Before him stood Circe Augustus, the woman who had haunted his childhood, second only to the family curse that had shaped his life.

  Nier's jaw tightened, a surge of old resentment rising in his chest as he gred at her. His mother...Circe, the one person he could never fully escape, no matter how far he ran.

  Their retionship had always been a battlefield.

  Circe's obsessive, yandere-like devotion to his father left little room for him as her son, reducing her care to the bare essentials... feeding him, clothing him, ensuring he survived. Her version of parenting was cold and calcuted, hours spent drilling him in martial arts, teaching him the art of killing, and even instructing him on how to hide a body or erase his tracks.

  Each day, she dedicated exactly one hour to his training, her lessons precise but devoid of warmth.

  Beyond that, Nier had no memories of her ever spending time with him, no moments of affection or connection. It was as if he were a tool to be sharpened, not a son to be loved.

  When Nier turned eighteen, Circe's demeanor shifted. She spoke of him taking her pce, a cryptic demand he didn't understand at the time.

  Even the st message his mother ever told him before she supposedly kill herself with Dad was...

  "They will come, and when they do, all will be destroyed, and remade."

  Whatever that meant.

  Now, standing in the surreal expanse of Eden, he was beginning to grasp what she meant.

  He hated to admit it, but if he ever hoped to surpass her, he would need to study her journal, learn her craft, and master the dark arts she wielded so effortlessly, that made her into a Warlock.

  But then, she finally spoke once again.

  "Child of Circe."

  She said, her tone calm, despite his clear anger towards her.

  "Your memories are mistaking me for someone I am not."

  Nier's brow furrowed, confusion warring with his resentment.

  "My memories... ha what are you talking about?"

  "Still."

  She interrupted, a faint smile tugging at her lips, a smile he has never seen own mother gave him.

  Then continued.

  "...seeing me as your mother is your own doing. I appear to those in this realm as the person they most desire to see, the one they cannot forget, no matter how hard they try. I am not your dearest Circe."

  Nier's heart lurched, his mind racing. Before he could respond, the woman stepped closer, her hand reaching out to rest gently on his chest.

  The moment her fingers touched him, the glowing red brand etched across his skin fred to life, pulsing with a warm, almost painful light. It reacted to her, as if recognizing her presence.

  Realization hit him like a thunderbolt.

  "You're Mnemosyne aren't you!?"

  He whispered, and the woman smile widened, her eyes gleaming with a maternal care.

  "Indeed, I am Mnemosyne, one of the five Dracas, and one of the immutable gods of this world. I marked you, child, binding your essence to mine. That brand...

  She said, her fingers tracing the glowing lines.

  "...is my cim on you, a tether to the power you've only begun to wield."

  "I see, why me then, why give me this mark!?"

  Mnemosyne’s eyes glinted with a bitter edge, her voice low and sharp.

  "I don't know why I took her form...call it a whim, or perhaps it is tied to Ishtar's curse. Isn't that what you want to hear, impure one? I know your family's curse well, cast by a being so horrific it surpasses even me and Mother."

  Nier's chest tightened at the mention of the curse, the weight of his childhood resentment fring. Mnemosyne continued, her tone softening but still heavy with meaning.

  "To cut a long story short, I gave you this mark because Circe was once my chosen, a daughter of the great Sun Helios. Her story stretches back to the Age of Gods, before Ceres sundered Heaven from Earth and banished the gods to the Mind Womb, I am merely giving you what Circe didn't have the opportunity to properly pass on."

  Nier's brow furrowed, his voice a mix of relief and unease.

  "Oh, I am basically her repcement, good to know. Not that I am compining, but why do I see you as my mother? It doesn't make sense. I can't stand that woman."

  Mnemosyne's expression softened, though her gaze remained piercing.

  "Eden is a realm or a Nexus of dreams, memories, and lost truths, a collective mindspace above the mortal pne, it is for all intended purpose, a literal imagery void that operates above reality usual time space metric, a pce of imaginary time, as such time here is more greater than time within the universe of our world, accessible only through dreaming, it this universe astral pne. It is akin to the Mind Womb to a degree but far lesser, a pce you've touched from what I am sensing, likely because of that being who loves you so dearly."

  Her voice carried a cautious edge, as if wary of naming Kaly.

  "Eden shows you what lingers in your heart. Deep down, you crave your mother's attention, despite your hatred towards her. Her love for you was stifled by Ishtar's curse, a cruel force that imposes senseless love upon another. It is a pity, truly she was unlucky to have been afflicted by it when she met eyes with your father forty years ago."

  "For that I would advise you not to abuse the gift of your family curse. In your predecessor's hands, it was a terrible thing to have, it had brought nothing but misfortune, pain, and misery, but in yours, it has been a strange kind of blessing, hasn't it? You've gained immense power in so little time. So the Yandere around you doesn't seem scary because you can handle them, control was something no Augustus man had until you gained it."

  However Nier shrugged at Mnemosyne cim, his tone defiant.

  "No offense, but I am not making any promises like that. I am no hero or chosen savior. I look out for myself, my own gains, and my own pleasure, fuck chivalry, and fuck heroism, heroes are always the first die anyways. If this curse gives me an edge in any way whatsoever, I am damn well taking it. I really don't give a shit about the right thing to do, it's either I get something out of it or no one does, it's as simple as that."

