CHAPTER 72: REVEAL

***

The forest glistened under the bright light of the full moon.

The grand moon under the deep night had once again beckoned Noctis out of his bed and under the shadow of the forest with a feeling he didn’t have any way of describing.

It felt like a gloom of mourning at some times and the march of unabashed freedom at others.

He still didn’t have any control over it whatsoever, but repeated exposure had made him realize a few things about it.

One that had a property of revealing things hidden from normal perception, even qi perception.

While wandering around the forest for hours, he would occasionally come across strange breaks in the forest.

Like fissures dividing the areas of the forest or some gateway to another forbidden place.

He couldn’t stare at the strange spaces for too long; for one, it made his head hurt like hell, reminding him of the ’consequences of overusing traits’ that Cora had once told him about.

Another, it felt as if staring too much made the plane feel like a well that he was talking into with no hope of resistance.

He didn’t like either.

Especially the falling. For once he had seen something that made him know what had been the reason for his disappearance and displacement to the enchanted forest on the island.

The whole place reminded him somewhat of the estuary at the river surrounding the enchanted forest.

If the forest was a freshwater sanctuary that comforted and encouraged his well-being, the strange fissures were the silent, still sea that begets chaos and disorder.

Another property of it was even more intriguing.

Looking at the strange fissures and equating them with the waters gave him some ideas.

Employing the moonlight, he found the energy of the moon rather malleable.

As if it were a dough that was welcoming him to shape it into whatever he desired.

Of course the intention and the ability were two completely different things entirely. It didn’t come as naturally to him as the forest.

Nor was it physical in any way, which made it harder for him to visualise shaping.

He also had very limited time to actually practice this, as unlike the plants, of which he had an abundance to practice and could even grow as long as he was on land or water, the moonlight was limited.

Limited in the sense that even though the moon was much brighter here than his previous world, for it to be enough for his amateur self to use, it still wasn’t sufficient, except on days like this: full moon and adjacent days.

As the night got deeper and reached its final hour, Noctis looked towards the region that shines the brightest around this region.

He looked at it for some time, thinking once again of the temple and the tale. Took a deep breath and turned towards the village.

***

Noctis moved slowly and deliberately as he reached the modest wooden house after exiting the outskirts of the forest.

With increasing mastery over his skills and growing strength, he gave himself and his mother a better place to tackle the unforgiving nature.

Sneaking into the wooden house, he moved towards his little room with extreme caution so as not to make even a little sound.

Alas, he wasn’t at the forest floor full of grass but the hard oak that he had very wisely used for the full floor of the house.

As it creaked just a little, a sound came from the master room as more prominent creaks came from it.

The room unlocked, and an old woman came into view, rubbing her eyes as she mumbled,

"Noctis?"

As she noticed the teen with a guilty face frozen in a half-kneeling position, she immediately looked towards the half-open door and noticed the brightly shining silver moon in the sky.

"Again?"

She said to the boy with a weary sigh.

"I-I’m sorry, Mum..."

"You little...sigh...get back to your room and sleep!"

"Right away!"

As soon as he heard the command, he bolted towards his room.

Elle sighed again, looking at the silver moon.

She thought of the bright silver eyes of Noctis that he had whenever he went out during a night such as this.

She knew the kid still hadn’t realized it, or he would surely have tried everything to hide it from her.

She still wouldn’t have known of his supernatural abilities if it weren’t for his stubbornness to make a better house for her.

More and more now he had started resembling the white-haired lady that had helped quell the beasts and had saved the village.

There was no doubt about the specialness of Noctis; he had a great lineage and a great destiny in store for him.

More and more she realised that she couldn’t be with him forever. He had to realise what heavens had planned for him.

Keeping him in darkness any longer would be a folly towards the great primordial sea.

She made a decision to herself while once again looking at the deep night sky before going back to rest.

***

The next morning Noctis sat with his mother at the dining table with breakfast.

Her mother has already had hers and was just there watching Noctis eat. Knowing of his late sleep, Elle allowed him some extra rest this morning.

Something that had been pretty established, as it wasn’t his first time by any means.

Although he still felt a bit embarrassed about her watching him affectionately devour his breakfast, it was something he had also come to accept.

It was better than the other outcome of his mother waiting upon him into the night and getting very little rest because of disturbed sleep even after sleeping in.

While he was eating, Elle suddenly said something that made him almost spit out his food.

"Noctis, you are adopted."

"Khhhaaghk—!"

Suppressing his violent cough desperately, Noctis went for some water before staring at Elle wide-eyed.

"Mum?"

Elle looked on with no change in her reaction.

After waiting until Noctis had calmed down, she continued,

"Have you ever wondered why you are so different compared to every villager and even me?"

Noctis’ eyes went wide after every word of hers. Unable to make heads or tails of the situation, he mumbled feebly.

"Am I?"

"You are my dear. You are much more special than any of us."

"Mm?"

"And the reason is, I’m not your mother."

Elle said with a very resolute and determined expression as if making a guilty confession.

"You are."

Noctis, this time, replied firmly, understanding something.

"No, you see Noc—"

Noctis put a finger to her mouth, stopping her in her tracks. Elle looked at the expression on his face and finally cracked her expression.

"I get what you mean. But you are still my mother. One who made me what I am. Please don’t deny it, Mom."

Elle’s eyes teared a little before she wiped it away quickly. But her expression turned much more affectionate.

Something that was much more natural and better suited for her face.

She held Noctis’ hands between both of hers and said,

"Thank you, dear. But I still must tell you the truth. Let me tell you how I came to receive a gift so special as you.

It happened precisely 8 years ago. It was a very fretful night...."

Elle narrated the story that he had come to know from the cursed man in the forest.

A terrible storm, a beast wave, the arrival of a deity, and rescue from the disaster.

It was exactly the same tale he had expected would be from her point of view except for the last details.

She obviously didn’t know the place that she had left for, as she hadn’t followed her, unlike the crooks, but even apart from it, she had a detail that they weren’t privy to.

"...and she told me, ’Please take care of him for me until I come back.

I asked her when she would be back, to which she replied hopefully soon.

She sounded very worried and tired. I wanted to hold her and have her rest with us, but... she left in a hurry unbecoming of such a grand being.

I couldn’t think of the circumstances that could force such a being to the extent of having to leave her child to a stranger.

But before leaving I had made sure of one thing: to ask for your name and her origins in case she couldn’t come back in time.

She told me your name but not her identity. Even after my request to consider her progeny. How will you know of your own origin...?"

She looked towards Noctis’ pure white hair. For some reason she held knowing one’s origin very highly.

"...in the end all she said was,If it does come to it that I can’t come back. In that case I’ll leave a way to get to know it in his own destined realm.

If he is capable of wielding his true self, then I’ll wait for him. If he does not... then it’s better that he never knows of the plagues marring this land. "