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???

Everything happened so fast, one moment I was waiting for Professor Atlas to enter until... I got drowsy until I decided to just sleep for a moment. And now I'm here, in a dark place, like a mansion?

It had started with a whisper, her voice slithering through the darkness like smoke. "ming," it said, a name I hadn't heard spoken aloud in years. It was her, my mother, Nyx.

She appeared before me in the dream, her presence all shadows and flickering candlelight. She was beautiful, a powerful force of nature, cloaked in black silk and adorned with silver jewelry that glittered like a constellation of stars.

"Ming," she'd said, her voice like rustling leaves in a winter wind, "Be good. Do it for me, for your mother."

But the words tasted like ash in my mouth. "Really now?" I'd whispered, my voice barely audible even to myself. "You left us, mother, You got a lot of nerve to say that shit." I spat out.

Nyx had sighed, a sound like the wind rustling through dead leaves. "This is going nowhere, Ming. You will learn. You will be blessed. You will be powerful." Her smile was as sharp as a moonlit blade.

Her words were like a siren's call, a promise of power that resonated deep within my soul. "What do you want?" I harshly asked echoing the silence of the dream.

A glint of something dark, something alluring, appeared in her eyes. "Embrace the darkness, Ming," she urged, her voice a low growl. "Fall into it, and I will grant you everything you desire. You will be loved, you will be powerful, you will be feared, take your brother with you aswell."

"You had the audacity to even order me to take my little brother with me? Leave him alone," I defended, Nyx gave me a grin, "Darling you don't even know, he'll do anything for me, just like I did to him." She gently touched my face, I wanted to slap her hands away but for some reason, I was frozen.

"And you will follow the leader, sooner or later."

She snapped her fingers, and the shadows around us began to writhe, twisting and coiling, promising a power that could both heal and destroy. Then, everything dissolved into nothingness, leaving me alone, gasping for breath, the echo of her words still rattling around in my skull.

The real world rushed back in, the hum of magical energy from the classroom, the scent of parchment, the murmur of my classmates. I blinked, trying to make sense of the dream, trying to understand the pull, the undeniable allure of my mother's words.

𝚉𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙶 𝙺𝙰𝙸-𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙵𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙾𝚁 𝙰𝚃𝙻𝙰𝚂 - 𝟹:𝟶𝟶 𝚙𝚖

The scratch of chalk on the blackboard jolted me awake. I blinked, my head throbbing. Professor Atlas, with his perpetually thoughtful frown and a shock of black hair, was scribbling on the board. "Page 394," he declared, his voice resonating through the cavernous classroom. The chalk screeched against the board, Professor Atlas's voice a low rumble as he spoke about the history of the Minotaur.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Sunhye's voice, sharp and as bright as her silver like hair, broke through the daze. A crumpled piece of parchment landed on the back of my head, making me flinch.

Lixin, ever the stoic, tapped my shoulder, his hand lingering briefly before a gentle slap made me sit up straight. "You okay?" Sera asked, her voice a soft melody, her silver eyes filled with concern.

"Sleeping beauty, what's the dream about this time?" he asked, a playful edge to his voice. I could practically see the shadows weaving around him, remnants of his underworld heritage.

"It's not funny," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head. "It's like I'm caught in a trance, and then, the whispers..." "Whispers?" Sera, daughter of Thanatos, the god of death, leaned forward, her pale face a canvas of concern. "What whispers?"

"It's probably just sleep deprivation," Sunhye chimed in, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "You know, all the stress of being a demigod, the constant nightmares, the impending doom of the world...you know, the usual."

Lixin rolled his eyes, his gaze fixed on the ornate ceiling, adorned with ancient Greek symbols. "Welcome to the club, my friend. Nightmares are our daily bread. It's all we know."

"Oh, come on, Lixin," Sunhye shot back, her voice rising. "It's not just nightmares, it's like a strange sense of...disconnection. Like we're drifting away from ourselves."

"This is the life we were born into," Lixin countered, his voice laced with weariness. "We're demigods, Sunhye. This is our reality."

They then started bickering, at that point I just wanted to bang my head on the nearest wall and disappear.

"Quiet!" Professor Atlas's voice boomed across the room. "Now, is there any reason we can't focus on the history of mythological creatures today? I would appreciate it if you all remained in your human forms, and not in your...spirited alter egos." He then turned back to the board as I turned a page and started taking notes.

I then felt sera tap my shoulder from behind, I look back, "Ming, are you sure you're alright?" Sera asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I muttered, forcing myself to focus on the words written on the board.

The words blurred on the board as I tried to grasp the dream, to understand its meaning. The Leader? What leader? And why would Nyx be so insistent on my embracing the darkness? I knew my lineage, my connection to the night, but the darkness felt like a foreign entity, a shadow I desperately wanted to avoid.

And what does she mean my half brother would do anything for her?

𝙹𝙴𝙾𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝚈𝙳𝙴𝙽 - 𝙰𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁 - 𝟶𝟶:𝟶𝟶

The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. The usual cacophony of Valencia Academy, a haven for demigods, was silenced by the blanket of grey clouds that blanketed the sky. It was a night for whispers, for shadows, for secrets. My heart thumped against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the quiet night. I knew what these clouds meant. My mother was coming.

