The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 172: The Boy That Lost Everything

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He could still remember it as if it happened yesterday.

Even when it was so many years ago.

“Mama… Mamaaaa!”

A child crying, lost in a world he couldn’t understand.

“Big sis?! Where are you!”

Walking across the ruins of ancient, fallen civilizations.

Lost in a world of darkness and twisted colors.

“Where is everyone…”

He kept crying as he walked through this desolate, lonely land.

There was no life, not even monsters to chase him.

Only loneliness.

The blinding light that swallowed everything.

And her mother and sister, whose Spiritual Energy created a crack in space and time, which sent him here before they were to be consumed.

He alone was the only survivor.

“Mom… Big sis… Auntie…”

He fell to his knees, crying constantly.

He was lost and alone.

Everyone on Earth died.

“No… No…!”

He was only six years old; what could he even do?

His powers were underdeveloped; he had no time to let them blossom.

And now everything… everyone…

“Why won’t you stop crying already? Such an annoying brat!”

However, a voice.

A woman.

The voice’s eyes widened as he glanced behind him.

He hadn’t noticed it, but he ended up walking into a strange place.

It was as if dozens of ruins had been mixed together, wrapped around spiderwebs.

There, he heard her voice.

“H-Huh? Is there someone there? Hello?”

He slowly stood up, carrying his long fluffy tail around, which was all nasty, covered with dirt.

He scratched his face, trying to clean his little tears as he sniffed a peculiar scent.

As he ran towards this nest…

“Don’t get any closer! Get away! You’re too small for me to even eat! Scram little brat!”

She was aggressive and very rude…

But the boy didn’t have anywhere to go either way.

“I-I can’t…”

“What? Why?!”

“I don’t have anywhere to go… Everyone, mom and big sis… my aunties… Sniff, everyone… Buaaahhh!”

The boy started crying so loudly she lost her temper.

“So annoying! Ugh! Silence him!”

Suddenly, from the nest, several arachnoids emerged, members of the Spider Tribe from the Primal World who had been mutated to fit their goddess powers within them.

They became her servants and obeyed her words, rushing to “silence” the boy by covering him in spiderwebs and then carrying him inside.

“So warm…”

He ended up falling asleep while being inside that spiderweb cocoon and then being dragged inside.

Eventually he yawned after waking up.

“Ah, I slept so much…”

With a single wave of his little hands, he tore through the spiderweb and easily freed himself.

“Eh? Where am I? It’s so dark…”

FLASH!

With a mere thought, a very bright sphere of light materialized, illuminating everything.

“Uwaah!”

“So bright!”

“Eek!”

“Run! The light… it’s the same light as hers!”

The Arachnoids who were about to have him for dinner ran away instantly after seeing the boy’s light.

“Huh? Everyone?”

As the boy wandered around, he found a large, regal room with a big bed and several mirrors, clothes, and more.

“Hello? Is someone there?”

As he opened the door, someone was sitting over a wooden chair, trimming her long hair and then grooming it.

He could still remember even now the first time he saw her when he was so young.

Her beauty, her long silky hair, her shiny exoskeleton, her bright red eyes…

And her hair of both dominance… and motherliness.

“Hm? Ah! Why are you here?! H-How did they let you in?!”

As she screamed, she jumped away from her chair and started climbing the ceiling like a spider, moving her spider-like legs attached to her back.

“Wow, you’re like a spider!”

“I AM A SPIDER! SHAAAH!”

She hissed at him and tried to intimidate him, but the boy was unamused…

In fact, there was little that could even harm him.

Her aura of poison should have already killed him, but he was fine.

“Ugh… What’s wrong with this damn kid? Who are you?! If it wasn’t because that damn woman weakened me so much, I could have…!”

“I-I have nowhere to go… Can you… can we become friends?”

“What? Don’t you know who I am? I am Malice incarnate! I am the Queen of Cunningness! I feast on terrible evil! I was born from…”

However, interrupting her speech, the loud sound of the boy’s stomach echoed.

“Uhh… I’m hungry…”

The woman clicked her tongue.

“A-And why should I care?! Get away from hereeee!”

She tried to throw him away, but the boy only started crying.

Anything she threw at him was just deflected, and his clothes moved on their own to protect him too.

“W-What with those clothes he’s wearing?!”

To make things worse, a strange gold and black sword would sometimes appear out of nowhere, floating around him and protecting him from harm.

“H-He’s dangerous! What is he?!”

Eventually, because she couldn’t throw him away… the only thing she could do is…

Take care of the child!

“Hmm! These are yummy! What are they?”

The boy ate white-colored mochi-like buns, filling his stomach with them.

“They’re made out of my spiderweb… It contains nutrients and is the only food I can offer you, brat.”

“They’re yummy, like mochi! Thank you, auntie!”

“Don’t call me Auntie! I am not your aunt! I am your mother’s foe!”

“Uh, mom was your foe?”

"Yes, she sliced my soul! That damn… I HATE HER!”

“But mommy said that mom… she sacrificed herself… for us.”

“Come again?”

“She’s…”

“She’s dead?!”

“Um… I think…. I think so."

“Oh!”

Then she smiled maliciously; he could still remember her celebrating it.

“Hahaha! Good! I’m happy for that! Finally- Ah, wait a second, did all of Earth get wiped out?”

“Um… Uh-huh…”

“Is there even a way for me to return to my world now?! Uwaaaagghh! I’m stuck here with this brat?!”

The woman felt tormented for seven days and seven nights…

However, at the eight days, she had rapidly begun to adapt to her new life.

