Why did you seal Amon's memories?"
"…" Agnes' eyes narrowed at her sister's question.
"Nyx—"
"I'm not finished." Nyx cut her off, her tone firm yet serious. She raised one finger. "That was only my first question."
Although Nyx knew some of why Agnes had returned to the Celestial Spirit World, she didn't know everything.
"My second question," she raised another finger. "What exactly is Amon? Normally, because he's your son, he should be a Celestial Spirit, just like us. But because of his… unique birth, he also carries human blood. That makes his very existence… strange."
Nyx was one of the few spirits aware of Amon's origins—Agnes' sister, privy to all the details surrounding his birth. In the entire Celestial Spirit World, only three beings knew the full truth: Agnes, Nyx, and their father.
"My third question," Nyx raised another finger. "Amon has no biological father, so who was the man that abused him for six months?"
This was something even Nyx didn't know. She understood Amon's origins, and she knew he had suffered at the hands of this man, but she hadn't been watching him his whole life—only for the past six months. And she had taken up that responsibility solely at her sister's request.
"And my final question," Nyx raised another finger. "What exactly happened six months ago? Why did you return to our world in a near-death state?"
"…" Agnes didn't respond.
Seeing her sister's silence, Nyx clenched her fists. "I deserve to know, Agnes. Two days ago, when you returned, I didn't ask. You were weak, and out of respect, I accepted your request. But now…"
Nyx took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Because of you, he has no knowledge of who he is. Did you ever tell him about what he is, about his lineage? How he's different from other children?"
"I… kinda didn't." Agnes said, looking apologetic.
"…Did you at least teach him any magic?"
"Hmph!" Agnes pouted like a child and looked away.
"…You completely failed as a parent, you know that, right?"
"Huuuh! Me?! It's not my fault!" Agnes protested loudly.
"Then whose fault is it?" Nyx asked, a tired smile tugging at her lips.
"I-it's dad's fault!" Agnes randomly blamed their father.
"And how exactly is that his fault?"
"Uhh… because I said so!"
"…You're a child."
"A mature child!" Agnes shot back, puffing up proudly.
"…You're still a child."
"Don't be jealous, sis! It's not my fault you weren't your favorite child!"
"…." Nyx stared blankly.
Agnes sighed, realizing she couldn't escape Nyx's gaze. She relaxed her posture. "Fine, fine! I'll tell you everything, tsk."
She really was a child.
"Well, I think I'll leave now," Solara suddenly said, hopping off the pink wool. Still in her diminutive form, she glanced back.
"…?" Both sisters turned their attention to her.
"I only came because I thought something was wrong with Nyx. As for her nephew… it's none of my business." She explained, her voice casual. "I just wanted to make sure my friend was okay."
Right as she was about to leave, Nyx's voice called out.
"Solara, thank you. Once I'm done with Agnes, I'll fight you."
"…!" Solara smiled. "I'm looking forward to it. You know where to find me, friend."
And with that, she disappeared.
Agnes turned to her other friend. "And you, Aries?"
"W-well… I'd like to pay a visit to Leo, if that's okay with you, Lady Agnes," Aries said, hesitantly.
"Aries, you're a big girl. You don't need my permission. Go if you want."
"I really don't mind," Agnes added warmly.
"O-oh… I see…" Aries nodded slowly, then flew off in a certain direction.
"Oh, and make sure to use protection!" Agnes shouted teasingly.
"…L-lady Agnes…" Aries stuttered, frozen midair.
"Hahaha! I know! Leo's more like a big bother to you anyway!" Agnes laughed.
Aries continued flying, a small smile breaking across her face despite herself.
Agnes turned back to Nyx, stepping closer. "Now… let's talk, sis."
"As you know, my son carries human blood.
Yet, because he is my son, he also carries the blood of a Celestial Spirit."
Agnes spoke with calm certainty, her eyes glowing faintly.
"This makes him fundamentally different. His very existence is a bridge between two realms. To put it simply—he is a Human–Celestial Hybrid, the child of a mortal and one of the Celestial Spirits."
"This also explains why he holds such vast reserves of magic. His Spirit bloodline descends from a being made of pure magic itself."
"I see…" Nyx murmured, nodding slowly to her sister's explanation. "However, just having a lot of magic doesn't make him powerful."
Her tone softened, almost as if she were speaking to herself.
Magic—no matter how brilliant—has always been a double-edged gift.