I’d planned to wait until midnight, when everyone was asleep, and slip out of the dorm unseen. But as I crept down the corridor, a figure materialized from the shadows. Haruki, the stoic prefect with eyes like obsidian, his face etched with annoyance.

“Ayden,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Out past curfew?”

My stomach twisted. “It won’t happen again, Hyung. I promise.”

He stared at me, his gaze piercing through me like the swords, he sighed before talking, “Just this once, Ayden. Don’t push your luck.”

He turned away, leaving me alone, I sighed in relief, prefects are scary, except for hosu-hyung.

I started walking to the direction I'm familiar with, the forest. Forbidden forest.

𝙹𝙴𝙾𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝚈𝙳𝙴𝙽 - 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙱𝙸𝙳𝙳𝙴𝙽 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚃 - 𝟶𝟶:𝟹𝟶

I reached the forest beyond the academy, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and decay. A single lamppost, its light flickering precariously, stood in the centre of a clearing, its base shrouded in a cluster of black flowers. It was a beacon, my mother's signal.

I had been waiting for weeks for us seeing again, personally and not in dreams. The last time we met was during the first week of summer, she's also becoming busy and rarely visited my dreams.

As I waited, a shadow began to form beside the lamppost. It grew, solidifying into the familiar figure of my mother, Nyx. Clad in a black cloak that seemed to absorb the moonlight, she emanated an aura that chilled the air. Her dress, however, shimmered like a constellation of stars, a paradox of light and darkness.

She removed the cloak, revealing her dark eyes, pools of liquid night, and a smile that held the promise of both solace and danger.

"Ayden," she said, her voice a silken caress against the night. I ran to her, enveloping her in a hug, the scent of starlight and night clinging to her.

"Mother, I missed you," I whispered, my heart overflowing with the joy of seeing her again. The longing had been heavy in my chest, a constant ache since our last meeting.

She met my gaze, her eyes filled with a tender light, and kissed my forehead. The touch was a whisper of cold starlight, a warmth that settled deep within my soul.

“Tell me about your day, son, I haven't visited you in weeks,” she urged before forming a shadow of a chair, before sitting with me.

I poured out my anxieties, the frustration of training, the whispers about my powers, the constant pressure to control the shadows that pulsed within me.

“Demigods have been falling asleep left and right, it's getting concerning,” I added, “There has been incidents that some students have been screaming in their sleep, I'm glad I didn't have to experience that.” Mother sent me a grin.

"That's normal, baby, that's the life of what you're born into." She paused, before speaking again.

"You know, your sister is a stubborn child," Nyx had said, her voice a low whisper that seemed to emanate from the shadows themselves. "She refuses to embrace her true nature, the darkness that flows in her veins. She should follow us, become the powerful being she was destined to be."

Follow us?

"Maybe noona's just stressed," I had offered, trying to defend Ming, my half-sister.

Mother had tutted, her lips curling into a smirk. "Stress? Child, she is a demigod, a daughter of the Night. There is no stress that can compare to the power she holds. Push her, Ayden. Tell her to embrace the darkness, to embrace her true self. You, too, must embrace the chaos that lies within you. Together, you will be the most powerful of us all."

My brow furrowed, confused. "Embrace the darkness?"

"Embrace it, Ayden," Nyx repeated, her voice now a low growl. "You are a son of the Night, just like her. Embrace the shadows, the chaos. Let it flow through you. Only then will you unlock your true potential."

I felt a shiver crawl down my spine, a prickling sensation like spiders crawling under my skin. It was exhilarating and terrifying. I looked at her, her eyes pools of inky black, reflecting my own confused reflection.

"But... I don't want to be chaotic," I stammered, the words catching in my throat. "I want to help people, protect them."

She paused, her smile fading. "But that's what we do, Ayden. We protect through chaos, through darkness. You are a protector, a warrior, a force to be reckoned with. But you will be nothing if you keep trying to fight your nature. You will be weak."

She sighed, a sound like the wind sighing through a forgotten graveyard. "If that's not what you want, then you'll make your mother sad. But I know you. You'll do what’s right. You'll convince Ming."

"I... I'll try to convince Ming noona," I stuttered.

Her hand rested on my cheek, a fleeting touch that sent chills down my spine. Then, with a final whisper, "Your father has always been my favourite mortal," she vanished, leaving only the scent of night-blooming jasmine and the echoing silence.

I stood there, lost in the forest, the weight of Mother's words pushing down on me. I couldn't understand it all, but I knew one thing – Mother always knew what was best. She had always been there for me, guiding me, protecting me. Even now, when I didn't understand, I knew she was right.

Mother knows best.

˜"*°• Author's note •°*"˜
Nyx is emotionally and mentally abusive to her children, alright? It was also shown in the book of The Sun and The Star: Nico Di Angelo Adventure, Gods who genuinely care about their children are rare sight.

I tried not to villain nyx much, but it's hard cause she's a primordial goddess and she's bitter towards the gods for different reasons in this book. It would be shown soon 🤙

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