Hestia had a troubled look on her face.
Her first child — that's what was troubling her. She had read his Falna, and to say it was surprising would be an understatement.
Name: Cael Ardent
Race: Human
Level: 1
Age: 14
Familia: Hestia Familia
Stats:
- Strength: I0
- Endurance: I0
- Dexterity: I0
- Agility: I0
- Magic: I0
Development Abilities:
Crimson Rebirth
Type: Passive / Cursed Growth
Description: A twisted blessing. The user's body forcefully evolves with each gain in excelia, suffering unimaginable pain in exchange for abnormal growth. Body forcibly evolves upon receiving excelia. Bypasses status update delay. Triggers internal restructuring and severe pain.
Note: "His strength blooms in agony — like a rose that only grows from bleeding hands"
Bladebond
Type: Passive / Cursed GrowthDescription: Triggers after prolonged combat with a single weapon. When the user is injured while he is using the sword, the swings become faster, more precise. If the user switches to a new sword mid-battle, it feels unfamiliar, no boost. While uninjured, the user's grip might feel dull or hollow, making the user uncomfortable.
Note: "Steel remembers the blood that wields it — and only answers those willing to bleed again."
Grace of the Hollow Star
Type: Passive / Cursed
Description: The user emits a soft, unexplainable presence that draws others in with warmth, serenity, and beauty that rivals the divine. Those who spend time near the user begin to crave his attention, his gaze, and his touch — not through magic, but through emotional resonance. Over time, admiration warps into silent obsession, and even the strongest hearts falter.
Note: "He brings people peace — and then leaves them aching for more."
Magic: None.
Skills:
Martyr's Halo
Type: Active / Cursed
Description: A tragic divine skill. The user may heal the wounded through contact, but the restored vitality comes at the cost of intense, burning agony. The more severe the wound healed, the greater the pain inflicted upon the user. While no blood is drawn, the pain is described as worse than death. Cannot be used on the self.
Visible Trait: A faint, glowing halo appears during use — a symbol of their suffering.
Note: "Even salvation has a butcher's price."
Veilpiercer
Type: Passive
Description:
The user's touch completely negates divinity. Any god or goddess who comes into physical contact with him instantly loses their divinity and becomes vulnerable.
What shocked Hestia the most was Veilpiercer.
To make gods mortal by touch? That was unheard of. Even if the gods had sealed their Arcanum, they were still gods. They still carried divine traits — like Freya's charm.
But this?
This was something else entirely.
If the other gods discovered this ability... she couldn't even imagine the chaos it would unleash.
And Crimson Rebirth — it terrified her.
It was pure torture. A single gain in excelia would cause him pain. But if he gained large amounts at once?
It would break him. Shatter him. Perhaps even drive him to death.
All of his abilities were twisted. Painful. Traumatizing.
Hestia furrowed her brows, not knowing what to do.
She looked at Veilpiercer and Grace of the Hollow Star, her expression darkening. These would hurt him. Or worse — make others hurt him. Veilpiercer alone could cost him everything.
She brought out a blank sheet of paper, laid it against Cael's back, and activated her divine magic. A glowing imprint of his status began to copy onto the page.
He was hers.
Her first child.
And no one was going to take him away.
She altered what would appear — hiding Veilpiercer and Grace of the Hollow Star from the page. What was left was already shocking enough.
She double-checked the copied status, her eyes serious, then forced a soft smile.
"Cael… here is your status," she said as gently as she could.
I looked back, watching her. Something in her voice felt off — too calm. Her eyes held a hint of conflict, even if she tried to hide it behind that smile. She said 'Here is your status'… but she still held the paper tight in her hands, hesitant to give it to me.
"…Is something wrong, Goddess?" I asked, sitting up on the edge of the bed as Hestia shifted off my back.
She didn't answer immediately. Her brows were furrowed, her lips pursed.
"Cael… my child."
That caught me off guard.
She had called me her child.
It stirred something in me — something unfamiliar. Something warm.
"Yes?" I replied, trying to keep my tone level.
"I want you to quit… being an adventurer," she said suddenly.
I froze.
'What?' I thought. Quit being an adventurer? I had only just started.
"…May I ask why, Goddess Hestia?" I said calmly, doing my best to understand the sudden shift in her tone and mood.
She looked at me, her eyes clouded with worry.
"It's your abilities," she whispered. "They're… painful. You'll become powerful, yes, but at the cost of your own body… your mind. You'll grow, but you'll suffer — more than anyone should. It's not worth it."
Her voice trembled at the end.
I stared at her, confused but strangely touched. She truly cared --- but i will see whether to quit or not.
"May I see it?" I asked softly, glancing toward the paper in her hand. "The status you read."
She didn't speak right away.
But after a moment of silence… she handed it to me.
Even if it wasn't the full truth.
When I was about to touch the paper my finger brushed again her slightly.
As soon as our finger touched, Hestia froze, her heartbeat accelerated, her body filled with weakness, her body became too sensitive, the flame at her core disappeared entirely.
The weakness made her slop forward in weakness, her breathing became heavy, making her fell forward.
As soon as I saw that she was gonna fall I grabbed her, otherwise she would have hit the floor.
I laid her onto the bed, and grabbed her hand.
"Goddess?! Are you ok?" I worriedly asked her.
She said nothing, she only breathed heavily while her face was flushed.
She opened her mouth to speak.
"I'm...."