"I wish for you to… call Mommy!"
The Lady in White covered her face with both hands as she spoke, her voice breaking ever so slightly. Even she seed embarrassed by her own request.
"…"
"…"
"The hell I will!" Rex burst out, his voice louder than he intended. "I am not calling you Mommy! I will not even bother explaining how bad that sounds. I will just say that I am a grown man, and I have no interest in sounding like a child or so sissy every ti I speak to you!" His face was flushed bright pink, equal parts anger and mortification.
"Mmm, but you lost the bet…" she replied with a playful lilt, lowering her hands just enough for her eyes to peek through. "Or are you telling you will go back on your word?" Her tone was pure teasing, every syllable designed to dig under his skin.
Rex clenched his fists, struggling to keep his temper in check. For a few monts, silence hung between them, broken only by the faint hum of energy in the air. At last, he exhaled heavily, the sound carrying all the weight of defeat.
"I am not calling you Mommy," he said firmly. "But a bet is a bet. So how about Mother? Or… sothing close enough?" His eyes carried the look of a man who had resigned himself to losing but refused to completely surrender.
She tilted her head, studying him. "Mmm… it is not exactly what I asked for," she said at last. "But since I know you are shy, and since I am your mother, I will not push you too far. A good mother should not tornt her children… too much."
A giggle slipped from her lips as she reached down, lifting the small white sand rabbit from her lap and placing it gently onto Rex's legs.
Rex glanced down at the creature. "What is this?"
"Fufu," she chuckled softly, returning to her seat with graceful ease. "Before you arrived, I spoke with my old friend here. He agreed to let you absorb his planetary energy in exchange for sothing... once you reach Tier Seven, you will give him stellar energy in return." Her eyes softened as she looked at him, warmth radiating from her expression.
Rex frowned slightly. "I do not mind, but… are you not already feeding him stellar energy? You live here, right? So why is he still starving? I do not get it."
Her smile wavered for the briefest instant, a tiny crack that most would miss, but Rex did not. Still, she brushed it off with an airy explanation.
"It seems he does not like my energy. Think of it like this: if you eat the sa delicious dish every single day, eventually you will begin to dislike it. That is the situation here."
She reached out and gently touched his forehead with one slender finger. "Now focus on absorbing his planetary energy. When you are ready to beco Tier Six, I will teach you how to take in stellar energy. Now, get to work."
And so, Rex did as instructed. Hours slipped away in silence as he drew planetary energy from the white sand rabbit, guiding it into his body and shaping it to his own nature.
The process was slow, even with the complete cooperation of the planet's core, but the steady rhythm of it was almost ditative.
The Lady in White, anwhile, watched him in silence. Her gaze drifted to the horizon, and without warning, her hand moved to her chest. A sudden pain flashed across her features. In the next heartbeat, a small stick insect materialized on her shoulder, its delicate body shimring faintly in the soul realm's light.
"You felt that too, sister?" she asked quietly.
"I did," the insect replied, its voice clear and feminine despite its tiny size. "One of us has fallen to the Void. Prepare yourself… If it wakes, we must act quickly. We cannot allow a repeat of the tragedy from when the galaxy was still young."
The Lady in White's eyes narrowed. "What about the Guardians?"
"They are already en route," the insect said. "I alerted the Singularity of the Guardians about my suspicions. I was hoping I was wrong… but after this, I am certain. Stay here, sister. You know better than anyone how weak you are right now. Contact with the Void could be deadly for you."
The insect turned, using a leaf it carried to open a small, shimring rift in the air. Just as it was about to step through, the Lady in White's voice stopped it.
"And what about you? Are you going alone?" Her voice carried genuine concern.
"Of course not," the insect said simply. "Even at my full strength, I cannot defeat a corrupted Titan. I will send a call for aid to every other Titan still awake. If necessary, I will even seek the help of the Primal Beasts. It is the only way to keep the risk to a minimum."
The Lady in White lowered her gaze. "Take care… and keep your son away from all of this. Even if he has the genes of the Titans, he has not awakened."
The insect gave a small, solemn nod before stepping into the rift, which closed behind her like a closing eyelid, leaving the Lady in White alone once more. She looked back at Rex, who was still deep in concentration, unaware of the danger that might be coming for them all.
anwhile, deep within the dical bay of the colossal Cleopatra Fortress, Nyra's voice rang out with the force of a nuke.
"How could you even think of doing sothing so foolish, Lyra!?" She shouted with all her might, her words cutting through the sterile air like a blade. Her chest rose and fell rapidly; the fury in her tone was heavy enough to make the very room feel smaller.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was when you vanished without telling a single thing the first ti? I nearly lost my mind searching for you! And then, as if that was not enough, you go and disappear again! This ti coming back barely clinging to life!" Her voice trembled between anger and heartbreak, every word striking Lyra like a whip.
"But sis, I had to—" Lyra began to speak; her tone was low and unsure, but her words were cut short by the sharp, echoing sound of a slap.
Nyra's hand still hovered in the air for a mont before she pulled her twin into a crushing embrace. The strength of her arms made it clear she had no intention of letting go, and hot tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she cried into Lyra's shoulder.
"You deserved that," she said, her voice breaking yet still carrying a fierce weight. "Do you not understand? You are the only family I have left. The very last. If I lose you too... tell , Lyra, what do you think will happen to ? What do you think I would do if you left behind in this damn galaxy all alone?"
Lyra's lips parted, a dozen explanations and excuses battling to be spoken, yet none of them left her tongue. She could see it in Nyra's eyes; this was not a mont for reasons or justifications. This was pain speaking.
"I... I am sorry, sis," she murmured instead, her voice quieter now, almost fragile. "Next ti I will make sure to tell you—"
"Next ti!?" Nyra's voice suddenly rose again, her grip tightening as she stared her twin down. "Do you an to say there will be a next ti!?"
Lyra's jaw tensed, her pride refusing to let her shrink back this ti. "Of course there will be a next ti!" she fired back. "Do you think we can just sit here forever, doing nothing, while the world moves on without us? We cannot hide in these walls for the rest of our lives, Nyra. We need a future! our own future!"
Her words struck hard, both in volu and aning. But the fire in Lyra's tone quickly dimd when she realized what she had just done... raising her voice against her sister, who was pregnant and already burdened enough. She turned her head away, unable to et Nyra's eyes.
The room sank into silence. The only sounds were the faint rhythmic beeps of dical monitors and the occasional shaky breath between Nyra's soft sobs.
Nyra's anger cooled, replaced by a heavy wave of guilt. She knew she had let her fear and frustration cloud her understanding of her twin's heart. Lyra was not trying to abandon her; she was fighting for sothing better, sothing beyond the suffocating safety of the fortress walls.
And Lyra, in turn, felt a deep sha. Arguing with her sister now of all tis was selfish, no matter how much truth her words carried. She could only hope Nyra understood that her choices ca from love, not defiance.
Then, like a pebble tossed into still water, a new voice disrupted the tension.
"Mmm? Was that it?" The tone was light, almost playful, with a hint of mockery. "I was expecting more shouting. Maybe a few punches thrown for good asure."
It was the voice of a young girl, one that did not belong to either of them.
But thankfully, the twins instantly recognized the owner of that familiar, teasing voice.
"Aunt Ys?!" they exclaid in perfect unison, their heads snapping toward the sound as their eyes darted around the dical bay in search of her.
A light, lilting chuckle answered them, one that carried a mischievous warmth only she seed to possess. "Oh? I am relieved you have not forgotten ～" Ys replied, her voice dripping with playful amusent and teasing.
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