To be born with it is one thing.
To control it… another entirely.
The world is full of those who mistake potential for strength. They look upon a child born beneath rare stars, or one who bears divine blood, and whisper words like prodigy.
But those who have truly walked the mage's path know better.
Magic is not inherited.
It is earned.
Even among the strongest, this truth never changes.
Rex once said it best:
"For an average mage, it takes five to ten years just to become competent. The talented ones? Two to five—faster if they've got the right teacher. But mastery? That's a lifetime. Ten, twenty years at least… unless you're one of the chosen few."
Those words weren't arrogant.
They were a warning.
Take Amon, for instance.
A child born between two worlds. The son of a mortal and a Celestial Spirit.
His blood hums with mana so dense it shakes the air itself. When angered, His magical aura alone caused a shockwave Even as a boy, his reserves eclipse full-grown mages who've trained their entire lives.
And yet… he can barely contain it.
Even seasoned mages, with all their discipline and years of hardship, struggle to maintain their flow of energy. They learn restraint through pain, through repetition, through failure.
To Amon, that struggle will be endless.
He may heal faster, endure longer, and age slower.
But those are surface blessings. Beneath it all lies a constant battle… to remain in balance.
Between human and Spirit.
Between mortal and divine.
Because no matter how vast one's mana may be, one truth binds all who wield magic.
Power is meaningless without control.
And if there's one lesson the world has taught time and again… it's this:
Even gods must train to master their own strength.
"Indeed," Agnes said softly, agreeing with Nyx's earlier words. "But it isn't his Spirit bloodline, nor his magic, that makes him truly special."
Her expression softened into a faint smile. "It's his awareness… his ability to perceive the emotions and hearts of others."
Nyx blinked, taken aback, "What do you mean?"
"Huh? You're telling me you haven't noticed?" Agnes tilted her head, genuinely confused.
"Noticed what?"
"Sigh… you really are hopeless sometimes." Agnes crossed her arms, playing the part of the mature one.
A vein pulsed on Nyx's forehead, "Just spit it out!"
Agnes giggled,"You're still so easy to tease."
"...." Nyx's deadpan stare said it all.
…Strangely enough, both mother and son shared that same mischievous habit of teasing others.
Perhaps some things truly do run in the family.
They really were mother and son.
I suppose I should explain it properly." Agnes said, adopting a teacher-like tone as she placed her hands behind her back. "As Celestial Spirits, we are beings of pure Ethernano consciousness."
Her voice carried a serene grace, but her expression was smugly confident.
"Our existence is deeply tied not only to magic, but to emotion and intent. Unlike humans—whose minds and hearts are divided—we perceive reality as an intricate flow of feelings and energy."
"Emotion, to us, is as tangible as air or light. It is the current that binds all living souls."
Halfway through her grand explanation, Agnes suddenly pulled out a pair of sunglasses from thin air and put them on, leaning back with a confident grin.
'...Where did she even get those?' Nyx thought dryly, one brow twitching.
"Thus," Agnes continued, "a hybrid born with Celestial blood—like Amon—would naturally inherit fragments of this empathic awareness. His body may be human, but his spirit partially resonates with the frequency of the Celestial Realm."
She struck a pose, smiling proudly. "This allows him to unconsciously sense the emotions and mental states of others!"
Her tone was that of a performer awaiting applause.
"So, in simpler terms…" Nyx interjected softly, her tone calm and deliberate, "…it isn't an ability he learned, but rather a byproduct of his existence. His Celestial half instinctively reaches out—perceiving the emotional energy that humans unknowingly emit."
"Tsk, you're making me sound uncool," Agnes pouted, crossing her arms.
Nyx ignored her, muttering more to herself than to anyone. "That explains what happened before… when Sera asked Amon about Rex. He must've subconsciously used it then."
That was the first time his ability appeared… back in Chapter 5.
"Shouldn't we give this ability a name?!" Agnes suddenly blurted out, eyes sparkling.
Nyx blinked, unamused. "Why would we?"
"I mean—why not?" Agnes shrugged with a carefree smile. "It'll be fun, right?"
Nyx just stared, deadpan and silent.
Sigh… why must my sister be like this?
"How about we name this ability…" Agnes raised a finger dramatically, pausing for effect. "Empathic Perception!"
She struck a pose, grinning from ear to ear. "Doesn't it sound cool?"
