A new mory hit like a punch to the gut, dragging Parker through the chaos of emotions—the heartbreak, the pain, the monts with Tessa—until this. A voice. Small, but sharp. Cutting.
"Hey. Put him down. Now."
The command sliced through the air like a goddamn blade. It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
That voice—young, way too young to sound that intimidating—carried the kind of weight that could make even the darkest shadows hesitate. Cold, sharp, and scary in that unnerving way, like sothing way bigger was standing behind her, wearing her skin.
Julian and his goons froze. Just for a second. Then they glanced at each other and—like the morons they were—shrugged. This was years ago. Way before Parker had any real power.
Julian turned, cocky smirk locked and loaded. "Or what, Ravencroft?" His tone was pure condescension, like she was nothing but a buzzing fly.
But Maya? She didn't even flinch. Arms folded, grin sharp as a razor. "Well, what can I say, wolfie?" She practically spat the nickna like an insult wrapped in velvet. "You keep this up, and I'll make sure the Circle knows you've already outgrown your "chances" for today—but didn't know when to stop."
Her eyes glead, dangerous and smug. "Let's see how well you fight when Vivian hears about this."
That na hit.
Julian's smirk shattered like glass under a hamr. His boys flinched like they'd been gut-punched by air alone. One by one, they dropped young Parker to the ground like he was radioactive.
"I thought so," Maya said, voice dripping with mock pity. "Muscles but no brains. Guess evolution didn't hit everyone."
Julian's fists clenched, face burning with humiliation—but he didn't move. All bark, no bite.
Maya rushed over, crouching beside Parker, her eyes softening instantly. "You okay?"
But young Parker jerked away—pain, fear, humiliation twisting his face—and bolted.
"Parker!" She called after him, but he was already gone.
She smiled anyway, small and sad. "Please... awaken," she whispered under her breath. "I can't keep seeing you like this." And just like that, she ran after him, determined.
****
"S-she always knew who I am," Parker muttered, voice barely there, like the words physically hurt to say.
"Yeah, genius," the darker Parker scoffed, bitterness curling like smoke in his voice. "That's why she's been clinging to you all this ti. And it's not just knowing—Maya's more than that."
Parker's heart clenched. "Does this an…"
"Origin Families?" His darker self cut in with a snort. "Yeah. Nyxilith, baby."
The weight of that realization hit hard.
"She's been protecting us... all this ti," Parker whispered, like the truth was too heavy to carry.
"Yeah," the darker voice softened, just a bit. "And we once… we loved her. But Mom just had to make us promise…"
Parker felt it—mories slamming into him in waves, like a damn movie montage on fast-forward. Eight lives. Eight versions of himself. And in every single one, Maya was there. Not the Maya of now—but his Maya. The one who had been by his side through it all.
The flashes weren't clear—more like glimpses through a fogged-up window. Maybe two percent of the whole picture of what she really was to him, but shit—it was enough.
The other him scoffed, but there was a ghost of a smile there. "Maya's probably losing her shit right now. Bet she's happier than anyone. Even happier than Vivian. Maybe."
And then, like a TV channel flipping without warning, the scene shifted.
Their mother.
Her presence hit like a cold wind slicing through flesh. Sharp. rciless. Unyielding.
****
She stood there, a silhouette shrouded in sothing Parker still couldn't see through. It had always been like this, across every life. Even now, in this mory, her face refused to be seen. Like the universe itself didn't want them to know her fully. Or more like the universe itself couldn't comprehend her face.
But her voice? That, they could never forget.
"Promise ," she commanded, the weight of it sinking into young Parker's bones. "You'll never—"
Parker didn't need to hear the rest. He already knew.
His throat tightened. "This is why," he whispered. "This is why I've been so fucking cold to her. Why I—"
Dark Parker exhaled, rolling his eyes. "Damn, we're dumb."
Parker let out a short, dry laugh. "Yeah."
"We didn't hurt our woman, Parker. Neither did Mom," the darker Parker growled, almost offended by the idea. Like he was about to throw hands with himself.
Parker let out a shaky breath. "Yes, we did." His voice cracked. "But it was to protect her. If she had tried to forcefully awaken back then—shit would've gone real bad."
Dark Parker scoffed. "Yeah, that's why Mom made us promise not to accept her feelings until we awakened. We didn't know why back then, but we sure as hell do now." His voice dropped, grim. "And it's over. We fulfilled Mother's promise."
They both fell silent.
Then, at the exact sa ti, they muttered:
"At the cost of hurting Maya for years."
And just like that—it hit.
A mont so raw, so real, that both halves of Parker stopped trying to tear each other apart.
The anger. The pain. The regret. The love.
And when it all settled?
The world cracked open.
A pulse—violent, raw, and unfathomably vast—exploded from them. Reality itself seed to bend for a second, like the universe had to adjust to what had just happened.
"Shit," Dark Parker muttered, voice shaking for the first ti ever. "We're actually doing this, huh?"
Parker exhaled, chest tight, eyes burning. "Yeah. We are."
And for the first ti ever—they weren't fighting.
They were one.
Prince Nyxilith Awakened.
****
One minute later...
Parker stretched, rolling his shoulders like he'd just woken up from the best nap of his life—except this nap ca with god-tier power-ups and so existential-level revelations.
He glanced at Ere, stiff in his arms like she was questioning all her life choices. "Alright, let's get your new features, grab Nyxara and Ignisra, and then—boom—we're outta here."
Levi's text flickered in his mind like an annoyed notification. [Did you just say 'features' like I'm so kind of character in a ga, Master?]
"Yes." Parker smirked. "And as my overworked and underappreciated system, you should be used to it by now."
[Oh, my existence is pure suffering.]
"You'll live." Parker shrugged. "Now, let's see the upgrade of my favorite urban plunder and logic murder system and wake up so phoenixes."
[Master, what about your Nyxilith rights?] Levi chid in. [You do realize what that ans, right? Oh, wait—crap, you have eight lives, so of course you don't.]
Parker blinked. "Oh, fuck. Right." He exhaled. "That's probably important, huh?"
Levi sighed. [You think?]
"You're catching up, Levi." Parker smirked.
[So, we're waking up the twin phoenixes next, Master?]
"That's the plan." He grinned, adjusting Ere in his arms like she was a pampered housecat instead of a Primordial Beast of Death and Destruction™.
Ere gave him a deadpan stare. "You're enjoying this way too much."
"Damn right I am." He pet her head. "Now let's go start so shit."
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