Lin Chen's mouth stopped moving.
He stared at the glow in the Zombie Leopard's chest, his hand still clamped around its neck, but his devouring power had already withdrawn without him realizing it.
Then an image appeared.
A small room floated in midair, its walls grayish white, with a wooden table and an old chair in the corner.
The window stood half open. Sunlight slanted in from outside, falling on the windowsill and the side of a woman's face.
She sat beside the windowsill, facing the Memory Stone.
The sunlight lit half her face brightly. It should have been a heartwarming scene, yet the shadows on her face ran deeper than the light.
Her cheekbones jutted out, her eyes sat in hollow sockets, and her skin was as dry as paper left too long in the sun. Fine lines crowded the corners of her eyes, making her look terribly worn.
Her hair was pinned up with an old wooden hairpin, and silver strands had already appeared at her temples.
She wore a plain dress without any adornments. She looked nothing like a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice or the eldest daughter of a wizarding family, but rather like a woman from an ordinary household.
Yet her eyes were so bright, as though they held endless anticipation and hope.
"Chen, I'm your mother," the voice continued.
"Do you still remember me? When you were little, I held you every day, nursed you, changed your clothes, and soothed you to sleep."
In the image, the woman stretched out her hands and made a gesture beside the windowsill.
It was as though she were cradling a baby, her hands cupped before her chest, her arms rocking gently as a tender smile appeared on her face.
Sunlight fell on the backs of her hands, where the