Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God

Chapter 76: Mother's Last Secrets

A cold wind blew across the city of Rambruck, filling most who wandered about its night-lit streets with a surge of unease. The sky now suffused by brilliant stars and the glamorous Universe Ring as it carried a tinge of redness that glowed around the looming moon.

"Whew... it's rather cold tonight..." A young woman said as she walked by the side of a man.

The man nodded as he too shivered when he spoke, "Indeed, this draft is rather chilly, let's hurry on out... eh?"

The man was about to say something, but his eyes couldn't help but be drawn towards a scene before them.

The woman also noticed the peculiar sight, staring dazedly at two individuals who stood and faced each other, a handsome young man around 15 years of age and a beautiful but sickly-looking woman who had similar features to the youth.

"Who are they?" The man asked in a hushed tone.

The young woman gave them a good look, noticing their silver hair and red eyes, she nodded before she replied in a soft tone, "I... I think that they might be relatives, either brother or sister, or mother or child, either way, I think we should head off, let's not disturb them."

"Right," The man answered as the two continued about their business, ensuring not to disturb the duo.

Currently, Nero and his mother Hersa were staring at each other as the strange mood only grew stronger; the tension in Nero's heart rose by the second as he calmly awaited his mother's words while in thought.

'What's mother saying? Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?' Nero asked inwardly to get an answer from his older self, but sadly, Adult Nero remained silent, as if he didn't exist.

Nero clenched his fist tightly as his arm started to tremble; he didn't like that his older self was not replying, adding further to his feeling of unease.

Nevertheless, he didn't have to worry for long as Hersa who had finally gathered her emotions had begun to speak, "My dear son, there's so much that you've experienced, but yet so many things that you don't understand... I even wonder if I'll be able to tell you everything."

Nero tilted his head in confusion, not getting at what she's trying to say, but Hersa merely made a light smile with complex eyes as she continued to speak, "I suppose I'll start a bit with things you don't know. Nero, many years ago, our world was one that could be considered as a somewhat normal planet, but all this changed due to the arrival of the Earth Ring, or rather... what you should now know as the Universe Ring."

When Nero heard Hersa said this, his eyes widened in surprise as he'd never imagined hearing the term Universe Ring from his mother's mouth. It immediately led him to assume many things, sending his mind in a temporary state of chaos.

Hersa sighed when she saw his look, but she continued her words, "Nero... my son, pay attention there isn't much time left..."

Nero hearing this gritted his teeth as he looked at her and nodded, Hersa then continued, "Back then, the world had undergone an upheaval as countless oddities had sprung out onto the open. People were given special abilities from objects that rained down from the sky, and a mysterious voice told us to strive for a mystical treasure in an unknown world. For a while, there was no order as man sought to pursue a myriad of agendas, leading to a period of intense conflict."

Nero hearing this couldn't hide his expression of shock as he thought to himself, 'For my mother to know all of this... could it be that she's a Digitizer? If she is, then why... why would she...?'

Hersa stared at Nero who remained silent, his arms shaking as if he pieced together many things, she took a short breath and spoke again, "Like you've guessed, your father and I had taken part in this endeavor. We awakened as second-generation Digitizers during our younger years, much later than our parents, who have inherited different bits more directly as First-Generation Digitizers. Our awakening was the start of an entirely new generation of Digitizers, later classified as Naturals."

'What? So mother isn't the only one but he... he was also a Digitizer? If he also had this kind of power, why would he even leave us behind? Why would he leave despite knowing her sickness?' Nero cursed inwardly, as his mind grew even more confused. He couldn't think straight due to the sudden information that clouded his mind.

Hersa seemed to know what he was thinking based on his current expression. She pretended not to see and spoke again, "As Naturals, we ventured the World of Promise together to accomplish great things and in hopes of acquiring the greatest treasure of all. Traveling to many lands, experiencing many battles, and fighting alongside comrades as we similarly made powerful adversaries and rivals alike. It was a fascinating journey... but much later, we had to halt our travels..."

