The morning sun poured into the home like honey, lazy and golden. Wind rustled through the tall grass beyond the hilltop, and birdsong fluttered around the stone paths like music meant only for the Walker family.
Allen, barely two years old, was seated atop the kitchen counter, legs swinging wildly as Serena stirred a thick wooden ladle through a bubbling pot. He grinned as he reached over to pinch a piece of raw dough off the counter.
Serena didn't even look.
"Don't even think about it, my little flame."
Allen froze, dough halfway to his lips. His mother's voice was soft, but it carried a tone of doom wrapped in honey.
"I wasn't gonna eat it..." Allen muttered, stuffing it into his mouth defiantly.
Serena turned with a smirk and wiped his mouth with a clean cloth. "You get that boldness from your father, you know. And your appetite from… well, probably the Devil Fruit buried beneath our house."
Allen blinked, wide-eyed.
Serena realized her slip and chuckled. "Oops. Forget I said that."
He cocked his head with a suspicious stare, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"You're hiding something, Mama."
"Oh hush," she said, booping his nose. "You're two. You should be worried about naps, not ancient cosmic secrets."
Allen grinned mischievously. "Then I'll ask Papa!"
Serena laughed nervously. "Please don't."
---
Out in the garden, Hades D. Walker stood shirtless in the shade of a flowering tree, eyes closed, arms crossed, utterly still. The air around him was peaceful—but it vibrated, subtly, like the world held its breath.
Allen sprinted outside, a stick in his hand like a blade.
"PAPA!"
Hades cracked one eye open, and a small smile tugged at his lips.
"I see you've come to challenge me again."
"This time I'll win!" Allen puffed his cheeks. "I've been training... in my sleep."
Hades chuckled. "A fearsome technique."
Without waiting, Allen launched himself forward, swinging his stick with all the strength a two and a half year old could summon. Hades sidestepped lazily, like a breeze dodging a falling leaf. Allen stumbled forward, swung again, and missed.
And again. And again.
Hades never moved more than an inch. He weaved and dodged with ridiculous ease, his long dark hair brushing past Allen's flailing stick like it didn't exist.
Allen stopped, breathing hard. "You're cheating."
"I'm not even moving."
"That's cheating!" he huffed, collapsing into a laughing heap on the grass.
Hades scooped him up effortlessly. "You've gotten stronger. Your grip is tighter. And your balance—better."
Allen looked up, eyes wide with pride.
"Really?!"
Hades nodded. "Really. You'll be stronger than me one day."
Allen's chest puffed up, and for a second, something flickered deep in his Haki. A pulse. Barely noticeable, but enough that Hades paused.
"Did you feel that?" Allen whispered.
Hades looked down. His smile faded a little.
"I did."
---
Inside the house, Serena was watching from the window, her arms folded tight over her chest. Behind her, the sound of little feet pattering echoed. A small voice piped up.
"RAHHH!"
Serena turned. Her youngest daughter, barely walking on her own, was dragging a wooden spoon across the floor and holding a blanket tied like a cape.
"I fight Papa too!"
Serena knelt, barely holding in her laughter. "You'll take him down, my little ember?"
The toddler grinned with a missing tooth. "Yeth!"
Serena pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. For a moment, she didn't let go.
---
Later that evening, with the kids asleep, the sun dipped behind the clouds, casting the island in golden twilight. Serena and Hades sat on the hill behind their house, where flowers grew thick and wild.
They sat in silence for a long while before Serena spoke.
"He's changing."
"I know," Hades replied softly.
"I saw it again in his eyes. That flicker. That... knowing." Her voice trembled slightly. "Hades, that isn't just a child's soul."
"He remembers things no one should."
Serena looked at her husband, eyes sharp. "He knows pain. The kind that breaks men."
Hades nodded. "And yet… he laughs. He plays. He lives."
"Because he chose to."
The silence stretched between them, filled with the hum of crickets and the whisper of leaves.
"We need to tell him eventually," Serena said. "About the fruit."
"Not yet," Hades replied. "Let him have this. A childhood. A family. Let him grow."
Serena reached over and laced her fingers through his.
"Promise me he won't walk that path alone."
Hades looked up at the stars beginning to blink into view.
"I promise."
---
Far across the sea, in a land forgotten by memory—older than the World Government, older than Joy Boy himself—a broken temple stood beneath the roots of a mountain.
Inside the temple, lit by flickering blue fire, ancient stone tablets lined the walls.
A cloaked figure stood before one, brushing dust from a carving: a child with hair like fire, eyes like storms.
The tablet trembled faintly.
The figure turned.
"The First Flame stirs again…"
They bowed low.
"All things will awaken soon."
---
Meanwhile, Allen was back in his bed, sprawled sideways, arms tossed dramatically over his face like he was a tragic hero.
"Mama..." he mumbled sleepily.
Serena brushed his hair back, whispering, "Yes, my little flame?"
"Next time... I'll win."
She kissed his forehead, voice trembling softly with emotion.
"I believe you."
---
End of Chapter 12