Ten Years of Change

The Mistress of the Branch House of Ariad stepped out of a silver-coated carriage engraved with the Ariad Household crest; she carried an elegance as though it was natural for her to be described as such.

Through her amber eyes, as she witnessed the parallel line of maids numbering around five in each section excluding Olivia, lowering their heads as they stood between an artistically carved stone path, a sense of puzzlement painted her countenance.

'Do I need to remind them again to treat me as casually as possible? Sigh.' Even after several years after she officially became the second wife of the Patriarch of Ariad, such seemingly noble treatment was something she found conflicting to get accustomed to.

Elizabeth Ariad, born of a commoner status through a commoner bloodline, was Zero Ariad's mother who fell in love with the Patriarch of Ariad. In the same way, the Patriarch of Ariad rode the same boat as her, as the two of them floated in the same river of undulating emotions. Everything was at the right moment and the right time, with only a perceived debatable flaw called social status.

Adorned with a light blue dress, with her strides gently supported by a pair of casual sandals, befitting those who have never forgotten their roots, Elizabeth Ariad, with her cascading and shimmering obsidian strands, addressed the temporary head maid, Olivia, who was standing by the enormous reddish brown door with a restrained yet breaking shell of emotions.

"Olivia! What are you doing–"

At that moment, approaching from several meters away toward the line of maids, Elizabeth Ariad paused, dropping everything she was holding; her whole body frozen in place.

The Mistress of the House was escorted by two Guardians entrusted by the Patriarch, each donning a full-plated armor engraved with Ariad's family crest. At their side, a thoroughly crafted and refined sword nestled within an ornate hilt, its blade emanating a glimmer of valor that traversed the confines of numerous labyrinths.

Seeing the mistress, who halted her tracks for some reason and subconsciously released the belongings she bought in the nearest market district, the two Guardians followed her gaze, only for their eyes to widen in incredulity.

There, a silhouette of a young man inches away from the basking sunlight, donning a white cloth and dim black pajamas, someone who seemed to have been forgotten by three-quarters of the world, was standing just behind the sobbing Olivia. Her tears of delight were pouring similar to a waterfall, overwhelmed by the river's overflowing tide under the torrential rain.

With a slight nod from Olivia, Elizabeth Ariad trembled, comprehending the gesture of certainty. The latter inched closer, passing through the line of maids. Her pace was ragged, similar to someone who instantly lost her energy, while her face flushed an expression of absolute disbelief, to the point that she thought if everything in front of her was just a hopeful dream — to see her son, washed away by the sands of time, open his eyes.

"M–my son...? I-is that y-you? H-ha."

Her distance from her son inched closer as her amber eyes couldn't resist releasing her heart's desire. Appearing in front of her son, who had been in deep slumber for around ten years, she reached for his face with both hands.

"Ah– Huff–"

It was the first time in ten years that Elizabeth Ariad felt her son's warmth in his conscious state, causing her crystalline tears to finally erupt.

"M–my beloved Z–zero! Huff–"

She lunged at him, embracing him tightly as her crystal tears of longing streamed down. It dropped on Zero Ariad's skin, which he didn't mind as his heart was poked with countless needles of dilemma, signifying the years of separation robbed by fate.

For them, even in his slumber that spanned a very long time from human perspective, the opportunity to see him up close was always present. However, for him, who traversed the starless world for around ten thousand years, it was the first time he felt again the warmth of his mother.

'This is hard...' Such a serene thought found itself in his mind.

After some time, freeing her son from her embrace, her gaze fixated on his face with a mixture of conflicting emotions. She then asked in a quivering voice, "H–how are you? Are you o-okay..?"

She didn't ask what happened, how he woke up, or when he opened his eyes. Such questions were set aside as Elizabeth Ariad was overwhelmed with gratification and concern.

Appreciating his mother's inquiry, Zero Ariad replied reluctantly, "Yes..." Before she could muster anything, he continued with hesitance, "...and I miss you, M-mother."

Even though he found such current interaction difficult, seeing his mother this close, Zero Ariad was reminded of his struggle as he was guided by his 'light,' who served as his illumination to not lose his identity in the darkness.

— "Even if it takes an infinite number of years, I will not get tired of reminding you to not forget your humanity."

At that time, he pondered Her words.

— "Yes... I will engrave your words in my soul. Without you here, I would probably be dead. And if by any chance I've survived alone with this body of mine, it would be my mind that would have certainly died."

If not for Her ability that allowed Her to occasionally cast Her gaze in this world, he would certainly have long forgotten how his mother looked like.

If not for Her presence alone, he would have already succumbed to insanity caused by loneliness.

However, despite his body and soul carved through with his thousands of years of experience, Zero Ariad had yet to grasp how to appropriately present himself in front of someone familiar other than 'Them'. Even though he would sometimes see his mother through Her eyes, it seemed as though the separation of two worlds was more than enough for him to feel distant.

The eyes weren't enough to fulfill the longing of a fragile heart.

Knowing this, Her words echoed in his mind as the latter focused his gaze on the woman who conceived him.

— "If by any chance you find it hard to maintain your humanity, then remember..."

"..."

'Yes, that's right...'

It had been less than a day since he opened his eyes to this world. Dawned with realization as nostalgic moments of constant reminder flooded his mind, Zero Ariad reached for his mother.

He hugged her, this time without being reserved.

Caught unprepared, as though her maternal instincts kicked in, she waited for her son's next words. But after a moment or two, nothing escaped his mouth. Instead, something cold streamed down her shoulder.

