—Amiya's Point of View
The halls of Moniyan were lined with crystal light—but Amiya only felt shadows.
Every day she walked the palace, Matt in her arms or trailing behind her, she felt the weight of every law she had shattered to keep him alive. To the other Eternals, he was just a rescued orphan. To the High Tribunal, a warborn refugee.
But to her?
He was the last thread of a world extinguished.
He was her son.
The first years were quiet.
She raised him in a hidden wing of the palace—one abandoned by decree after the First Balance War. It still echoed with remnants of divine energies, and none dared enter.
Matt was... different.
He laughed early. Walked early. Fought shadows in his sleep.
At age three, he called down a storm when frightened.
By six, he could shape raw celestial light—without training.
The other gods whispered. A child like this hadn't been born since the Age of Binding.
Amiya silenced the rumors with charm, divinity, and manipulation. She blurred records, altered memories. All for one goal:
Keep Matt hidden.
---
One evening, she found him sitting in the old library, staring at a statue of Pailance—their grandmother.
"Why does everyone here look at me like I'm a crack in the wall?"
Amiya paused.
"Because cracks let in light, Matt."
He frowned. "I don't want to be light. I just want to belong."
Her heart broke. She reached for him.
But he pulled away.
"You're not like me. You're a god. I'm... not."
She kneeled beside him.
"You're right. You're something more."
That night, she didn't sleep. She stared at the stars, wondering if protecting him was truly saving him—or caging him.
---
One year later...
The Council summoned her.
She walked into a chamber filled with golden flame and silence. The Five Imperial Paladins stood at the center.
Monshin spoke first.
"We have reason to believe a forbidden bloodline resides within this palace."
Amiya didn't flinch. "You believe much. But truth requires proof."
Analice smirked. "We will find it. You can't hide him forever."
Back in her quarters, Amiya kissed Matt's forehead and cast one final ward around their chamber. She whispered to the air:
"If they come, wake me. No matter the price."
The ward pulsed with her soul.
And that night—Matt's dreams changed.
He dreamed of Nyuga.
He dreamed of flames.
He dreamed of a sword made of shadow.
The future was beginning to whisper.