Everlasting dream (18+)

The journey had been long, difficult, and very exhausting. Aster had lost count of how many times his legs gave out, sending them both crashing to the ground. Despite the pain and fatigue, he never complained, always getting back up and pushing forward as if nothing had happened.
With each new step, his vision became blurrier. Was it because of exhaustion or just sweat dripping into his eyes? He wasn't sure. Probably both. At some point, his mother began to tell him the direction where to walk, helping him avoid obstacles such as fallen branches or protruding roots. His focus was entirely on moving one foot ahead of another.
Nivalis pulled Silia into a
, pushing the young girl's head against her soft chest. "She's okay, honey," Nivalis
her son, gently stroking Silia's head. "She's safe... Thank the gods..." she whispered,
Aster was flat on his back, struggling for breath, his chest heaving up and down
. His heart was racing wildly, making his blood
in his ears.
He couldn't move, talk, or even think straight.
"H-honey... Aster?" Nivalis called out, her voice trembling. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
Suddenly, her soft lips met his, pushing warm water into his mouth. Aster gasped, choking as he attempted to swallow the liquid. It tasted terrible; the sulfuric
made his tongue feel strange, but he continued to swallow it, occasionally coughing. Over and over, Nivalis kept moving back and forth between her son and the water pool, kissing the boy's lips and forcing water into his mouth.
When Aster opened his eyes, the cave bathed in the morning sun's golden light greeted him. A small opening in the ceiling let the sunlight flood in, brightening every corner. He groaned softly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and lifted his head to look around.
A wave of pain hit him. A dull, throbbing ache spread through his body, from his toes to his head. It felt like he'd been tossed down a mountain.
Aster mumbled, squinting his eyes to make the world stop spinning. "Wh-where's Silvia?"
"She's right here, honey," Nivalis replied, coming into view. She sat beside him, smiling at her son. Her silver hair was messy, and her face was all dirty
"How are you feeling?"

"Ugh... I'd love to, but we need to get our stuff. It's still in the forest," Aster said, wincing at the thought of walking.
"Oh, right... If it rains, everything will get soaked..." Nivalis realized, sighing. "Are you sure you can walk?"
"A bit," Nivalis admitted, looking concerned.
'Maybe I should use my new spell again? Just once or twice won't hurt,' he thought, staring at his legs. 'Yeah,' he decided, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Slowly and carefully, he gathered the ignited mana in his chest, feeling the familiar warmth
inside him.
Then, Aster pictured how the formed mana traveled through his body, reaching his legs and back and spreading evenly across them. The feeling wasn't nice, far from it, but unfortunately, Aster had gotten used to it. 'There, done. Thirty drops for each, just like yesterday.'
He looked up at the sky, watching it turn gray and gloomy. Thick clouds were forming above the forest, warning of incoming rain. Aster sighed deeply and muttered a curse under his breath. "
" he said, pulling his boots back on.
Aster let out a groan as he pushed himself up, wincing at the pain that shot through his body with the sudden movement. He took a few cautious steps forward, testing his legs. The effect wasn't huge, but it was noticeable. At least he wasn't limping anymore, so it was worth it. He nodded to himself
and started walking through the forest
Finding the marks he left on the trees was harder than he thought. "Come on, where did I leave them?" he mumbled, scratching his head in frustration and searching the forest for any sign of the marks. But there was nothing. Instead, he
'Mom is probably freaking out right now because I'm taking so long. Maybe I should go back and try again tomorrow?' Aster thought about it, glancing back the way he came. 'But then our stuff will get soaked... And we can forget about eating today... Ugh,' he sighed, shaking his head. 'No, keep looking. If I don't find it in half an hour, I'll head back,' he decided and continued his search.

