She didn't respond.
Her head tilted slowly toward him. Her eyes were still hidden beneath her bangs.
The pressure intensified.
Purple-black energy began to radiate from her body—not visible as light, but as presence. An aura of pure maternal rage.
Piers, staring at his mother's face, felt real fear for the first time in his chest.
This wasn't the warm, loving mother from a moment ago.
This was someone he didn't want to cross.
[NULL SYSTEM - ALERT]
[MATERNAL THREAT LEVEL: HIGH]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: LOW]
Oh no.
He'd completely forgotten to change. His inner alarm bells were screaming.
Think. Think!
Summoning every ounce of three-year-old charm he possessed, Piers looked up at Xylia with the most earnest, wide-eyed expression he could manage.
His lower lip trembled. Tears welled in the corners of his sleepy eyes.
"M-Mama..." His voice was small, fragile. "I was... I was helping a kitten. A tiny kitten. It was hurt and bleeding and I tried to carry it but it scratched me and ran away. That's... that's where the blood came from..."
Silence.
Xylia stared at him for a long moment.
Her expression didn't change immediately.
She studied his face. The tears in his eyes. The trembling lip.
Then she looked at the blood again. At his small hands.
Her jaw tightened.
Then... slowly... her shoulders relaxed.
The coldness in her eyes thawed.
"A kitten," she said quietly.
"Yes, Mama."
She exhaled—long and shaky—like she'd been holding her breath.
Then her expression crumbled.
"Oh, sweetheart." Her voice softened completely. She swept him into her arms, holding him close. "My brave boy. You tried to help it?"
Piers nodded against her shoulder.
"Of course you did, sweetheart." She pulled back to look at him, cupping his face gently. Her eyes were warm again, full of love. "Let's check for scratches and get you all cleaned up, okay? We bought you so many pretty new clothes yesterday—Mama can't have her brave boy ruining them all helping kittens, can we?"
She nuzzled him lovingly, the terrifying goddess from moments ago now reduced to a giggling mess of doting affection.
Styx and Rigas stood frozen, slack-jawed.
Neither had ever seen Xylia go that dark... or come back that fast.
The whiplash left them stunned.
Crisis averted, Piers thought, buried in her shoulder.
As Xylia turned to carry him upstairs, Piers peeked over her shoulder.
He met his father's eyes.
And gave the smallest, subtlest nod.
Rigas blinked—then his lips curved into a wide grin.
He returned the gesture with a proud nod of his own.
In his mind, one booming thought echoed:
THAT'S MY BOY!!
Styx stood in the middle of all, tilted her head, watching them leave.
Her expression twisted in deep concentration, as if trying to solve a particularly maddening riddle.
"What..." she said slowly, "just happened?"
Rigas chuckled, still grinning.
"Your little brother," he said, "just learned the most important survival skill in this house."
"What skill?"
"How to lie to your mother and get away with it."
Styx blinked.
"...He lied?"
"And your mother believed him."
"That's amazing!"
"That's my son."
Upstairs, Xylia was already running a bath, fussing over nonexistent kitten scratches, muttering about how brave and kind her baby was.
Piers sat on the edge of the tub, watching her bustle around.
And felt that uncomfortable warmth in his chest again.
[NULL SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[EMOTIONAL RESPONSES DETECTED:]
Relief (crisis averted)Satisfaction (successful deception)Guilt (lying to mother - MINOR)Warmth (maternal care)
[VOID CORRUPTION: 29% - STABLE]
[NOTE: ABILITY TO FEEL GUILT = SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS]
[FAMILY ATTACHMENT LEVELS INCREASING]
[CURRENT ATTACHMENTS:]
- RIGAS: 29% (+4%)
- XYLIA: 36% (+12%)
- STYX: 30% (+8%)
- RINO: 31% (Stable)
- MUTOU: 8%
- GYUUNYUU: 7%
Guilt.
He felt guilty about lying to her.
Not much. Just a small twinge.
But it was there.
As Xylia gently removed his blood-stained clothes and started washing his face, Piers looked up at her tear-stained, smiling face.
"Mama," he said quietly.
She paused, looking down with those soft grey eyes.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"...Thank you."