Time passed while they remained in each other's arms.
Slowly, the sobs faded.
The tears stopped.
The pain didn't disappear, but for the first time in over a year, Temorsth no longer carried it alone.
Eventually, they returned inside.
The reunion couldn't last forever.
Some things needed to be said.
...
Not long after, the three of them sat in the living room.
Temorsth occupied a leather armchair opposite the sofa while his parents sat side by side across from him.
The atmosphere was strange, almost awkward.
It felt and looked like even more time had passed than a year.
A child who looked seven but was only five sat facing two ancient beings who suddenly seemed unsure of themselves.
Xalier and Elah looked terrible.
Their clothes were torn. Cuts and dirt covered them from head to toe.
Neither appeared seriously injured, yet it was obvious they hadn't returned from a pleasant journey. It was clear that they had not even rested a moment for quite a while.
And even as they were already at home, they somehow still did not look at ease.
Nobody spoke.
Temorsth wanted to.
His parents wanted to.
Yet somehow the words refused to come.
For the first time since they had returned, the reality of the situation finally settled over him.
They had been gone for more than a year.
He had spent that entire year wondering if they were alive.
And now they sat before him again.
How was he or they supposed to start this conversation?
The silence stretched.
Then suddenly, "Ahem..." Xalier cleared his throat.
The man shifted awkwardly. "We brought you something."
Relief instantly appeared on both parents' faces.
Not because the conversation became easier.
But because neither of them had to start with what they really wanted to say.
Xalier reached into his spatial ring and produced a flask.
It was ornate. Golden. Beautifully crafted.
A ruby-red cap rested atop its neck while a pale blue liquid shimmered softly inside.
Temorsth accepted it carefully.
"Thank you, Dad."
The moment his fingers touched the flask, a familiar notification appeared before him.
[Notice: The host has obtained The Waters of Singularity.]
His eyes narrowed. A status window opened.
Curiosity and the instinct to get away from the situation made him begin reading.
The room remained silent. Neither parent interrupted him. They simply watched.
Temorsth's expression slowly changed.
Curiosity.
Confusion.
Surprise.
Then understanding.
Not of the water itself.
Most of the information meant little to him.
Names.
Places.
Titles.
Existences far beyond what he currently wanted or needed to understand.
But one thing was obvious.
Whatever this was...
Obtaining it had not been easy.
Not even close.
His grip tightened around the flask.
Slowly, Temorsth raised his head.
His gaze landed on his mother's torn sleeve.
Then the cuts on his father's hands.
Then, the exhaustion that both of them were desperately trying to hide.
...
They hadn't left him.
They hadn't forgotten him.
They had gone searching for this.
His chest tightened.
A strange mixture of relief and anger.
Anger?
His eyes narrowed.
The waters inside the flask shook slightly.
Not from movement.
Only from the force of his grip. If it were a normal bottle, it would have long since shattered.
His parents noticed, yet neither spoke.
Instead... They looked relieved.
Relieved?
As if they had finally confirmed something.
Temorsth blinked.
His anger paused.
A strange thought surfaced.
Why were they relieved?
They should have been worried.
Yet somehow they looked lighter.
As though a burden had disappeared.
"Huh...?" The confusion reached his face.
And suddenly everything clicked.
His gaze shifted between them.
The flask.
The injuries.
The silence.
The relief.
The nervousness.
The things left unsaid.
They were hiding something, too.
Just like him.
"Son...?" Xalier spoke carefully.
Temorsth barely heard him.
His mind was elsewhere.
Connecting pieces.
Slowly, one after another.
Until only a single question remained.
His voice came out quiet, almost hesitant. "Did..."
Both parents looked up. "...Mom and Dad know?"
Xalier frowned. "What do you mean, son?"
Temorsth stared down at the flask.
For years, they had pretended.
For years, he had pretended.
Suddenly, it all felt absurd.
He took a breath.
Then another.
