As Sylvan and Patrick worked for the World Government, whenever any echelon from the government wished to enquire anything about Delta City, they would do it from them. So when House of Hestia sent a command to help them find Zed, they naturally jumped in action to fulfill it.
While neither Sylvan nor Patrick knew why the great representatives of the aristocrat family wanted to find Zed, they believed it must be for something important, especially when they saw Lady Rebecca stepping out of the jet.
Still, when Zed became disrespectful, Sylvan couldn’t control his anger. In this world, no one had the right to be cold or disrespectful in front of an aristocrat!
No one!
And since he wanted to show his loyalty to the great families, Sylvan shouted at Zed to be respectful!
He expected Zed to cower and apologize but what Zed did made him feel faint.
Zed lifted his head and stared into the eyes of Rebecca. In an emotionless tone, he asked, "Do I have to be respectful, mother?"
Mother?!
Everyone in the room tensed up, and let out cold gasps, unable to believe what they heard. Patrick felt his ears ring with the word "mother" while Sylvan looked uglier than crying.
"She’s... his mother?!"
Sylvan didn’t dare believe it. While it was the first time he has seen Rebecca, he has heard stories about her, especially her beauty and powers.
She was called Fire Queen and everyone dreaded her.
Yet, such a powerful figure was the mother of the kid he just shouted at?! Surely it must be a mistake!
Patrick was similarly in a state of shock. He knew more about Zed than others due to Felicity and since he was aware of many details, he couldn’t believe what he heard.
Rebecca gently gazed into the eyes of her son as he stared into hers.
Whenever she thought of their first possible meeting, she always imagined telling him who she was.
She would gently tell him she was his mother... and that she was more sorry than he can ever imagine for being so late in finding him.
She visualized different scenarios based on his possible reactions. In some, he would be angry, and resent her for taking far too long. In others, he would show the longing like she always had, and express the love he has for her.
But nothing went as per her expectations...
He knew who she was, or at least, realized her identity after seeing her. She was ready for this situation as she imagined such a scenario.
But what she didn’t expect was what she saw in his eyes.
Indifference.
There was no anger, resentment, love, or longing.
Yes, there was a coldness but it only appeared when he spoke of House of Hestia.
For her?
Nothing... nothing at all.
Like she didn’t matter to him, or at least, not enough for it to let it show in his eyes.
Perhaps, he was hiding what he felt... Maybe his emotions were waiting to erupt like a raging volcano.
It was impossible to tell.
Rebecca blinked her eyes.
"No, you don’t."
She answered.
Zed let go of the almost crushed armrests. He turned towards Sylvan, and said, "It seems I don’t."
Sylvan didn’t dare take even take an audible breath, much less respond.
Zed planted his feet on the floor and rose to his feet. He was now face to face with Rebecca, their eyes meeting.
Neither of them spoke.
They only looked at each other.
Perhaps this lasted for minutes, or hours, and would have infinitely if not for a new voice echoing in the room.
"Zed! You are here!"
A sweet voice entered his ears.
As he turned towards the direction of the voice, his eyes caught a series of rapid blurs. Before he knew, two soft arms wrapped around him for a hug.
A pleasant, familiar fragrance greeted his senses.
"It has been a while!" Zed remarked as misty blue eyes peered at him.
"It has!" Sophia nodded before saying. "You didn’t even bid goodbye!"
Zed smiled as he replied, "Because I told you, we will meet later!"
"You indeed did!" Sophia exclaimed as she remembered what he said to her in the last meeting. "Mom was right! An honest, kind, and sincere person never go back on their words!"
While saying so, she pointed towards the entrance. As Zed looked in that direction, he saw a stunning woman, her features resembling Sophia’s.
"She’s my mom!" Sophia introduced him to Katherine. "When I told her you were here, she agreed to allow me to visit!"
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as Sophia made the last statement.
He didn’t let what he felt appear on his face as he said, "I have heard a lot about you, ma’am."
Katherine suppressed a smile as she replied, "Hopefully, only good stuff."
Zed didn’t respond. He grabbed the desk and took a deep breath.
Sophia was shocked and so was everyone else by what they saw next: His body shaking and blood trickling out of his facial orifices!
Rebecca took a step ahead to help him, but stopped when she noticed the look on his face as he sensed her movements. It was chilling; like he would prefer death than taking help from her!
A flash of light swept out of his storage ring, turning into what appeared to be a small, crystalline container.
He placed it on his other hand to empty it.
Swish~!
A terrifying surge of energy erupted out of his hand. The energy swept like a whirlwind, and wherever it passed through, everyone felt their blood circulation speeding up.
