Twice Claimed By the Monster I Abandoned. Chapter 10: AMETHIEL!

"Athiel, my dear... oh, my little one."

The voice was soft.

Gentle.

It floated through the quiet space around him like a warm breeze.

Athiel slowly lifted his head.

A woman stood a few steps away from him.

She was beautiful.

Her hair fell in long waves of blackish-purple, the sa shade as his own. Her eyes shone bright neon green, glowing softly in a way that felt painfully familiar.

For a mont, Athiel simply stared at her.

His heart skipped.

Then sothing inside him twisted.

Recognition.

"Mother...?" Athiel whispered.

His eyes widened as the word left his lips.

The woman smiled at him.

The smile was warm. Loving. The kind that made his chest tighten in a way he hadn’t felt in years.

"Athiel..." she said softly.

Her voice carried the sa gentle fondness he rembered.

Athiel’s breath caught.

He took a small step forward, almost afraid that if he moved too quickly, she would disappear.

"Mother," he whispered again, his voice trembling slightly. "Is it... really you?"

The woman looked at him the sa way she always had.

Soft.

Proud.

As if the sight of him alone made her happy.

"Athiel..." she repeated quietly, speaking his na as though it were sothing delicate, sothing she was afraid to lose.

Athiel felt his chest tighten.

Painfully.

’That voice...’

Was it really her voice?

He wasn’t sure.

Athiel had never truly heard his mother speak before. She had passed away only months after giving birth to him. All he had ever known of her were portraits, stories, and the way people said he looked exactly like her.

And yet this voice...

It felt familiar.

Comforting.

Like sothing his heart recognized even if his mind could not.

"Athiel," she said again.

Her smile remained soft.

"Athiel... Athiel..."

His na kept falling from her lips.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Athiel frowned slightly.

"Mother," he said carefully, taking a step closer. "Why are you just repeating my na?"

He reached forward, his hand lifting slowly until his fingers brushed against her cheek.

The mont he touched her—

Sothing changed.

Her smile vanished.

Her eyes widened suddenly, the bright green color darkening as red slowly flooded into them.

Fear.

Pure fear.

"M-Mother?" Athiel whispered, startled.

The woman’s breathing quickened.

Her hands trembled.

Then suddenly—

"ATHIEL!"

The scream shattered the silence.

Athiel stumbled backward in shock.

"ATHIEL! ATHIEL! ATHIEL!"

Her voice was no longer gentle.

It was frantic.

Desperate.

Loud enough to make his ears ring.

"Mother, I don’t understand... please—"

"ATHIEL! ATHIEL! ATHIEL!"

Her voice rose higher with each repetition, turning almost hysterical.

"M-Mother—"

"A–"

"–THIEL!!!"

Athiel’s eyes shot open.

He pushed himself upright in bed, breath uneven as he looked around the dark room.

"What is happening...?" he muttered groggily, rubbing a hand over his face.

For a mont, the room was silent.

Then—

"ATHIEL!"

The sound exploded through the walls.

It wasn’t just a shout.

It was a roar.

Athiel froze.

"What the—?"

His head snapped toward the large portrait hanging on the wall.

"A... THIEL!"

The voice ca again, louder this ti, echoing through the hidden space behind the wall.

Athiel’s eyes widened.

Realization crept in slowly.

"Is that...?" he whispered. "Is that the monster...?"

His mind struggled to catch up.

"How—"

He didn’t finish the thought.

Instead, he kicked his legs off the bed and rushed forward. His feet hit the floor unevenly, making him stumble slightly before he caught himself against the wall.

’He’s calling my na?’ Athiel thought, his heart beating faster now. ’Not Master... my na.’

He reached the portrait and pulled it open without hesitation.

The hidden doorway creaked as it swung aside.

Darkness greeted him.

Athiel grabbed one of the small potion vials sitting near the entrance. With practiced ease, he uncorked it and tossed the liquid toward the torches lining the stone walls.

One by one, flas flickered back to life.

