"Mom, can you tell me a story to help me sleep?" I asked her as I made my way under my cozy and warm blankets.

It flooded back into my mind: the last story my mother told me...

"Hmm? But just the other day you said you wanted to be treated like a grown lady," she teased.

She would often tell me stories, and I would always hear them with the utmost interest, hanging on to her every word.

"But your stories are interesting... and it's been a while since you last told me one," I insisted.

"Alright, sweetie. Then, I'll share one of my favorites with you. Are you ready?"

I tucked myself under the blankets, pulling them up to my chin, watching at her with sparkling eyes as she settled into the wooden chair beside my bed; a little yellow lamp on my bedside table illuminating the room softly, creating the perfect atmosphere.

"I'm ready!" I exclaimed.

"Once upon a time," she began, her voice gentle and soothing. "In a little park in a remote city forgotten by the Deities, lived a young and little girl. Dressed in a gorgeous white dress, with big round eyes as bright and silver as the moon, she observed the world full of curiosity. She would always play with a little ball in that park, tossing it into the air just to catch it again with delight, and watch the sky as she basked in the gentle caress of the breeze to rest...

One day, as the sun cast a golden hue over the park, another little girl appeared; she played in the sand, dressed in a pristine purple dress, her lucid brown hair adorned with a striking purple rose. She tried to build elaborate sandcastles, only to watch them crumble at the faintest passing gust of wind. But that didn't bother her; she rebuilt them from scratch with even more stubborn focus, acting surprised each time they fell again and again... and again.

Driven by curiosity, the girl in white approached her. 'Why do you have a rose above your head?' she asked.

'So that the flying insects will see me as a delightful treat!' she replied.

There was silence between the two; the girl in white stared at her, when she suddenly burst out laughing; she had never heard something like that before, and found it extremely amusing. After that, the two girls played together, every day. They would run around the park, climbing the ancient tree in the center of it, pretending it was a castle; one that would not crumble.

As the seasons changed, their friendship grew. In the spring, they chased flying insects and made crowns of flowers. In the summer, they hid in the shade to shield themselves from the unforgiving sun, wading in the shallow stream at the edge of the park from time to time, splashing each other to cool off from the heat. In the autumn, they collected colorful leaves and made piles to jump into. In the winter, they built snowmen and had snowball fights, without forgetting about snow castles, unbothered by the wind.

Just like that, years passed; the two girls shared secrets, dreams, and fears as they grew from young women to strong mages, acknowledged by everyone in the city and beyond, taking on the most challenging quests. Even now, the two girls were inseparable, always standing together and sharing everything between themselves. From then on, it took little for them to realize that their bond was more than mere friendship; they loved each other, and wished to spend the rest of their lives together. However, they had to keep their love hidden, never revealing it to anyone else."

"Huh, why is that?" I asked her, tilting my head at the last notion.

"In that city, it was prohibited. Girls were to bear strong warriors and mages, and they couldn't refuse, because that would mean to run away from their sole purpose. So, two girls loving each other would've unleashed a catastrophe, stirring chaos among the people, and they would've been persecuted, burned alive, labeled as witches. So they had to hide it..." she replied.

"That seems quite drastic... and stupid," I commented.

My mother smiled, as if reassured by my answer. "It is, sweetie."

"Then, what happened?" I asked, tightening the grip on my blanket, eager to know the rest of the story.

"Intended to spend the rest of their lives together..." she continued. "The two planned their moves as one. They wanted to flee from that city, somewhere they could love each other without having to hide it, where they could share a home and a life.

But the world was not so accommodating; they had obligations in that city that prevented them from leaving. Yet, they persisted in planning, dreaming of the day when they could finally be peacefully together. However... somehow, people found out about their love...

Chaos spread like wildfire. One night, the enraged citizens, armed with torches and pitchforks, pursued them down; the two girls ran away, trying to save their lives. They reached the city's borders, to the stone bridge right beyond the gate. That bridge was renowned, stretching over a vast void where only darkness could be seen; nobody knew what lurked in its depths, in that void. It was the Abyss.

Over that bridge, the two found themselves corned; terrified, with nowhere to run, backs against the wall. And yet... their love for each other far surpassed their fear.

'If we can't live together...' the girl in white whispered, cradling her lover's face as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The two girls embraced, looking into each other's eyes as if they didn't care about the world around them. In front of all those people, they shared a final kiss. And then, still locked in each other's embrace... they jumped..."

I waited for her to continue. However, she seemed to have no intention of doing so.

"That's it?" I asked, confused.

Yet, she didn't respond, nor did she nod or shake her head.

"Mom... that's a terrible story..." I lamented to her.