When Hersa spoke here, her face turned a bit regretful yet joyful at the same time as if she recalled the most painful, yet beautiful thing.

Nero calmed down his emotion and asked, "Mother, was it because of the sickness?"

Hersa smiled and shook her head to decline his words; she then answered, "No, I wasn't sick back then, the reason we had decided to retire was that we had realized that the greatest treasure wasn't some object in a foreign land... but something much unexpected, it was you our unborn child..."

When Nero heard this, his eyes turned red as he looked at his mother, he always knew that his mother loved him, but he didn't think his father considered him like such. He took a moment to calm his racing heart and spoke, "Then mother... if I was so precious to him, why would he leave us behind? Why would he do what he did when you are in such a state?"

Hersa stared at Nero profoundly before she shifted her eyes onto the Universe Ring in silence, Nero remained calm, though he had a hard time accepting her words regarding his father. He instinctively knew it was the truth, and it caused him to feel a surge of pain in his soul.

Hersa sighed before she spoke but with an even more complex expression, "Nero there will always come a time when you'll have to learn to make hard choices, he made his choice, and I being his wife decided to accept it. It was when we had decided to leave the world, we had already delved too deeply in a terrifying Special Region of the highest order, and because of that, we couldn't call upon the powers of the Universe Ring to exit. We battled against the core alien powers and in that battle I was grievously wounded, it was a power from an ancient artifact, one that had the power to destroy all living things... because of this, there was nothing that could be done by either magic, treasures, or even our primitive use of science..."

Nero hearing these words knew what she was saying, his eyes widened as he spoke, "Mother... are you saying that he actually went to..."

Hersa promptly spoke, finishing his words, "Correct, after successfully retreating from that area, your father then spent a few years at my side before he left to find a way to save me, traveling towards a fabled land with countless greater dangers, but as you can see, despite his efforts he never returned. His wish was to find a cure for the curse that no one had the power solve, and the only way to do so is through..."

"The Treasure of Wishes... so that's why it's like this," Nero said finishing Hersa's words, his eyes shining as his mind came to complete realization.

At this moment, Nero felt a different feeling; he finally understood why his father did those things and why no matter how many times he bad mouthed him, his mother never cursed him.

Hersa, upon seeing Nero's look smiled as her face showed a look of relief, she thought to herself, 'Finally, I'm glad he at the very least he learned his father's efforts...'

As she finished her thoughts, Hersa looked at her palms, which were even paler now; her eyes seemed a bit unfocused as the surroundings became a bit blurry.

She sighed as she spoke, "Nero..."

When Nero heard this, he woke from his thoughts seeing her look, which had fallen by a section, he had a bad feeling. Still, before he could say anything, she spoke again with a smile, "Nero, my dear son, there is so much you should know, but it would seem that I won't have that chance to tell you. So, I want you to remember, remember your father's sacrifice. Remember that you are never truly alone in this world, no matter what happens, and always always keep a close company with your friends. Lastly, remember that I no matter what... shall... always... love... y...."

Hersa wanted to say something, but right at this time, the sparse clouds shrouded the moon as if it was trying to prevent it from witnessing the following sight.

Blarg! Hersa, who was trying to speak suddenly halted, her expression transforming into one of utmost pain as she opened her mouth and spewed out a bucket load of black blood.

As she did this, her body stood upright in an unsteady manner as by now; she found that she couldn't say any words, the world around her slowly began to fade into darkness as her mind began to lose focus.

Nero was alarmed; he never thought something like this would just happen out of the blue. Shocked by the sudden change, he stretched his trembling arm forward as he opened his mouth and uttered, "Mo-Motheeeer!"

Following his tragic cry, Hersa barely managed to turn her dim eyes towards him, forcing a warm smile once more from her blood-stained lips.

She moved her mouth as if saying something, but no words came out, not long after, she had started to fall. Her fall seemed to be in slow motion, as Nero dully looked at this scene.

He couldn't think, as his mind had gone blank, the clouds that shrouded the moon soon after left as the cold light graced his figure with its luminance, painting a sorrowfully but slow picture.