Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Chapter 540: Mother with connections

Elion’s room had fallen into a rare stillness after so much conversation, laughter, and coffee. The morning light streamed through the windows at higher angles, scattering golden reflections across the floor and the room’s disorganized surfaces. The strong aroma of the beverage still lingered in the air, mingled with the natural scent of plants and the faint smell of sun-warmed wood. Somewhere nearby, a small enchanted fountain maintained a steady flow of water, creating a soft sound that filled the silence without disturbing it. After hours dealing with crises, seals, collapsing kingdoms, and irritating responsibilities, the normalcy of that moment seemed almost unreal.

Kael remained seated in a wide armchair near the window, now without any immediate hurry. His shoulders were less tense than usual, and the simple fact that he didn’t have to deal with anything in the next five minutes was, for him, a form of rest. Elion had completely abandoned his active and flamboyant demeanor from before. Now she was settled beside him, almost sideways across the armchair, her head resting on his shoulder as if that spot had always belonged to her. Her hair fell partially over his arm, and her eyes were half-closed in an expression of utter comfort.

She let out a small, satisfied sigh, one of those that carried laziness, theatricality, and sincerity all at once. The sound was followed by another, a little longer, as she adjusted her face against her son’s shoulder as if searching for the perfect position.

"It’s been a long time since I relaxed like this," she murmured first, her voice low and lazy. Then she opened one eye, thought better of it, and corrected her own sentence without any shame. "Actually, it’s been a long time since I had sex."

Kael remained motionless for a full second.

Then he slowly turned his face to look at her.

"Elion."

"What?" she asked, too innocent to be taken seriously. "It’s just a statistical fact."

"That wasn’t necessary information."

"I completely disagree." She closed her eyes again and smiled. "Family intimacy depends on transparency."

Kael looked ahead, choosing silence as a survival mechanism. Elion took the opportunity to let out another dramatic sigh, clearly satisfied that she had irritated him even slightly.

"Well," he said finally, in a dry tone, "we’re apart for a while. I imagine that alters routines."

She opened both eyes this time and raised her face to observe him. "You just answered my complaint as if it were a logistics report."

"It was a complaint?"

"It was multifunctional."

Kael let out something close to a resigned sigh. Then, to end the conversation before it got any worse, he leaned in slightly and placed a brief kiss on her cheek. The gesture was simple, quick, and spontaneous, enough to interrupt the charade.

"Now I’m here," he said. "And, for now, I’m free."

Elion froze for a second.

Then his eyes widened as if he had just witnessed a statistical miracle.

"You smiled, kissed me, and said you’re free." She placed a hand on her chest. "That’s so much emotional development in a few seconds that I need to hydrate."

Kael ignored the remark.

Elion, however, was clearly genuinely pleased. She snuggled even closer to him, wrapping an arm around his torso possessively and comfortably.

"You being free," she commented after a few moments, now in a more reflective tone, "is really strange."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because you haven’t gone to Yggdrasil yet."

The name subtly altered the atmosphere of the room. Not heavily, but significantly. Kael looked up at the ceiling as if expecting to find answers written in the ornate wood above them. He found nothing but ancient drawings and the familiar growing irritation.

He let out a long, sincere sigh.

"Yggdrasil doesn’t want to let me go see Sylphie," he replied. "And I can’t do anything about it."

Elion tilted his head to observe him better. The lighthearted humor remained, but now there was genuine attention in his gaze.

"Did you try to negotiate?"

"I tried."

"To argue?"

"Yes."

"To threaten?"

"Also."

She nodded. "Good sequence."

Kael rested his head on the back of the armchair and continued staring at the ceiling.

"The Original World Tree is directly blocking me. Passages close, paths redirect, portals refuse anchoring. Even minor invitations have been canceled." His voice remained calm, but there was clear rational irritation there. "It doesn’t want me to see her."

"Did they fight?" Elion asked.

"I don’t know."

"Did you do something stupid?"

"Probably."

"That helps."

Kael glanced sideways at her.

Elion smiled utterly calmly.

"Kael, you deal with cosmic entities like angry people in the hallway. Sometimes it works. Sometimes they block entire dimensions."

He didn’t answer because, technically, she could be right.

"Did Sylphie say anything?" she asked next.

"Not directly."

"So the barrier comes from the Tree, not her."

"That was my conclusion."

Elion drummed her fingers on his arm for a few seconds, thinking. Her gaze took on that dangerous glint of someone beginning to have ideas that would likely involve elegant metaphysical violations.

"If you want," she finally said, "I can summon Nidhogg."

Kael finally looked away from the ceiling to truly meet her gaze.

"No."

"You didn’t even hear the whole proposal."

"I heard enough."

She raised a finger. "Even though that woman didn’t like me—"

"That woman" was clearly Yggdrasil herself, which in itself said a lot.

"—I can still get certain indirect favors. I can ask that root-eating dragon to take you to the Original World Tree."

