Taming SSR And UR RANK Superwomen-Chapter 39 — Mother and Son Bound to the Abyss
Angel received the steaming plate with both hands. The yellow light from the food stall bathed her face in a warm glow as she smiled with that relaxed calm that always seemed to follow her, even in the middle of tense conversations.
"Thank you," she murmured softly.
They sat side by side at one of the small metal tables in the park beneath a dim lamp. Angel blew gently on the food before taking her first bite, closing her eyes for just a second.
"It’s delicious," she said with genuine satisfaction.
Thomas watched her in silence, resting his cheek against his hand. He didn’t quite know what to do with his hands, his gaze, with everything he had just heard that night. So he simply watched her.
He also thought about Iris, about bringing her something to eat. He thought about the money he had left. If he bought another portion, he would be nearly broke.
’Tomorrow I need to find something more stable... something better.’
But thinking about money dragged him back to another question.
"Do you know of any Abyss markets outside Ark?"
Angel chewed calmly before answering. She didn’t seem surprised.
"I know exactly what the situation is like outside Ark’s walls," she finally said. "But that information is dangerous."
She took another small bite before continuing.
"I can tell you... if you’re honest with me too and answer my questions. That way we both get answers."
Thomas held her gaze for a few seconds.
"Fine. But I ask the first question."
Angel nodded calmly and replied as if it didn’t bother her in the slightest.
"Go ahead."
"What kind of things do those markets buy?"
Angel laced her fingers together on the table.
"They’re illegal operations actively hunted by Ark’s government. If you’re thinking about getting involved with them, you’d better drop it." Her gaze grew more serious. "There are heroine groups searching for them day and night. You wouldn’t stay free for long."
Thomas met her eyes without backing down.
"My turn now," she said. "Why are you so interested in this? Do you have contact with the Abyss?"
Thomas let out a long sigh.
"Fine. I’ll be fair with you. Yes. I have access to the Abyss. I’ve already been there once."
Angel set her utensil aside and looked at him cautiously, but with an interest she couldn’t hide.
"How is that possible?" she asked. "What did you get yourself into?"
"One question at a time."
Angel tilted her head slightly, accepting the boundary. Thomas rested his forearms on the table. Before continuing, he paused deliberately. If he was going to have a long conversation with her, he needed to organise his thoughts.
"I want you to answer something before we continue. Something about us. What are you going to do now that you’ve found us?"
She didn’t hesitate for even a second.
"Win back your trust and your love. I’m willing to earn them again. I’ll respect it if you want to keep living on your own; but if I manage to resolve my issues with the Abyss and my gift... I want us to live together again. As a family."
She lowered her gaze for a moment.
"I’m sorry for abandoning you. I fully blame myself for everything. For now, I can’t stay in Ark for long; I’m making progress in my research. If the day comes when everything is resolved... would you accept living together again?"
Thomas closed his eyes for a few seconds before answering.
"It’s too soon to say." He opened them calmly. "It’ll depend on what you do from now on. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt... but I’ll be very strict if I find out you’re lying."
Angel’s eyelids relaxed, visibly relieved.
"That’s enough for now." She smiled softly. "But I’ll still fulfill my role as a mother." Then she returned to the previous topic. "Now tell me, why did someone without a gift go into the Abyss?"
Thomas glanced around, making sure no one was close enough to overhear them.
"I awakened a gift," he confessed in a low voice. "It lets me enter the Abyss."
"As if the Abyss wants something to happen..." she murmured.
"How do you know that? I didn’t tell you anything else."
She studied him carefully.
"I’ve seen something similar in my visions. I didn’t know it was connected to you." She leaned slightly closer. "What kind of power is it?"
Thomas scratched his head.
"I’m not comfortable sharing that many private things."
Angel nudged his shoulder with hers.
"Confess. Don’t be mean. We’re mother and son; we can tell each other everything." Then she added, almost in a whisper, "Do you really think a mother would betray her children? I’d tear all of Ark down if I had to in order to protect you."
Thomas looked at her with sarcasm.
"That sounded incredibly cynical... and terrifying."
Angel smiled with that mature serenity that always managed to throw him off balance.
"I thought it sounded romantic. Nothing excites me more than sharing secrets with my children. I’m willing to tell you things I don’t tell anyone else."
Thomas sighed.
"Then tell me. What kind of power do you have exactly?"
"I manipulate the blood of any living being; I can feel it, move it, stop it. I can make them die from the inside if I want."
Thomas went still.
"Normally I can only do it to one target at a time," she continued. "But if I’m close to my own blood... anything I do to others, you suffer as well. And now, with the Abyss’s curse, there’s cellular corruption added to it. If I don’t kill you, my curse will."
Thomas looked at her with a mixture of awe and calculation.
"Are you stronger than Belle?"
Angel shook her head.
"No. Gifts that work through the mind can overshadow mine."
A brief silence followed. They both fell into thought. Suddenly, Angel scooped up a bit of her food and brought it to Thomas’s mouth.
"Open."
"How old do you think I am? Ten?"
She made an amused expression.
"You’re still a child to me. Just do it." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Thomas turned his face away.
"No."
"Let me be a mother for a moment," she insisted gently.
"No."
Angel laughed softly and set the utensil back on the plate.
"I was only teasing," she said, then returned to the topic. "Is your gift useful for fighting or defeating monsters?"
Thomas shook his head slightly.
"I don’t know yet. But it does let me enter the Abyss."
Angel fell silent, thoughtful. A few seconds passed before she spoke again.
"I’m leaving in two days on an expedition. I need to deliver supplies to my group; they’re camping beyond the walls, inside the Abyss. After that, I’ll return to Ark."
She looked at him more intently.
"Do you want to come with me?"
The wind picked up for a moment. Thomas raised an eyebrow, curiosity stirring within him.
"It would be a trip beyond the walls, away from Ark’s watchful eyes. With me, you’d be safe."
"It’s a tempting offer... but I don’t know if it’s wise."
"You have two days to think about it," Angel said calmly. "I’ll make sure you’re not in danger."
Thomas kept his eyes on Ark’s distant lights.
’A trip beyond the walls. Closer to the Abyss... more answers. But also more risk. Would it actually help me? Does it have anything to do with my goal of making money?’
He let out a long sigh, resting both elbows on the table as he held his chin with the backs of his hands. He thought sluggishly, as if exhaustion had completely taken over.
’God, my side quests are piling up... there’s too much to do and barely any time...’
