The words kept echoing in her head.

“In thirty-six days... No, this will happen after the operation fails, so it will be thirty-eight days from now. On that day, Alphonse Vladimir will die.”

Like a stubborn stain on a white shirt, it kept surfacing again no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. A grim prophecy that her son, whom she loved more than anything in the world, would meet his end.

“Haaa.” Alina deeply sighed and sat up from her sleeping bag.

The faint, stale rubber smell unique to military tents tickled her nose.

They had camped out on the clearing in front of Spica’s temple. Spica had offered her a spare room inside, but Alina had refused and chose to stay in a military tent they had pitched.

“It’s just nonsense...”

Forcing herself to erase that lingering voice, she set a kettle of water atop the stove in the center of the tent. Ordinary tents wouldn’t have the space for a stove, but she could afford such a luxury in this custom one for high-ranking officers.

Alina drank a cup of hot black tea to steady her nerves.

Slurp.

For some reason, she couldn’t taste it at all.

Impossible.

Drinking tea was one of her few hobbies. Rather, it was her only hobby. This batch had been brewed from Golden Tips, grown only in select highlands of Sri Lanka. This was her favorite type of tea leaf.

Just one sip would usually fill her mouth with a rich, full-bodied aroma. However, she tasted nothing today. Her throat felt dry and gritty, as though filled with sand. All she could hear in her head was that ominous prophecy of her son’s death.

No.

She tried to reject it with all her might. Deep inside, the thought remained. “What if?” What troubled her most was the other Celestials' reactions, Deneb, in particular.

They called him the Heaven-Defying Star.

They had accepted Kwon Oh-Jin’s claim of being a Regressor with unnerving ease as if they had known from the beginning. If it had been one or two of them, she could have dismissed it. However, nearly everyone at that meeting believed it for some reason.

Still... it makes no sense. A Regressor from the future?

That kind of stuff could only be found in fictional comics and novels.

Alina bitterly laughed. Who was she to call anything fictional in a world where monsters roamed freely, and Celestials and Awakeners existed?

Either way, she had no intention of moving her army without undeniable proof that Kwon Oh-Jin was truly what he claimed.

It wasn’t about pride or stubbornness. She was the Supreme Commander of the Alliance, who led tens of thousands of Awakeners. If she made a single wrong move, it would cost all their lives and shatter national security.

Just because the Black Star Celestials have appeared doesn’t mean the monsters have suddenly disappeared.

Monsters appeared less frequently than before, but still came through the rifts consistently. To ordinary people without a Stigma, even a one-star monster was as terrifying as a Black Star Celestial. Therefore, she couldn’t sacrifice her troops needlessly.

“For now, I’ll have to talk to him more.”

She couldn’t dismiss his words as nonsense, not when the other Celestials had reacted as they did.

With that, Alina stepped out of her tent and intended to head toward Vega’s temple, where Kwon Oh-Jin was staying.

Halfway there, she stopped dead in her tracks. After a long pause, she sighed and turned toward another tent quietly tucked away in a corner of the camp. It was her son, Alphonse Vladimir’s, tent.

“Are you inside?” she asked.

“Ah, yes! I’m here, Mom!”

His bright response tugged at her heart.

Alina had to force her lips from softening into a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“Hehe, yes. The bed was a little uncomfortable, but I slept fine.” Alphonse beamed, clearly glad that his mother had taken the time to come see him despite her busy schedule.

Alina’s expression softened, and she gently stroked his leg. “Are you uncomfortable?”

“I’m fine. You know, Mom, it’s not like my leg is really—”

“Enough.” She turned stern and shook her head.

“I told you not to speak about your leg in public.”

“Ah... Y-Yes. I’m sorry.” Alphonse flinched, his shoulders trembling as he bowed his head. “I-I’m sorry. I-I won’t do it again.”

His face had gone pale, and his small frame shook like a leaf.

Alina bit her lip, looking at her son, who looked like he was being chased by ghosts. She drew her trembling son into a gentle embrace. “It’s all right. I wasn’t scolding you, so don’t be afraid.”

“Haa, haa... I-I’m sorry, Mom... Ah, no, I mean Commander.”

“When it’s just the two of us, you can call me Mom.”

“O-Okay!”

Only after stroking his head several times to calm him did Alphonse finally stop trembling, and his bright smile returned.

Alina bitterly smiled and gently caressed his cheek.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s words echoed through her head again.

“On that day, Alphonse Vladimir will die.”

Her expression twisted savagely as the Stigma on her chest flared brightly.

“Mom...?”

“Ah, huh? S-Sorry. I was just thinking of something else.” Snapping back to reality, Alina forced an awkward smile and stroked Alphonse’s hair. “I’m going to step out for a bit, so wait for me here in the tent. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“You can stay by yourself, right?”

“Hehe! Of course! I’m already a grown-up!”

Looking at her son’s confident nod, Alina softly smiled. “Then, I’ll be back soon.”

The moment she turned and stepped out of the tent, the warm gentleness she had shown Alphonse hardened back into a stern, commanding expression.

Exhaling deeply, she began walking up the starry path to Vega’s temple without hesitation.

