After parting ways with his cousins, miko made it to the palace gates. The moment they saw him, the guards bowed and opened the gates. He acknowledged them with a nod and continued on. He walked on the golden pavement with a frown on his face. His gloves lit up and dispersed into light particles. Ishma and Regis appeared by his side.

“I thought that we were going to fight them all then and there.”

ishma had a disappointed look on her face.

“I thought so as well. You told us to gather up as much power as we could over the last month for them right?”

miko nodded to Regis's question.

“We will fight them. Not only them, but we’ll also take on everybody in my generation except for my siblings. However, the moment for that isn’t now.”

“when then?”

“pretty soon. I just need to set the stage.”

“you better hurry. I’m getting impatient.”

ishma grumbled.

Servants appeared in front of them and bowed.

“our apologies, young master. We need to check if-”

“move.”

miko cut them before they could finish.

“Despite my appearance, I’m in a bad mood because I’m about to meet my injured mother and grandparents. I can tolerate certain people blocking my path but that’s the limit.”

his eyes became slit and cold.

“if you want your heart to remain in your chest don’t block my path.”

“……..”

the servants turned to each other with pale faces.

“it’s fine. You guys don’t need to check him.”

the servants turned around to spot Ecko walking towards them. They sighed in relief and nodded before departing.

“yo, miko.”

Miko’s eyes softened when they landed on ecko. He continued his walk.

“did they send you to greet me to prevent something like this from happening?”

“that’s right. It seems that compassionate people are scarce in our clan, so I was picked to keep your anger under control.”

ecko walked next to him.

“Are you nervous?”

“to see my mother? I’m nervous as hell.”

“you’re honest.”

ecko smiled.

“that’s a good sign.”

they walked up the stairs in silence for a bit before she spoke again.

“May I ask why you’re nervous?”

“…as you know, I’m not entirely sane. I’m barely able to keep my sanity enough to function in society. I’ve gotten better at controlling the side-effects of my power to the point most people might’ve forgotten about them…but I’m nervous…no, I’m afraid of what I’ll do when I see her.”

he clenched his fists.

“When I see what they’ve done to the person I value more than my own life…can I keep myself under control? Can I stop myself from immediately leaving to destroy the fuckers who did that to her? Can I stop the urge to destroy everything?”

he loosened his fists and relaxed his hands.

“If I let my anger rule me then all of my plans will fail and everything I’ve done up until now will be for naught.”

“do you wish that you could turn off your emotions?”

“……….”

“well, I guess you can already do that. It’s just that you’re hesitant to do it.”

ecko smiled in response to Miko's silence.

“being emotional isn’t as bad as people make it sound. Emotions are products of the heart. They’re proof that we possess one. For many warriors, the heart is a nuance and they do all kinds of stupid things to discard it. As for me, I believe that the heart is what makes a warrior strong. It’s what drives us to continually surpass our limits and reach new heights.”

she placed her hand on Miko's head.

“emotions are essential for us to grow, especially anger. However, emotions are indeed dangerous in some cases, so I understand your concern.”

ecko thought about it for a bit and a look of realization crawled onto her face.

“This is something that might help if you feel like you’re being overwhelmed with emotions.”

after some time, miko arrived at Xia in the primus domain. When he reached the palace there he met a peculiar guest.

“uncle nova.”

he met nova standing outside the entrance to the palace.

“I see that you’ve finally made it here. The others have been waiting.”

“they haven’t met her yet?”

“your father said that it would be better that you all go together. Tessa and Kristen are with him now.”

“I see….so, how are you holding up?”

“I’m itching to strangle Joesph and his son for what they did to my parents and sister.”

“I’ll be honest, I never expected that you’ll be so well-behaved.”

“Normally, I wouldn’t but you what they say; a woman’s love can tame even the vilest beast in a man.”

“so you were tamed? Only you and gramps would say something like that with pride.”

“I love my wives, that’s my pride.”

the two laughed a bit before looking at each other in silence.

“you’ve grown into quite a man, miko.”

“do you think I’m fitting of the name gamiko?”

“without a doubt. I’m glad that you’re gamiko Dragna the third.”

“coming from my predecessor, it’s an honor.”

miko started making his way towards the palace doors.

“I watched your show.”

miko paused and faced nova.

“I see, did you enjoy it?”

“yeah, it was fun.”

“I see. I’m glad you liked it.”

he turned back around and continued to walk.

“you’re not wrong.”

nova’s voice reached his ears again.

“no matter what people say or how much you’re cursed and hated, don’t forget that you’re not wrong.”

miko slowly turned around and faced him. Nova had a raw intensity that miko hadn’t seen before.

“if it’s to save the ones you love the most don’t hold back because there’s no sin in becoming a devil to save the angels in your life.”

Miko’s eyes slowly widened. He found himself smiling before he knew it. He turned away and entered the palace. Nova watched him leave before heading in the opposite direction. The smile faded from his face and was replaced with a scowl. Miko entered the palace and headed to where he knew his mother was stationed. In the halls, he spotted everyone waiting near a door. Miko took a deep breath and walked towards his father who wore a bitter smile.