"Hmm? You didn't like it, sweetie?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Of course I didn't like it. They just die?" I retorted.

"Why do you think they died?"

"Huh... what do you mean... They jumped, they leaped... Of course they died."

"But I never told you if they died or not," she countered.

"So that's not the end? It continues?" I asked, my curiosity lighting up.

She softly smiled, bringing her finger close to her lips. "That's a secret."

"Mom! You have too many secrets!" I angrily turned over the bed, facing the wall.

She kept giggling behind my back, before falling silent for a moment.

"Argenta... you mustn't draw conclusions lightly," she advised.

I slowly turned over, glancing at her with the corner of my eyes, before finally facing her once again, seemingly intending to continue.

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"Remember. I didn't say if that was the end of the story. You mustn't allow yourself to believe something so easily, even when the answer seems to be certain at first glance. Sometimes, we can't even trust our own eyes," she added.

"But, mom... They jumped into the Abyss... What else could've happened?" I murmured.

"That's right, they jumped into the Abyss..." she murmured, her voice as deep as her gaze, before continuing with a far softer tone. "But many things could've happened. Of course, the first answer that comes to mind is that they both died. But that could also not be the truth. Maybe they both survived the fall, and died later. Or they survived and ran away. Perhaps only one of them survived, and ran away, or planned revenge, or moved on... Many are the possible answers."

"Then, the story is not over... What happens after that?" I asked.

She smiled at me, warmly. "Sweetie... that's a secret."

I turned over once again. She laughed. Heartily.

"I'm not interested anymore. You ruined it, mom..." I pouted, hiding myself entirely under the blankets.

"Argenta... once you truly gaze into the Abyss, you shall see the light, not the darkness."

...

My codex slipped from my hands as I recalled that last sentence in my mind.

"Wait..."

A sudden and crazy realization hitting my brain.

"Was that... her story?!"

I was now staring blankly at what stood before me: the demon.

"Did she die too and could see it as well?!"

I couldn't believe it.

"Am I just realizing it now?!"

Yet, it seemed like a very plausible and possible answer.

"And what did she exactly mean with that last sentence?!"

Actually, the thought of it seemed to fit too well...

"Ugh... why, mom! Why did you have to be so secretive about your life?! Why did you have to be like that? You and your stupid secrets!"

I held my head in confusion.

"How many times did I miss it?! Oh, I feel like I'm about to lose my mind!"

I threw myself face-down onto the bed.

"I want to sleep... What does this mean...?"

I rolled myself over, now facing the ceiling, pressing the pillow over my face to muffle a confused scream as my fingers tangled my hair.

"I can't believe this! I just can't believe any of this!"

Like a good and devoted child, I've always told everything to my beloved mother, sharing every detail of my life; every glory, every worry, every encounter, every thought... Everything. Every. Single. Thing.

And so, naturally, I also told her about my demons. All the dark, transparent anthropomorphic figures roaming around every day. Yet, when I told her about them, she simply smiled at me, telling me not to pay much attention to them.

I assumed she was just being nice to me, smiling as she always did, perhaps even thinking of me as a weird child for seeing such strange things, or dismissing them as childhood fantasies.

But what if she knew exactly what I was talking about, and just like always, she just kept being secretive about it, giving me her usual reassuring and warm smile. Yes, I loved when she smiled, and I appreciated her love towards me despite me being strange, an anomaly...

But if she really knew... why didn't she help me with something like this when she helped me with everything else?! She literally taught me how to live in this world!

"The more I try to understand you, the more I realize I understand less!" I lamented, cursing at her, still rolling over my bed.

The more I thought about it, the more questions flooded my mind! Questions, questions, questions... nothing but questions!

"Why did you know everything about me, but I know nothing about your past!?"

Just like the little girl in the story, my mother had white eyes, and she loved to dress in white. But what of it? So do I! I'm her daughter, after all! I always thought she would put me in the center of the story just like a protagonist. Mothers do this, don't they?!

"I bet you must be rolling on the floor laughing right now!"

What about the white demon? Could she see it too? Was she an anomaly just like me? What was my mother?!

She possessed a codex. I know that much. Her codex had a white cover. But what of her personal weapon?... I don't know! I never even saw her cast a spell!

"Ouch!"

I rolled so much over my bed that I fell over the floor with a thud...

"I don't get it..."

I ran my hands through my hair once again; confusion was overwhelming me, trying to make sense of it all.

"Once I truly gaze into the Abyss, I shall see the light, not the darkness...? What does it really mean?"

I sighed, pulling myself up. Now seated on the floor.

"Once that dragon killed me, all the darkness around me disappeared, and the white demon appeared. It's way too literal to be just a coincidence. The demon must symbolize the light..."