She made him his own room, which he had to always clean; she was obsessed with cleanliness.

“Clean your room already! It’s all nasty!”

“O-Okay!”

She taught him how to hunt the mutant monster left behind in the ruined Earth for their meat.

“Come on, we’re going hunting; you can’t just eat my spiderweb.”

“Sure!”

She taught him how to cook food.

“That’s not how you cook meat, you stupid brat… Come here, let me show you!”

“T-Thanks…”

She taught him about hygiene and made countless clothes for him.

“Hah, you’re so hopeless! Are these the only clothes you wear? You’re definitely going to take a bath! I don’t accept stinky brats in my domain!”

“Where do I even take a bath?”

And she also showed him how hopeless she felt sometimes.

“At the end, it seems you’re the only person left… such irony. Am I really going to continue babysitting my enemy’s kid? This is… such torture… I guess she had the last laugh at the end, huh?”

“But I enjoy being with you, auntie…”

“Y-You… Tch, forget it…”

And when she realized that he was her last hope, she decided to help him grow stronger.

“We’re going to start training! I can’t have you being a weakling your entire life! Your mother was… incredibly powerful, and it seems you’ve inherited her powers. I’m going to make sure you eventually surpass her… Because that is the only way you’ll be able to avenge your family, you hear me?”

“Y-Yes! I’ll do my best!”

“Good! First, I’ll teach you the Arts of Malice, kehehehe!”

“Eh?”

However, even then, she was still very grumpy.

“No! That’s not how you do it! Stop it! You’re going to break the Domain! Uuggh, you’re so dumb!”

“I-I’m doing my best…”

And he also grew close to her; he always wanted to be by her side because it made him feel not lonely anymore.

“Why are you sleeping in my bed again?! I already made your own bed! Go away!”

“But I like hugging auntie… I can sleep fine. And I don’t wake up sleepy the next morning.”

“Hah… Y-You’re so hopeless…”

“I love auntie!”

Countless memories of them together, of her raising him, slowly mellowing down. She was so cold and aggressive, but over time, she became such a tender mother, always caring for him.

Until the very end…

“The last trace of Bing Xue! Where are you hiding him?! I need him! I must DEVOUR HIM!”

“You’ll have him… over my dead body!”

The Heaven’s Will found them, and she fought against this titanic foe, knowing full well she couldn’t win.

She allowed him to escape, sacrificing herself.

Or more like, she forced him to escape.

“No… AUNTIE! AUNTIEEEE!”

Space around him twisted as she combined her domains and twisted them, breaking space and time apart, sending him far, far away.

The last thing he saw were her crying eyes and a smile.

“Take care, brat.”

“NOOOOO!!!”

Even now, as he freed himself from the Arachnoids spiderwebs, he found himself crying.

Despite being so strong, so intimidating, and everything else…

He was such a crybaby; she always made fun of that.

“You… Just who are you?”

And now he found her again.

She was right there…

As he was transported to her room, she glared at him with her cold eyes.

“I might be… a nobody for you right now,” he muttered. “But in my time… in the timeline where I came from, you… you were my everything.”

“E-Eh?!” She suddenly felt her heart beating faster out of nowhere. “W-What nonsense are you talking about?! Are you seriously trying to flirt with me?!”

“Your soul was wounded, right?” he asked, suddenly summoning a golden elixir from his hands. “This is a Soul Elixir I crafted years ago to heal you; it was useless because… because where I came from, you had already died. Please drink it; it’ll heal your soul completely.”

“Why… Why are you doing this?!” she asked. “Nobody had ever… I don’t understand! You said another timeline?! Is this why I… I feel such a strange, disgusting connection with you?”

“Maybe,” the man smiled sorrowfully. “Please take this…”

She stole it from his hands with her claws, inspecting the elixir and then drinking it.

“Hm?!”

FLUOSH!

Instantly, her wounded soul was healed and even reinforced, as she felt a powerful divinity surging from her body.

“T-This is…?!”

“It worked; I’m glad…”

“Y-You helped me for no reason… This makes… no sense…”

“There’s a reason; I already explained you… You were—no, you still are… You’re my everything.”

“…”

She blushed as he stood up and looked at her eyes; he was much taller than her, charming, with such bright, beautiful eyes.

“I want to repay you for all your kindness…”

“T-That’s…! G-Get away from me! Respect my personal space, hey!”

She gently pushed him away, walking towards her mirror. He noticed she was still blushing, and she felt her heart beating so fast for no reason…

“This is so strange… What kind of technique are you using to make me feel all these strange emotions?!”

“I haven’t used anything… I’ve only told you what I feel.”

“…”

She glanced back at him once more, then averted her gaze.

“If you want to stay here so badly… T-There’s another room downstairs.” She said timidly, pointing into the distance.

“I see… Thank you,” he smiled, nodding.

She followed him as he walked downstairs.

“If you’re truly planning to… live here, then you’re going to adhere to many of my rules, alright?! First rule is…!”

“Cleanliness and hygiene, I know. I’ll make sure to keep my room clean.”

“How did you know?! Ah, whatever, the second rule is…!”

“No noises; I know you are sensitive to loud noises.”

“Huh? T-That’s right! And the third rule is…”

“That I shouldn’t touch your things, I know. I won’t do that either.”

He smiled back at her.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“J-Just follow those rules…”

She sighed, walking back to her room.

As he entered the cramped room, he looked around and then sighed, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia.

“This time for sure… I’ll protect you too.”

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