The interior of Hidden Haven was a sight reserved for only the wealthiest of clients. There were several brothels scattered throughout the city of Voirsten, but none were as remarkable or as luxurious as the lone bordello situated in Gates Boulevard. It was such an appealing prospect that many nobles from around the kingdom travelled far and wide just to have a taste of what was offered.

The size of the waiting list alone was a sight to behold, which was unusual since the costs were far above the norm for a house of ill repute. Despite all that, none of their customers ever regretted spending the time and money for the chance to have a once in a lifetime experience. The Hidden Haven was deemed by many to be a diamond in the rough, and being able to walk through its vaunted doors was considered a great privilege.

But for Dario, it was just another Tuesday.

At the front of the building, by the double doors of Hidden Haven, a large man was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed. Dario knew him to be part of the security detail for the morning shift and a person he was somewhat familiar with. He walked up the marble steps and nodded to the man as he passed by. The security guard only grunted before nodding back, allowing him entry.

Once he stepped inside, he closed the doors and stood still, basking in the feeling of being back at his home.

The interior of the building was as opulent as ever, with its high ceiling and extravagant decor. Up above were three chandeliers made of a polished silver color that hung from different corners of the ceiling. The walls were light tan in color, and were accentuated with slight hints of tinted gold wood. On separate corners of the tall chamber were two bars stocked with expensive wine and exotic beverages.

The entire first floor was a spacious lounge area with many couches and tables spread around in an organized fashion. All of the furniture were made of very fine materials ranging from high thread-count cotton to smooth textured silk. Next to the entrance was a coat room where armor and coats were placed.

The first thing Dario noticed was the silence. It was still early in the morning so many of the building’s inhabitants were still asleep. He was fine with that since he had visited to find one person in particular.

He walked across the room and went up the stairs to the second floor. At the end of one of the hallways was a door with a silver plaque attached above it. It was engraved with the words ‘The Madam’ in golden calligraphy, and beneath it were the initials ’A.S.’.

Dario went and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a smooth, feminine voice called from within.

He opened the door and walked into a lavish office room. It was very spacious and neatly organized with all the expensive decor tastefully spread around the chamber. On the walls were various paintings and depictions of random events, the largest and most noticeable illustration being the one directly behind the desk at the center of the room.

It was a picture of Darion Solaris, The North Star, and was what he’d been named after when he was born.

Seated below the painting was a familiar beautiful older woman with long dark-red hair and sharp green eyes. Despite sitting behind a desk looking over some paperwork, it was clear to anyone that she was very buxom and shapely.

“Hey mum,” Dario said. “I’m back, and I need to tell you some stuff.”

“Dario!” She smiled affectionately as she stood up from her chair. “Come here and give me a hug.” She went around the desk and walked over to Dario with her arms wide open.

“Oof.” Dario grunted as he was lifted off the ground in a tight bear hug. “A little restraint would be nice,” he groaned in discomfort.

“Nonsense, I know you can take it,” she said with a proud glint in her eyes. “Especially since you’re a supe now.”

“Ah, damn. I was hoping to make it a big dramatic reveal or something.” Dario sighed as he was placed back down on the ground.

His mom chuckled in response. “If you wanted to keep it a secret, then maybe you should have hidden your Status Band.” She reached up and rubbed his head fondly. “Silly boy.”

“Right,” he said sheepishly. “So, anyways, I’m a supe now, just like you and the others. I’m planning to head out and—” He paused before narrowing his eyes. “Wait a minute, how come you’re not surprised at all?”

“It’s nothing. I just had a feeling you’d become a supe sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.” She gave a nonchalant shrug. “Also, I heard from Oliver that you were doing some interesting things down at the racetrack. Honestly, I sort of expected you to come running here straight away to tell me all about it.”

“Psh, I don’t want to have to rely on you all the time, and you’ve done enough for me already. Besides, you’ve always refused to tell me anything specific about supes whenever I asked, so I figured I wouldn’t bother. I just went to the Guild.”

“Hah, that’s my boy, so big and independent now,” she chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “No child of mine is destined for mediocrity. I anticipated this to be the reason you were gone to be honest.” She smiled as she inspected him up and down, smoothing out any creases in his clothing.

“I’m glad to know you have so much confidence in me." He rolled his eyes. "You know me oh so well.”

“Of course!” She went back around the desk and sat on her chair. “Come, sit down and tell mummy all about your powers, I want to hear everything my darling boy can do now.” She smiled at him warmly.

