Concept: World - Chapter 17: Mother (2)

Ethel's father had once been a Force User, and a former member of the Combat Division.

Once upon a time...

...they had been a happy family.

When his parents learned that their son had inherited the ability to wield Force, they were overjoyed.

From an early age, his father personally trained Ethel, hoping that one day he would grow into an outstanding Force User.

Those were the happiest days Ethel could remember.

His parents were proud as they watched their son mature.

Their relationship was warm.

Their home was filled with happiness.

As a child, Ethel dreamed of joining the Combat Division to protect the city.

Just like his father.

Just like the city's great hero, Leon.

When Ethel was nine years old, demon appearances became more frequent.

His father's deployments steadily increased.

His mother grew increasingly dissatisfied.

Arguments became more and more common.

Once a week.

Then once every five days.

Then every three days.

Eventually...

...every single day.

At the same time, his father had less and less time to teach Ethel how to use Force.

His mother eventually began monitoring his father's schedule.

She wanted proof that he was actually being deployed instead of using work as an excuse to fool around elsewhere.

She convinced herself her husband wasn't working at all.

He was enjoying himself somewhere outside.

Returning home late was simply an excuse to avoid coming back.

She even began following him.

Until one day...

...his father and several of his colleagues caught her.

His father was furious that she had gone so far.

From that day onward...

...their marriage completely fell apart.

Afterward, his father deliberately worked even longer hours.

Sometimes...

...he didn't come home at all.

His mother became even more convinced he was hiding something.

She investigated his whereabouts obsessively.

Even though every investigation proved that he had truly been on duty...

...she refused to believe it.

Instead, she concluded that everyone in the Combat Division was helping him lie.

In her eyes...

...they were all the same.

By the time Ethel turned twelve, his father was home only rarely.

On his birthday, they finally spent time together again.

His father resumed teaching him how to use Force.

Instead of making things better...

...it only deepened his mother's resentment.

She had already convinced herself that her husband—

and everyone in the Combat Division—

were terrible people.

Watching him train their son only fed her growing obsession.

Eventually...

...that obsession twisted into a new belief.

Every Force User was evil.

And now...

...her husband was trying to corrupt her only son.

Beginning the very next day...

...she forbade Ethel from ever using Force again.

Whether he wanted to obey or not...

...she forced him.

The decision led to another explosive argument.

Soon afterward...

...his parents separated.

While his father was away on duty, his mother took Ethel away and disappeared.

His father never found them.

Twelve-year-old Ethel barely understood what had happened.

He hadn't witnessed the arguments beforehand.

All he knew was that after the training session on his birthday, his parents had fought again.

Then his mother forbade him from using Force.

At first, he thought it had been a mutual decision.

Only later did he realize his father had opposed it.

And that had triggered an even greater conflict.

Eventually...

...his mother took him away.

Even then...

...Ethel repeatedly told her that he wanted to continue training.

He still dreamed of joining the Combat Division.

Every time she heard him say those words...

...she exploded in rage.

"Don't you ever use Force again."

"If I catch you, you'll regret it."

"So you want to become a traitor just like your father?"

"Fine."

"Go ahead."

"When you do, I'll hang myself right in front of both of you."

"I'm doing this for your own good."

"You have to trust your mother."

"Force is evil."

"If I ever see you using it again..."

"...I'll kill you."

"You need to think about your mother."

"You're all I have left."

"I'm sorry for giving birth to something as worthless as you."

"Why won't you listen to me?"

"Why do you still want to use that disgusting power?"

"Do you really want to hurt me that badly?"

One poisonous sentence after another poured from her mouth.

Yet...

...before Ethel completely broke down...

...she always transformed back into the gentle mother he remembered.

She soothed him with sweet words.

Poison wrapped in kindness.

Little by little...

...Ethel was brainwashed.

He began believing that if he hadn't been a Force User, his parents would never have fought.

Eventually...

...he promised never to use Force again.

For several years...

...their lives remained relatively peaceful.

Then one day...

...his mother saw a news report.

His father was being honored for distinguished military service.

She couldn't accept it.

Why...