"This... can't be true," Aster muttered, his voice shaking. He quickly pushed away the leaves and branches, hoping to find anything. But there was nothing. Their belongings were gone. "No, no, no. This is bad. So bad," he whispered, looking around the forest in terror.
The wind picked up, and the first raindrops fell from the dark sky.
"No, no, no," Aster repeated, pacing back and forth in a panic. He couldn't believe this was happening. Their stuff. Their only belongings, a lifetime's worth of memories, had disappeared.
'Tracks, there might be tracks,' Aster thought, frantically searching for any signs in the dirt. The rain wasn't heavy yet, so footprints could still be seen. And sure enough, he found them. Aster could see the small footprints of a goblin in the wet mud, heading south, further away from their new cave.
'Okay, good. I can follow the trail,' he thought, taking a deep, calming breath. His heart was racing from the stress. 'I need to find out where this goblin took our stuff before it's not too late... So we can make a plan to get everything back,' he decided, nodding.
Aster started following the tracks without wasting
, moving as fast as his exhausted body allowed.
'Come on, where are you, you little rat,' Aster thought as he ducked under low-hanging branches and stepped over protruding roots. The tracks led him further south, deeper into the unfamiliar part of the forest. He kept marking the nearby trees to ensure he could find his way back.
'Dammit!' Aster swore, wiping the wet hair out of his eyes. He stood there panting, trying to figure out what to do. He only knew the direction the tracks had led him in. 'That's not good... Damnit!' he cursed, slapping his forehead. 'Alright... There's still a chance! I'll just follow the direction and hope for the best,'
And so, he did. Through the heavy rain, he went straight into the danger Aster had tried so hard to avoid. Ten minutes later, he noticed a faint orange light, faintly illuminating pine trees in the distance. 'Oh shit, oh shit,' he panicked, quickly hiding behind the closest tree.
"Alright, that stone and that big bush, and..." he looked around, trying to memorize his current location and the direction he had come from. "...okay, got it. Let's see what's up ahead," he thought, ducking into a nearby bush and looking forward through the leaves.
"The fire seemed to come from... below? It's probably a cave. Maybe if I am careful enough, I could sneak closer and see how many goblins are there. We need to know what we are dealing with," he nodded confidently. "Then I will go back to tell Mom."
Soon, he heard snoring. It was loud enough to be heard over the howling wind and falling rain. 'Alright, let's see,' he thought, carefully peeking down from behind the tree. A small cavern opening, similar to their old one, came into view, illuminated by a fire burning inside.
Aster took a deep, shaky breath, tightening his grip on the knife's handle. 'It's just one goblin, and it's sleeping. I can do this. Easy peasy... Just get in, stab its neck a few times, grab the stuff, and get out. Quick and easy,' he thought, biting his lower lip.
'Almost there, come on,' Aster thought, his golden eyes fixed on the goblin's exposed neck. His heart was pounding so loud that he was sure the creature would wake up any second.
"Krr... Krr..." The goblin snored and turned in its sleep, its sharp nails scraping against the rough stone floor.
Aster froze, holding his breath. He was only four steps away, but those four steps felt like a hundred. As he stared at the ugly creature, his hands started to shake, the knife's blade glinting in the firelight.
'You can do this, you can do this,' Aster repeated in his mind, forcing his feet to move again—two more steps, then one. 'Don't wake up,' he thought, moving his knife just above the creature's neck. When the blade touched its skin, its red eyes suddenly flew open.
Aster threw all his weight onto the knife, pressing it down into the creature's neck. He felt a lot of resistance as it sliced through the tough, grey skin. Blood sprayed out like a fountain, covering his face and cloak. The goblin let out a horrifying gurgle, its red eyes staring at him with disbelief and shock.
It tried to scream, but only a strange, bubbling sound came out of its throat, and its rows of sharp teeth snapped wildly. The creature thrashed around, its clawed hands trying to grab Aster. He twisted the knife, pulling it back and stabbing again. And again. And again.
"K-kkk... K-kk," the creature gurgled, blood gushing out of its throat and mouth. Its red eyes stayed locked on Aster's, filled with rage, hate, and... fear. Aster kept stabbing the creature until its eyes rolled back into its head.
The boy was suddenly hit with a wave of intense nausea, causing him to gag and retch. Bile rose in his throat as he staggered away from the corpse, spitting out the vomit that was mostly made up of the berries he had found on his way there. His eyes watered as he struggled to regain control. It took him a few moments to finally compose himself.
Aster sat on the ground, panting heavily. He looked down at his hands and clothes, covered in dark red blood. Then, he looked at the corpse, lying motionless on the ground in a pool of blood.
The storm was still raging, and the wind howled by. Aster shivered, feeling the heat of his mana slowly fade away, leaving behind a dull ache and sore muscles. Ignoring it all, he hurried through the forest, following the marks he had left.
When Nivalis heard someone limping towards her, she tried to stand up but was stopped by a sudden hug. "O-oh, Aster!" she mumbled, her voice trembling. "Honey... I was so worried," she whispered, holding her son tightly. "W-what happened?"
Aster was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. For a moment, he
, but Aster decided against it. Lying to her didn't feel right. "So, the thing is... Goblins found all our stuff... And I was stupid enough to try to get it back," he muttered, pressing his face against her chest. He could hear her heart pounding furiously after hearing his words.
"Wh-what? Honey... Are you alright? Why did you do such a thing?! Oh, gods, why?" she asked, her voice full of fear and concern. "Let me check you for wounds."
"I-I'm fine," Aster mumbled as his mother started to run her hands all over his body, ensuring he wasn't hurt. "It was just one goblin living in a small cave. He was sleeping when I got there, so I just... you know..." he explained, feeling her examine his arms for any cuts. "But... I didn't find everything, though. Just our backpack. I have no idea where our sack is."
"Quick, you might be bleeding somewhere and not even know it!" she said, trying to stand up. Aster helped her up, wincing in pain and groaning as he helped his mother walk back inside, hearing what was making her move even faster. "We need to make sure you're alright!"
Once inside the main cavern, Nivalis sat down on the wet stone, tugging at his soaked cloak. "Off. Take off your clothes. I need to check," she demanded, her voice shaking. Aster obeyed, his wet clothes sticking to his skin, making it difficult to remove them.
"Hurry, honey,"
"Oh, gods, oh, gods. Oh, gods," she repeated, her nose catching the faint scent of blood. It was completely dark inside, and she could only feel his skin, trying to find a wound.

