Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Beloved Daughter, Esira
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Beloved daughter of mine, Esira.
Splash.
She stepped into a deep puddle of standing water.
Cold water droplets splashed up against her calves.
Esira ventured cautiously into the depths of the cave, relying on the single flicker of her lamp's light.
Every breath she drew felt thick with damp humidity seeping deep into her lungs.
People called this place the Abyss Cave.
Because the Abyss dwelled within.
It slowly tightened around Esira's throat.
'……They're watching.'
From the ceiling above, from the crevices in the rock walls, countless gazes clung in layers.
Abyss Shadows.
A horde of monsters that devoured all living things.
Right now, they were so quiet it was hard to believe they were Abyss Monsters.
Instead, thousands of eyes blinked in unison.
Whenever the lamplight wavered, those thousands of pupils rippled like waves.
Strictly speaking, they were enemies.
Monsters that had to be killed.
And yet, the reason they weren't attacking.
Probably because Esira was being treated as an invited guest by the master of this cave.
'A guest…….'
I'm no mere guest.
Disgust crawled up her nape, making the fine hairs on her skin stand on end all at once.
Esira did not stop walking.
She couldn't.
Pressing forward was her only choice.
How long had she walked?
Just as her breaths grew shallow and ragged, the end of the cave came into view.
A massive altar.
And there she stood.
A woman who lingered in the darkness yet emitted a faint glow of her own.
Her snow-white hair cascaded down to her ankles, drifting slowly like ripples in the cave's waters.
Her skin was not merely pale—it was an unearthly, pristine white.
It gleamed with a delicate luster.
Though human in form, an aura of nobility enveloped her entirely.
She resembled a human, yet calling her one felt excessively reductive for such a dignified woman.
Sensing her presence, the woman slowly turned her head.
From the shadows, red eyes gleamed vividly.
A dark crimson light spread like ink spots on still water.
Her once expressionless face softened with the faintest trace of light.
The corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly, and her eyes gentled.
A look of genuine delight.
Her slender white hand reached out tentatively.
Like a mother greeting her daughter at the door, returned home after years away.
Esira couldn't respond right away.
Her throat felt choked, her mouth refusing to open.
Her trembling lips formed words several times before finally letting a single one escape.
"……Mom."
Mom.
Asrania.
My mom.
Or more precisely, what was once my mom.
Her mind, eroded by the Abyss Shadows, had long lost its human dignity.
Yet she looked exactly like the beloved mother from my countless dreams.
Could I still call her Mom now?
Inside that shell lurked an unfathomable mass of the Abyss.
And yet.
That outstretched hand mirrored the mother from my memories so perfectly.
The hands that cooked delicious meals.
The hands that brushed my hair before bed.
Hands that moved only for my sake.
'Mom…….'
Something burst deep in my chest.
Longing, resentment, yearning, anger, relief, sorrow.
The tangled emotions surged up at once, burning hot up to my throat.
My eyelids grew feverish, tears trembling on the verge of falling.
Esira clenched her teeth and bowed her head deeply.
She bit down hard on her lower lip.
A metallic tang flooded her mouth.
The moment the iron taste hit her tongue, the explosive emotions began to subside.
Her boiling heart gradually cooled.
With a deep breath in and out, her wavering reason steadied.
When she lifted her head, two identical figures stood upon the altar.
The world's most longed-for mother stood alongside her.
A rotting Abyss Monster, and yet a face I still wanted to call Mom.
Esira stepped onto the altar without hesitation.
Mom.
She reached out trembling arms and embraced her mother.
I thought it would be just an Abyss-swallowed husk.
It was heartbreakingly warm. Just like before.
It carved even deeper into my heart.
Asrania didn't startle at the sudden hug.
As if it had happened just yesterday, she gently stroked Esira's hair without a hint of surprise.
"My daughter, was the journey here tough? Have you been eating properly?"
"Yeah…… yeah, Mom."
Esira buried her face in her mother's embrace, nodding like a child returned to her early years.
It was too warm to dismiss as mere empty illusion.
She wasn't fully consumed.
The erosion wasn't complete, so this kindness, these touches—they were all real.
'It's so cruelly bizarre.'
The Abyss Cave, filled with thousands of gazes.
Right now, it felt like a warm family dinner table.
That tore even deeper into Esira's heart.
'If only there'd been no tragedy, Mom would have always been by my side from the start.'
Did her melancholy show?
Asrania patted her back and whispered in a gentle voice.
"You're such a good girl, Esira. What do you think of this place? These are your lovely little siblings."
"Siblings?"
"Yes, your younger brothers and sisters."
The Abyss Shadows clinging to the ceiling and walls everywhere.
Monsters.
Mom was introducing those monsters as siblings.
Siblings.
Esira clenched her teeth again, biting her lip once more.
The taste of blood thickened in her mouth.
She slowly lifted her gaze to the ceiling.