Kael was silent for a few seconds.

"Nidhogg isn’t transportation."

"Anything can be transportation if you ask politely."

"It corrodes existential foundations."

"And flies wonderfully well."

Kael massaged his temple with one hand. "You’re suggesting I ride an ancient dragon that gnaws at the roots of the cosmos to visit someone."

"When you put it that way, it sounds romantic."

"It was supposed to sound absurd."

"The two can coexist."

She straightened up in her armchair and began gesturing with growing enthusiasm.

"Think about it. Dramatic entrance. You appear riding Nidhogg before the Tree. The sky darkens. The roots tremble. Sylphie appears shocked. You resolve the lingering tension in an emotionally charged conversation."

"Or I’m obliterated by universal defense systems."

"Details."

Kael closed his eyes for a moment.

"Why do you know Nidhogg?"

Elion smiled with undue pride.

"Long story."

"Summarize."

"I beat him at cards once."

Kael opened his eyes immediately. "That’s a lie."

"It’s a creative half-truth."

"What really happened?"

She thought for two seconds.

"I cured him of dimensional poisoning caused by poorly digested celestial minerals."

Kael stared at her without blinking.

"That seems strangely plausible."

"Thank you."

"And worrying."

Elion shrugged. "We all have talents."

She settled back on his shoulder as if the conversation about root-devouring dragons was trivial. Silence returned for a few moments, broken only by the fountain and the faint rustling of leaves near the window.

"You miss her," Elion said suddenly, without looking at him.

Kael took a moment to answer.

"Yes."

The word came out simple, clean, and unguarded.

Elion didn’t scoff at that. He just kept his head on her shoulder.

"Then let’s resolve it."

"Not everything is resolved by force."

"I know." She smiled slightly. "But sometimes it is resolved with inconvenient insistence."

Kael let out a small sound of exhaustion.

"You’re a terrible influence."

"I’m a motherly influence."

"Even worse."

She chuckled softly.

"Listen," she continued, now more serious. "Yggdrasil blocking you doesn’t necessarily mean rejection. Sometimes ancient entities prevent encounters because they know the timing is wrong."

"Or because they’re controlling."

"Also." She nodded. "But if it were real hostility, you’d know. The blocking would be painful, not just bureaucratic."

Kael considered this.

"The blocking is bureaucratic," he admitted. "Annoyingly bureaucratic."

"So there’s still room."

He remained silent, reflecting.

"You’ve always liked doors too closed," Elion commented.

"That doesn’t make sense."

"It makes perfect sense. The more impossible something seems, the more you fixate on it." "That’s called solving problems."

"That’s called inheriting family flaws."

Kael didn’t argue. Again, because she might be right.

Elion raised his face and observed him for a few seconds with less hidden tenderness than usual.

"You carry too much on your own."

"No."

"Yes, you do."

"I’m literally sitting down."

She gave him a light tap on the arm.

"Bad jokes don’t erase trauma."

"It wasn’t a joke."

"It got worse."

She sighed and then held one of his hands in hers.

"If you want, I can actually try talking to Nidhogg."

"Why would he listen to you?"

"Because he owes me favors. And because he likes molasses cookies."

Kael slowly turned his face to meet hers.

"The primordial root-eating dragon likes cookies."

"Everyone does."

"That explains less than it should."

"Kael, the world is sustained by consistent absurdities."

He almost smiled again, which Elion noticed immediately.

"Ah, there you go." She pointed to his face. "Almost a smile. I’m winning today."

"You make up scores."

"Because I’m winning."

She rose from the armchair with renewed energy and began to circle the room.

"Provisional plan: you rest for a few hours. Eleanor finishes the mind reading. We find out if there’s an ancient cult operating among vampires. Then we decide between diplomacy, invasion, or dragon ride."

"Those options shouldn’t be in the same group."

"In our family, they always are."

Kael watched his mother walk around the room, rearranging objects that clearly didn’t need rearranging. There was something profoundly stabilizing about that unpredictability. Elion was domestic chaos, inconvenient affection, and competence hidden beneath constant eccentricity.

"Do you really miss Sylphie?" she asked without turning around.

"Yes."

"Then go when you can."

"I’m trying."

"No. You’re waiting for elegant permission." She turned to face him. "You hate barriers, but you respect emotional ones too much."

Kael didn’t answer.

She smiled with rare sweetness.

"When the time comes, the Tree will make way. And if it doesn’t..." she raised a finger with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "We stole a dragon."

Kael finally let out a small, genuine, and tired smile.

Elion pointed at him immediately.

"I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"Proof that I can still work miracles."

She moved closer, leaned in, and kissed the top of his head with complete ease.

"Now finish your coffee. Then you can sleep. Then we’ll save a few more worlds. And, if there’s time left, we’ll sort out your love life."

"That last part worries me more than the others."

"Great," she replied. "It means you understand the right priorities."