It was his tears.

***

Every maid watching the spectacle couldn't help but feel emotional. After all, the unprecedented transpired after the countless critical scrutinizations in regard to their Young Master's bizarre condition.

His mother did everything she could to find out about what had befallen him, neglecting the only wide-known "possibility". But even throughout the vast continent, no one was knowledgeable enough or had an inkling about his circumstances, causing the flames of hope to gradually dissipate.

On the other hand, with the resistance and intervention of the Matriarch of Ariad, the Patriarch's desire to uncover his second wife's son's condition was limited. Considering the circumstances surrounding the Ariad Household, the Patriarch also had no choice, when the Great Emperor of the Endaira Empire had promoted him from being a Count to Marquis around four years ago, but to relocate his slumbering son along with Olivia's mother and several maids who wholeheartedly served under Elizabeth Ariad.

It was because of Zero Ariad's peculiar condition, that if thoughtlessly revealed, could be utilized against the Ariad Household by other nobles who were unable to express their disapproval in front of the Great Emperor during the Patriarch's promotion.

It was due to the two well-known doctrines; one from the Church of Wanderer, the other from the Church of Light, which were found within the Labyrinth Records — "Absolute Divine Interpretation."

The Absolute Divine Interpretation was accounted by one of the Angel-borne ancient ancestors under the tacit agreement of the other six races. This acted as a guide from the heavens, encompassing the information about the 'duration' of the "Calling" an individual would go through, which was stated to be only between seven days to seventy-seven weeks.

The longer the subject of awakening was in deep slumber, the higher the chance that one would acquire more than one Attribute with the possibility of one or two being outside the realm of what's considered natural, elemental, and structural. It was also written that there was a slim chance for the subject's soul to be engraved with more than just one Affinity.

This continentally accepted record was the concern for Zero Ariad's case, that if the subject of the "Calling" exceeded seventy-seven weeks, it could be interpreted that his soul was lost and would endlessly wander the Abyss.

For the Church of Wanderer, it was theologically coined as the "Divine Dream," viewed by its ardent followers as an act of Seven Deities to provide solace for those who found reality as hell, making them wander within the realm of dreams with endless illusory possibilities.

But for the Church of Light, such circumstances were referred to as "Divine Abandonment," which stated that the Seven Deities abandoned the subject of the "Calling" after the individual was deemed unworthy, with only the Seven Deities aware of the reason why.

Through the passing of time, after the countless events either recorded or buried in the fog of history, the Church of Wanderer abandoned the doctrine of the Divine Dream and adopted the Divine Abandonment along with the other Churches. That's why in the current era, the latter doctrine was the standard belief, putting Zero Ariad in a pinch as he could be considered a disgrace to the Ariad Household.

Since it was a well-known doctrine stemming from the Angel-borne race, the maids including Olivia had a collective thought, 'I don't know about the Divine Abandonment, but this can be called a divine miracle.'

In the midst of everything transpiring, a soft voice of a girl echoed, "B–brother..?"

Zero Ariad released his mother, his brown eyes fixed on a little girl around eight to nine years old. She adorned a casual white dress and a pair of adorable sandals similar to her mother's. Her child eyes were brown-hued, and her mid-back length raven hair serenely fluttered as she sauntered behind the butler, who was equally shocked after seeing the Young Master.

Since Elizabeth Ariad bought many things, the butler and the little girl were left inside the silver-coated carriage, especially because the latter insisted on arranging and carrying along some things, resulting in the two of them to belatedly notice what was happening.

"Um, Zero, she's your sister. You see..."

Olivia sensed that the Mistress of Ariad seemed to be at a loss for words because of the unexpected circumstances.

Clap. Clap–!

With two claps, she interjected as she gained everyone's attention, "I'm sure you're all quite exhausted, be it mentally or physically. So we prepared a feast for the Young Master's awakening!"

Ending the sudden awkward atmosphere, the family residing in the Branch House dined for breakfast altogether after an unbelievable number of years of separation.

***

Olivia left with the other maids after everything was served, an etiquette against the norm since every meal, several maids would wait behind the noble family to finish dining. But such a tradition was temporarily neglected as a tacit understanding was met between the temporary head maid and Elizabeth Ariad; the former understood that the latter needed some time alone with her son.

'Thank you, Olivia.' Elizabeth Ariad inwardly sighed before scrutinizing the cuisines placed on the long mottled luxurious table.

On the table, several cuisines were artistically laid; a basket of red apples in its center, a plate of egg omelette in front of each of them, mixed vegetable salads in smaller plates, and several glasses of lukewarm water for the final touches. It wasn't grand, but it wasn't lacking either.

After some time, when the three of them finished their meal, Elizabeth Ariad took a deep breath before initiating the conversation in the midst of this awkward atmosphere.

"Zero, this is your little sister, Masha."

***

Inside one of the fine-looking lodgings of the Villa of Ariad, a well-built man with blonde hair and brown eyes stripped his full-plated armor as he sat on a wooden chair in front of a brown refined table situated beside the window.

A moment later, he retrieved a three-dimensional round transparent object from his planar pocket before casually placing it in front of him.

After that, the man extended his right hand, sensing the object's surface before the blue-hued Mana emanated from his body. After three seconds, this object revealed a projection of an old man's face.

Without waiting for the old man from the other side to inquire about his purpose, the Guardian opened his mouth in seriousness:

"Butler Daradnon, I have an urgent news that needs the Matriarch's immediate attention."