Demos' eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What ability?" he asked again.
A pause.
Then the voice sighed softly, almost amused.
Voice: "My son… you wouldn't understand my divine ability even if I explained it to you."
Demos immediately frowned.
Demos: "Hey, come on… how would you know that?"
The voice went silent for a moment.
Then—
Voice: "Okay… fine."
A small pause.
Voice: "But you have to call me Mother first."
Demos froze.
That wasn't what he expected.
Not even close.
His expression tightened as he processed the request.
Mother.
The word felt… unfamiliar.
Heavy in a way he couldn't explain.
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Words tangled in his throat.
Demos: "I—wait—what? No, I'm not—why would I—hey—!"
He stumbled over his own thoughts, frustration mixing with embarrassment.
The voice suddenly burst into laughter.
Voice: "Ahahahaha! Ahahahahah!"
Demos stiffened.
Voice: "Relax, Demos. When you're ready… you can call me Mother. Or Mom. Or even Mommy."
That last word made him pause completely.
His face tightened.
But strangely—
His chest felt lighter.
Warm.
Like something inside him had softened without permission.
He exhaled slowly.
Demos: "…So are you going to tell me what ability it was?"
The laughter faded.
Voice: "Yes."
A pause.
Voice: "But not now."
Demos' expression darkened instantly.
Demos: "What?! Why? Is it because I'm too weak?"
Voice: "Yes."
Simple.
Direct.
No hesitation.
Voice: "You're not ready. And stop interrupting me when I'm trying to explain things."
Demos went silent.
For a brief moment, he remembered it.
That pressure.
That overwhelming force that crushed him earlier.
His posture shifted.
His voice lowered.
Demos: "Yes… Your Majesty."
A beat.
Then—
The voice laughed again, softer this time.
Voice: "Ahahahaha… Demos, to you I'm no queen."
Voice: "Just a mother trying to protect her only child."
Something in his expression changed.
Slowly.
Subtly.
Demos didn't understand it fully—
But warmth spread through his chest.
Foreign.
Unfamiliar.
Real.
A small smile formed without him noticing.
And then—
Tears slipped down his face.
Quiet.
Uncontrolled.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
Demos: "…Thank you… Mother."
The system interface flickered slightly.
As if reacting.
As if acknowledging it.
The voice suddenly brightened.
Voice: "My baby finally called me Mother! This calls for a celebration!"
She laughed again.
Voice: "I think I'll go visit that old man for once."
Demos blinked.
Demos: "Old man…?"
She ignored him completely.
Voice: "Anyway—as I was saying…"
Her tone shifted.
More serious now.
Voice: "I gave you my own celestial veins so you could survive inside the Chambers of Nothingness."
Demos froze slightly.
Demos: "…So you're saying your celestial veins turned me into your biological son?"
A pause.
Then—
Voice: "Yes."
Voice: "Now you and I share the same celestial veins. We are 99% blood-related."
A small laugh.
Voice: "And the best part?"
Her tone sharpened with excitement.
Voice: "Unlike your father, who only carried two colors of the Original Five-Colored Lightning…"
A pause.
Then—
Voice: "You and I both possess all five."
Silence.
Then laughter.
Voice: "Ahahahaha! I guess my experiment worked perfectly!"
Demos went still.
Then his eyes widened.
Demos: "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
His voice echoed through the cave.
Demos: "MOTHER, DID YOU JUST SAY I WAS AN EXPERIMENT?!"
A beat.
Then—
The voice went suspiciously innocent.
Voice: "…I have no idea what you're talking about."
Demos stared blankly.
Demos: "…You're unbelievable."
She quickly shifted tone.
Voice: "Ooooh! It looks like your Spartan innate ability is about to awaken!"
Demos froze again.
Demos: "Wait—what? Innate ability?"
But she didn't answer.
The conversation was already slipping away.
Voice: "Okay, baby boy… I have to go. The mana stone is about to—"
Static.
The interface flickered violently.
Her voice broke apart.
Then—
Silence.
Demos' eyes widened.
Demos: "Mother?! Mother—wait! Don't disappear! I still have questions!"
No response.
Only emptiness.
He stood there for a moment.
Then clicked his tongue in frustration.
"…Tch."
Somewhere far beyond the world—
A woman smiled softly.
Holding onto the memory of his voice calling her Mother.
Back in the cave…
A voice broke the silence.
Akira: "Tribe Leader… you're awake. Are you alright?"
Demos blinked.
His thoughts snapped back.
Demos: "Yeah. I'm fine. What happened?"
Akira hesitated slightly.
Akira: "Six moons passed."
Demos froze.
"…Six moons?"
He slowly looked around the cave like it was unfamiliar.
His grip tightened around his axe.
Demos: "Where is Gorthok?"
His voice darkened slightly.
Demos: "That bastard tried to roast me."
Akira said nothing.
She simply turned and motioned for him to follow.
Outside—
Blinding sunlight hit his eyes.
Demos raised an arm to block it.
When his vision adjusted—
He saw it.
A vast, dying land.
Jagged cliffs.
Twisted dead trees.
Earth soaked in decay.
Bones scattered across the ground like forgotten history.
A world that had stopped caring about life.
Akira led him forward.
And then—
He saw them.
Gorthok.
Standing tall.
Waiting.
Surrounded by warriors.
Whispers spread instantly through the tribe as Demos approached.
Gorthok's eyes locked onto the axe in Demos' hand.
Then—
Silence.
Shock.
He stepped back slightly.
Not because of fear—
But disbelief.
No wounds.
No scars.
No sign of the brutal fight they had witnessed.
Gorthok's voice lowered.
Gorthok: "I will receive my punishment…"
He dropped his spear.
THUD.
Gorthok: "For underestimating the Tribe Leader."
From the crowd, a massive warrior stepped forward.
Maverick: "I, Maverick, will hunt beside you."
Another.
Ryker: "I, Ryker, will follow you."
Another.
Thane: "I, Thane, will join the hunt."
And another.
Kael: "I, Kael, stand with you."
Akira watched quietly.
Studying Demos.
Waiting.
Demos' expression was unreadable.
Then—
He spoke.
Demos: "I will not punish you, Gorthok."
A pause.
Demos: "Not yet."
The tribe went still.
Then—
He raised his axe slightly.
Demos: "We will hunt."
Demos: "Together."
A beat.
Then his voice sharpened.
Demos: "We bring down a massive beast."
A slow grin formed.
Demos: "And we celebrate the beginning of something new."
The silence broke.
Cheers erupted.
Excitement spread like fire.
Even Gorthok exhaled slowly.
Relief.
Respect.
Acceptance.
Gorthok: "Thank you… Tribe Leader."
Demos chuckled.
Low.
Dangerous.
Demos: "Ahahahaha… don't thank me yet."
The laughter faded slightly.
Demos: "Your punishment will still come."
A pause.
Then—
Demos: "But don't worry."
He tightened his grip on the axe.
Demos: "Not a single one of my people will die."
A cold confidence filled his voice.
Demos: "With this axe… we will win."
A chill ran through Gorthok.
But strangely—
He smiled.
And so—
Demos, heir of Sparta and bearer of a sealed lineage, stepped forward with his warriors.