I stared at it, just as it kept staring at me, while I contemplated the matter.

"What of this demon, though? The others were useful at least... this one does nothing; only the spell itself is useful..."

I got up on my feet, approaching it.

"No point in thinking about my mother now... I could never understand how her mind worked. But... if I understand this demon, perhaps I can understand her, too..."

I reached out and touched it with my fingertips; obviously, just like the way it touched me the first time, I could touch it as well. It was cold, as always, as if I were touching an ice sculpture.

"I wonder what happens if I use my second spells now. But I can't use it here, not inside the guild's headquarters... And I don't want to go outside once again, not at this hour... I don't even know when it will disappear again, and I would have to reach outside the city's walls."

As I pondered what tests I could conduct indoors, I began to ask the demon questions.

"Can you speak?"

The demon just continued to stare at me. So, I guess no.

"Can you understand me?"

For a second, I thought I saw a slight inclination. Was that a nod?

"Can you understand me?" I repeated the question.

This time, though, I noticed no reaction.

"Hmm... Can you raise your claws?"

Yet, the demon didn't raise them, and it remained still.

"Can you do anything?!" I asked it with annoyance.

No response whatsoever.

I sighed. "What do you want from me..." I muttered in resignation.

At that, to my surprise, the demon raised its claws. Once again, only six of them.

"What does that mean?" I questioned it.

The demon just lowered them, and did nothing else.

"So it just answers certain questions... At least now I know it wants six of something."

"Can you show me what you want?" I asked the demon.

Once again, no response. Exasperated, I sighed.

"Well... no point in trying further. I don't think this thing can actually help me figure things out... I'll just wait for it to disappear to check how much time it remains and call it a day. Hopefully, it will go away soon..."

I sat on the bed, just staring at it, waiting patiently, while my thoughts kept wandering about my mother's stories. Sometimes sleep felt overwhelming, but I managed to resist it. Eventually, at some point, the demon vanished, but not before displaying me six of its claws as usual.

"Twelve hours... Since I learned my new spell, it's been exactly twelve hours. So, I assume every time I learn a new spell, it remains for twelve hours. I have no idea what it does, but good to know... Now I can get some sleep."

I nestled myself under the cozy blankets, but with bitterness in my mouth.

"Goodnight, demon. And thanks for nothing..."

... The morning, wearing a new and clean capelet adorned with the Abyss Reavers' insignia, I made my way into Leonard's office. I provided him with a report of what happened inside the dungeon from my perspective, being separated from the rest of the group. Naturally, I omitted everything about my second spell, but I refrained myself from acting too proud, and provided details about the rooms I traversed, and me falling from exhaustion; that's how the others found me, after all.

"Hmm..." Leonard appeared pensive upon hearing my report. "It sounds like a shortcut. Secret passages are not uncommon in dungeons. However, shortcuts... shortcuts are something rare. To think it could be hidden in a place like that... What do you think, Laura?"

Laura stood by Leonard's side, looking like his bodyguard as usual. "I concur, Leader. Most definitely a shortcut," she affirmed.

"Still, to be able to survive alone in such circumstances... I don't know if the enemies you faced were, in some way, weaker than normal, or if that dungeon was easier than the standard; from the reports, it just seemed more linear," he said, glancing at a paper in his hand. "Regardless, you have truly impressed me, Lady Argenta. I believe it's quite undignified to still consider your rank to be A+. Therefore, I shall promote you. From now on, you shall bear the rank S+, Lady Argenta of the Abyss Reavers. And I see no point in concealing your rank any longer," Leonard declared, resting his head over his hands as a smile playing on his lips.

"Ah! Thank you very much!" I exclaimed, taken by surprise, bowing my head.

"Please, lift your head, Lady Argenta. I should be the one thanking you. Your services proved to be a fine addition to the guild, indeed. I trust you will accomplish great things, both for the guild and for yourself. And I'm sure you'd be happy to hear that your friend, Joey, will be joining us as an official collaborator," he said.

"Really?!" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Yes. Had he told me earlier that his father worked for a noble and that he often assisted him, I would have considered it even sooner. His connections and notions could prove useful. Moreover, he's a skilled cook; we were in need of that."

I smiled at the news. "Thank you very much, once again! Then, if everything is alright, I shall take my leave."

Leonard nodded, and with a graceful curtsy, I made my exit skipping away.

- - - - - - -

As Lady Argenta exited the room, I adjusted my glasses before returning to some paperwork scattered across my desk.

"She may still be immature, but she truly is her daughter, hm?" I mused aloud, stealing a glance at Laura from the corner of my eye.

Laura stood by my side, as usual. However, her gaze remained fixed on the door through which Lady Argenta had just exited. "Monster..."