Finally—
"Did you know I'm dying?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The room froze.
Elah's eyes widened.
Xalier's expression completely stiffened.
Neither answered.
They didn't need to.
Temorsth already had his answer.
"...I see." A small smile appeared on his face.
Not a happy one. Just understanding. "They knew..."
His parents exchanged a glance. Neither knew what to say.
Eventually, Xalier spoke. "Son... How did you find out?"
Temorsth almost laughed.
Not because it was funny. Because the question felt strange.
How could he not know?
Even if the system didn't tell him so much, it was his body.
His pain.
His weakness.
His future.
He had lived with it every day.
Seeing their reactions, another realization surfaced.
They really thought he didn't know.
They had hidden it from him.
Tried to protect him.
The same way he had hidden things from them.
Temorsth lowered his gaze.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
Then a small chuckle escaped him.
"...?" His parents immediately became nervous.
Temorsth shook his head. Honestly, it was ridiculous.
They crossed the world searching for a cure.
Risked their lives.
Fought monsters and masters on levels he could not grasp.
Faced impossible dangers.
And all because neither side wanted the other to worry, they said nothing.
A family of idiots.
Beautiful idiots.
And somehow that realization made him feel warm.
"So..." Temorsth finally said. "That's what you wanted to tell me."
He placed the flask on the table and, for the first time since sitting down, he looked directly at them.
"Then it's my turn."
Temorsth leaned back slightly in his chair.
Both his parents looked up.
"It feels strange..."
"Hm?" Elah tilted her head.
Temorsth looked away.
"I always planned to tell you eventually." His fingers drummed lightly against the armrest.
"Just... much later." A weak smile appeared on his face.
"I wanted to spend more time pretending." The words escaped before he could stop them.
His parents exchanged a glance.
"Pretending?" Xalier asked.
Temorsth laughed quietly.
"Being a child."
Silence followed.
Then he sighed.
"Some time before Father pulled my soul from the Hall of Bones, I gained the ability to reincarnate. Through this power, I remember my past life."
The room froze.
Unlike before, this silence wasn't awkward.
It was a genuine shock.
Temorsth waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then Xalier blinked. "Oh."
That was all.
Just—
"Oh?" Temorsth stared.
His father stared back.
"...That's it?" He had to ask.
"What else am I supposed to say?"
"I don't know... "
Xalier scratched his cheek. "I was expecting something far worse, but honestly, I don't know what I was expecting."
Temorsth's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. "...What?"
Elah suddenly laughed—a genuine laugh.
Not loud, just warm.
The tension that had built within Temorsth instantly shattered, but he repeated involuntarily, "What?"
Elah reached over and gently ruffled his hair. "You really thought we would stop loving you because of that?"
Temorsth froze.
Because that wasn't what he had said.
Yet somehow she had answered the exact question he hadn't been able to ask.
His eyes lowered. "...Maybe."
The room became quiet again. This time, a softer silence.
Elah's hand stopped moving.
Xalier's expression became gentler as he leaned forward. "Temorsth." His voice was calm and steady.
"You were born in this house." Temorsth looked up.
"You cried in this house." A faint smile appeared on Xalier's face.
"You broke furniture in this house."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
"It was one chair."
"It exploded."
"It was an accident."
Xalier nodded solemnly. "Of course."
Elah snorted.
Temorsth looked between them.
Slowly, the knot in his chest loosened.
"You are our son." The smile vanished from Xalier's face, not because he was angry, but because he wanted the words to be understood.
"Nothing you tell us today will change that."
Temorsth's gaze lowered again.
A strange warmth spread through his chest, the kind that made his eyes sting and his thoughts slow.
"I know." His voice sounded weaker than intended.
"No." Elah shook her head. "You hoped."
Temorsth fell silent.
Because she was right.
He hadn't known. Not really.
A small part of him had always wondered.
Always feared.
What if they stopped seeing him as their child?
What if they only saw him as a stranger?