...was that man living an even better life after leaving her?

Without her...

...he should have fallen into hell.

Unable to accept reality...

...she completely reversed herself.

Now...

...she demanded that Ethel use Force again.

She wanted to prove that she—

not his father—

had raised the superior Force User.

By then, Ethel was already fourteen.

After nearly two years without training, his skills had grown rusty.

Nevertheless...

...he was forced through brutal, unreasonable training.

"I'm doing this for your own good."

"You have to prove you're more useful than that man."

"You won't just surpass him."

"You'll crush him beneath your feet."

"Is that all you've got?"

"After everything I've done for you..."

"...this is how you repay me?"

"I've devoted my entire life to raising you."

"I've given you everything."

"Why can't you understand that?"

She forced Ethel to practice attacking her.

Not for self-defense—

but simply to teach him how to hurt another human being.

She obsessively demanded that he stab through her own hand.

Only then...

...could she raise someone capable of truly killing.

And afterward...

...she would order him to murder that man.

"Do it."

"Show me."

"Prove you can hurt your opponent."

"I'm teaching you how cruel war really is."

"I don't care whether you kill demons..."

"...or people."

"Once you've surpassed him..."

"...kill that man."

"Avenge me."

The psychological burden placed upon Ethel grew heavier every day.

Even so...

...he obeyed everything she asked.

Because whenever he succeeded...

...he could see his mother's smile again.

That smile...

...became the only thing keeping him alive.

He believed that if he became an exceptional Force User, she would finally be happy.

Perhaps...

...his father would even come home again.

So he had to become stronger.

He had to surpass his father.

For the next three years...

...Ethel endured what could only be described as hell.

Training filled with pain.

Training filled with madness.

Training built upon countless lies.

Even then...

...he still held onto hope.

He looked forward to his seventeenth birthday.

If he awakened as a Concept User...

...he could finally surpass his father.

Then...

...his mother would smile.

But on the eve of his seventeenth birthday...

...news arrived.

His father had been killed in action.

Ethel only remembered his mother screaming while sobbing uncontrollably.

He thought...

...she was mourning his father.

Naturally, he tried to comfort her.

At that point...

...he still believed that becoming a powerful Force User and following in his father's footsteps would fulfill her wish.

"I'm almost seventeen."

"If I awaken as a Concept User..."

"...I'll become someone just like Dad."

"I'll even surpass him."

What he received instead...

...was the cruelest condemnation of his life.

"Don't you ever mention Force or concepts to me again."

"I only wanted to prove I could raise someone stronger than him."

"So I could grind him into the dirt."

"You were never anything more than a tool for revenge."

"Now look."

"That worthless man is dead."

"I'll never get the chance to stand in front of him and show him the tool I created."

"I wasted all those years on you."

"It was all meaningless."

"I should never have spent a single second raising you."

"You're just as worthless as he was."

"I don't care whether you're a Force User or anything else."

"I don't care."

"You have no value to me anymore."

"Get out of my sight."

"And never let me see you again."

She threw him out of the house.

There were still twenty-four hours left before his birthday.

Ethel's heart shattered.

He had believed his mother loved him.

He had believed she saw him as her son.

Instead...

...he had only ever been a tool.

His entire world collapsed.

The only thing still supporting him...

...was the faint hope that he might awaken as a Concept User after his birthday.

So he bought a birthday cake.

He bought her a present.

He clung to one final fantasy—

that after she calmed down...

...they could still talk.

The following day...

...on his birthday...

...he returned home carrying both gifts.

What awaited him...

...became the image he would never forget.

His mother's body...

...hanging from the ceiling.

On the wall behind her...

...written in blood—

I HATE YOU.

From that moment onward...

...Ethel's world completely collapsed.

He stopped caring about concepts.

He never wanted to use Force again.

Deep inside...

...he became convinced that Force itself was the true culprit behind the destruction of his family.

From that day forward...

...he sealed away everything connected to it.

Later...

...he learned that he really had become a Concept User.

But he no longer wished to join the Combat Division.

Even though...

...it had been his dream ever since he was a child.

ns216.73.216.95da2

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