The Broken Halo

Chapter 10: Difference

As Simon gestured for his mother to take a seat after admitting that he stole from his previous employer, Roy, his mother wobbled slightly while holding her head due to the headache the revelation caused.

She had no choice but to sit, and then Simon began speaking.

”The reason I stole this money is because we need it. I know how terribly we’ve been living, and I know that we can’t continue living like this, or we’ll die. And I don’t want to die anytime soon.”

Simon paused, then picked up a bone coin.

”If you’re worried about anybody finding out it was me, you don’t have to be. As you know, a lot of time has passed, and nobody suspects me.”

Lyssa glanced at the bone coin in Simon’s hand before shifting her gaze to her son’s face.

Looking into her son’s cat-like eyes, which were filled with calmness and not a single trace of fear, the fear and worry she had within her dissipated.

A mixture of concern, pride, and relief could be seen in her eyes as she glanced at the bone coins in front of her.

”I never knew a day would come where my son would have to resort to stealing just to put food on the table...” Lyssa looked down at her hands and legs, which were more bone than flesh, and a wry smile and soft chuckle escaped her lips. ”...I don’t even know how I feel about this. But I strangely feel... relieved... like a huge burden has been removed from my back.”

Simon smiled when he heard his mother’s words. ”I know it isn’t the right thing to do. But—”

His mother cut him off and gave him a strange look. ”It isn’t the right thing to do? There’s no right or wrong here—especially in the Wild Lands, son. The only thing that matters is survival.”

”If I had the courage and ability to steal from others and take more risks, I would have. What you did is not wrong. I’m proud that you were able to accomplish this feat... I’m just worried about the consequences—about the tribal chief and the others finding out that you’re a thief.”

”Two bonecrafters left the tribe, and the tribal chief is angry and frustrated. Many people have been talking about how losing two bonecrafters is going to affect the tribe even more.”

”If you’re caught, they’ll definitely kill you... and me too, since I’m your mother. They’ll definitely suspect me.”

”I’m proud of you, but I’m also concerned for you. I don’t care if what you did hurt others. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself in the process. If I were a better mother, I would have taken these risks myself instead of putting my son in danger. But I’m not.”

A self-deprecating chuckle escaped from Simon’s mother, and then she slowly and affectionately rubbed his head.

”Just be careful, as always, Blackmoon. Your life is worth more than some bone coins.”

Simon stared at his mother with a stunned and conflicted expression.

His mother noticed his look and assumed that he wore such an expression because he had expected her to scold him, not encourage him.

But how could she? When he was only trying to ensure that they survived in this brutal land.

And she was right—but not completely.

Simon looked this way because he had not expected her to encourage him at all. He had expected her to discourage him from stealing, to warn him of the consequences, and to tell him that it was better to endure hardship than suffer the dangers that came with theft.

That was what a mother was meant to do for her child. A mother was meant to think of the future—to know that stealing only had immediate benefits, while the consequences in the future could be far more deadly than anything else.

But Simon forgot one thing entirely.

He was in the demon realm. He was not on Earth, where humans lived. He was in the land of demons—beings of evil and wickedness.

Evil was natural to them, and to his mother, who was a demon, there was no such thing as right or wrong. There was only survival.

Even if their entire tribe had to die for the two of them to survive, it was acceptable to her.

Survival was the ultimate goal for all demons, and 99.99999% of the time they would commit evil deeds to achieve it—because it was in their nature.

’Demons and humans are completely different. Although humans can also be evil, they have something called a conscience.’

’Every human has a conscience that makes them feel something when they do something bad, but demons don’t have that. Demons are fundamentally different.’

’...And I’ve become one of them... I’ve always suppressed the thought of being a demon, but how do I truly feel about becoming one?’

’I can’t go back to Earth to live like a human. I’ll be killed and hunted. Heck, I don’t even know how many years have passed since my death. Nobody in this tribe knows the date—maybe higher-ranking organizations would—but the main point is that I can’t live like a human.’

’I’m a demon. I can only live and thrive in the demon realm. But do I really have to become a demon to thrive here? Do I have to become truly evil?’

Simon’s eyes sharpened as he inwardly shook his head.

’No!’

’I fought for Earth for over six decades, and there’s no way I’ll become the very enemy of Earth.’

’Sure, I might be a demon, but my goal is to rise and become the strongest in the demon realm—and prevent the destruction of Earth by demons... if it hasn’t already happened.’

Simon released a slow, inward sigh, then looked at his mother, who was counting the number of mid-grade bone coins in the pouch.

’Let’s leave all of that for now. I don’t have enough information to decide my future path.’

’For now, I need to get stronger, leave this tribe for a better place—if possible, a clan, even if it’s a minor one.’

’After that, I’ll gather information, grow stronger, and then save Earth... if it hasn’t been destroyed.’