Golden blood shimmered as it ran slowly down Aetherion's arms, dripping in languid arcs from minor cuts and bruises.
The wounds weren't deep—nothing truly serious—but the divine ichor that leaked from them caught the light with every pulse of his immortal heart.
He stood tall in the middle of the silent field, surrounded by the dissipating remnants of his Parallel Expansion.
Around him, reality repaired itself.
The dome of silvery-blue light flickered, cracked… then vanished completely.
In an instant, the field was returned to its untouched state.
The grass, the trees, the sky—all exactly as it had been before he'd summoned the space.
Untouched. Untarnished. Pristine.
Aetherion exhaled slowly.
The training had lasted a day—maybe more.
He wasn't entirely sure.
Ever since his life to immortality, time felt like a slow river around his body.
What once felt like twenty-four hours now slipped past like twenty-four minutes.
Time bent around him.
Or maybe he bent around time.
"I can feel some improvement in my technique,"
he muttered, glancing down at the fading shimmer of gold on his fingertips.
"But there still needs to be improvement. Especially for my speed."
He sat for a moment in the tall grass, silver eyes narrowing.
He'd made progress.
His physical conditioning had increased a bit.
His Divine energy control felt better, more natural.
His clone system had become tighter and faster.
But there was still one thing he hadn't done.
Naming the abilities in his eyes.
After all, he learned from manga or anime that all eyes with cool abilities need a name!
It was a must!
Those four-pointed irises of his. Each filled with power he hadn't yet fulfilled master.
Power that had helped him grow even faster in combat and in a way guided him.
And now… Aetherion decided to them a name.
He stood. Raised one hand to the sky. Then the other. A gust of wind swept his cloak back.
"The Beast Eye of Demonic Life!"
He shouted, pointing toward the horizon.
Silence.
He blinked.
"…Wait. That doesn't sound right."
He tried another.
"Heavenly earth eye Mode!"
And another .
"Eye of the Celestial Moon's Judgment?"
He winced.
"Too edgy."
Aetherion sighed, lowering his arms.
'I really shouldn't take inspiration from anime I have watched in my past life memories, when naming everything.'
He looked around, glad no one had seen him.
"Hah, there no need to name them, and who needs a name anyway."
He muttered.
But then—he heard it.
A small laugh. Soft. Feminine. Playful.
His heart froze.
Then came the full laugh—musical, loud, and unmistakably amused.
He turned his head slowly, his face already flushing—not red, but golden.
Divine embarrassment.
Gaia stood a few feet away, covering her mouth with a delicate hand.
Her eyes sparkled like sunlight through amber.
Her forest-green hair danced gently in the wind.
"Oh, Aetherion,"
she giggled and pointed her finger at him,
"I thought you were conjuring some divine move, but no—you were naming moves like a dramatic idiot."
He looked away, mortified.
"I didn't think anyone was watching."
"You shouted it all the way to Mount Oyhrys,"
she teased.
"Even the birds paused."
He scowled, golden cheeks bright with shame.
"I was… experimenting."
"Oh no, don't let me stop you. Go on. Do the pose again."
She mimicked his earlier stance, throwing her hands wide.
"The Beast Eye of Demonic Life!"
She wiggled her fingers dramatically.
"Stop!"
he barked.
"Seriously!"
She laughed again and walked over, settling beside him with ease. The teasing faded from her face, replaced by something warmer.
After a long moment, Aetherion broke the silence.
"So… did she say anything?"
Gaia turned her gaze to him, her expression softening.
"She did."
He looked up, a flicker of anticipation in his silver eyes.
"She cried," Gaia said gently. "And laughed. And trembled. Your name was like a sunrise to her after years of darkness."
Aetherion exhaled, tension leaving his shoulders all at once.
"She… remembers me?"
Aetherion wasn't sure what to think. After all the moments he was born, he disappeared from thin air from a father that tried to eat him.
He didn't really know how his mother or any mother would react to something like that.
He was afraid… afraid that his mother would choose to forget him, as she only held him for a couple of minutes.
And who could blame him.
He was reborn in the world of Greek mythology, where even a mother chose to throw a child off a mountain.
"She never stopped,"
Gaia said.
"Not for a moment. You were her firstborn, Aetherion. Her first light... Her first loss."
He nodded slowly, processing every word.
"I told her you were alive,"
Gaia continued.
"Strong. Growing. That you've become someone worth being proud of."
He stayed silent for a long beat, silver eyes focused on a distant point in the sky.
"I'll meet her in three days,"
he finally said.
"Right?"
Gaia gave a single nod.
"Yes. The time and place will be safe. Protected. Just the two of you, and me of course."
Aetherion folded his arms across his chest.
"I don't even know what I'm going to say."
"She doesn't expect speeches,"
Gaia told him.
"She doesn't want a warrior. Or a savior. She just wants her son."
Aetherion's lips twitched, caught between a smirk and a sigh.
"I've trained so much, focusing on getting stronger. All of this power, this progress… and the only thing I'm worried about now is a conversation."
Gaia smiled and stretched her hand out and it on Aetherion's shoulder.
"It'll be fine. Just go as yourself, as Aetherion. That will be more than enough."
He looked down at his hands, divine energy still pulsing faintly beneath the skin. Then up again, toward the horizon.
"I guess I wait three days,"
he said.
"I'll train and reflect on myself in those days."
A pause.
"And when I see her… I'll tell her everything. My strength. My likes and dislikes. And what I plan to do about Kronos. She deserves to know who her son is—and what he intends to do."
Gaia looked toward the horizon with him, where the moon hung faintly in the blue sky—watchful, steady, waiting.
And Aetherion's golden blood stirred beneath his skin, burning quietly with excitement and nervousness.