Oblivion, A Timeless Void

Chapter 22: The Suns of Deceit

In life, there were many things that one had the opportunity to cherish. Family, health, friends, privileges, money, even just a roof to live under. And oftentimes, people don't cherish them as much as they should.

People often take things for granted, never truly realising their value until they are lost. Those had also been his thoughts as he hurtled towards an inevitable death.

There were many things Hugo had taken for granted in his life.

The very first thing was his mother. She had passed away mysteriously around the time Hugo was 10 years old, mere days before Adira was finally recognised as the heir to the throne. He had always found it suspicious, but he never dared to question his father or sister about it.

Perhaps he was terrified. Even if Adira was mostly caring towards him and likely would've told him if he had just asked.

Hugo was subconsciously terrified of the answer that she might give. That he'd grow to resent her or see her in a darker light.

Truth be told, it likely had something to do with his father's temperament more than Adira, so he shouldn't have worried about seeing his sister differently.

My mother was a true paradigm of virtue and kindness.

He always wondered how someone as serene as her came to marry his tyrant of a father. However, something that occasionally gnawed at his mind was the fact he might've subconsciously been putting her on a pedestal. That perhaps his memory painted her in a brighter light than the truth.

Hugo didn't really remember his mother well. It had been so many years since her death—and he had never gotten to say goodbye at the end of it all. When she was still alive and well, his mother was perhaps the one person who supported his passions and aspirations the most.

"One day, you'll grow up to be the kindest prince this realm would see," she'd say as she combed through his hair. These were the warm days of his childhood, back when his father did not attempt to thrust the mould of a tyrant unto him. Whenever she'd say that, Hugo would retort that he wanted to be a doctor, not an idle prince.

His mother would laugh and say that he'd become the noblest of doctors, then.

The tender memory warmed up a corner of his heart that had long been forgotten. He missed her. He missed having her presence in his life. It hurt to make it into medicine without her being there to witness it—his one supporter, the one person who openly told him to pursue his dreams.

A mother's love and warmth were really... not something that could ever be reimbursed. Not with any price this world had to offer. Its lack would always leave a deep scar over his heart. He'd always long to fall back into her warm embrace.

She'd raised him. She'd stood by his side. She'd taught him well. She'd given up her peace of mind for him and Adira, day in and day out.

I made it, Mama... I made it, but I think I'll be coming to see you instead of continuing this journey that I'd once longed for.

Ah, perhaps there were more people in his life that supported him than he thought, though. In retrospect, it wasn't just his mother that lifted him up and cheered him on.

Reia and Addie did, too.

Sereia. He wondered where she was now. Would she be sad upon hearing of his death? She was his childhood friend and the closest person to him in age while growing up, given that she was his cousin and only 5 years his elder.

Sereia was the one who taught him to control his attribute, and the one person he confided in the most. But with time, and as they joined the ranks of the Ten Commandments, the two drifted apart.