Born In Ashes: The Enigma

'Is this the thing No. 4 used to say she always wanted?' Azrael recalled the eccentric little girl who had been a part of his team, as he looked at the teardrop-shaped, nearly two hundred meters big dark blue spaceship flying toward them.

The spaceship glided silently through the sky, and within seconds, it arrived above the backyard of the mansion.

Without making a sound, the rear section of the ship opened, and Azrael saw two figures standing at the exit.

The spaceship was nearly two hundred meters high, so he couldn't see their faces clearly. But even without seeing them up close, the silhouettes of those two people were etched so deeply in his memory that he could never forget them, even if he wanted to.

Woosh!

Suddenly, a trail of flame streaked across the sky as one of the figures rapidly descended from the spaceship—using the trail of fire like a slide.

Although Azrael had seen similar things on the internet, watching it unfold before his own eyes was another matter entirely. It was breathtaking to see someone casually create and ride down a trail of flame from the sky.

The trail of fire crashed down just a few meters away from Azrael and Kael, who were standing at the front.

Azrael braced himself for intense heat due to the proximity, but to his surprise, he didn't feel even the slightest warmth. Not only that, even the grass where the fire had struck appeared untouched, completely unaffected.

Woosh!

With a gust of wind, the lingering flames vanished entirely, and a female figure emerged from their center.

A fair-skinned woman, about 180 cm tall, with long, flame-like orange hair that flowed down to her hips, and bright purple eyes that mirrored Azrael's own. She wore a futuristic battlesuit that hugged her form perfectly, making her look as though she had just stepped off a battlefield.

The woman was Ashara Blazeheart—Azrael and Kael's mother. A Cosmic King-level being, powerful enough to destroy an entire galaxy on her own.

Azrael stared at the familiar, yet unfamiliar face without a flicker of emotion on his face. The moment she appeared, he had activated his Cold Blooded trait to suppress any outward reaction as he wasn't sure if he could maintain his composure otherwise.

'Her hair color is different... and she looks younger than I remember,' Azrael thought calmly, observing her carefully.

Ashara appeared to be in her early thirties, though her real age was obviously far older. In Azrael's memories from Earth, the last time he had seen Ashara, she looked nearly fifty.

There were many differences between the Ashara in front of him and the one in his memories. But what truly stunned him—what left him momentarily speechless—were her eyes.

In his memories, those purple eyes were always cold, twisted with madness, always teetering on the edge of insanity. But the woman standing in front of him now looked at Kael and Azrael with eyes full of warmth and affection. There was even a radiant smile on her face—something Azrael had never seen her wear in the past.

"Welcome back, Mom!" Kael called out excitedly and ran toward her like a happy child.

"Welcome back," Azrael echoed a moment later. However, unlike Kael's excited tone, his voice was calm and devoid of emotion and he made no move to approach her.

Ashara's smile brightened further when she saw Kael running toward her. But before he could reach her, her figure blurred and disappeared in an instant.

Kael came to an abrupt stop, stunned by what just happened.

Azrael also raised an eyebrow, confused for a moment—until he suddenly felt someone place a hand over his shoulder and pull him into a tight embrace.

"Azu, I knew you were bluffing when you said you would rather die than ever wear the clothes I bought for you! I am so happy to see you wearing them to welcome me back."

A familiar voice whispered near his ear, completely freezing Azrael's thoughts. His mind went blank for a second.

'Azu? Clothes she bought for me?'

With his high-level comprehension ability, Azrael quickly pieced the situation together.

Though he understood what was happening, there was one thing that made him want to crawl into a hole and die from second-hand embarrassment.

'Why the hell is she calling me "Azu"? What kind of half-assed nickname is that?'

Azrael took a slow breath and calmly pulled his head out of her arm-lock.

"I simply wore them because they are comfortable and easy to move around in," He replied, taking a step back as he had no intention of letting her throw an arm over his shoulder again as if they were longtime buddies.

Ashara's eyes flickered slightly at his response, but she said nothing.

"You don't need to lie to me," She smiled. "I know you like those clothes but are too embarrassed to ask for more. Don't worry—I'll take you shopping with me tomorrow and buy loads of new outfits."

She then glanced at Kael, who was still frozen mid-run, as if his brain hadn't quite processed where Ashara had disappeared to.

She only spared him a glance before deliberately turning away.

'This brat didn't wear the clothes I picked out for him to welcome me home. Hmph... I won't talk to him for five hou— no, one and a half hours!'

She turned to Rowan and the other servants. Instantly, her expression shifted from bright and cheerful to dignified and commanding—an aura befitting the matriarch of the Thorne household.

"Welcome back, My Lady," All the servants bowed in unison and greeted her respectfully.

Ashara nodded and looked at Rowan.

"You may all go back now," She said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Rowan, Lia, and the others looked surprised but didn't question the order. They bowed once more and then quietly took their leave.

Once the backyard was empty, Ashara turned back to Azrael and spoke in a calm voice.

"I heard you fainted when the Galactic Eclipse occurred."

Lia had previously explained to Azrael that the strange phenomenon that happened the day he arrived in this world was named the Galactic Eclipse by people. So, he wasn't confused when he heard the term again.

It had been named the Galactic Eclipse because, when it occurred, most of the stars across multiple galaxies lost their luster.

Later, Lia informed him that it wasn't just the Aetherion Expanse that had been affected, but numerous galaxies—even those outside the Human Federation's domain, including regions ruled by other species.

"Yes," Azrael replied. "I had taken off the prop you had given me and forgot to put it back on before going to bed."