MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Once Adam moved away from the entrance of the hospital and smoothly blended in with the crowd, he could finally let out a sigh of relief.

Who would have thought that the first time he used his skill the Eyes of Truth on a person, he would directly hit the jackpot and find someone from the supernatural side of the world? It was shocking, to say the least.

In the first place, just what were the chances even? one in a something something thousand? Hundreds of thousand? Millions? He didn't know but he deduced that it would be something like that...

He could now understand what Genesis meant by the EX rank luck that he wielded.

'That name...'

Makoto Kaminari.

It wasn't as if people of Japanese descent were rare in the city of LA or even in America, and he very much doubted that there was only one family going by the name of Kaminari in the entire world. Now if it were to be said from the supernatural world then it was a whole new matter altogether.

Moreover, there were simply too many circumstances and coincidences aligning one after another that made Adam have a strong gut instinct that the unusually clothed girl was from the family of his deceased mother.

Adam had never met any members of his family. Be it from his father's or mother's side and he was already used to this reality.

For that very reason, he had to admit in his heart that he was feeling quite a bit confused and conflicted at the moment. What should he even feel?

'Sigh. No need to think so much about this matter. I just need to ask.'

He had already pondered enough by himself. Since there was someone who could give him all the answers he needed, there just was no reason to wait anymore or take the long route in this situation. He just needed to do what he had to do and live with the consequences of his choices. Be it good or bad.

Mustering all the courage he could find in himself, Adam began walking toward his mother's room.

------

The distance from the lobby to the room on the upper floor, where his mother was admitted, was not that far. So it did not take long for him to reach the door of his mother's room.

Once there though... He had to admit that he was quite hesitant to take the next steps. Even though it may sound lame to some, Cecilia had been his entire world for as long as he could remember. If she were to somehow reject him and loath him....

"You should enter, Adam."

He was startled out of his thoughts as Cecelia's voice reached his ears from the other side of the door.

How did she know that someone had come in front of the door of her room? How did she know that it was him?

He did not ask such a question to her, nor did he have any plan to ask now. When factoring in the world of the supernatural, just about anything was possible. Pulling the door open, he entered his mother's room with slow mechanical steps.

The room was as simple as he remembered it to be and his mother, sitting on the bed, was gazing at the world outside of the window.

The sun was already starting to set behind the curtains of the horizon, giving a beautiful and enchanting glow to her crimson-colored hair.

Adam felt like his heart had missed a bit, seeing such an ethereally beautiful sight. It was as though he was gazing at a work of art of the likes never before created in this world. And in his heart, it just felt right when his mother was the protagonist of such an unmatched piece of work.

"Why are you standing still and gawking at me like that? Come and sit here."

Silently, and without a moment's lapse, Adam did as he was told by his dear mother and took a seat on the stool in front of her bed.

"How was your day, mom?"

"Hmm, well, as boring as could be I guess? I am just not used to staying in a place like this. Sitting still and doing nothing. I think that I will check out by tomorrow at the latest."

Adam tried to open his mouth to utter a rebuttal to her words but was cut off before he could even speak by the gestures of his mother, "I know. I know. My heart is in a bad condition. I need to have an operation and all that. Well, you don't need to worry about that. While my heart won't become any better than it is now. At the very least.... It won't get worse now."

Silence fell between the two of them... That one sentence was enough for Adam to understand that his mother was now talking business.

"Adam... You didn't manage to get home before midnight on your birthday, Right?"

Even though it was formulated as a question by her, they both knew that it was more of a statement than any question ever could be.

Adam had so many ways to explain his point of view but at the end of the day, all of them would change nothing of the reality that was now his life. So, he didn't bother to complicate things anymore.

"I didn't..."

"I see..."

Another heavy silence settled between the mother and son pair before Cecilia slowly raised her hand and placed it on the head of a now stunned Adam. Not in a million years did he imagine her patting his head after uttering those lines.

"I heard a bit of what happened to you that night from Shuri. I am sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. It must have been very hard for you, right?"

The smile on her face was all the more present. There was no remonstrance, no anger nor disappointment. Only a sense of regret at not being present and relief to he he was safe.

"I am glad that you are alright."

​ She hugged him with a fierce grip and all he could do was bury his head and hug her back with an equally intense embrace. No matter how old he was... No matter how independent he became... He would always be a little boy in his mother's eyes.

This was a fact that he could do nothing about and a point of concern that had frustrated him many times when he was younger. It was to the point where he even became a delinquent and said many things to her which he regretted immensely afterward.

But even so, she had never stopped caring for him for even a single second. Even when he had acted like a spoiled boy, she had always stood by him and made sure that he could live a normal life free of any wants.

Why did he even doubt her?

"Yeah..."

His voice was a little hoarse and broken due to the immensity of all the emotions he felt. But even so...

"Yeah, it was pretty hard, mom."

One day, he had been living a life as normally as anyone else would and the next, he was plunged into a series of accidents that became progressively weirder and deadlier than the previous one.

He had died three times already, discovered the existence of the supernatural world, and nearly got his soul wiped out in his pursuit of obtaining power. He faced some kind of deity living in a place outside of space and even time. He became something like an inhuman with no knowledge of just what he really was.

All of this happened in less than 48 hours.

Not even two full days had passed but he felt like he had already suffered for years upon years. In fact, he had lived through a great part of Buddha's life as a human so it had indeed been years from his perspective.

He was tired. He was stressed. He was scared.

But he had no one he could really share his secrets with. Because he did not know who he could really trust. The feeling of dread of being caught or chased without an end was ever-present in his heart.

A baby lion might be destined to become the king of the Savanna but with no one to take care of it, even a weak herbivore could kill it.

Adam had been desperate all this time. As if he was about to drown in an infinite sea of troubles that he just couldn't get out of.

But now...

Now everything was finally alright. Everything was finally in place.

He knew now that even if the whole world condemned him for his identity and his existence, there would be at least one person who would always believe in and protect him no matter what. That was enough for him...

"Please, mom. Tell me the truth."

(AN: So, some of my old readers would have realized by now that I have some deep issues with mothers and father figures issues in general. Welp. Anyway. Hope you liked the chapter. Though I am sure some might not like it. The world would be a lonely place if you have no one you can trust.)