  Mnemosyne studied him, a flicker of disapproval crossing her face, tempered by a faint smile.

  "Like mother, like son the both you, natrual born asshole's. You're just like Circe in that regards...scheming, self-serving, and care only about what they want. I can't stop you from wielding that power, but I can offer guidance. Whether you listen is up to you."

  "Thanks, I suppose."

  Nier said, his voice dry.

  "But why am I here? Just to talk?"

  Mnemosyne's gaze sharpened, her voice taking on a purposeful tone.

  "Not quite. I brought you here for training. But you must find Brunhilde."

  "Brunhilde? Ahhh I did heard you mentioned her before, why do I need to find this Brunhilde chick!?"

  Nier asked, his curiosity piqued.

  "She was the leader of the Valkyries, guardians of the World Trees in ancient Gaia."

  Mnemosyne expined.

  "Ha!?, Wait Dracas exist back then too?'

  "Dracas awaken only when the world faces peril. As you should already have guess we awaken when the Cleave manifested in our World."

  Nier's eyes widened, as he said.

  "So the story about Dracas and Flux energy is a lie?"

  "A convenient falsehood... But there is a smudge of truth to it."

  Mnemosyne said, her tone sharp.

  "The world's leaders hide our true nature, weakening us in the process as they don't want us to accumute too much worship at once. But the truth will resurface soon enough. As much as they try to make us important, many see us as a source of worship, given Hestas or modern- day Valkyries I like to call them, exist because of us, so their pn to hinder us is such a major L in the end."

  She bluntly said, causing Nier to sigh and asked.

  "...I see, so what are you going to teach me then?"

  "Hmm, I have seen you have already casted False Reality, and passively used Memory Zone, both are good low level spells, however, their is a lot spells inside my Brand. But for now forget spell casting you have no experience with, let's focus on the first spell you used while unconscious."

  "...The first spell, and what is that!?"

  "Relive."

  "Relive, and what does that do, wait is it...

  "Yes it spell that made you relive the life memories of your ancestor Trevor Augustus."

  "I see, yes I want to learn to control that spell, it is the perfect spell for me."

  "Hmm, is it because of the Negativity?"

  "...Don't worry I won't pry any further than that, the memories the world had experience with you in it speak a great deal about that weird power you have to create Dark Spells at the cost of Negativity. Just be cautious on how you use that power boy, then and again, like your mom and many Warlock's before you, all of them have pyed with the Eldritch powers of the Outer Gods to attain unmatched power strong enough to kill even the Gods. Power beyond logic are dangerous things, Absolute power corrupts absolutely you know."

  "Meh sanity is overrated anyways."

  "..."

  "..."

  "I take back what I said, your just Circe with a Dick."

  "I am nothing like that woman."

  "No you are a lot like her, to be honest if she wasn't your mom, and her love wasn't due to your family curse, you two would be a match made in heaven if you ever met. Two egoistical asshole's with hunger for power and knowledge."

  "...Why did you help my mom?"

  "You mean why did I made her my chosen, simple! As much as a bitch Circe was, she was a good person at heart, I like to believe you are like that as well."

  "..."

  "..."

  "Should I take back my Brand then!?"

  "Meh you can have it, I don't need it anyways. I am powerful without immutability on my side either way."

  "..."

  "..."

  "... I change my mind, you are a much bigger asshole than even Circe!?"

  "...You can have it, I won't take it back."

  "You do know, I am going to do a lot of questionable things with it right!?"

  "Most likely."

  "I might destroy the world you know."

  "All thing have to come to an end some day."

  "..."

  "..."

  Silence fill the void between them again as Nier sighed and said.

  "Do you have a thing for me or something, no sane Goddess would give an evil person power like this!?"

  "Evil is a Subjective word, what one might see as evil, might actually be good to another."

  "And the thing about me having a thing for you, then the answer is, No. You just remind me of my dear friend Circe, sigh dearest Circe I truly do miss you."

  "So I am just my mother's repcement!?"

  "If that makes you sleep at night then sure."

  "... What about the things about the Gods!?"

  "... Oh that, yeah Ceres barrier is not a permanent thing, it's slowly withering. This world will end the day it breaks."

  "Do you want me to stop it?"

  "I am sure the Hestas will be enough, but I would like if you would help too."

  Said Mnemosyne to Nier.

  "Look, I won't promise anything, but I will help if they tamper with my own pns."

  "Mother will kill you and I both the moment she breaks free and escapes the Mind Womb, maybe that can serve as good motivation?"

  "Not if I kill the bitch first, by the way, it's clear to me my curse don't work on you a single bit, but why!?"

  "I will tell you if you master ten of my spells, so far you mastered none, but use three of them in a single night, quite the impressive feat you know, your affinity to me is even stronger than I thought."

  "Well then, start teaching me already."

  "Sure... You see those people over there?"

  "Yeah what about them!?"

  Nier asked.

  "Those are different people across the world dreaming, or some of them atleast, try touching one of them."

  Mnemosyne said to Nier.

  "Hmm sure."

  With that, Nier got up, and began to walked towards one of the featureless silhouettes.