Temple of the Demon Lord of Wishes

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Darian blinked, his body still tense against the chains binding him.

Ivaim, hanging helplessly above, watched in stunned silence.

His mind raced, trying to piece things together.

'What? What's happening?'

Darian clenched his fists.

"Mother, I've trained for this moment. Every battle, every sacrifice—it was all so I could be strong enough to qualify for the curse. Those were the conditions, weren't they? To be powerful, but compassionate. To be kind, but unyielding."

His voice grew more desperate.

"All so I could fulfill your wish... to bring Father back. So why are you stopping me?"

Neli let out a weary sigh, shaking her head.

"You really are a foolish son..."

Darian's jaw tightened.

"Foolish? I'm doing this because I love our family! Because I want to see you smile again! To give you back what you lost!"

Neli's expression hardened.

"And in what world does a mother find happiness by sacrificing her own child?"

Darian recoiled as if struck.

"Wasn't it you who made the deal with the cursed man?"

His voice wavered, but he pushed on.

"You raised me to be both strong and kind so that I would be worthy of this curse. You told me everything... how I was born for this purpose!"

His hands trembled at his sides.

"And I accepted it. I never blamed you. I never resented you for it!"

Darian took a shaky breath, his emotions spilling through the cracks.

"I accepted that my life had one purpose—to bring Father back... To make you happy!"

Silence filled the space between them.

Neli's gaze softened, the weight of her years pressing into her voice.

"Yes... Perhaps at first, that was my intention."

She took another step forward, her lips pressing into a thin line.

"When I made that deal, I thought it was the only way. I thought I could endure anything to bring him back."

Her voice grew quieter, as if she were confessing to herself.

"But as time passed... I watched you grow. I saw your laughter, your struggles, your stubborn heart. And I realized something."

Her hands trembled slightly as she met Darian's gaze.

"I love you, Darian. Not as a tool, not as a means to an end... but as my son."

A breath hitched in her throat.

"And I regret it. Every moment. Every choice that led you to believe you had no other path but this."

Her voice trembled, but the determination in her eyes never wavered.

"I made a mistake, and I refuse to let it take you away from me now."

Darian froze, his mind racing to process her words.

His breath quickened.

"Wait... what do you mean?"

His eyes widened as the realization struck him like a blade to the chest.

"Are you planning to take on the curse yourself?!"

He thrashed against the chains, pulling with all his strength.

The metal dug into his skin, unyielding, but he didn't care.

"You can't!"

His voice was sharp, desperate.

"You don't have the qualifications for it!"

Neli exhaled softly, her gaze filled with something almost... nostalgic.

"Not qualified?"

She repeated with a small chuckle, shaking her head.

"Perhaps before, I wasn't. After all, I had strength, but no kindness."

Her expression grew distant as she continued, her voice dipping into old memories.

"Your father was the one who taught me strength..."

She said.

"I was nothing before I met him... just another nameless girl, meant to be sold off as a noble's servant. That was supposed to be my fate. Quiet, obedient, invisible."

She took another step forward, toward the black ink-like sphere on the ground.

The dark, swirling mass reflected in her eyes, but she never hesitated.

"Then he came..."

She murmured.

"Your father. He saw me when no one else did. He taught me how to fight, how to stand tall. He showed me that I could carve my own path, that I wasn't just someone meant to serve others. Maybe that's why I loved him… because he freed me."

Darian gritted his teeth.

"Then why—why are you doing this?! If you loved him so much, then you should let me bring him back!"

His voice cracked with emotion.

"You raised me for this! I accepted it, I embraced it! My entire life, I've prepared for this moment! I was meant to take the curse, not you!"

Neli kneeled down, her fingers brushing over the swirling black ink.

It pulsed faintly, almost as if it was waiting for her decision.

"You're right..."

She said softly.

"That was my intention at first. I raised you to be strong enough, to be kind enough, to bear this curse. I thought it was the only way to fix what I had lost."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment before lifting them to meet Darian's.

They were tired but warm, filled with something she had only now fully accepted.

"But time changes people, my son."

She whispered.

"You weren't just a means to an end. You weren't just my way to bring him back. You became something more... You became my world."

Darian felt his throat tighten.

"Every morning, when we opened our little bakery together… every time I watched you knead dough with that furrowed brow of yours, grumbling about how I never let you take a break…"

A small, sad smile tugged at her lips.

"Every time we sat by the fire at night, exhausted from the day, sharing stories about the customers we met… every time I scolded you for sneaking extra pastries to the children outside…"

Her hands clenched around the black sphere.

"All those moments, I realized something."

She turned to him fully, her expression now unreadable.

"It wasn't just your father who taught me something. It was you, Darian."

She placed a gentle hand over her heart.

"You taught me kindness."

Just then, a system prompted in Ivaim's eyes.

[The Main Task has been triggered!]

[Task Name : The Birth of the Master of Cruelty]

[Instruction : Kill or Prevent the Birth of the Master of Cruelty.]

[Sync Rate has now begun!]