Dario sighed before sitting down opposite his mother. “I’m seventeen now mom, that’s practically an adult,” he muttered under his breath. “Do you really have to call me all these pet names still?”

“You’ll always be my boy,” she stated, smile unwavering. “That reminds me, have you eaten yet? Do you want me to go get you something to eat?”

“No, I’m alright. I already ate some food earlier.”

“Good, good. You’re still growing and you need all the food you can get.” She clapped her hands and leaned forward. “Now, stop diddle-daddling and tell me all the details about your new super powers.”

Dario snorted and looked at her with amused irritation. “Hah, why should I? You refused to tell me anything about supes all these years.” He crossed his arms in annoyance. “And now you want me to spill my guts? That sounds a bit hypocritical to me.”

His mother smiled. “Come now darling, you know it was in your best interests that I didn’t tell you everything there was to know about supes. You were distraught enough as it was with what little I did tell you,” she patiently explained. “Besides, as you should know by now, we’re technically not supposed to tell regular people about supe stuff anyways. So you see, in the end, I was doing the lawfully correct legal action in not telling you.” The corners of her lips twitched in amusement.

“Uh-huh, as if the law ever stopped you from doing anything before,” Dario muttered. “The real reason, I think, was because you just wanted to mess with me.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that accusation, darling.” She smiled with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I assure you that I’m simply dedicated to making sure you grow up as wise as possible. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Riiight,” Dario drawled. “Of course... I believe you.”

“As you should,” she agreed. “Now, despite what you may think, I am concerned about your wellbeing, so please,” she gestured towards him. “Tell me what you’ve been up to these past few days. Tell me all about your new powers. I want to hear everything.”

“Fine,” he relented. He took a deep breath and began explaining. “Do you remember when I told you that I had trouble sleeping over a week ago?” At his mother’s nod, he continued, “Well, it turns out that that day was when I first manifested. The reason I couldn’t sleep was because my powers wouldn’t let me.”

The red-haired woman in front of him raised both her eyebrows in surprise. “I’ve never heard of anything like that before. I didn’t know there was an ability that prevented you from sleeping.”

“I didn’t either,” he admitted. “But I think it’s because of my Power Class. I was told that the one I have is super rare and not much is known about it.”

“Oh? What were you classified as?” she asked with a curious expression.

“An Assimilator,” he tensely responded, waiting for the shocked outburst from his mother. Surprisingly, it never came.

Instead, she tilted her head and furrowed her brows. “Hmm, I don’t know of anyone with that class. What can they do exactly?”

“You don’t know?” he asked, dumbfounded. It was astonishing that she was unaware of what an Assimilator could do. All his life, he had this image of his mother as some sort of all-knowing figure, and it was startling whenever he found out that she didn’t know something.

“No. Is it something I should know?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, not exactly, but I thought you would know anyways,” he admitted. “Especially since you manage so many supes daily, and meet and talk with so many important people.”

“My darling son, not even I can know everything,” she said with a sigh, softly smiling. “And it’s important to never assume what a person knows and doesn’t know with absolute certainty.” She leaned forwards and steepled her hands in front of her. “So, tell me, what is it that I should know?”

“Umm, it’s sort of a long story, and kind of a secret too.”

“Tell me anyways,” she said with a voice that made it sound more like an order. She noticed his hesitation and rolled her eyes. “I’m your mother Dario, you can rest assured that I only have your best interests at heart.”

“Fine,” he said. “But try to keep it to yourself, okay?”

At his mother’s nod, he began telling his tale. Over the next hour, he dutifully told her everything he had recently learned that pertained to his dilemma.

He told her of the few things he knew about his powers. He divulged how he was now one of the five Assimilators currently alive and that he might be hunted down because of it. He revealed to her that the current sovereign of their nation was an Assimilator as well, and was likely to kill him if he ever found out. And finally, he disclosed to her his plans of getting stronger by going out and hunting monsters.

Throughout his story, his mother remained quiet and contemplative. She did, however, spend some time congratulating him for rescuing someone from a burning building. Apart from that, she let him speak for most of their time, occasionally asking for clarification. In the end, she leaned back in her chair and looked upwards in thought.

“Hmm, this is a lot to take in,” she muttered.

“That’s exactly what I said the first time I heard about it.”

“This is a bit above my paygrade, I’ll admit.” She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows in contemplation. “The king lives all the way in Zalantis, which is pretty far away, so that’s good. The only threat to you are the possible agents or spooks he might have scattered around the kingdom.”

