Nighttime.
Aurora leaned against the doorframe after checking on her son.
"I made food for him… and forgot to ask if he'd eat." She pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
Though she had shown a calm face in front of her son, inside, the worry gnawed at her.
"I need to hold myself together. Panic won't help anyone," she whispered to herself and quietly entered her room.
But no mother could sleep peacefully seeing her child suffer. Aurora tossed and turned, sleep refusing to come. Then a sudden thought struck her.
"I forgot to tell Attu not to go outside at night. Hans had warned us. It's night now—surely he hasn't left? Either way, I need to check on him."
She rose and crept to her son's room, opening the door slowly to avoid waking him—only to find the room empty.
He wasn't there.
She rushed inside, searching every corner.
"It's midnight… Where did he go?"
Frantic, she began checking other rooms.
"I have to find him!" she cried, standing in the middle of the house, covering her face with trembling hands.
Then she lifted her hands to her ears and whispered:
"Ability: A Thousand Echoes of Silence."
Aurora was one of the rare few—an esper, gifted with supernatural perception.
Though her body remained still, her mind extended beyond her—searching, listening. Her thoughts slipped through walls, scanning the home's every corner like a drifting spirit.
But Attu was nowhere inside. He had gone out.
"He's not here. That means he left the house. I have to find him—now."
Her perception passed through walls, through the door, out into the night.
Through her unique ability, sounds formed images in her mind—like she could see using echoes. This was how she found her son.
Aurora rushed outside and ran to where her mind had seen him, pulling him into her arms.
He stood frozen, face pale with terror, staring toward the village.
She turned to look—and saw it.
The demon.
Baskervill.
Slaughtering villagers. The hounds tearing at corpses. Houses ablaze.
Aurora's blood ran cold.
She grabbed Attu's hand and screamed, "Run!" pulling him with all her strength.
Her ability was still active. She heard the whistle before she saw the danger. The hounds, drawn by the sound, were now chasing them.
But then… her ability stopped working.
"I need a plan—quick. They'll catch up. I have to find a way out."
And then she saw it.
The river.
It flowed fast, swollen by recent floods.
"If we can reach it, we can escape. The current might carry us away."
Attu, still in shock, followed her lead. But she could hear the hounds closing in. Their snarls and paws grew louder behind them.
"If they catch us, it's over. No matter what—it's Attu I have to protect."
Aurora pleaded silently to the heavens as tears welled in her eyes.
"Just a little more… Please, God… just a little more!"
She gripped his hand tighter. They were almost there. Just two steps from the river.
She turned, ready to celebrate—when she saw it.
The demon.
He was far, but not too far. And his spear was already in his hand.
He was aiming.
At Attu.
"No…"
He's going to throw it at Attu.
"I won't let him."
Aurora stopped.
As I ran, my mother suddenly moved behind me.
"Why did she stop?"
I turned.
The demon had already thrown the spear.
My mother didn't hesitate.
She became my shield.
Everything happened so fast. Too fast.
But I saw her face.
I couldn't read what she felt. I didn't understand.
But she did.
Aurora thought, "This feeling… I've felt it before."
She was happy.
Happy to give her life for her child.
She remembered the first time she held me in her arms…
The day I was born…
The joy when my tiny hand wrapped around her finger…
She smiled now—just like then. Soft and warm. Loving. Even with tears in her eyes, her gaze remained filled with peace.
"I love you…"
The spear pierced through her midsection. Its tip burst out the other side.
The pain was unbearable—yet she endured it.
And with the last of her strength, she finished her sentence.
"…my son!"
Then, with all she had left, she pushed me into the river.
Those words…
The final words from my mother…
I felt them deep in my soul.
My heart shattered.
The scream tore from my throat.
"Mother!!!"
And the river swallowed me whole.
As I fell into the river, I instantly realized how fast and cold the water truly was. The current surged with relentless force, dragging me away while I fought against it, struggling to resurface and swim back—back to my mother.
It felt like the river itself was trying to stop me.
But I didn't give in.
With every ounce of strength I had, I forced myself up to the surface, gasping desperately for air. And the moment my head broke through the water, my eyes darted toward the shore.
That was the first thing I did.
I looked for my mother.
And I saw her.
Still lying there… the spear still impaled through her body. And then—they came.
The hounds.
They were already upon her.
Tearing at her with their teeth, dragging her broken body across the ground like a doll. Like something meaningless.
The roar of the river was thunderous—yet I could still hear her scream.
She was screaming from the depths of her pain.
That sound pierced through the current, through the chaos.
And all I could do was watch.
Useless.
Helpless.
Powerless.
She was the one who raised me, who loved me, who protected me. And now, she was being ripped apart before my eyes—and I could do nothing but float, cry, and scream into the water.
I can't describe the storm that raged inside me in that moment. It was grief, it was rage, it was guilt, it was despair.
And then… she saw me.