If only those monsters hadn't been there.
By now, we could have been back-to-back in a warm home, laughing together—not in some cave like this.
Esira hugged her mother even tighter.
As if trying to etch that warmth under her skin, deep into her bones like a tattoo.
After catching her breath for a moment, she forced words through her trembling exhale.
"……I'll come back again later, Mom."
"Leaving already?"
"I can't stay here forever right now."
Asrania blinked.
It wasn't the hunger of a monster, but the lonely gaze of a parent sending off their child.
Soon, with a resigned smile, she nodded.
"……I see. The outside world is always so busy."
She caressed Esira's cheek.
"Come back anytime. I'll always welcome you. Because you're my beloved daughter."
Such achingly sweet tenderness.
That sweetness pierced her heart once more like a honed dagger.
Suppressing the sobs rising to burst free, she barely managed a nod.
If she let tears fall here.
She felt like she'd never leave this place.
'I'd be devoured by the Abyss too.'
I have to save Mom.
I don't want to lose her again.
Someday, we'll reclaim our everyday life.
Mom deserves to be loved by everyone—she's no monster.
She's absolutely not some monster.
Esira drew a deep breath and carefully pulled away from her mother's embrace.
She had to turn back.
Splash, splash.
The passage leading to the cave entrance.
Yet walking it felt like an endless eternity.
The beings her mother called siblings.
Thousands of Abyss Shadows dangling from the ceiling.
They fixed their gazes on Esira's retreating back like probing tendrils.
Eyes yearning for her to return and become their big sister.
"……."
In the void left by evaporating sorrow, murderous intent filled the space.
Esira clenched her fists tight.
Her nails dug into her flesh.
Warm blood slowly seeped into her palms.
'Wait.'
For now, this is just a retreat.
Not running away.
'I'll definitely come back.'
And when I do, I won't come as a guest.
I'll come as a hunter.
To carve out every last one of those loathsome shadows and drag Mom out of this nightmare.
'I'll make everything right again.'
A fierce blue flame of vengeance blazed in Esira's eyes.
She never once looked back.
She passed through the cave entrance and stepped out into the pouring rain.
Why did my daughter's eyes look so heartbreaking after all this time?
'It tears my heart apart.'
I'd only closed my eyes for a bit, and the tiny bundle who used to snuggle right into my arms had grown up in a flash.
Pride swelled first, then a sharp pang stabbed one side of my chest.
Alright, I admit it.
I was gone for far too long.
But I'm aggrieved too!
Who could've known?
I thought I'd just blacked out for a moment, not been out cold for 13 whole years!
When I opened my eyes, the world had changed, and my precious little girl had become an adult.
Just as beautiful as in the game, after dozens, hundreds of playthroughs.
Ah, my lost parenting life…….
What is this, some time warp?
To have all my daughter-playtime stolen away—I'm seriously about to cry.
And on top of that, she refused to stay with me.
It hit me pretty hard.
I'd kept doting on her, loving her, doing my absolute best.
Just moments ago, she'd run to me with a face on the verge of tears and clung tight,
then turned her back in an instant and vanished out of the cave.
My heart shriveled up and squeezed tight.
'……It's okay. We still have plenty of time.'
I soothe myself, slowly regulating my breathing.
Yeah, no need to get too down.
Just like always—stay positive.
This made me suddenly nostalgic for the old days.
Who could've imagined, on the day I first awoke in this world.
That I'd end up as the mother of Esira, the top-favorite character from that subculture gacha game I was obsessed with.
It was a blessing straight from the gods to an otaku.
The moment I became her family, my heart nearly exploded.
No blood ties? Who cares.
Bonds of fandom run thicker than blood.
You're the child I birthed from my heart.
My beloved daughter.
My eternal number one.
As I wallowed in sentiment, lost in the feeling—
Slither.
A smooth tentacle slid down from the ceiling, gently brushing my cheek.
Cautious as touching a glass marble, clumsy in not knowing how to comfort.
'My good kids.'
They must've noticed my gloomy face and gotten worried.
Deep, affectionate, sweet-hearted bunch.
A chuckle slipped out.
I leaned my face lightly against the cool, soft tentacle.
As I did, dozens more slithered down as if waiting, wrapping me gently.
Stroking me tenderly, as if saying, "It's okay, it's okay."
I hope my daughter gets along with these kids too someday.
They're so good, so gentle, so squishy.
"Thank you, kids. I'm fine."
I really am.
My chest just feels a bit empty, a bit sore.
Esira will understand someday.
Even if they look like this, down to their blood and mana—they're just like us. Esira too, those kids too. In the end, we're all the same.
Esira, stay just a little longer.
Let me show you how cozy this place is.
How much I love you.
I gazed toward the cave entrance where my daughter had vanished.
A slow smile spread across my lips.
We'll meet again someday.
Beloved daughter of mine, Esira.