novelraw Chapter 50 : Fears in the Dark
Chapter 50 : Fears in the Dark
The farmhouse was quiet. The only sounds were the night wind and Father’s footsteps pacing in the hall.
I should’ve been asleep, but I’d learned something since coming here—grown-ups always said the most important things when they thought kids weren’t listening.
So I stayed curled in my blanket, eyes shut, ears wide open.
Through the thin wall, I heard Mama’s voice—shaking, strained.
“Darius… I can’t… I can’t stop thinking about him. About Rooga. Every time I see his magic grow, it feels like I’m watching a blade sharpened to cut down the world.”
Father’s voice came low, hard. “…Selene. He’s a boy. Our boy. Why do you always speak of him like he’s a danger instead of a gift?”
“Because I know what people will do when they see him!” Mama’s voice cracked, raw. “Do you forget what they did to me, Darius? How they killed my parents to wring power out of me? How they broke me until I couldn’t even cry?!”
The silence that followed was heavy. Even through the wall, I could feel Father’s anger rising—not at her, but at the past that clung to her.
“That’s why we fought, Selene,” he said at last, voice like iron. “That’s why we spilled blood in Henroad’s wars—so that kind of empire would die with him. Bastille is emperor now. We grew up with him. I know the man—he is nothing like his father.”
The name rang in my ears. Bastille. So that was the emperor’s name.
But Mama… she only laughed bitterly. “You think an emperor rules alone? What of the vipers still loyal to Henroad? What of the generals who whispered in his ear, the nobles who drank his lies? You think they disappeared overnight?”
Father’s footsteps stopped. For a moment, there was only breathing. Then his voice, sharp, frustrated:
Stolen novel; please report.
“You’re drowning him in your fears, Selene. Rooga doesn’t need a mother who sees a monster every time he smiles. He needs you to believe in him.”
A pause. Then a sound I never wanted to hear—Mama sobbing.
“I do believe in him,” she whispered, broken. “That’s why I’m so afraid.”
The silence that followed was unbearable. I pressed my face into the blanket, my chest tight.
They weren’t wrong. Mama wasn’t wrong. Father wasn’t wrong.
But as their voices faded into hushed murmurs, I whispered to myself, unheard:
“I’ll show you. I’m not a monster. I’m not a weapon. I’m just… me.”
The HUD flickered faintly at the corner of my vision:
[Emotional Resilience +1]
And I closed my eyes, clutching the blanket tighter.
The next morning, I sat on the porch, knees pulled up to my chest, staring at the horizon.
The words from last night kept echoing in my head. Monster. Weapon. Bastille. Henroad.
“Too young for thoughts like that.”
I flinched. Lyra stood behind me, arms folded, her dark hair swaying in the breeze. Her sharp eyes pinned me in place.
“H-how long have you been there?” I stammered.
“Long enough,” she said flatly. “You were eavesdropping again, weren’t you?”
I opened my mouth, then shut it.
She sighed, crouching so we were eye to eye. “Rooga. Listening to grown-ups tear themselves apart—it’ll rot your heart. You’re still just a kid. Leave those fears to them.”
“I’m not a kid,” I muttered. “Not here. Not in my head.”
Her gaze softened, just a little. “…All the more reason. If you carry their worries and your own, you’ll snap in half.”
I bit my lip. The HUD flickered faintly:
[Mental Stress: Rising]
Before I could answer, a low hum filled the air. Both of us turned toward the tree.
Its trunk glowed faintly, veins of blue-green light racing up to the branches. The leaves shimmered, their colors deepening into a richer gradient.
Then—crack—the roots broke through the soil, spreading wider, faster, like veins across the land. Wherever they touched, the earth pulsed with light.
The wisp appeared again, circling us in lazy loops before darting into the grass. Flowers bloomed in its wake—tiny, glowing blossoms that looked like stars fallen to the ground.
I scrambled to my feet, eyes wide. “It’s… growing again!”
Lyra’s jaw tightened. “…That’s not normal growth.”
The HUD flashed:
[Tree of the Goddess – Growth Progress: 41%]
[Effect Expanded: Corrupted Land Purification Radius +20m]
I grinned, bouncing on my toes. “See? It’s helping even more now! Soon this whole place will be green again!”
But Lyra didn’t smile. Her gaze stayed fixed on the glowing branches, her lips pressed thin.
“…Or soon, this tree will be noticed by the wrong people.”
I blinked at her, confused. “But… it’s beautiful.”
She looked down at me, and for the first time, I saw worry etched across her usually calm face. “…Yes, Rooga. And beautiful things get stolen.”