Nyx's lips curved into a faint smile. "If you want something cool, shouldn't the name sound a bit more… dramatic?"
Agnes tilted her head. "Hmm… I guess you're right."
Nyx nodded slightly, her eyes softening as she spoke. "Then let's call it…" she paused, her tone deepening into something almost divine, "…the First Sense of Creation."
"The ability through which the gods once understood the hearts of mortals. But when that power dwells within an unstable vessel—like a human body—it becomes perilous… a gift that risks emotional collapse or sensory corruption."
Her words lingered in the air like a sacred verse.
Agnes blinked. "Whoa. Okay, that was so much cooler."
Nyx allowed herself a small, knowing smirk. "I know."
"...." an uncomfortable silence followed.
Okay, sis. Enough small talk…"
Agnes gathered her hair into a small bun, letting the rest cascade down to her shoulders. A few strands framed her face, bangs that fell softly to her throat, and a center lock that reached just to her eyes.
The air around her shifted. The playful warmth in her voice vanished, replaced by something heavier.
"You wanted to know what happened…" she said quietly, her violet eyes dimming, "…so I'll tell you."
"...." Nyx said nothing, simply folding her arms as the atmosphere grew tense.
"I'll tell you what happened six months ago… and why I sealed Amon's memories."
Her tone was solemn — as though every word carried a weight she'd long kept buried.
---
While Agnes began recounting the events of Amon's fifth birthday, somewhere else, far from the realm of light, something stirred.
A world swallowed by darkness.
No matter where you turned, there was nothing.
No end. No sky. No horizon.
Only an endless void stretching in every direction, silent, cold, and infinite.
High above that emptiness hung a sun, pale and hollow, a ghost of warmth.
It was not light, but the memory of light… a distant echo of something that once burned bright, long ago.
Beneath it, the surface rippled faintly.
It wasn't solid ground, nor air, something in between.
Thick, liquid shadows, shifting like water, yielding to every step.
And above it all…
A teardrop-shaped violet crystal floated alone in the dark. Its surface gleamed faintly, resisting the void.
Silver spirals coiled tightly around it, etched with glowing green runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Golden chains wrapped around the crystal, layer upon layer, binding it still.
Each link shimmered faintly, not with beauty, but with restraint.
It struggled to shine, yet its light could not pierce the confinement.
Then…
Crack.
A sharp sound cut through the silence. The golden chains trembled.
One link fractured… then another.
Two chains suddenly snapped, the broken fragments falling downward, swallowed whole by the shadowed sea below.
The surface rippled, consuming the remnants until nothing remained.
And so, the quiet returned.
But it was no longer the same.
---
This was Amon's subconscious, his inner world.
A reflection of the boy's soul.
A landscape born from pain, silence, and longing.
The endless void represented isolation, the absence of love, warmth, or safety.
He grew up abandoned and unwanted. His world became shapeless because he himself had no shape to cling to.
The pale sun, distant and faded, symbolized his yearning.
A hollow light of hope, a fragile dream of acceptance that still tried to exist within him.
The liquid shadows beneath his feet were uncertain. Amon's psyche could not tell what was real, or safe, or his own.
A mind unanchored, forever shifting, because stability was something he'd never known.
And at the center of it all, the pendant.
That violet crystal, bound in gold and silver.
It was his heart.
His core essence, the last untouched fragment of innocence, the part of him that still wanted to feel love, even after everything.
The golden chains were restraint and suppression.
Fear.
Guilt.
The influence of Project Requiem.
Chains that bound not just the crystal, but the boy's very soul.
Gold, the color of divinity, had twisted into a cage.
What was once meant to guide now shackled him, forcing heaven's light to silence a child's heart.
Those chains were not just forced upon him.
They were self-imposed, forged from his own fear of pain, and the control of others.
But if the golden chains breaking symbolized awakening, then what did their descent into darkness mean?
To understand that—
We must go back.
Exactly ten minutes earlier.
A/N:
If you've been following closely since the earlier chapters, you might've noticed that Amon's ability — "The First Sense of Creation" — was actually foreshadowed long before this reveal.
Back in Chapter 5, during his interaction with Rex, Amon subconsciously tapped into this power for the first time. That moment when he seemed to "feel" Rex's hesitation and hidden guilt wasn't intuition — it was the earliest awakening of his Celestial awareness.
At the time, even Amon himself didn't understand what he was sensing. But now, the truth behind that scene finally comes full circle.