Chapter 174: Adelaide
The mainframe warship of Pandemonium’s order stood out like a beacon in continental war below.
Adonis sat in the command chair of the bridge, flanked by two massive Lord-level Dragons who acted as his living convoys, their presence warping the very air with draconic pressure.
In front of him, Vexa floated with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her translucent lips curled into a deep, exaggerated pout.
"I cannot believe you, Master! Truly! Even though I have a bottomless bank of Harem Force, I cannot let you have them in your curren rank," Vexa grumbled visibly.
Adonis’ violet eyes was uncharacteristic vulnerable.
"Vexa, please. This is different. You know who this is for."
Vexa sighed, her sulky expression softening just a fraction. "I know, I know. Adelaide. The woman who actually managed to put up with you before you became a terrifying world-conqueror. But Master, you must understand the rules of the system. Resurrection isn’t a game. The longer a soul stays in the higher realms, the more it detaches from the mortal coil. Millia was fresh. Your mother... she has been gone for months."
"Her body is in frozen time within the inventory," Adonis argued, his voice low and desperate. "The vessel is perfect. Please, Vexa. I’ll do anything. I’ll go on whatever ridiculous dates the system suggests. I’ll buy you that ’Ethereal Silk’ outfit you’ve been eyeing in the premium shop."
Vexa’s eyes lit up at the mention of the outfit, and she let out a long, dramatic huff.
"Fine! But this is the last time I am lending you points this month! If you want more, you better go start some more romantic sub-plots with your wives!"
Ding!
[ Host received +1,000,000 Harem Force from Vexa ]
[ Total Harem Force: 1,037,000 ]
Adonis didn’t wait for her to change her mind. He immediately navigated the holographic interface of the Harem Shop, his fingers moving with practiced precision.
[ Harem Shop ]
[ Item: Resurrection Fruit ]
[ Price: 1,000,000 HF ]
[ Purchase Successful! ]
[ Resurrection Fruit bought: 2/3 ]
The warning flashed in red: Only one more purchase of this item is allowed for this host.
Adonis felt a chill of caution, but he pushed it aside. Today, the only thing that mattered was the woman he had lost.
"Clear the bridge," Adonis commanded the dragons.
The Lord-level Dragons bowed their massive heads and retreated into the hangar, leaving Adonis alone in the quiet room.
With a trembling thought, he accessed his System Inventory.
In a shimmer of silver light, a crystal casket appeared in the center of the room. It dissolved into mist, leaving the body of a woman resting on a bed of velvet.
Adelaide looked exactly as he remembered. She wore a simple, elegant gown of pale blue. Her skin was fair and cool, her hands folded over her chest in eternal peace.
There was no sign of rot, no smell of decay.
The time-stasis had kept her as graceful and kind as the day her heart had stopped.
Adonis knelt beside her, the heart-shaped Resurrection Fruit glowing in his hand. He felt like the small boy again, the one who used to hide in her skirts to escape the Kingsbane guards.
"Mother," he whispered as a tear escaped his eyes, "I’m back. And I’m taking you back, too."
He crushed the fruit, the vibrant green juice glowing with a light that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of a beating heart. He carefully pried her lips open and allowed the divine nectar to flow.
For a long minute, nothing happened. The silence in the warship was suffocating.
Adonis felt a cold spike of terror.
Did I wait too long? Was the heaven she went to too beautiful to leave?
Suddenly, the green juice didn’t just sit on her tongue; it began to sink into her skin, turning her veins into glowing emerald rivers. The pale, waxen color of her flesh was replaced by a warm, healthy flush.
Thump.
The sound was faint, but in the quiet room, it sounded like a drum.
Thump-thump.
Adelaide’s chest heaved. She took a sharp, gasping breath, her fingers twitching against the velvet.
Adonis held his breath, his eyes stinging with tears he hadn’t let fall in years.
Slowly, her eyelids fluttered. She groaned softly, "agh"
"Mother?" Adonis asked, reaching out to take her hand. It was warm. It was alive.
Adelaide’s eyes opened. But as they focused on him, there was no spark of recognition.
She looked at his dark hair, his glowing violet eyes, and the regal, intimidating armor he wore. She shrank back slightly, her gaze moving around the high-tech bridge of the warship with genuine fear.
She looked at Adonis, her face tilting in a way that was heart-wrenchingly familiar, yet her words shattered the very foundation of his joy.
"Who are you, boy?"Where am I? Who... who am I?" she asked softly.
Adonis froze. His hand, still holding hers, began to shake. The Resurrection Fruit could mend the flesh and pull back the soul, but months in the higher realms had stripped her off her past life’s memories.
The memories of the Kingsbane manor, the struggles of a lowly concubine, and the son she had raised with every ounce of her strength were gone
To her, he was a stranger now
"It’s me, It’s Adonis. Your son."
Adelaide blinked, her eyes clouding with a gentle, melancholic confusion.
"Adonis? That is a beautiful name. But I... I don’t remember having a son. I don’t remember anything but a great, warm light."
She reached out, her fingers tentatively touching his cheek. Even without her memories, the instinct of the woman remained. Her touch was light, motherly, and filled with a natural kindness that transcended her amnesia.
She saw the tears falling down the face of the man who looked like a god, and her heart ached for him without knowing why.
"Please don’t cry, young man," she said kindly. "You look as though the responsibility of the entire world is on your shoulders. Are you a king? You look very much like a king."
Adonis lowered his head, resting it against her knees just as he had done as a child. The Dragon Emperor, the man who had summoned the Demon Emperor to devour thousands, was now sobbing like a lost orphan.
The success of the resurrection felt like a hollow victory. He had her body back, he had her soul back, but the mother who knew his favorite food and the way he liked his hair brushed was gone.
"I am a king, Mother," Adonis choked out, his shoulders heaving. "But I would give it all away for just one day where you remembered who I was."
Adelaide didn’t understand his words, but she felt his pain. She began to stroke his dark hair, her movements instinctive and rhythmic.
"I may not know your face, but I feel a strange peace when I am near you. It is as if my heart knows you, even if my head does not."
Adonis’ heart warmed. After all, a mother is closest to a child. Their heart knows a way to recognise them even if their mind cannot.