But she did not blame him. She wiped the tears from her eyes. She was simply sad-sad that the appearance of her future self had shattered the peace they had worked so hard to preserve. She simply did not want to watch the smile slowly fade from the face of the child she had watched grow up, or see him fall into that endless abyss.
She reached out and took the initiative, hugging him tightly.
She squeezed her eyes shut, tiny beads of tears still clinging to their corners.
"You've grown up now. You've become the leader of us all. Dark Night City is yours, the Matriarch is yours, and so are all of us. But do you know? Sometimes, the heavier your responsibilities, the more endless the burdens of a king become... I don't want you to be crushed..."
"Nothing has ever been perfect, Lynn. I only hope this will be the last time. From now on..."
"You must keep moving forward without fear. You must learn to take life and death in stride. Even if they lay the most tragic fate your future could hold before you, you must never retreat! Do you understand?! Defeat them! Defeat every obstacle that dares stand in your way!"
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
It was a resolve that would never yield, even in death.
And this was the only thing she could still teach him, the last thing she could tell him as the Matriarch of Dark Night City.
At that moment.
She finally reached out and raised her head.
She laid down all her burdens and cast aside every role she held. Her enormous golden wings folded around them, enveloping them as each golden feather shed flecks of light. Whatever their identities were outside, whatever relationship they shared, none of