Nox Sillon (4)
The flickering candlelight cast long shadows across the walls of Nox's room.
The silence was thick, unbroken except for the steady rhythm of his own breathing.
Outside, the winds whispered against the windows, rustling the curtains like unseen hands.
Nox sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his own reflection in the polished mirror across the room.
His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim light.
Even now, he felt no fatigue, no exhaustion from the day's training.
His body was unscathed, his muscles free of soreness.
He lifted his hand, flexing his fingers.
The human body was strange.
Weak, fragile, and yet capable of adaptation.
He had pushed it beyond its limits today, yet it recovered almost instantly.
Why?
He already knew the answer.
His lips barely moved as he whispered,
"Status."
A translucent window materialized before his eyes, lines of text forming with an almost mechanical efficiency.
— — —「Status Window」— — —
⨳ Name: Nox Sillon
⨳ Age: 5
⨳ Race: Human (?)
⨳ Class: Arcane Calculator
⨳ Rank: « Neophyte » (Potential ???)
⨳ Affiliation: None
⨳ Title: The Watcher
— — —「Physical Attributes」— — —
∟ Strength: 8
∟ Agility: 10
∟ Endurance: 9
∟ Mana: ???
∟Perception: 16
∟ Intelligence: 18
∟Charisma: 5
— — —「Internal Attributes 」— — —
⨳ Health « 85% » [Weak Physic]
— — —「Mana & Mind」— — —
⨳ Mana Pool << ??? / ???>>
⨳ Mind Processing Speed <<5.03>> OPS
⨳ Magic Efficiency<<13%>>
— — —「Active Skills」— — —
∟ Left Hand: Support Magic.
⨳ Mana Flicker: Generates A Very Small Portion Of Mana.
⨳ Arcane Sparks: Tiny Flame Flicker.
∟ Right Hand: Combat Magic.
⨳ Mana Detection: Can sense mana but like searching someone through fog.
⨳ Aura Shift: Barely Changes the user's mana (Sealed)
— — —「Passive Abilities」— — —
∟ Mathematical Intuition.
⨳ Can instinctively process calculation faster than normal people.
∟ Aura Sensitivity.
⨳ Can sense Anyon's aura or life force but like searching a needle in a desert.
— — —「Skill Storage」— — —
∟ Skill Tree.
⨳ Arcane Computation: « Level 0 » — Takes way to long to process.
⨳ Mana Circulation: « Level 1 » — Magic flow is slow and clunky.
⨳ Eve of Ruins / Mind Expansion: (Sealed)—Brain's too small for this.
— — —「Status Window」— — —
Nox's gaze lingered on the numbers.
What does it mean to be strong?
Numbers meant nothing without context.
Perception: 16.
Intelligence: 18.
These numbers told him that he was not normal, but they did not tell him what he was.
And then there was—
Mana: ???
A flaw?
Or something beyond measurement?
His fingers tightened around the blanket beneath him.
"What am I?"
The whisper barely left his lips, but in the silence of his room, it felt deafening.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Master Nox?"
Yeni's voice.
He turned his head slightly.
"Come in."
The door creaked open slightly, and Yeni peeked inside.
Her expression, as always, was laced with something between worry and curiosity.
"Your mother sent me to check on you,"
She said gently.
Mother.
His crimson eyes flickered.
He remained silent for a moment, then spoke.
"I am fine."
Yeni hesitated, stepping inside.
"Are you?"
"I do not lie."
A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"I didn't say you were lying. But fine doesn't mean well."
Nox tilted his head.
"What does 'well' mean, then?"
Yeni blinked, caught off guard.
"It means… to be happy. At peace."
"Peace is an illusion,"
Nox said flatly.
Yeni frowned.
"You're five, young master."
"And yet, I understand what most do not," he countered.
Silence.
Yeni shook her head, giving him a sad smile.
"You talk like an old man trapped in a child's body."
Nox didn't respond.
Instead, he shifted slightly, glancing toward the window where the cold wind pressed against the glass.
"My mother,"
He said suddenly.
"She is… upset."
Yeni's eyes softened.
"She is."
"Why?"
Yeni stepped closer, lowering herself to his level.
"Because she worries for you."
"I am not injured."
"She's not worried about your body, young master."
Nox frowned.
"Then what?"
Yeni pursed her lips.
"Do you know what a mother's love is?"
Nox didn't answer immediately.
Love.
An arbitrary word.
He thought back to the way Seraphina had held him.
The warmth of her arms.
The tremble in her fingers.
The sound of her heartbeat—unsteady, anxious.
"…No," hl
He admitted at last.
Yeni's lips parted slightly before she smiled—a soft, gentle thing.
"That's alright. You'll understand one day."
