The Eternal Family

It was like the same thing was happening again, the him that struggled against the wind and waves, the sea.

He fell from the windowsill to the hallway as the ground trembled, but even then, he kept looking to the sky, hoping against hope to see that Eye again. He still hadn\'t reconciled with Verma, and no one was taking anything from him, ever again.

Nevertheless, as a wise man once said, "Man proposes, God disposes." He watched with a frightened heart as everything in his universe grew darker and disintegrated into smoke and particles.

He shouted, "No!" and his voice echoed in this strange silence that had permeated the world for some time, but it made no difference in this gorgeous world\'s silent death. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a void white space, its expanse expanding to infinity,

and then, he lost consciousness.

...

Click, the curtains closed as the shining sunlight darkened, the room\'s lights were off, but the dimly lit atmosphere gave it a more comforting touch.

Locking the curtain with the side lock, Emma walked to the bed and sat down, holding Harry\'s hands in hers, she leaned back on the bed, her heart filled with conflict.

It had been over a month since he went into a coma, and they had tried everything, but nothing had worked. He remained in a deep sleep, unresponsive to any attempts to wake him up.

Even Lilly\'s method didn\'t work.

Lilly...

Emma managed a smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Are you awake, son?" she asked, though she knew there would be no answer.

This had become her routine, day after day, and it had taken a toll on her.

Her eyes lacked their usual energy, and she appeared rather lifeless.

"It\'s been so long...Harry, a whole month. It\'s been tough," she said, biting her lip. Tears finally broke free, and she couldn\'t hold them back any longer. "I...I don\'t know what to do, Harry...please," she pleaded, but there was no one to hear her cries. Harry remained unconscious, just as he had been for the past 33 days.

Click.

The door to the room swung open with a sudden force, jolting Emma out of her emotional reverie. Her tearstains remained, glistening on her cheeks, as her heart raced with a mix of fear and apprehension. Her gaze shifted toward the source of the disturbance, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Step.

Step.

Emma\'s heart clenched, leaping into her throat, the man\'s unnervingly slow steps resonated throughout the room. Each footfall seemed to echo with a weight she knew all too well, dredging up memories that had long haunted her youth.

Those footsteps, like a haunting melody, had been the soundtrack to her darkest days. They represented the torment, the fear, and the anguish she had fought so hard to escape. Yet, here they were, encroaching upon her present, unraveling the fragile peace she had managed to rebuild.

A surge of emotions swelled within her, threatening to consume her. Fear, like icy tendrils, coiled around her heart, squeezing with a vice-like grip. The familiar face of the man triggered a storm of anger, fear, and an overwhelming sense of vulnerability.

She gritted her teeth, the orb-shaped bulbs suddenly brightened. A man stood infront of her, a man with golden hair and blazing sun-like golden eyes.

The man smiled, "He seems to be unconscious, Emma," he said; his voice authoritative and nonchalant.

Then walked closer, standing just some inches away from Harry. His hands extending towards him,

Emma moved in between them, her jaws clenched and her heart shaking, she can\'t allow him to touch her son! What if he finds some secrets? Her son had many!

she looked at the man fiercely and questioned through her gritted teeth, "What do you want?"

"Oh?" A sinister smile carved a sharp edge across Vincias\' face, freezing Emma in place. She was rendered immobile, unable to budge an inch. Vincias then took a step forward, bypassing Emma, and positioned himself beside Harry. His gaze fixated on his unconscious son\'s face.

"He looks more like you than he does me, Emma," he said, his voice tinged with amusement and frustration.

Emma\'s body remained frozen, her only movement confined to the shifting of her pupils. With her eyes wide open, she stared at Vincias from her helpless position, panic and fear etched across her face.

Silently, her gaze pleaded with him, desperately urging him not to lay a hand on her son.

But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Ignoring her anguish, Vincias callously tapped his fingers twice on Harry\'s forehead. Knock, knock.

The dull thuds reverberated through the air, causing Vincias\' once malevolent smile to dissipate, replaced by an expression of sorrow. His eyes glistened, on the brink of tears.

Emma\'s breathing got rougher, she knew what he was up to. Yet, she couldn\'t move even a single cell except for her eyes...\' No!\'\'\', she desperately cried out

Nevertheless, He didn\'t bother about her emotions, and, stopped his emotional act; his face turned as cold as Ice.