“Yep,” Dario said. “But I don’t know who they are, and they could appear at any moment in my foreseeable future, so I have to prepare.”

His mother sighed and looked at him with a serious expression. “I really didn’t expect this to happen as a result of you manifesting, but things are what they are. I’m just glad that you’re not down in the dumps over it.”

“Well, you always did tell me to never give up and roll with the punches,” he said with a grin. “ ‘Be proactive, not reactive!’ as you like to say.”

“That’s my boy.” She smiled affectionately. “I expect nothing less from a Sindred. Nobody’s going to bring us down, not even some trumped up king who lives across the country.” She grabbed a nearby writing implement and started jotting down notes on a piece of paper.

“What are you doing?” Dario asked.

“You’re not the only one who can prepare,” she replied with a focused calm. “There are ways to find out who the king’s agents are, and even delay information from reaching the wrong ears.”

“You don’t have to do this,” he said with a frown. “I only came here to tell you these things in case anything happened. I don’t want to get you further involved in my mess.”

His mother paused in her writing and glanced up at him with sharp green eyes. “Dario, you’re my one and only son. I’m not about to let you take this on by yourself. If this so called Bloody King wants to kill you, then he’ll have to go through me first,” she said with an air of determination.

Dario leaned back in his chair and chuckled at her focused demeanor. He knew it was futile to try and stop his mother from accomplishing something she was adamant on doing. She was a force of nature in that aspect, and it was amazing seeing it in action every time. It was something he strived to simulate in his own life.

“You know, I feel a lot better about my chances now. Thanks, I really do appreciate everything you do for me,” he told her sincerely.

“You’re welcome, darling.” She smiled at him before waving him away. “Now shoo, go out there and go kill some monsters. Get big and strong enough to beat up that pesky king.”

Dario blinked at the sudden dismissal. “Wait, what? You’re not going to forbid me from leaving the city walls? You’re not going to tell me to avoid fighting monsters?”

To be honest, he had expected that particular subject to be the biggest sticking point his mother would focus on during the explanation. She had always doted on him as a child, so it was strange that she would so easily allow him to go and purposely place himself in a situation as dangerous as fighting monsters.

“Let’s be honest, if I forbade you from doing that, would you have listened and stayed here in safety?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dario opened and closed his mouth several times before responding. “Probably not,” he admitted.

“Exactly,” she said smugly. “I know you too well my son. You’ve always seeked out thrills, and what could be more thrilling than the prospect of hunting monsters? So no, I won’t forbid you from leaving the city walls." She sighed with a forlorn expression. "You’re a grown man now, and I know at some point you’ll want to go your own way, under your own terms. I understand and respect that, so I won’t stop you. However, what I will tell you is to take some gear from the armory with you.”

“You’ll let me use stuff from the armory?” he asked in surprise. He had been planning to ask or beg for permission to grab some equipment, but it seemed that his mother was one step ahead of him.

“Of course, I didn’t get all that gear just for it to go to waste. I knew that armory would come in handy one day.” She rolled her eyes. “If I had my way, I’d have some of the stronger girls here go with you to protect you, but I know they’re not really made for fighting like you are. Only god knows how many fights you’ve been in.” She shook her head in despondence.

His doting mother had always been saddened by all the fights and insults he’d been on the receiving end of in his younger years. He had attended prestigious schools due to his mother’s wealth, but had always been made fun of by the other kids for being the ‘son of a whore’ or rejected for being the ‘child of a slut’. Not even moving to different educational institutions changed anything.

It always led to him putting on a brave face and getting into fights to defend her honor and those of the other tenants in Haven. He knew his mother blamed herself for his childhood suffering and had wished for him to have a better life, but in all honesty, he wouldn’t have traded his parent for anything in the world.

“Well, it turns out those fights were a good thing after all, huh?” Dario weakly grinned. “I came out a better, stronger person in the end.”

“I hope so Dario, I hope so.” She smiled sadly.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see. Everything will be perfectly fine.” He stood up from his chair and walked over to the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and hopefully in one piece,” he joked.

As he opened the door, he heard his mother call out to him. “Dario, be safe out there,” she said concernedly. “Don’t take any risks, and don’t go too far out. There’s nothing wrong in giving up and running away if it gets too dangerous, okay?”

Leaving the room, he briefly looked back with a grin on his face. “I’ll be careful mom, you know how I am.”

“That’s why I’m so worried,” he heard his mother say just as the door swung shut.