A clucking sound like sandpaper scraping echoed from the crow's throat. Then, an old, dry woman's voice rasped clearly within the room:
“Of course, Ms. Hope. We are unlike those high-and-mighty deities who demand faith while turning a blind eye to their believers' suffering. We emphasize... a trade. You pay the price, carry out what we require, and naturally receive the... reward you deserve. Quite fair, isn't it?”
If an ordinary student had witnessed this, they would have been thoroughly stunned, for a crow was actually speaking!
However, if Greg were here, he would only want to say: Sorry, my cat says it's hungry, so if there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave.
Audrey was clearly not witnessing this scene for the first time, but even so, her body shuddered violently, as if the voice harbored cold, piercing needles.
She abruptly closed her eyes, then forced them open again, intense turmoil surging deep within her gaze.
“But... Silvia Lorraine... that girl...”
Audrey's voice sank even lower, imbued with the instinctive awe and fear a believer held when speaking of a deity:
“The light-attribute magic she used during the Placement Exam... that pure power... Anyone with eyes can see that she must be... a God-blessed favored by the Goddess. I... as a believer of the Goddess of Light, to lay a hand on a possible God-blessed... Th-this is practically the greatest blasphemy against the Goddess! It's betraying my faith! According to the teachings, my soul will—”
“Faith? Your soul?”
The voice within the crow let out a short, sneering chuckle.
“Has your faith ever helped your son shed the label of a useless failure? Have your devout prayers ever caused that so-called merciful Goddess to cast even a single glance of pity toward him? Audrey Hope, you know better than anyone what it means to lack power in this world. What kind of looks will your son face in the future? What kind of future awaits him? Are you truly resigned to that?”
Every rhetorical question struck like a heavy sledgehammer, smashing brutally into the most vulnerable part of Audrey's heart.
Her face turned deathly pale, fine beads of cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.
Indeed... was she resigned?
She was an Associate Professor at Glory Cael Magic Academy, having worked her way up to this position step by step through her own effort and knowledge.
Although she was merely an associate and often faced a degree of marginalization due to her background and temperament, she still held hope for promotion to Full Professor in the future, which would grant her higher academic standing and resources.
Her life had seemed to be on a slow but steady upward trajectory.
Yet her son, a child only eight years old, had been judged magicless during last year's Mana Awakening Test, completely lacking the talent to cultivate magic.
To her, this outcome had been nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
In a world where magic was supreme, what did lacking mana mean?
It meant being cut off from true power, status, and glory for life, forced to sink to the lowest rank of commoners. Perhaps after her death, without her protection, her son would not even be able to secure a basic livelihood.
She could not accept this!
How could the son of Audrey Hope be an ordinary person?
The test had to be wrong!
Or... the time simply hadn't come yet, and he needed a certain opportunity!
And the force represented by the eerie crow before her offered precisely such an opportunity.
A deal that could grant her child the magic talent he so desperately craved.
On one side was the Goddess of Light, whom she had worshipped since childhood for spiritual solace, but who now seemed so silent and distant—along with the soul-shuddering sense of sacrilege and unknown punishment that kidnapping a God-blessed would bring.
On the other side was her own flesh and blood, her son, and a tangible hope within arm's reach to alter his destiny.
Faith was illusory, belonging to the next life.
Her son's future was real, urgent, and right in front of her.
Audrey's breathing grew increasingly rapid, the turmoil in her eyes pitching wildly like a small boat caught in a storm.
She remembered the undisguised envy and disappointment in her son's eyes whenever he watched other children perform simple tricks.
She remembered her own endless anxiety and fear for the future during the dead of night.
She remembered the glances of her colleagues—seemingly sympathetic, yet harboring a secret sense of superiority...
Blaspheme a deity? Corrupt her soul?
If it was so her son could have a bright future...
Audrey abruptly raised her head, the agony and struggle in her eyes gradually replaced by a near-obsessive, desperate madness of determination.
The last trace of color drained from her face, leaving only a suicidal, resolute paleness.
She stared at the dark red crow eyes on the table, as if attempting to look through them to the entity behind the scenes proposing the transaction. Word by word, her voice was raspy yet distinct:
“I... understand. Tell me... what specifically I need to do.”
“For my son... I will do anything.”
...
When Greg woke up, unzipped the tent flap, and stepped outside, he found that Nightmare had already returned to the camp.
Rather than curling up on her soft cushion as usual, the black cat squatted on the flat ground near the rock wall. Spread out before her were several stone fragments of varying shapes, which she had picked up from who-knew-where in the dungeon over the past few days.
Her head was lowered, her deep green eyes intently fixed on the rocks. She occasionally nudged one with her front paw, seemingly attempting to fit them together in a specific arrangement.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Greg caught sight of this scene and couldn't help letting out a yawn, his tone laced with mild disgust:
“Hey, Lady Goddess, could you stop dragging these weird things back here all the time? The camp isn't that big to begin with. I'm genuinely worried that one day it'll be turned into a trash heap by all your collected junk.”
Hearing this, Nightmare didn't even raise her head, merely replying in an ethereal, vaguely mystical voice:
“These are by no means garbage. Though they may seem unremarkable for now, in the future... thou mightest thank me for collecting them today.”
“Heh.”
Greg scoffed, walking over to the nearby underground river to scoop up water and wash his face:
“Thank you? What, are these crappy stone pieces going to assemble themselves into a treasure map and guide us to some lost fortune?”
Nightmare let out a noncommittal, low chuckle without giving a direct answer. Instead, she ceased nudging the stone fragments, turned around with elegance, and lifted her deep green eyes to meet Greg's gaze, naturally steering the conversation:
“By the way, my other half... Observing thee these past few days, thou seemest to have been making preparations... for something about to transpire tonight?”
Rate on N.U.