“it’s been almost two years, father. I’m glad to see that you’re in good health.”

“Why are you being so formal?”

Leon pulled miko towards him and hugged him.

“I missed you, my son.”

miko hugged him back.

“I missed you too, father.”

Leon held his son tighter.

“about your mother, I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect her….instead, she was the one who protected me.”

“…she’s alive. That’s all that matters.”

they released each other.

“thank you for keeping her alive, father.”

“….some time ago, I accepted the fact that I’m not a shield…I’m not someone who protects no matter how much I wish I was….I’m no shield, but I can be a spear.”

his eyes were burning with unwavering resolve.

“Whether it’s your mother’s, Tessa's, Kristen's, or yours… I’ll dedicate my very soul to becoming the spear that pierces through everything that can hurt you.”

miko looked at his father in silence and nodded.

“I know you will.”

Leon nodded.

“let’s go see your mother. I’m sure she’d be happy to know that you’re all next to her.”

He braced Miko's back with his hand and gently pushed him towards the door. Despite it being less than 20 steps away he felt like he was walking for hours.

(ecko, uncle nova, and my father all spoke to me. They all gave me advice, they all tried their best to reassure me…they all tried their best to lessen the impact of what I’m about to see.)

a smile crawled on his face.

(i think that I should be able to keep myself under control thanks to the three of them.

“………”

blurry vision. Weakness in his knees.

“mama! Mama!”

the sounds of his sister’s desperate calls for the person laying down on the bed reached his ears.

“How dare they….”

beside him, his brother was gritting his teeth with streams of tears flowing down his cheeks.

“I’ll kill them, I’ll definitely kill them all! Those bastards!”

“……….”

he silently stood there with unfocused eyes. Nothing came to mind, it was as if his brain had shut down.

“……….”

who knows how long it took for him to show signs of life. He lifted his trembling hands and stretched them out towards the bed in front of him, but his hand couldn’t reach. It wasn’t blocked by anything, it simply couldn’t reach.

“……….”

his mouth was open and his lips moved but no words came out. His blurry vision cleared up and the sight that had caused him to crash reappeared before him. Laying on a bed, dressed in white, was a woman. Her head was wrapped completely with bandages. A tube was stuck into her mouth and nose to help her breathe. Her incomplete body was missing an arm. She was connected to more machines than anyone could count.

(who is that?)

his brain finally formed a thought.

(who is that person?)

“Mama, mama!”

the cries of his sister caused him to turn towards her. Her beautiful features turned hideous from the constant sobbing. He slowly turned away from her and back to the woman on the bed.

(mama? This woman who’s no different from a corpse is…mama?)

the beautiful face of his mother flashed before his eyes. This image was shattered and replaced with the sight in front of him.

(this is not mama…there’s no trace of her anywhere on the woman before me.)

“…who is this woman?”

he spoke for the first time silencing everybody around him.

“miko.”

he turned his head to Tiamat who wore a pained expression.

“the woman in front of you is your mother.”

“….Don’t be ridiculous….this can’t be—”

“don’t run away!”

tia’s shout reverberated in the room causing miko to flinch. She pointed at the woman on the bed.

“that is Sasha Dragna. Don’t run and face reality! That is your mother!”

“………”

miko looked at tia for a while before slowly turning back to the woman on the bed. He stared at her in silence. His surroundings began to feel distant. The sounds of crying were replaced with a ringing in his ears. Everything other than the bed in front of him had disappeared. The presence of his heartbeat could be felt in his entire body. All of his memories with his mother started flooding in to form a gigantic collage before his eyes. That collage was burnt to ashes and replaced with the figure on the bed.

“……….i see.”

he finally spoke again. He slowly approached the bed and stood by the woman’s side.

“This is my mother.”

a crack came from Miko's mouth.

Eyes widened at the sight of teeth falling out of his mouth hitting the ground.

(did he just grit his teeth so hard that he destroyed them?!)

even from behind one could see bulging veins covering Miko’s entire body. However, his body soon relaxed. He bent over and placed a kiss on Sasha's bandaged forehead.

“for you to be in this state even months later shows how much harm your attacker intended to do to you. It’s a miracle that you’re alive but I expected no less from you.”

(what I’m about to say will contradict our previous conversations but considering the situation, it can’t be helped.)

he straightened his body as Ecko's words from earlier replayed in his head.

(instead of trying to control your anger why not take it up a notch and bring it to the next level? Instead of letting storm-like anger that destroys indiscriminately rule you, why not fuel your anger and turn it into a calm yet deep rage that swallows everything that comes it's way? Bottle your anger and let it grow until the point it can’t be conveyed by simply rampaging around.)

he turned around and faced his siblings.

(become like the ocean, calm and tranquil but also immensely deep. And when it’s time to use that anger, just like a raging ocean swallow up everything that blocks your path until you’re satisfied.)

he smiled.

“Kristen, Tessa.”

his face was smiling but his eyes had the flames of hell burning in them.

“come properly greet our mother.”