Sylvan was dumbstruck as he sensed his hidden injuries disappearing. These injuries were on a cellular level, something even advanced treatment couldn’t heal, and yet, they disappeared in an instant!
He stared at Zed’s hand, to find what caused such a phenomenon.
"A pill?!"
The pill was circular, made of what appeared to be crystal fibers. An enticing, crimson glow splashed out of it, so bright that one couldn’t bear to look at it.
Katherine’s eyes constricted with shock. She was a high-ranking member of an aristocrat family. The number of advanced, powerful drugs she had seen in her life were many.
And that’s why she was shocked.
Because the pill in his hand was a treasure!
A miracle of science!
"A Rank VII genetic pill!" Katherine whispered in disbelief.
Even in aristocrat families, such high-ranking pills were rare, very rare! They were something no amount of money could buy!
"What?!" The guards from House of Hestia were terrified by what they saw next.
Another pill fell from the container! It was a golden pill, its presence so strong that everything in the room began to shake with wisps of golden light flashing out.
"Another Rank VII pill?!" Katherine was awestruck.
Sylvan, Patrick, and the bank manager almost fainted as they felt their bodies revitalized from the wisps of golden light.
Zed stuffed the pills in his mouth. Streams of crimson and golden energy rippled out of him, swirling around his body like a cyclone.
Soon, his pale face regained some of its healthy glow.
"Haah~"
Zed released a heavy sigh. He now felt strong enough to stand without taking support from the desk.
"What happened to you?!" Sophia asked as he turned around.
"Some minor side effects of my usage of power," Zed replied with a smile. "Don’t worry, I’m fine now."
Sophia turned silent.
"He is anything but fine!" Katherine thought as she gazed at him. "Those precious pills hardly made any difference in his body!"
The others in the room also noticed his condition.
Rebecca lowered her eyes without saying anything.
"I have to leave," Zed said to Sophia. "Maybe we can meet tomorrow for breakfast."
Sophia nodded. Before, in her excitement, she didn’t notice his state. Now that she did, she felt terrible.
Zed walked past Rebecca and stepped out of the door.
Katherine eyed Rebecca before closing her eyes.
"The gods have been cruel to her!"
✦✦✦✦✦
An hour later.
Dream Rise House.
Zed sat before the waterfall.
He silently observed the water plummeting over the dark rocks as mist brushed past his face, carrying a soothing feel.
The sight of the scene in front of him was gorgeous, no less than the famous waterfalls around the globe.
"Claudia."
[[Sir?]]
"A feast for vultures is about to start!"
[[!!]]
"If Sophia knows about me being here... many of those who knew me from the forest would also similarly know. And they will share with others what they know, even if Sophia doesn’t."
[[I apologize, sir.]]
After he left the forest, he had commanded her to remove all possible information that could lead to his Zed persona. That meant spreading false information on the internet, creating firewalls around local information, deleting/doctoring pictures on online portals, and so on.
Sadly, manipulating the flow of information became impossible when Delta City became the focus of the world. It was practically impossible to stop his real pictures from surfacing.
"It is impossible to retain control during chaos... so don’t blame yourself."
He obviously expected a day will come when people learn about him being here. He just didn’t expect it to be this soon, and that too when he was weakened.
Claudia observed him silently.
She knew that had he waited for some time to recover and then take stress from Hope, his condition wouldn’t be this bad. Still, she didn’t say it aloud for she knew that even if he had known about the hidden vultures, he wouldn’t change his decision.
Because there were times when emotions overpower rational thinking!
"Claudia... I have survived far worse before fusing with the Cosmic Spark," Zed said with a smile. "So stop worrying about me!"
[[...]]
~beep~ beep~
"Hmm?"
A virtual screen flashed in front of him, displaying the live feed from the entrance of the villa. A car had stopped outside the gates.
"Allow it in."
Zed commanded.
[[As you wish, sir.]]
✫✫✫✫
Rebecca stepped into the living hall. Behind her, the two guards followed, their gazes scanning the high ceilinged hall.
They were used to seeing luxurious, breathtaking architectural features rooms, and even they were a bit impressed by the hall.
"Have a seat," Zed pointed to a chair across his.
Rebecca sat down.
"So what brings you here?" Zed asked
Rebecca gazed at him for a moment before stretching her right hand. The air above distorted with spatial fluctuations and the next moment, a fiery-red crystal appeared.
The crystal was incorporeal and when Zed saw it, his breathing turned heavy. His body might be in a mess but he was able to sense a familiar feeling from it.
That of his daughter!
"Whenever a child sharing the origin source of Soverigness Hestia is born, a crystal emanating the source power appears," Rebecca explained. "Since you weren’t where you belong, the crystal rushed to me."
The crystal flew into his hand.