While Uruja was scanning her things to look for the heirloom, Erus was also lurking around her shabby hut. She hadn't been advised that an inspector was coming today. She saw how Erus was flipping through her things in the kitchen, checking the bathroom, and appraising the antiques in the living room.
He was a perfectionist and he lived in constant fear that she had started some new, dangerous experiment the moment he turned his back. Even though she was still whole, with no missing limbs or disfigured body parts, this had become his usual ritual whenever he got a chance to visit his mother.
"You weren't experimenting on something that could possibly annihilate this world, right?" He asked when he returned to her.
"No. Of course not," Uruja said, trying to suppress her laughter.
"I know that look of yours. What are you after now?"
"You've searched and found nothing. I was just about to ask if maybe you spotted the heirloom?"
Erus stopped, looking at his mother seriously. He could not believe his ears or this woman in front of him. Just how clumsy was his mother to misplace such a very important thing?
He only understood the truth when he noticed how red as the tomato Uruja's face was. He breathed a sigh of relief and irritation at the same time.
"You better let it out or this entire island would rot when your gas leaks."
And then, she laughed out loud like tomorrow was never to come.
Instead of getting annoyed, Erus felt like cherishing her laughter. He almost wanted to cry, remembering how he was about to give up in the Abyss but then remembered his mother. He was glad he fought for his life and was still able to witness this free and happy spirit of hers.
This was priceless.
Uruja stopped laughing when she noticed that Erus was just staring at her. She saw no hint of irritation or annoyance in his eyes. She read his longing and felt the heaviness in his heart.
She sighed in an energetic way and smiled at Erus.
"Whenever you feel like it, always remember I have these big ears for a reason," she said meaningfully. "Hey! I just remembered... You ate and all but have not given me a hug yet." She pretended to pout.
"Such a prankster should blame yourself, not me."
He knew his mother didn't want dramatic encounters like this, so she would always find a way to make the atmosphere light.
But he did not evade Uruja's sudden hug. He just felt her slender arms already wrapping around him.
"A chipmunk was thrown by the wind and hugged on a big tree trunk," Uruja murmured while savoring the moment her son was still letting her touch him.
He hugged her back.
"That would be a very strong wind, it made the chipmunk's fur feel like a steel wool," Erus said while trying to brush his mother's hair.
"Aish!" Uruja grunted looking at him then hugged him tighter. Uruja felt his chest vibrated—she was below his chest level.
That was Erus' timid laugh.
Even before the drama could start, Uruja was the one who pulled back from the hug. She gave him the most genuine smile a mother could offer. Then, she handed him something wrapped in purple satin. He never saw where she grabbed it from. Perhaps it was from her spatial storage.
"Even before I gave birth to you, I felt you were the one destined to keep this patrimony. And I am really happy you chose it in the end. I am sure the ancestors are all proud and will be guiding you throughout."
Erus received the object covered in purple satin cloth with true gentleness.
This was it!
He was now holding the key to fully grasping his witch bloodline.
He untied the satin cloth and found a palm-sized reliquary. It was a black box that was no ordinary container, for it looked like it held the entire depth of the universe.
Erus felt the excitement. He was certain this was the real deal. This was not just another prank from his mother.
The box opened on its own, recognizing the presence of the one holding it. A butterfly with intricate patterns on its body floated out from the reliquary. Its color was half pure white and half pure black, looking like two different butterflies fused into one. Tiny, colorful dust fell from the flapping of its wings as it danced in front of Erus' eyes.
Uruja let out a tear of joy, witnessing that her gut had been right all along. She nodded to Erus when he looked at her, confirming that she was not backing out of her words.
Then, he started chanting the special marking ritual.
"Hollow the spirit, narrow the frame.
Fill the void with the weight of my name.
To any other hand, be lead and cold stone.
You wake for my touch, and for mine alone.
By the mark in the marrow and the seal on the skin,
Let the master's true purpose begin."
As he finished the last words, he made his finger bleed with a sharp wind slash. He was ready to tap his blood onto the butterfly and let it absorb the mark.
But...
"Hello! Anyone there?" A sweet voice echoed through the shabby hut.
A head popped out from the door of Uruja's room, but long black hair covered her entire face.
Erus almost threw his heart out of his chest at the frightful scene. He absentmindedly pointed his bloody finger toward the stranger. It was too late to realize what he had just done. The blood flew toward her as if driven by magic and was instantly absorbed.
Uruja simply froze where she stood.
I forgot! She mentally slapped herself. When she turned to Erus, her face was pale. She had no idea how she would explain this situation to him.
"Ah—" but she closed her lips.
Who should she tend to first? Erus? Or her patient who had just gained consciousness?
Erus looked at Uruja with an expression of a thousand questions dancing around his head. He wondered if this was the subject he was supposed to find for Uruja's newest experiment. That thought made him shiver. His mother truly was out of this world.
"H... hey there," Uruja hesitantly answered Cana, though her eyes remained locked on Erus.
"Just what the hell is that?" Erus said in a low tone, his teeth gritting together.
