I didn't know how to respond to that.
So I just wrapped my arms around her.
Pulled her close. Held her tight.
But seeing me embrace her, she pulled back. Leaned away from my shoulder.
She wiped her tears. Looked at me with those red, swollen eyes.
"Eren... you have changed."
Her voice was hollow.
"Whatever power you have gotten... it has corrupted you."
'Isn't that supposed to be my line?'
The irony wasn't lost on me. I had seen her change too. The ruthless order just now. The way she stomped on father. The overprotectiveness towards me.
But I kept that thought to myself.
"Mother, I am the same Eren as—"
"No, you are not." She cut me off.
"You aren't the same Eren who used to tell me every single thing."
Her hands gripped the bedsheets.
"You have changed a lot, Eren." She looked away.
"You are hiding so many things from me. The power. And most importantly..."
She paused.
"The sudden change of you toward women."
I finally sighed. "Mother, you are right."
I let my shoulders drop.
"Right about everything. Right about every concern."
I looked at my hands.
"I should have told you before. But... but how could I?"
My voice cracked slightly.
"How can I tell my mother—who is just too overprotective of me that my power relies on women?"
I clenched my fists.
"How can I show the new side of me that would break my mother's heart?"
I looked up at her.
"And yet I failed. Failed in every aspect. Failed as a son."
Tears started forming in my eyes.
I didn't even know why. The guilt was just too overwhelming. Too heavy to bear.
"I wanted to tell you..."
My voice was barely a whisper now.
"That what I did to make you stronger last night... makes me stronger too."
She listened silently.
"Doing similar things grants me more power."
I swallowed hard.
"And today, I finally ascended. I bounded with two powerful summons because of this power."
I looked at the floor.
"I was in a run for power. And in that hunger... I forgot the most important thing."
My tears fell.
"I made her cry. The very person for whom I was doing all this."
She reached out. Held my cheeks gently with both hands.
"I don't need anything." Her voice was soft now. Tender.
"I just need you, Eren."
She wiped a tear from my face.
"I can tolerate any pain from anyone. Except you, Eren."
Her own tears started flowing again.
"It really hurts. To see you the way you were acting. The way you were getting more and more away from me."
She pressed her forehead against mine.
"Eren, I don't need that power of yours. There is no gain from it worth losing you."
She pulled back slightly.
"We can live peacefully. Just like we have done until now."
Silence hung between us.
Both of us were emotional. Raw. Exposed.
Then she spoke again.
"I won't force you, Eren. Do as you like. I will support you."
Her eyes searched mine.
"But just tell me... what do you want?"
Those pleading eyes. So desperate to understand.
I stood up from the bed. Looked down at her.
"I want this world, mother."
My voice was firm now.
"The whole damn world."
She blinked.
"The same world that made you spend years feeling small within these four walls."
I clenched my fist.
"So I decided to conquer the horizon. And shrink it down."
"I want the world small enough to fit in your palm. So you can decide whether to keep it..."
I paused.
"Or crush it."
Her eyes widened.
"And for that, even god is helping me."
I sat back down beside her.
"You may see the power as corruption, mother. But deep down, you know the truth."
I took her hand in mine.
"The one who has power is the only one who never has to be a victim in someone else's story."
She was silent.
"Power decides everything in this accursed world. And you know it better than anyone."
I squeezed her hand.
"The turn toward a better life that started today... it happened because of this so-called corruption."
Her expression told me everything.
Every word I said was correct. She knew it. She had experienced it firsthand.
After a long moment of thought, she spoke.
"But I don't need anything else—"
"But I want." I cut her off. Rage slipping through.
Then I stopped. Realized I was being too blunt, being too truthful just now.
I corrected myself.
"I promised myself... while seeing you in agony... that I would one day present you the whole world at your feet."
It wasn't a lie. I had made that promise. And whether I owned the world or she did, it was the same thing.
She wrapped her arms around me. Much harder this time. Pulling me close.
"You have grown so much."
Her voice was filled with something new. Pride, maybe.
Then, hesitantly—
"If your power works like that... you should have told me. I would have allowed you to do... as much as you wanted. You should have just—"
"That's not how it works, mother." I cut her off gently.
"Once used on a woman, it won't boost my power again from the same woman."
Sadness flickered across her face.
"You said I had changed. That I was hiding things."
I tilted her chin up to meet my eyes.
"But mother, you are doing the same."
She froze.
"I know you want it from me. The same treatment. The same thing we did yesterday."
I leaned closer.
"I know you enjoyed it. But you are hiding it."
I reached down. Stroked my penis. It had gotten a bit short and soft from all the emotional talking.
"It doesn't matter if I get rewarded or not." I looked into her eyes.
"Seeing you happy is the only thing I want."
I closed the distance. Pressed my lips against hers.
But instantly, she moved backward.
"You want me happy, right?"
"Absolutely."
"Then I want you to forget about your powers."
Her voice was firm now.
"Forget about other women. Forget about using your dick for others."
She held up one finger.
"For just one month." She took my hands in hers.
"For just one month, give me Eren. Give me my world world I want. And then you can go back to presenting me the other world too."
I smiled softly.
"I was always yours. And I will be yours. With the power or without it."
I looked into those pleading eyes.
"And if this is what you want... I promise that for the next one month, I won't use my dick on anyone other than you."
I raised my hand.
"I promise in the name of Astrea bloodli—"
I stopped mid-sentence.
Corrected myself.
"I promise in the name of my mother."
She smiled.
A genuine smile. Warm. Relieved.
Then a blush crept across her face.
"Can I... be greedy once again?"
"Yes."
She stood up from the bed.
Reached for the straps of her nightgown.
Slid them off her shoulders.
WHOOSH.
The fabric dropped to the ground. Pooling at her feet.
She was naked now. Beautiful. Vulnerable. Mine.
She laid herself on the bed. Spread out before me.
"Then I want you, Eren."
Her voice was husky. Needy.
"For every single night. For the next month."
She looked at me with those desire-filled eyes.
"To do whatever I want. However I like."
I smiled.
A knowing grin spreading across my face.
I bowed my head slightly.
"As you wish, my lady."