Chapter 485: The Upper Realm (XI)

Gray stared at the enormous silver-black doors upon hearing Jasmine’s words.

’I’ve noticed.’

Before he could take another step, the faint silver light beneath his palm suddenly grew brighter.

VMMMMMMMM!

The star engraved upon the doors began rotating, and countless ancient runes appeared across its surface.

The surrounding mana gathered toward the entrance, forming several concentric circles before spreading throughout the chamber.

Then a voice sounded.

"After all these years..."

Gray froze.

The voice was feminine.

Soft, gentle, and carrying a warmth he hadn’t expected to hear inside an ancient ruin.

"...You’ve finally come."

Scarlett immediately raised her sword.

"Who’s there?!"

Elira moved closer to Gray, releasing a small amount of Mana as she examined the doors.

"Show yourself! We know you’re inside!"

Neither received an answer.

Instead, the silver light suddenly spread beneath their feet.

Gray’s eyes narrowed.

’Wait...’

Three circular formations appeared.

One beneath him, another beneath Scarlett, and the last beneath Elira.

The princesses immediately noticed.

"Gray, get back!"

Scarlett reached toward him, but before she could take another step, a transparent barrier rose around her body.

FWOOOM!

"WHAT?!"

Elira suffered the same fate.

A silver sphere formed around each princess, separating them from the chamber.

Their surroundings shifted, and both were transported into a smaller room beyond the main entrance, where they remained visible through a translucent wall.

Scarlett immediately struck the barrier with her sword.

CLANG!

The impact produced no visible damage.

"GRAY!"

Elira placed her palm against the barrier.

"What’s happening?!"

Gray looked toward them, then quickly turned to the formations.

’Spatial isolation?’

He examined the structure through his [Spirit Eyes], but the moment he tried to understand its workings, the runes changed.

A voice spoke again.

"Don’t worry. They won’t be harmed."

Gray slowly raised his head.

"...You seem rather comfortable sealing away the two people who accompanied me."

A soft laugh echoed through the chamber.

"I wanted to speak with my son alone. Surely you won’t begrudge your mother such a small request?"

Silence.

Completely unexpected silence.

Gray’s expression changed, and his eyes narrowed slighly.

’...My mother?’

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

Then the enormous doors began opening.

GGRRRRRRRRR...

A warm golden light poured through the widening entrance, revealing a circular chamber beyond.

Unlike the rest of the ancient academy, this room was perfectly preserved.

The walls were made of a strange white material, and countless golden symbols floated above the floor.

At the center stood a woman.

She was dressed in a long, elegant white gown, with delicate golden patterns running along its sleeves.

Her long hair fell gracefully down her back, appearing almost silver beneath the golden light.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, possessing a natural elegance which made the surrounding decorations seem dull in comparison.

Her eyes...

Gray’s eyes widened slightly.

They were the same shade of black as his own.

The woman looked at him.

And smiled.

"My dear Gray."

For once, Gray Vireux D’Aurélion had absolutely no idea what to say.

He stared at the woman, shocked...

’...What the fuck?’

His mind had gone completely blank.

The novel...

He knew the characters, their histories, relationships, abilities, and even most of their hidden backgrounds.

Yet when it came to Gray’s mother, the information had always been frustratingly limited.

She was from the Divine Realm.

She had left the Mortal Realm long ago.

And her origins had never been properly explained.

There was no detailed history, no clear explanation of her bloodline, and no information about which family or faction she belonged to.

The original story had barely mentioned her.

And now...

Here she was.

Standing before him inside an ancient structure in the Upper Plane, calling him her son.

’The Divine Realm...’

Gray’s expression became increasingly complicated.

’So the information wasn’t wrong. She really did come from the Divine Realm.’

He had expected some clues during the expedition, perhaps an ancient record or a forgotten inscription.

He hadn’t expected to meet the woman herself.

"Gray?"

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

The woman tilted her head slightly, examining his face.

"Have you forgotten your mother already?"

Gray stared at her.

Then, slowly, he raised one hand and pointed toward himself.

"...Me?"

The woman blinked, and then laughed.

A gentle, affectionate laugh.

"Who else would I be speaking to?"

Gray remained silent.

’Jasmine.’

[...Yes?]

’Do you know who she is?’

A brief pause followed.

[I’m examining her presence. Her power... is considerably beyond anything we’ve encountered in the Mortal Realm.]

’That’s not what I asked.’

[No. I don’t know her personally.]

Gray’s expression remained calm, but his thoughts were anything but.

’Wonderful. Even you’re useless.’

[You’re welcome.]

The woman watched him exchange his silent conversation.

Then she smiled again.

"You haven’t changed much. Even after all this time, you still have the habit of becoming quiet whenever something surprises you."

Gray slowly lowered his hand.

There were too many questions.

Far too many.

But one stood above the rest.

"...Are you really my mother?"

The woman’s smile softened.

She approached him.

"Of course, my child."

She stopped in front of him and gently raised one hand, brushing a strand of black hair away from his forehead.

"You’re my son. I would recognize your face anywhere."

Gray stared at her hand, more precisely... at her eyes.

The sensation was strange.

The woman before him was someone whose existence had remained almost entirely unexplained throughout the novel.

And now she was treating him with an affection that felt entirely natural.