"H-how? How can I calm down? You just returned covered in blood. Gods, I'm going to spank you all night long for this," she muttered, touching his hips, legs, and waist. Her fingers traced along his stomach and sides, searching for any cuts.
"I would gladly trade everything we own for you to be unharmed," she stated, feeling the soft skin between his thighs, trying to find any blood. "Sit down, mister. I can't even describe how angry I am at you for doing such a reckless, stupid, idiotic, and dangerous thing!" Nivalis scolded him, pushing him down by his naked hips. "Sit down. Now."
Aster sat on the ground, his mother's hands checking his chest and armpits. "Sorry," he muttered while she continued searching for wounds.
"You should be. How could you do something so... so... ugh," Nivalis groaned, running her fingers through his messy hair, checking for any cuts. "Turn around."
"I know, I know. I shouldn't have done it. But it worked. We got our stuff back. Kinda,"
and moved her hands down his waist... straight to
. Just in time, he pushed his legs together, causing her hand to touch his inner thighs instead. "M-Mom, I'm alright down there," he quickly informed her.
"Are you sure? Have you checked it properly, around and under as well, and checked for mites as I taught you?" she said, patting his legs and signaling for him to spread them. "Spread your legs. Let me check it quickly," she ordered, her voice stern.
— "Y-yes, I am sure, Mom," he stuttered, not opening his legs. 'This must be truly a curse... The moment she started checking on me, it got up again!
' he thought, biting his lip.
"Aster, don't argue. Come on," Nivalis insisted, touching his knees gently, trying to push his legs apart.
— "N-no, really. There's nothing," Aster assured her, keeping his legs closed. 'Come on, just stop! You behaved yourself the whole day I was outside. Stop it, this is not the time,' he begged his penis, hoping it would just go back to sleep.
"You're clearly hiding something. It's not the time to be embarrassed about it," Nivalis told him, patting his bare thighs, trying to convince him.
Aster exhaled heavily, giving in. Slowly, he opened his legs,

"Wait, what is... Oh... Oh!" she uttered,

She quickly pulled her hand away, her face blushing furiously in the dark. "Um... Okay, let's stop this," Nivalis muttered, coughing awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were just... shy," she mumbled,
"It's been a long, stressful day for both of us. I can barely keep my eyes open," his mother suggested, trying not to think about her son's erection. "Let's take a quick bath and get some sleep."
"Y-yeah. Let's do that," Aster nodded, quickly standing up and moving towards the hot spring. "And Mom? Can we reschedule my spanking for tomorrow? I'm very, very tired right now."
Aster gulped, a shiver running down his spine. "G-got it," he whispered, slowly getting into the water.