***

Left alone in the tent, Alphonse sighed deeply and recalled how pitifully he had trembled just moments before.

“Haa... I messed up again.” He bit his lip and stared down at his unmoving legs. “I need to get over this already.”

Though his physical body had grown into adulthood, his heart was still shackled to a childhood nightmare. He couldn’t help but find himself pathetic and spiraled into endless self-reproach.

Then, the tent flap opened, and someone stepped inside.

Zip.

“Mom?”

Alina Vladimir, who had just left after saying goodbye, had suddenly returned.

“Did you forget something?” he asked.

“They said the meeting would be delayed, so I have a little more time. I wanted to talk to you a bit more.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Alphonse, I want to ask you a few things. Is that alright?”

“O-Of course, Mom!”

Alina smiled warmly and stroked her son’s hair. “Such a good boy, my son.”

For some reason, his mother’s tender gaze felt faintly unsettling.

***

“Alkaid has stepped out?” Alina asked.

“That’s right.” Inside Vega’s temple, Riarc stood at the entrance like a guard and nodded.

“It’s almost time for the meeting, so where could he have gone?”

“He said he had something to check on. He’ll return shortly, so wait here.”

Alina sighed and nodded.

Around ten minutes passed in silence before she spotted Kwon Oh-Jin approaching from afar.

Kwon Oh-Jin's eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected her. “Miss Alina?”

“I want to ask you something...” Alina firmly and coldly said. “Yesterday, you clearly said that’s what I said back then too, right?”

“Yes...”

“In your past life, before you regressed, did we know each other?”

“Does this mean you believe me now?” Hope flickered in his eyes as his expression brightened.

However, Alina shook her head coldly. “Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only asking under the assumption of your story being true.”

“Ah...”

“Then, answer my question. Did we know each other?”

“Yes. Miss Alina, I met you in my previous life as well.”

“What was our relationship?”

“That...” Kwon Oh-Jin paused before answering. “You... were my superior.”

“Your superior?”

“Yes. Not in the China-Russia Alliance, but the United World Alliance.”

“United World Alliance...? What is that?”

“The United World Alliance was just a name. In truth, it was nothing more than an army formed by the surviving Awakeners, and you commanded the unit I belonged to.”

Alina’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm. Your story is inconsistent again.” She snorted and crossed her arms. “Didn’t you say that I was a living wreck ever since losing my son? How could I have been in command of a unit?”

“Because you were obsessed with avenging your son.”

Alina remained silent.

“Regardless of someone’s rank, what else do you call a person who drinks themselves senseless every day and can’t sleep without medication?” Kwon Oh-Jin bitterly smiled as he recalled the past.

The look in his eyes seemed to pity her.

Alina bit her lip hard. “High-ranking Awakeners aren’t affected by alcohol or medication—”

“Even high-ranking Awakeners are affected by alcohol and drugs if they forcibly suppress their Stigma’s mana. Of course, they still have to consume several times more than a normal person.”

Kwon Oh-Jin slowly shook his head and deeply sighed. His eyes contained heavy regret as he recalled the past.

“You used to pour alcohol into your black tea every day.”

“Black tea?”

“Yes. You like tea, don’t you? Especially Golden Tips, you liked that the most.”

Alina bit her lip again. “My hobby of collecting tea leaves is something anyone could find out with a little research.”

This isn’t because he’s really a Regressor.

She clenched her fists and steadied her wavering heart.

“Then, if I tell you something no one could ever find out, will you believe me?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Go ahead...”

“Alphonse’s legs.”

Alina’s eyes widened.

“Alphonse’s legs don’t move, but not because of any physical problem, right?”

“H-How could you know that?!” Her shock echoed throughout Vega’s temple.

“I heard... There was abuse from your ex-husband,” Kwon Oh-Jin bitterly said.

Because of her job as a soldier, Alina had no choice but to be away from home for long periods.

Her ex-husband, whom she had married through her father’s arrangement, had abused Alphonse while she was gone. As a result, his legs became paralyzed due to psychological trauma rather than any physical injury.

Only Alina, Alphonse, and Alphonse’s personal therapist knew this. She had carefully hidden the truth, fearing that public attention would only worsen Alphonse’s fragile mental state. How could Kwon Oh-Jin possibly know?

Alina stared at Kwon Oh-Jin with trembling eyes. “Y-You really are... a Regressor.”

Got her.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s lips twisted into a sly smile. He could tell from Alina’s shaking gaze that she had completely fallen for his act.

Of course, from her point of view, how could she ever guess that he had transformed into her to approach Alphonse?

From here on out, it’s easy work.

If she firmly believed that he was a Regressor, she would have no choice but to follow his lead.

With this, he could secure the Alliance. As he congratulated himself on his victory—

“But...” Alina averted her eyes from Kwon Oh-Jin and continued speaking softly. “Was I... really just your superior and you were just my subordinate?”

“What?”

Where is this coming from?

“No matter how cornered I was mentally, I wouldn’t have revealed such a secret to just anyone, especially not about Alphonse.”

Unless she truly trusted him, she would’ve never told him.

“So, um...” Alina hesitated, her cheeks faintly reddening. “Could it be that you and I were... s-special in some way?”

What’s wrong with this woman...?