"Emma, I wouldn\'t have even bothered with this worthless trash or the well-being of you people. And yet...and yet, you simply can\'t let it go, can you?" Vincias sneered, waving his hand dismissively. The oppressive pressure surrounding Emma dissipated, causing her to collapse onto the ground. Her entire body dripped with perspiration, her breathing labored and erratic; leaving her physically and emotionally drained.

It was blurry all around, but the moment she was freed, her instinct made her move, moving to Harry\'s side, scrambling over, shivering, and hugging him tightly.

Hiding him under her embrace. Her embrace served as a shield, concealing him within its protective confines. With trembling lips and moist eyes, Emma gazed at the man, her words quivering in the frigid air, "I will give you, I wi..will give it—"

But Vincias abruptly seized her by the hair, forcing her eyes to meet his own at eye level. His command sliced through the silence, "Shut up."

Pain exploded through Emma\'s head, eliciting a cry of agony. Vincias, his tone growing colder, repeated his demand, "Shut up."

Silenced, she struggled against the torment, managing to utter, "I will give it to you...just, just leave us alone." Her voice, hoarse and weary, carried the weight of her suffering, and blood trickled from her wounded head.

Yet, no matter how resilient her jade-like body might have been, the King\'s strength surpassed hers.

"You should have never even considered using such a precious Gu on a worthless Null," he sneered, his words laced with disdain. "It is much more useful to Hugh, it will allow him to advance. Emma, how could you even think of using it on this...worthless piece of—"

Through gritted teeth, Emma interrupted, each word a declaration of her determination, "I. will. give. it. to. you." Vincias chuckled, releasing his grip on her hair. She fell upon Harry, but she lessened her weight, ensuring it had no impact on him whatsoever.

With an outstretched hand, The King demanded, "Give."

Emma waved her hand and a jade ball, the size of a pearl, appeared in her hands, she threw it tiredly at Vincias, who caught it and smiled, "Such things are for my true children and me to enjoy, not some wort—"

"Where is Lilly?" Emma asked, her voice again sounding pleading, yet, she interrupted him without letting him call her son that again, "Can I see her once more?"

No matter how much she was hurt, as long as both of them were fine, she could live with it.

"Lilly, ah, she..." Vincias looked at Harry, and almost spat on his face, but held back and looked at Emma instead, "Lilly, my dear wife, she is not someone people like him can be associated with," He said, then licked his lips, "She is our families pride and joy, as said yesterday, your son is not someone worthy of her attention. So don\'t bother me again with that."

He turned around and left the room, the door closed behind him. Emma\'s tears started to roll down her eyes, through her cheeks, and fell on Harry\'s face,

Yet, she wiped them away, and murmured, the blood on her head naturally turning jade as it returned to where it came, "Maybe, I should have used it sooner..."

That Gu was her final hope of waking Harry up, but she had never used it before. She knew Harry might even be killed if he had used that on himself, it was that precious.

But now, her daughter was being held mentally hostage by someone — the only one she could hope to protect Lilly was her mother.

Her son was unconscious.

Emma did not even know what to do.

And if this continued, there was nothing she could do, because making Harry survive another day, was too troublesome for the palace. Prince as he might be, he wasn\'t worth using a Stage 3 medical GIfted\'s energy on a daily basis for years...

The palace would never care for him that much, he was being helped by Gifted daily, and he was being fed and kept alive solely due to their help. If they stopped...

She...

Shaking her head, she positioned Harry\'s head on her lap, her bleeding had been fixed, and she looked as gorgeous as ever, except for her puffy eyes and sleepy face.

She silently dozed off, her hands combing Harry\'s hair as she fell asleep, and her breathing began to even.

Harry opened his eyes groggily, and looked at the blurry ceiling, hrmm, he groaned.

Emma abruptly opened her eyes,

Their eyes met

Harry\'s heart skipped a beat.

Taking a deep breath in, he blinked, Emma touched his face, and he took her hands.

They both trembled.

"Harry..."

"M-Mom..."

Emma\'s tears started to roll down her cheeks, she smiled through the tears as her words came out, choked and filled with hope, "Are you alright, Son?"

Harry hesitated for a second before nodding, "I\'m alright, just a bit hard to move, my body feels heavy..."

Emma\'s smile widened, she kissed his forehead, "That\'s fine..."

It\'s fine, everything is fine, as long as you\'re alive, as long as you both are healthy, everything is fine...

They were both confused in their own ways, but at the same time, they were relieved to find each other just an embrace away when they woke up from a terror-filled dream