What if—
"Mom..." The word escaped before he realized it.
Elah immediately looked toward him.
Temorsth hesitated.
Then forced himself to continue. "Please don't change how you treat me."
The room went completely still.
Temorsth looked away, embarrassed. "I know it sounds stupid."
"It doesn't."
He ignored the interruption. "I know I'm technically older."
"Much older." He rubbed his eyes.
"But..." The words became harder, not easier.
"Mom..."
He hesitated.
"Can I still call you that?"
Silence.
Then suddenly—
"Oh, baby..." Elah's voice broke.
Temorsth immediately looked up. To his horror, tears had already appeared in her eyes.
"No, no..." Temorsth panicked. "That's not what I meant."
"I know," Elah whispered.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Because I'm happy." That only confused him more.
Temorsth stared helplessly as his mother stood up and crossed the space.
Before he could react, she wrapped both arms around him.
"You idiot..." Her voice trembled.
"My wonderful little idiot."
Temorsth blinked, then slowly hugged her back. "...Sorry."
"Stop apologizing."
"Sorry."
"Temorsth."
"Sorry."
Xalier laughed.
Elah smacked the back of her son's head.
Not hard.
Just enough.
Temorsth finally laughed too.
A real laugh.
The first one in a very long time.
...
After a while, they sat together on the sofa.
Closer than before.
Much closer.
The conversation eventually shifted toward his previous life.
Naturally.
Curiosity was unavoidable.
"So..." Xalier began.
Temorsth immediately narrowed his eyes.
"Who were you, my son? Were you famous? How did you die?" Xalier was more open to banter, "Ouch..." but maybe too open, so Elah hit him in the back of the head, too.
Temorsth sighed.
Xalier grinned.
Temorsth thought about it.
Honestly, he wasn't sure. "I don't remember everything." That part was true.
Some memories had already become blurry.
Others remained crystal clear.
"But I was human."
Both parents nodded.
"I lived twenty-one years."
Elah froze, but Temorsth continued. "Though, strangely, it felt like more also while dying, everything was hazy, so I am not so sure, but I did die from exhaustion that I know."
The room became silent as he finished.
Temorsth finally noticed. "...Mom?"
Her expression slowly darkened. "Twenty-one..."
"...?"
"Twenty-one?" She repeated with a low voice.
"Uh... Yes?"
Elah stood up.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Temorsth immediately knew something had gone wrong.
"Baby."
"Yes?"
"You died at twenty-one?"
"Yeah..."
The room shook slightly.
Xalier looked away, making sure the protections on the house still stood... hoping his wife would not accidentally destroy it.
"You were still a child!"
"What?" Temorsth blinked.
"You were a child!"
"I was an adult!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Mom!"
Elah pointed directly at him.
"If I had been there, nobody would have hurt you! Where were your parents then!?"
Temorsth stared, completely speechless.
Then he thought... "...You're an elf mom, humans don't live that long, twenty is fine." He had to divert. He could not answer that his parents were already dead...
"I am and? Even a normal human can live to a hundred easily."
"A hundred?"
"...?" Hearing the strangeness in their son's words, both parents looked puzzled.
"Wait, how long did humans live in your world?"
"Uhm, well... we could live to a hundred, but it was kind of rare, seventy-eighty was more common... but dying as a young adult was because I was a target from the day I was born... my old man was a rather dangerous person who many feared or wished to kill."
"..."
"..."
"So it's not that strange. I died young, yes, but I had been prepared for that possibility for a long time."
"It absolutely is!"
"I'm pretty sure it isn't."
"It is!" Xalier finally joined in. "Your mother is right."
Temorsth looked betrayed. "You too?"
"You died at twenty-one. We have many enemies, too. Will you accept death so easily in this life, too?"
"I didn't accept it while alive... as I said, I struggled until I died from exhaustion..."
Xalier shook his head. "Even more of a tragedy."
Temorsth covered his face.
His parents were impossible.