"Why is it dark in here?"
Both Erus and Uruja turned to look at her.
Uruja knew exactly why it appeared dark to the girl, while Erus assumed his mother had just made another failed experiment. Uruja gestured for Erus to stay put while she approached the odd creature.
While Uruja fixed the girl's hair, Erus looked defeated as he stared at his finger. The wound was already fully healed because of the newly discovered ability of his shield.
He had wasted that chant and his blood on his mother's failed experiment. Now it meant he had to drag this creature along, something he definitely didn't want to do.
"Oh, it was just my hair. Sorry. My mind is not yet fully functioning. And thank you."
"No problem. How do you feel?" Uruja asked the girl, whose name she didn't know yet.
Cana's memories were a daze and she could not hold her balance. She hadn't even recognized her own hair when she woke up and crawled toward the exit. Fortunately, a beauty was the one in front of her. She could feel the woman's warmth and kindness, and it helped her feel at ease.
Uruja guided her to sit but they both stopped when a tall lean body blocked their way. Erus stood there as if he had been hit by lightning. He was not moving or blinking as he stared at the girl Uruja was holding.
A flash sparked in his memory—a familiar smile from a girl he did not know. Her face was blurred to him.
He felt a tingling in his spine as his gaze landed on the face of what he thought was just another of his mother's creations. There was a connection he could not explain. It made his heart beat erratically.
"Stunning," he whispered to himself unconsciously.
"You were saying?" Uruja asked, not catching the clear sound of his word.
This took Erus aback, but he chose to act nonchalant. He gave Uruja an innocent look as if he had said nothing.
But when Cana looked up...
"UWAAAAAAAAAA!"
Cana sprinted back to the room, forgetting all her dazed feelings. She even slammed the door shut.
Erus and Uruja were left startled, stunned—shocked. Their eardrums almost burst from how loud she screamed.
Uruja felt concerned and a bit guilty for Cana.
"Are you okay?" She shouted to make sure the girl wasn't hurt from that sudden sprint.
"No, I'm not! I just saw a big gorilla! How could I be fine with that?"
Erus was in total disbelief at what the girl had just called him. Chaos drifted through his mind as he pointed a trembling finger at himself. He looked at his mother, desperately trying to squeeze some words out of her that could rebut such an insult.
Uruja wanted to laugh at how low Erus looked just from hearing those simple words, but she held it back. His eyes showed he was truly affected. This was a far cry from how he treated the insults thrown at him while growing up, even though those had been much more painful than being called a gorilla.
She thought that perhaps the accidental ownership marking was taking effect now. She composed herself and acted like an adult who knew it all. Part of the accident was her fault, too.
"It wasn't a gorilla, it was a dragon mask. You don't have to be afraid," Uruja tried to explain, though the words didn't really fit the vibe of the situation.
Erus was still in a state of shock.
Cana, disoriented by what she had just seen, came to her senses and tried to analyze what was happening. She didn't answer Uruja. Her mind was full of thoughts about what had happened to her.
I was on the bus... Did I fall asleep? She shrugged. She remembered the scepter in the middle of the highway. It was rainy. What was that thing? What happened?
She became agitated and started spiraling through a roller coaster of "what ifs."
What if she had died and reincarnated into another world? What if she had died and been kicked to hell? What if she was just in a deep sleep and dreaming?
She chose the latter, as it was more convincing. She even nodded to herself.
Then, she heard gentle knocks on the door but she chose to internalize first what she had seen just a moment ago. A fine, perfect eight-pack of abs—her eyes had been locked on those features before she looked up and was startled by the mask.
That wasn't a gorilla?
After she convinced herself that everything happening now was just part of her wild imagination in a dream, she relaxed.
Slowly, she opened the door and peeked. Uruja was standing outside with a look of pure concern. But Cana's eyes automatically traveled to where Erus stood. Their eyes met for a moment and Cana didn't feel any threat from him. To her, it meant the dream was under her control.
She stepped out of the room without minding the concerned Uruja. She went straight to Erus and cheekily scrutinized his mask, realizing it was not scary at all. In fact, it was too detailed and had intricate designs as if it were the real deal.
"Is that real gold?" She asked, even though this was just a dream. How much would it cost, if even a tiny piece of jewelry made from gold could cost thousands?
She tiptoed and held onto his shoulders just to get a better look at the golden mask since he was a head taller than her.
While Cana was inspecting him, Erus felt puzzled and became like an iceberg from her touch. He didn't understand her sudden change in attitude. She had feared him at first, but now he felt like he wanted to get as far as he could from her. Such closeness could send him to his death due to his heart beating frantically.
On the other hand, Uruja stood like a statue in the corner. She did not know how to react. She knew her son well, especially how he dealt with women who tried to seduce or even touch him. His charisma was undeniably at its peak with women, but his aloofness and stoic personality also made him scary.
She was afraid the beauty she had found would be sent to hell the moment Erus' temper flared. She was completely unaware of the real situation of her son, who definitely wanted some help.