He didn’t know how to respond.

The woman seemed to notice his hesitation.

Her expression became slightly concerned.

"What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable with me?"

Gray shook his head.

"No. It’s simply..."

He paused.

"...Unexpected."

She studied him, and then smiled before gently touching his cheek.

"I suppose it has been a long time."

Gray looked at her.

"How long?"

The woman didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, her gaze wandered over his face, as though trying to memorize every detail.

"Long enough for you to grow into such a handsome young man."

Gray blinked.

"..."

’Well. At least she has good taste.’

[Gray...]

’What?’

[Your mother is standing in front of you.]

’I’m aware.’

[Then stop thinking about how handsome you are.]

He almost laughed.

Fortunately, he managed to keep his expression under control.

The woman withdrew her hand and looked at him again.

"Come. There’s much we need to discuss."

Inside the smaller chamber, Scarlett was having considerably less fun.

"LET US OUT!"

She struck the silver barrier again.

BAAAM!

The formation remained untouched.

Elira stood beside her, examining the runes with a serious expression.

"Stop hitting it. You’re wasting your energy."

Scarlett looked at her.

"Then what do you suggest? Standing here while that woman speaks to Gray?"

"I suggest understanding the formation before doing something reckless. Look at the runes. They’re connected to the main chamber, but the energy isn’t flowing in both directions."

Scarlett glanced at the wall.

Elira continued.

"She’s deliberately separating Gray from us. The barrier is designed to prevent anyone inside from interfering with their conversation."

Scarlett’s expression darkened.

"Wonderful. So she’s powerful enough to seal us away and keep us from listening."

"Yes."

"And we have no idea why she’s interested in him."

Elira hesitated.

Then she looked toward the translucent wall.

"Perhaps she knows his past."

Scarlett turned toward her.

"His past?"

"Think about it. Gray is a human, but he’s been living in the Underworld as an Incubus. He’s also hiding an extraordinary number of abilities, and now we’ve found an ancient structure that recognizes his mana signature."

Elira frowned.

"Whatever his origins are, they seem connected to this place."

Scarlett remained silent, and lowered her sword slightly.

"...I don’t like this."

Elira gave her a sidelong glance.

"Are you worried about him?"

Scarlett immediately turned.

"Of course I’m worried! He’s the person responsible for dragging us into this expedition, and if something happens to him, we’ll have to deal with the consequences."

Elira smiled faintly.

"Of course."

"Don’t look at me like that."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You don’t need to."

Elira laughed softly.

Despite her teasing, she was also concerned.

Gray had revealed considerably more about himself during the past few weeks, yet the discovery of his human identity had only created further questions.

And now, a mysterious woman had appeared, called him her son, and separated them from him.

Neither princess intended to leave without answers.

Back inside the main chamber, Gray finally sat opposite the woman.

Two elegant chairs had appeared beside a small table, along with a pair of cups filled with a fragrant golden liquid.

He glanced at the tea, confused...

’Is she seriously offering me tea?’

The woman smiled.

"I prepared your favorite."

Gray looked down.

"...My favorite?"

"Of course."

He picked up the cup and examined its contents.

The fragrance was unfamiliar, but there was an unmistakable richness to the mana contained within.

He took a small sip.

His eyes widened slightly.

’...That’s good.’

The woman smiled as she watched him.

"I knew you would like it."

Gray placed the cup down.

There was something deeply strange about the situation.

A woman claiming to be his mother was sitting across from him, preparing his favorite tea, while he was internally struggling to reconcile the scene with the information available from the original novel.

He decided to stop circling around the subject.

"Mother..."

The woman’s smile widened.

"Yes, my dear?"

Gray leaned forward slightly.

"There’s something I’d like to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Who are you?"

For a moment, the woman seemed surprised.

Then she laughed softly.

"Such a simple question, yet I suppose you’ve never received a proper answer."

She placed her cup on the table.

"My name is something I’ll tell you later. For now, you only need to know that I came from the Divine Realm."

Gray’s expression sharpened.

The confirmation was immediate.

His mother was genuinely from the Divine Realm.

She continued.

"And this place..."

She glanced toward the surrounding walls.

"...Was once connected to my family."

Gray’s fingers stopped moving.

’Your family?’

The woman smiled at him.

"Gray, there’s something you should understand about your birth."

Her expression softened, but a faint trace of seriousness appeared behind her eyes.

"You were never supposed to inherit an ordinary human body."

Gray went still.

The cup in his hand was slowly lowered.

"...What?"

The woman leaned forward and gently took his hand.

"There’s a reason this academy recognized your mana signature. There’s a reason its formations responded to you, even though your soul was not immediately identified."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"And there’s a reason your existence is considerably more complicated than you believe."

Gray stared at her.

For the first time since entering the ancient academy, he had completely forgotten about the Undying Snake’s Orb, the fragment of the broken star, and even the competition.

His mother’s identity had always been one of the largest unanswered questions in the original story.

Now she was sitting in front of him, promising answers.

And judging by her expression...

She had quite a lot to tell him.

"Gray..."

Her fingers gently tightened around his.

"Before I explain everything, I need to ask you something."

He looked at her.

"What is it?"

Her black eyes narrowed slightly.

"Your soul..."

A brief silence followed.

"Why does your soul feel different from the one I remember?"