Noctisardor Bypass i am blood and blood and replay

she did not reach for him when he stepped back.

she let the space exist—because this, too, was his choice.

her voice came steady, threaded with something aching and unbreakable.

then stay.

a final offering; a mother desperate to keep her child to breast.

she watched the war tear through him and did not look away from it, even when it hurt to see how small he felt beneath her gaze.

stay, my love, she said softly. stay and learn me. test me. doubt me if you must.

a breath. her throat tightened, but her spine did not bend.

i will spend the rest of my life proving you wrong.

she stepped closer again, just enough that he could feel her warmth without being trapped by it.

you do not have to betray anyone to know the truth, she murmured. truth stands on its own.

her eyes softened—not weak, never weak—but naked in a way only a mother could allow.

stay, she repeated, quieter now. not as my son, if you cannot yet bear that.

a pause.

stay as yourself.