Rowan’s eyes went cold, “The truths you are permitted to speak?”

His mother sighed, “I’m deeply connected with that monster, and it was through me he got access to the Empire.”

Noticing his confusion, she sighed, “what I’m about to tell you may seem unbelievable, but I want you to believe me.”

“Trust me mother, there are few things that can surprise me any longer.”

She looked at him skeptically and then she smiled, “There are a few things I will need to clear up before we proceed, I know of your soul merger and growth, or should I say I knew of it, now I can no longer detect the state of your soul and that’s a good thing.”

Rowan pulled back a bit,”You knew of my soul merger? How is that possible?”

She noticed Rowan’s movement and she smiled sadly, “I’ve been a bad mother, but I try to do the best with what I have available. Millions of years ago, I gave birth to seven children, but they were born from my primal nature and they were wild, and no matter how hard I tried to lead them towards the direction of order, they were still unchecked, it was all I could do to keep them in place and to stop them from preying on the rest of the universe, it was during this trying period that the monster who would turn out to be your father came to me, with a proposition to save my children, a method to make them reach beyond their primal nature, his only payment was for me to marry him and bear him a child. He was powerful and his plan appeared to be able to work, and I gave in.”

Rowan began feeling a growing sense of disquiet, his mind beginning to connect different pieces he didn’t even know were linked together in the first place.

She sighed and continued, “you were the fruit of our union, and I loved you, my dearest child. Yet, I never had much time with you, over the endless millennia, you were taken from me. I gathered my entire power and fought your father, and… I lost.”

Rowan said softly, “Who are you?”

“Oh my child, you have seen me many times before, and a part of you recognizes me even through all the darkness. Inside the Nexus, you saw my temple. I am the forsaken mother of Abominations, the Bearer of Calamities and gods. The Empyrean of Life. My name is Elura.”

She went closer to him and squeezed his hand, and she hugged him and slowly whispered into his ears, “At the moment during the battle with your father, when I became aware I was going to lose, I did something truly forbidden by my Originator, and went outside the universe to call your essence from outside of all known reality, unknown to your father or mine. This is the secret that we both share, and it should never be known to anyone else. I had hopes for a change, and my longings were rewarded with you, my son, standing before me against all odds. “

She laughed a bit, seeing the disbelieving look on his face, “I believe with your intelligence you would begin to understand many parts of the conflicts. The gods of Trion came to be the result of that monster’s solution to my problem. He ripped the light from my children, making them closer to beasts, and from their light he made the gods of Trion. Their corporeal bodies were sealed in the depths of the earth.”

“You are the mermaid with three arms.” Rowan’s voice could not hide his surprise, “When I woke up, the first thing I saw was you. You’re an Empyrean? Who is my father? How could he imprison someone of your power?”

“Yes Rowan, I am the Empyrean of Life, and I was betrayed by your father.” Elura sniffed, “Don’t look down on me, it was difficult to bring me down, if you want to know, our battle shook all creation.”

“Yet you lost.” Rowan pointed.

“If you don’t speak, you would appear wiser, you know. I am called the Empyrean of life, not of battle. I have been trying to reach you all these while with the limited reach I had, but I knew you would find a way to catch up with me. You are my last born, and for millions of years you have been denied so much of what you are.”

Reality trembled and she looked around, “I don’t have much time, and anything related to your father is forbidden for me to divulge to anyone because he has imprisoned all of me, and this minor part of me could escape and reach you only because of your actions. There are many things I wish I could tell you, but you are already on your way to discovering them. Yet, you should be aware of some things.”

She stopped as if she was fighting against something, and from the edge of his perception, Rowan was beginning to hear a dull roar of rage that was getting louder.

“You are getting stronger but at your rate of growth it would take too long for you to reach the peak of your potential and unlock my gift inside of you which I left in the depths of history, it contains your millions of years of memories and your Empyrean bloodline. I can buy you more time against your father, it will not be much, but it would be enough to escape his reach and delay him for a short while. The gods of Trion are not your enemy, but they have been misguided and sent towards a wrong path, and that makes them incredibly dangerous to you, do not hold back if you face them.”

Her face suddenly went serious and in a grave tone she began speaking, Rowan’s eyes also went cold as he listened closely to what she was about to say, “There are many things I want to tell you, and many things I am eager to learn from you, but first, I would like to know, I hope you have a wife by now, or if not, you have a candidate in mind.”

“What… what… I don’t…” Rowan was dumbstruck, the tone of the conversation suddenly shifting to something he had never expected, “Mum!” he shouted, “this is not the right time for that!”