he spoke. His voice was like distant thunder—calm, deep, and echoing through her very soul.
"Thanatos."
The name left her lips like a curse and a prayer.
It had been years since they last met. Since he left her with nothing but memories and a child who bore his blood.
Her fists clenched. "Why are you here?"
"I came… for our son."
Yuuna's breath caught. "He doesn't even know you exist. You left him. You left us."
"I did." Thanatos looked up at the moon, shadows dancing across his face. "Because I had to. Because if he knew, it would endanger him."
"You think this is safe?" she said bitterly. "He's getting hurt. Bullied. Cast aside because he has no mana. He thinks he's worthless."
"And yet, he continues to rise." Thanatos stepped closer, his tone soft. "That is not weakness. That is strength beyond what most gods possess."
Yuuna trembled. She hated how her heart still ached when she saw him. How the pain of his absence never dulled.
"I brought something for him."
From the void, Thanatos summoned a long, obsidian box. It floated between them before gently settling onto the ground. Yuuna opened it slowly.
Inside lay a sword.
Sleek, silver-black metal glinted beneath the moonlight, humming with dormant energy. Runes etched across the blade pulsed softly with violet light. Its handle was wrapped in midnight-blue cloth—Kai's favorite color.
"It's not an ordinary blade," Thanatos said. "It was forged in the deepest part of the Underworld. Only someone with a will as unbreakable as Kai's can wield it."
Yuuna stared at it. "Why now?"
"Because soon, he will need it."
Silence fell.
Yuuna closed the box, her voice barely above a whisper. "Will you ever tell him who you are?"
Thanatos shook his head. "No. Not until he's ready. For now… this must remain our secret."
"And what if he never is?"
Thanatos didn't answer. He simply turned away, fading back into the shadows from whence he came. But just before he vanished completely, he paused.
"Tell him he's loved," he said. "Even if he never knows by whom."
And then he was gone.
Yuuna stood in the moonlight, staring at the sword box in her hands, tears silently streaking down her cheeks.
She walked back inside, gently placing the box beneath the floorboards of her bedroom—hidden, but waiting.
She knew the time would come when Kai would need it. When the truth would surface. But not today.
Tonight, she would be his mother. And that was enough.
To be continued.
[End of Chapter 13: The Silent Oath]