"I left my child alone… I watched him abandon himself. I watched him change for his mother… for the world… but never for himself. I shouldn't be forgiven, dear…"
As she spoke, she gently wiped the tears from both Adult Aether and Child Aether.
Aether's throat tightened as his eyes filled with tears. He tried to stop her, his voice trembling.
"Mom, he did it… You never hurt me. You… You didn't have a choice…"
The woman gently shook her head.
"We are… one. Whatever he did… I own it as well. That is the truth, and I am not saying this simply to make myself feel better or to make myself look innocent. That would be wrong. I…"
Her lips trembled as she struggled to speak.
"I hurt my child… and that is an undeniable truth. I will continue to live with that pain."
She touched her broken chest, where the cracks continued to spread across her body, filled with despair and sorrow.
Aether looked at her with a confused, pained expression.
Why was she accepting this as her own?
