Angel Monarch

Thea and Lydia both glanced towards Lin apologetically, then plopped down onto the large sofa. They each grabbed a controller and began playing a dumb racing game with the Last Angel... The scene was quite surreal, even for Faith, who always watched over her Goddess without break...

However, while the girls felt guilty about letting Xinya talk with Lin alone, the young boy only felt relief. It already took all his willpower to speak with his mother. He didn't want anyone else nearby.

Xinya and Lin watched Sera play for a few seconds before turning towards the staircase. They walked up and entered the garden with all the Angel statues.

The atmosphere was quite peaceful. Gentle breezes made the green leaves dance, while the buzzing of insects echoed through the air.

They sat down on a stone bench, near a statue that depicted Sera with a golden glaive and fierce expression. Beautifully colored butterflies danced around the metallic statue, and strangely bright yellow flowers grew at her feet.

While everything was peaceful around the mother and son, both their hearts pounded fast. Xinya leaned back with a deep sigh and stared towards the enormous tree's branches. Lin kept his eyes focused on the pathway, which zigzagged between flowery bushes and patches of grass.

"Lady Seraphine's really strong," said Lin in a meek voice, still not looking towards his mother.

Xinya also didn't glance down as she answered, "Yeah. She's much stronger than anyone else I fought against... Well, except for Victor, but he's two Ranks above Lady Seraphine..."

The Asian woman's expression turned bitter as her ex-mentor's name left her lips. She would've preferred never thinking about him again, yet she knew their paths would intersect once again in the future.

A strange sense of foreboding washed over Xinya, and with a light shake of her head, she glanced at Lin. The young boy's dark, nearly black eyes watched his mother with deep curiosity.

"Why do you look so sad?"

Xinya chuckled and raised her hand towards Lin, which caused the young boy to flinch away. His mother's heart nearly broke as she saw the terror appear in Lin's eyes for a moment.

She let her hand fall to her thigh, and she turned towards the Angel statue. With all her self-control, Xinya held back her tears and, a few seconds later, answered Lin's question.

"I'm sad because of you..."

As the words left Xinya's mouth, she quickly realized how awful it sounded. She glanced at Lin, who was close to weeping.

"Sorry, I worded myself wrong... I'm sad because of what I did to you. I should've treated you as my perfect child, yet I acted distant and awful... I'm sad because I can't rewrite the past, and can barely control my own future..."

Xinya wanted to speak further, but all she managed was a broken, choked noise as tears began streaming down her face. She sniffled and turned away from Lin, like a wounded animal trying to hide its vulnerability.

However, her attempt at looking strong failed miserably, as she felt a trembling hand grasp Xinya's own. She didn't need to look to know whose gentle hand she held.

The mother and son stayed like that for nearly an hour. Neither said anything else, yet the silence didn't feel uncomfortable.

After Xinya's first attempt at pouring her heart out to Lin, she quickly realized it wasn't time for meaningful conversations yet. First, she needed to build trust.

The distance between them might've become smaller, but they still weren't more than two strangers. They had only surface-level information about each other, and their past trauma presented another obstacle in their struggle.

Xinya didn't plan on giving up, though. She decided to tell everything to Lin, but in due time... After he heard all she had to say, Lin can decide if he desires their mother-son relationship to continue...

As Xinya and Lin sat on the bench, the Tree of Light's illumination hit Sera's glaive at a strange angle. The golden surface reflected the light and gave an ethereal aura to the surrounding garden.

The breeze gently played with the yellow flowers at the statue's feet, while bees flew between them. Lines of white pollen followed each of the bees' movements as they moved back towards their hive.

...

While Xinya and Lin sat in the peaceful garden. Underground, in the enormous gym, a close battle was ensuing.

Sera's car was moments away from surpassing Lydia. It was their last lap, and the finish line was but two hundred meters away.

"Come on, come on! Go faster, you stupid junk!" shouted Sera, while pressing buttons on her controller.

On the last turn, she moved beside Lydia's car, and they continued their race neck-to-neck. The finish line kept closing in as their cars accelerated. They moved faster and faster until only a dozen meters separated them from the end.

