"Wha-" Helen did not believe what she heard as she pushed the woman away. "Lies!"

"My parents died a long time ago!" Helen got wary of the woman, who knew if she was another dangerous being like the black creature.

"Did Irene told you that?" the woman asked.

A soft gasp escaped Helen's lips. "You… you know grandma?"

"Of course I do, I was the one who sent her to protect you and..." Gritting her teeth, the woman decided to tell the remainder of her sentence, "and the one who ordered her to hide the truth from you...."

"B- But why?

"Why do grandma have to lie? Why have you never appeared in my life? Why…"

Helen was already on the verge of crying. She already had enough trauma from encountering the black creature, now this random woman admitted that she was her late mother?

"Why would you even sent me away?" Helen raised her voice fiercely. "Do you hate me?! Just admit that you were never my mother!"

"I-"

"I'm sorry…" In the end, only those words came out of her mouth.

Words cannot describe how broken was the woman's heart when she heard her own child berating her this much, yet, she could not come up with a proper reasoning to convince Helen.

"Mo- no... I will go okay? I'm sure Irene can take care of you."

The light covering the woman had waned a little, slowly revealing her face to Helen.

"Don't forget to eat regularly… make lots of friends… and most importantly…" her voice trailed off as sounds of soft sobs entered Helen's ear. "Make sure to grow up into a proper girl, alright?"

Reluctance filled her heart, she stopped for quite a bit before finally decided to say, "Goodb-"

But just as the word crossed her mouth, Helen came running and hugged her waist from her front.

"No… please stay…" Helen muttered. "I'm sorry… I'm so sor- UAAAHHH~!"

The woman was confused on why Helen changed her attitude all of a sudden. Not knowing exactly what to do, she moved her arms to embrace her crying daughter quietly.

…

Helen regretted that she lashed out due to her turmoil. At the very least, she did saved her life.

She wanted to apologize afterward and perhaps, talk their way through, but the woman's next sentences added indescribable suffocation upon her chest.

Coupled with her already messed up emotions along with the woman's reaction, in the end, she decided to trust her heart…

Some time passed before Helen eventually stopped crying. She let herself go and stepped back to stare at the woman again, now with a completely different impression of her.

The lights covering her had disappeared by now, thus, she could see that they actually looked pretty similar to each other.

Long silver hair, large eyes with black pupil, long eyelashes, slightly round cheeks and sharp chin.

Though, contrary to what she expected, the woman was more like her twin sister rather than her mother. Her skin was without blemish and wrinkles, just like a woman in her mid-20s.

Helen could not describe the feeling that she had right now. By logic, this woman was a complete stranger to her, yet, when their face met, a strong sense of comfort and familiarity rose up deep in her heart.

"So- so- umm..." Helen fidgeted nervously. "Are you really... my mother?"

Hearing the awkward question, the woman could only ask, "What can I do to make you believe, Helen?"

Helen's heart jumped a bit, this was the first time the woman called her name.

"How about something only grandma and I know… like my birthmark?"

"You got a crescent mole on the back of your left hip," the woman promptly said without thinking, "and between your right thigh and your crotch-"

"Stop!"

Helen dashed to hug the woman the second time, no longer putting up her guard as all her doubts had vanished.

"I believe you." Helen subtly recalled the name that her grandma always told her, "Cecile… mother…"

Hearing her acknowledgement, Cecile felt her mood elevated and her heart went light. She smiled gently while caressing Helen's back.

"Irene told you my name?" Cecile asked.

Helen nodded.

"Thank you for trusting me."

After settling down for awhile, Helen asked, "Can you tell me everything now?"

"Of course. Let me start with our current state, okay?" Cecile stood up then moved toward an empty chair.

"Ah!" Helen almost forgot that the time has stopped for awhile now. The world around them was still engulfed in grayscale.

"Come sit, then we will talk."

"Okay!" Helen looked around for a chair, but then she saw Cecile pouting.

"Just sit over here." Cecile patted her laps.

Helen blushed. At the end of the day, Cecile was still pretty much a stranger to her. She has not gotten used to call her mother yet, much less sitting on her.

"Um… that…"

"What are you getting all shy about?" Cecile chuckled as she opened her arms wide. "Come, come."

Not finding any reason to reject her offer, Helen gave in and walked over.

She turned her body around then sat onto Cecile's lap softly, who then proceed to hug her from behind while pulling her to lean back.

Fuzzy warmth and blissful peace…

A sensation incomparable to anything she had ever felt before as her head landed on the twin pillow behind her.

"Good girl." Cecile patted Helen's head, causing her cheeks to redden in return. "Now, let me begin…

"We are inside of what is known as the Arcane Domain. It was formed when an Ancient One passed by, as in the black creature we encountered a while ago. As you can see, no mere mortals, will be able to resist its power!"

"Eh?" Helen looked back. "But we-"

"We are no mere mortals, Helen," Cecile said, already expecting Helen's question. "We are of the divine kin, the Numfatim!"

"Divine kin... Numfatim? We are not human?"

"Indeed! All of the divine kin are half-immortal races that are favoured by Gods, thus allowing them to be able to resist the Arcane Domain.

"Unfortunately, you haven't received your Awakening Ceremony yet, which is why you couldn't resist the Arcane Domain." Cecile heaved a sigh. "Good thing that there is a catalyst nearby."

"Oh!" Helen got reminded about the voice who implored her to pick up the catalyst stone.

"What is Awakening Ceremony? Is it the same as the Mana Blessing?"

"Correct," Cecile nodded. "But you won't need the Church's blessing for it, additionally, you will be earning a Divine Ability once you are ten! Oh, did you know that when a Divine Race-"

"Mom…" Helen interrupted.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"Can I get an answer for my first question now?"

"Which one?"

Helen stared right on Cecile's eyes. "Why did you sent me away?"

"Ah… that…" Cecile said slowly, her tone carried a tinge of heaviness.

While she was still hesitating, a sudden man's voice disturbed their reunion.

"You done yet?!" the man shouted. "Hurry, our time is up!"

His astral voice sounded distant yet close at the same time --echoing from all directions.

'That voice…' Helen found out that the man's voice sounded familiar, but somehow, she was sure that he was not her father.

"Damn it!" Cecile clenched her teeth hard as she put Helen off her lap. She then turned to Helen and embrace her the second time.

"I'm sorry dear, mother had to leave."

"Eh?" The sudden move pulled Helen out of her thoughts. "Why do you have to leave now so quickly?"

Cecile did not respond, instead, she moved both of her hands in a pattern quickly, eventually forming a small golden rune in the air.

The complex round rune condensed as it slowly transformed into a golden pocket watch, which fell onto Cecile's hand.

"Within this watch lies the answers to your question." Cecile handed over the watch to Helen. "The secrets within, will be unlocked once you have achieved a certain level of power."

Cecile slowly backed off from Helen.

"Wait, mom, Where are you going?" Helen took a small step forward, her eyes began to tear again. "You're really leaving?"

"I'm sorry, darling…" Cecile could not hold back her tears either. "It wasn't my intention to keep you away…"

The black and white world began to crumble like a glass slowly shattered into the darkness.

"This world is far more than what you think, and I couldn't bear to put you in danger." Cecile took another step back. "Maybe…

"Maybe, it would be for the best if you can just forget everything here." She looked up to her child, giving her a gentlest smile she could possibly muster.

"No!!!" Helen screamed on top of her lungs.

The tears that she had tried very hard to stop before had now flowed unhindered. She ran after her mother, desperately grabbing onto her sleeves.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't leave me again, I won't ask the question again, so please-"

"Goodbye…"