The laboratory slowly lit up.

And then—

"ATHIEL!"

The monster’s voice roared again.

The sound was so powerful it made the tal cages rattle and the glass bottles on the shelves tremble slightly.

Athiel’s eyes widened further.

’That was loud,’ he thought, stunned. ’Far louder than before.’

He hurried down the stone steps.

When he reached the bottom, he finally saw the creature.

The monster was on the ground.

Its body strained violently against the chains binding its wrists. The tal links stretched tight as it pulled again and again, claws scraping against the floor.

The mont the monster saw him—

It stopped.

Its red eyes widened.

For a brief mont, Athiel thought he saw sothing glistening beneath them.

"...A... Athiel..."

The monster’s voice was weaker now.

Almost like a whimper.

Athiel slowed his steps as he approached.

"You’re calling my na," he said, studying the creature closely.

He stopped a few feet away.

"Not only that," he added calmly, "you were shouting it loud enough to make my entire laboratory shake."

His gaze lingered on the creature’s face.

Sothing about it looked different now.

Desperate.

Athiel stared at the creature for a mont longer.

Then, slowly, he began to laugh.

"Hah..."

It started as a small sound, almost quiet enough to be mistaken for a breath.

Then it grew.

"Hah... hahah..."

His shoulders trembled slightly as the realization settled in.

"So that’s it," Athiel murmured.

The monster continued to watch him, confused but attentive. Its red eyes stayed fixed on his face, as if trying to understand why he was laughing.

Athiel brought a hand to his mouth as the laughter faded.

’Leaving it alone scared it,’ he thought, the idea settling neatly in his mind. ’Interesting.’

He had always believed pain was the simplest way to control a creature. Physical responses were easy to asure. Easy to repeat.

But this...

This was sothing else entirely.

The monster had been desperate.

Calling his na.

Screaming it loud enough to shake the entire laboratory.

Athiel’s eyes glead with quiet excitent.

’So it isn’t just physical pain,’ he realized. ’Psychological discomfort works too.’

That alone made this creature far more fascinating than any monster he had ever encountered before.

He stepped a little closer.

Imdiately, the monster reached toward him again.

Its chains rattled softly as its arm stretched out. The creature’s fingers opened and closed slightly, almost hesitant, as if it wasn’t sure whether it was allowed to touch him.

Athiel noticed that.

Of course he did.

’Affection,’ he thought slowly. ’Or sothing close to it.’

The creature had done this before. Wrapping its arms around his waist. Holding his hand. Clinging to him whenever he ca near.

At the ti, Athiel had simply allowed it because it kept the monster calm.

But now...

Now it ant sothing else.

The monster reached for him again.

Athiel looked down at the outstretched hand.

For a mont, he did nothing.

Then he took it.

The monster froze.

Its fingers imdiately tightened around Athiel’s hand, gripping him carefully but firmly, as though afraid he might pull away again.

The change in the creature was almost instant.

The tension in its shoulders eased.

The frantic look in its eyes softened.

And sothing else appeared there.

Relief.

’Look at that,’ Athiel thought, fascinated. ’It’s happy.’

The realization made him smile.

"Well done," he said lightly.

He lifted their joined hands slightly, studying the creature’s face with clear amusent.

"You finally said my na."

The monster blinked slowly.

"A... Athiel..."

The word ca out clumsy, uneven.

But unmistakable.

Athiel’s smile widened.

"Good boy," he said. "You’ve been a very good boy."

The praise seed to ignite sothing inside the creature. Its grip tightened slightly around Athiel’s hand, holding onto him like the approval itself ant everything.

Athiel watched the reaction carefully.

Every detail.

Every shift in expression.

Then his smile slowly sharpened.

’Pain works,’ he thought. ’But this works too.’

A new idea was already beginning to take shape in his mind.

One far more interesting than simple punishnt.

"Oh," Athiel murmured quietly.

His eyes glead with excitent.

"You just gave an interesting idea."