[Isabella von Celestial POV]
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the soft, dim light of the mana-lamps. For a moment, my mind was a complete blank. I stared at the dark ironwood ceiling of my room, wondering why my chest felt so heavy and why my eyes stung so much.
Then, the memories came rushing back like a flood.
I remembered the sheer terror I felt when they told me Leo had collapsed. I remembered the doctors talking about "soul damage," a phrase that sounded like a death sentence. And then... I remembered seeing him today.
He didn't come in shouting. He didn't come in demanding money. He just looked at me. And for the first time in years, I saw something in his eyes that I thought was gone forever—warmth.
I remembered how I had broken down. I, the Duchess of the Celestial family, had wailed like a child and clung to him. I remembered the way he held me back, his touch so careful, as if he was afraid I would break. I must have cried myself to sleep right there in his arms.
I slowly lifted my body, sitting up in bed. The room was quiet, except for the sound of steady, rhythmic breathing.
I turned my head toward the side of the bed, and my heart skipped a beat.
Leo was there.
He hadn't left. He was sitting in a chair he must have pulled over, his head resting awkwardly against the edge of my mattress. His arms were folded, acting as a makeshift pillow. He was sleeping so peacefully.
I leaned closer, my heart swelling with a mix of pain and love. In the soft light, he didn't look like the "Scum" or "Failure" the world talked about. He looked like my little boy again. The one who used to follow me around the gardens, tugging at my dress and asking me to show him how the flowers bloomed.
I reached out a trembling hand and gently ruffled his hair. It was soft, just like it was when he was a toddler.
Why did things have to change so much, Leo? I thought, my eyes tearing up again.
I remembered how he used to smile back then. It was a bright, honest smile that could melt the coldest winter. But after his core awakened as a B-Rank... that smile died. He started pushing us away. He started hanging out with the wrong people, drinking, and acting out. Every time he got into trouble, I told myself it was just a phase. I kept telling myself he was just in pain.
But as time passed, we grew further and further apart. I kept trying to reach him, kept trying to protect him, but he only looked at me with resentment or indifference. It broke me, bit by bit, until I started to believe that I really had failed as a mother.
...Yet here he was. He stayed by my side all night.
As I ruffled his hair again, his eyelashes fluttered. He groaned softly and began to stir. I quickly pulled my hand back, feeling like a thief caught in the act.
Leo rubbed his eyes, blinking up at me. He looked a bit dazed, his hair messy from sleep. Then, his eyes cleared, and he looked straight at me.
"Mom?" he whispered, his voice thick with sleep.
Hearing that word again made my breath hitch. He hadn't called me that in so long. Usually, it was "Mother" said with a sneer, or he didn't call me anything at all.
"Ah... sorry, Leo," I said softly, giving him a small, apologetic smile. "I might have woken you up."
He blinked again, then realized where he was. He sat up straight, yawning loudly and stretching his arms over his head.
"Ah, nah. It's okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep like that anyway. How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Water? Are you hungry?"
I watched him, almost in a daze. He was asking me if I was okay. He was worried about my needs.
"I'm fine, Leo. Truly," I said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. His skin was warm. "I should be the one asking you that. You stayed here the whole time?"
"Yeah," he nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. "Dad came by earlier too. We talked for a bit, then he went to finish some work. I figured I'd stay until you woke up."
I felt a lump in my throat. This was the son I had prayed for every night. I didn't care about his rank. I didn't care about his power. I just wanted my son back.
"Thank you, Leo," I whispered. "For staying."
_
We talked for a while. It was simple talk—things about the estate, how the weather was, how I needed to eat more. But to me, it felt like the most important conversation of my life. I found myself watching his expressions, memorizing the way his face moved when he talked.
He seemed so much more... grounded. Like a man who had finally found his feet.
But then, the atmosphere changed. Leo took a deep breath, and his expression turned serious. He looked me in the eyes, and I felt a sudden chill.
"Mom," he started, his voice steady. "I have something I need to tell you. I've already talked to Dad about it, and he's given his permission... but I need to tell you myself."
My heart skipped a beat. A feeling of dread started to pool in my stomach. "What is it, Leo?"
"I'm going to enter the Path Awakening trial," he said.
The words felt like a physical blow. The blood drained from my face. My hand, which was holding his, started to tremble uncontrollably.
"No," I whispered, the word coming out before I could even think. "No, Leo. You can't."
I knew what that trial was. Everyone knew. It wasn't just a test of skill; it was a gamble with your soul. If you failed, you didn't just lose the trial—you lost your life. Your body would become an empty shell, a corpse with no spirit.
"Mom, listen—"
"I won't listen!" I said, my voice rising as panic took over. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? People with A-Rank and S-Rank cores die in those trials! Your core is... Leo, it's too risky! Please, don't do this. You just came back to me. I can't... I can't lose you again."
Tears were streaming down my face now. The memory of him as a sick two-year-old, nearly dying in my arms, flashed before my eyes. I had sacrificed so much of my own power to keep him alive. I had spent seventeen years protecting him from every shadow.
How could he ask me to let him walk into a place where I couldn't follow? Where I couldn't save him?
Leo moved from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He took both of my hands in his, his grip firm and grounding.
"Mom, look at me," he said, his voice low and calm.
I looked at him through my tears.
"I know it's dangerous," he said. "I'm not stupid. I know people die there. But Mom... I can't stay like this. If I don't do this, I'll never be able to protect anyone. I'll always be the 'Scum' everyone looks down on. I'll always be the son you have to hide away."
"I don't care about that!" I sobbed. "I don't care what they call you! I just want you alive!"
"But I want to live too," Leo said, and there was a sudden flash of steel in his eyes. "I don't just want to exist, Mom. I want to live. I want to be someone you can be proud of. I want to be strong enough so that you never have to cry because of me again."
He leaned in, looking at me with such intensity that I stopped sobbing just to listen.
"I have a plan. I'm not going in there to die. I'm going in there to win. Dad is opening the treasury for me. I'm going to learn a new breathing technique, and I'm going to train until I'm ready. I promise you, on my life... I will come back out of that trial. I will come back to you."
I looked into his eyes, searching for the boy I knew. But the boy wasn't there anymore. In his place was a young man with a mountain of resolve. He looked so much like Noah in that moment—the same stubbornness, the same iron will.
I wanted to keep fighting. I wanted to scream and forbid him from going. But seeing the look on his face, I realized that if I stopped him now, I would be killing the spark I had just seen return to his eyes. He was finally trying to be the man he was meant to be.
"You... you really promise?" I whispered, my voice breaking.
"I promise," he said, and he gave me a small, confident smile. "I'll be back before you even have time to miss me too much."
I pulled him into another hug, burying my face in his shoulder. I was still terrified. The fear wouldn't go away until I saw him walk back through those doors. But for the first time, I felt a tiny spark of something else.
Hope...
"You better," I whispered into his coat. "Because if you don't, I'll go into that soul-realm and drag you back myself."
Leo laughed, a warm, genuine sound that filled the room. "I believe you, Mom. I really do."
He stayed with me for a little longer, making sure I ate some of the food the servants brought and making me promise to get more rest. Even as he left the room to go prepare for his training, I sat there, watching the door.
He was changing. My Leo was really changing. And as a mother, all I could do was pray that the world was ready for the man he was becoming.