However, at the last moment, just before reaching the finish line, a third car appeared and sped past, stealing away their victory.

"What?! Dammit, Thea! How did you go so fast?!" asked Lydia in utter bewilderment. Even the usually silent girl lost her temper after losing such an adrenaline-filled race.

Thea placed her controller on the table, then stared at Lydia with a ridiculous, prideful grin.

"You both selected cars, which are better at turning but worse at accelerating. I simply had a greater advantage on the last straight!"

Sera glanced at the holo-screen with a dumbfounded expression. She looked at her chosen vehicle on the car-selection screen, and its stats indeed revealed its high maneuverability and control but slow acceleration.

"Well, shit... I chose it only because of the golden flame design..."

Both girls burst into laughter upon hearing Sera's self-deprecating words.

While Sera simply sighed and tossed the controller onto the table. She leaned back in her armchair. Her feet dangled on one side, while her long golden hair hit the floor on the other. With her head upside down, she stared at both girls with a small, content smile.

"Anyway, I got bored with playing, so let's have a talk before I take my leave... Could you reestablish communications with my daughter, and even consider becoming friends with her again?"

Thea and Lydia stopped laughing and glanced at each other. They discussed their issues with Vicky and her treating everyone like pieces on a chessboard. However, in talking through their problems, both girls discovered their own flaws.

After a few weeks, they felt both guilty and stubborn, so their answer to Sera's question was simple.

"We'll only begin talking to her if she apologizes first!"

Sera sighed and shook her head upon hearing Thea's words.

"Yeah, that's what I feared. Henry, Bea, I, and everyone else tried convincing her to apologize, but she's too stubborn. She refuses our attempts to help and instead doubles down to solver her problems alone... I wonder where she learned this headstrong behavior..."

Now, neither Thea nor Lydia knew Sera very well. However, even they recognized the irony of her words. They giggled silently, while the Angel continued without care.

"She doesn't even have friends who aren't family members anymore. She either goes around working from dawn until dusk, or she spends time playing with her brother. Henry tried dragging her on dates, but she either refused or brought Nick along...

"This only worsened after Glenn and the other families went back to London... She doesn't have a social life anymore..."

The girls stopped giggling upon seeing the motherly worry in Sera's golden-green eyes. It seemed Vicky's behavior was much worse than she let on.

"I don't think she mentioned this to anyone, but Vicky never had a childhood. Her earliest memories were from a dark basement... I'm pretty sure Harold took her memories in a sick way of torture... I wanted to find out before killing him, but..."

Sera sat normally on the armchair and leaned forward so her long golden hair blocked her face. Quiet sniffling noises echoed as tiny sobs shook her body.

"She remembers nothing before her ninth year, and her memories after that weren't good. She had to watch as her mother got tortured each day, then she outright lost said mother for two years... I was absent from most of her life, even after adopting her, but I tried my best..."

Tears ran down her face as she continued sniffling.

Neither girl knew how to react. Should they comfort her? Should they let her continue the monologue? Should they give advice?

"It hurts to see..." said Sera, halting both girls' thought process.

"It pains me how well Vicky functions alone for a thirteen-year-old... My beautiful young daughter... Why does she act like a mature adult?... Why has society taken away her childhood?... Why can't she have just a few normal fucking years!"

The pain and worry in Sera's voice turned to anger, which scared both girls. They felt that if they hadn't interfered now, Sera would do something stupid, like attack an army alone.

"It's not your fault or Vicky's! You did your best in raising a healthy child, while she adapted to the horrific reality of this world... Sadly, until these Apocalyptic conditions stay, childhoods aren't possible for the powerful..."

Sera brushed her golden locks out of her face and gazed up at Thea. Her eyes were puffed out and bright red, while tear marks covered her pale face.

"I think... I think it's time we talked with Vicky ourselves... It's no use letting these stupid grudges stop us from living our lives happily!" said Lydia, her voice louder, yet still unsure and shy.

Before either girl realized it, the Angel flew forward and wrapped them both in a tight hug.

"Thank you... I'm in your debt, Thea and Lydia... If you need anything, feel free to ask me anytime and I'll help!"

She continued hugging them for a few minutes, then eventually she said her goodbyes and disappeared.