A beat of silence stretched between them.
Then, Nox spoke again.
"Do you fear me?"
Yeni's eyes widened slightly.
"Why would I fear you?"
"Many do."
A pause.
Yeni exhaled, then crouched so they were at eye level.
"Do you want me to fear you?"
Nox stared at her.
"…No."
"Then I won't."
A strange feeling settled in his chest—something unfamiliar.
He did not respond, only watching as Yeni stood and moved toward the door.
"If you ever have questions, Master Nox,
She said softly,
"You can ask me."
Nox didn't reply.
Yeni hesitated for a moment longer before smiling slightly.
"Good night, young master."
She left.
The door shut.
Silence returned.
Nox exhaled, staring at his reflection in the mirror once more.
His crimson eyes stared back at him, empty and unreadable.
He did not cry when he was born.
He did not laugh as a child should.
He did not feel exhaustion, nor cold, nor warmth in the way others did.
And now, even his own mother hesitated when she looked at him.
"What am I?"
No one could answer.
He closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, he would continue training.
Tomorrow, he would grow stronger.
And perhaps… tomorrow, he would understand.
*****
The morning air was sharp, crisp with the lingering cold of night.
A thin mist curled around the estate, wrapping the world in a quiet, ethereal stillness.
Nox rose before the first light, as he always did.
Sleep came to him lightly, fleeting, as though his body did not require it in the same way others did.
He had tested this theory many times, pushing his waking hours further and further, yet his mind never dulled, his body never lagged.
Another abnormality.
He stood before the mirror, studying himself.
His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim light of dawn, a reminder that he was not like the others.
The world whispered about him.
Servants prayed when they passed his room.
His father watched him with something between curiosity and wariness.
And his mother…
Mother.
The memory of her sorrowful gaze lingered in his thoughts.
"Do you know what a mother's love is?"
Yeni's words echoed in his mind, and for the first time in a long while, he felt something foreign.
A question without an answer.
A soft knock at his door.
"Nox?"
His mother's voice.
He turned.
"Enter."
The door eased open, revealing Seraphina Sillon, wrapped in a delicate silver robe embroidered with faint, swirling patterns of gold.
Her long, moonlit hair cascaded over her shoulders, framing a face both regal and exhausted.
Her beauty was undeniable—an ethereal presence that made even the coldest winds hesitate.
Yet her eyes, deep and stormy, held shadows that no beauty could conceal.
She hesitated in the doorway, as if uncertain.
"…You're awake."
"I do not sleep much."
Seraphina's lips pressed together, and she stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her.
For a moment, she simply stood there, watching him.
Then, in a voice softer than a whisper, she said,
"Come here."
Nox tilted his head but obeyed, stepping toward her with silent, measured steps.
She reached out, slowly, hesitantly, placing her hands on his shoulders.
They were warm—warmer than they should have been, as if she was trying to pour all the warmth he lacked into him.
"You never call me 'Mother,'"
She murmured.
Nox blinked.
"Should I?"
Her hands trembled slightly.
"I would like it if you did."
He was silent.
The request was simple, yet it felt… heavy.
Like a binding thread waiting to be woven.
Seraphina sighed, brushing his hair back with a delicate touch.
"You are my son, Nox. And yet, sometimes, it feels like I am speaking to a stranger."
Nox met her gaze.
"I am… different."
A sad smile touched her lips.
"I know."
"You fear me."
Seraphina flinched, her grip tightening on his shoulders. "No,"
She whispered. "Never."
Nox watched her closely, his sharp perception catching the way her fingers clenched, the way her breath hitched ever so slightly.
A lie.
Or rather, a half-truth.
She did not fear him, not entirely.
But she feared something.
What was it?
"…Then why do you look at me like that?"
He asked.
Seraphina closed her eyes for a moment, as if gathering herself.
"I look at you,"
She said, voice trembling,
"The way a mother looks at a child she cannot protect."
The words hung between them.
Nox frowned.
"I do not need protection."
"You say that,"
She whispered,
"But you do not understand what it means to be alone."
Alone.
The word did not feel foreign to him. It felt… normal.
Expected.
Seraphina kneeled, pulling him into her arms.
The warmth of her embrace was unfamiliar, yet not unpleasant.
She held him tightly, as if afraid he would disappear if she let go.
"My little star,"
She murmured.
"Do you know how much I love you?"
Love.
That word again.
"…No."
Seraphina inhaled sharply.
She pulled back just enough to cup his face in her hands.
"Then let me teach you,"
She whispered.
Nox stared at her.
He did not understand.
But he would learn.
He always did.
For now, he let her hold him.
For now, he did not pull away.
For now, he allowed himself to feel the warmth.