She looked at me softly, her eyes curving faintly even though her lips never moved.
The pale vines wrapped around her arms flickered weakly, their green glow barely reaching the edges of the hidden basin anymore as darkness slowly swallowed the rest. Strong breeze drifted through the cavern beneath the cliff while flowers swayed quietly around us, their faint sweet scent lingering in the air.
"Madam... Grandma?"
Eane's voice cracked behind me.
I turned immediately.
His eyes slowly opened, unfocused at first like he was still trapped somewhere between sleep and pain. Then he noticed the vines connecting their bodies, and panic instantly shattered whatever weakness remained in him.
"Stop!"
His body jerked violently, scattering glowing petals across the stone floor as the vines tightened around his arms.
"You shouldn't do this!" His breathing turned ragged. "I... I don't deserve it!"
He reached for the vines, but I grabbed both his wrists before he could touch the spell.
"Stay still."
The moment my fingers touched him, a chill ran through my skin.
"If the ritual breaks now, both of you could lose your mana hearts."
The glowing patterns beneath the clematis flickered unstably for a moment.
Eane froze.
Then the strength left him almost immediately afterward.
His shoulders trembled once before his hands slowly covered his face, though not before I caught the tears gathering in his eyes.
"...Ma... stop..."
The words barely escaped him.
"I don't want to admit it anymore..." His voice shook unevenly between breaths. "But... I'm bad luck."
Silence settled over the basin. Even the wind seemed quieter around us.
"My parents... and now you..."
Tears slipped through the gaps of his fingers, falling onto the glowing petals below.
"I don't understand why I need to be saved."
Something tightened painfully inside my chest.
"Why I should keep living."
His lips trembled weakly.
"Even my siblings looked happier after I disappeared."
No one answered him.
The old woman's hands continued trembling as she maintained the spell, thin strands of light still moving through the vines though much slower now.
Then Eane looked at her again.
His eyes were already red.
"Grandma..." His voice sounded frighteningly small. "I don't want to live if it means trading your life for mine."
For the first time since meeting her, I truly noticed how tired she looked.
Not physically.
It was something deeper than that, the kind of exhaustion that settled into someone's soul after carrying too much for far too long.
The old woman lowered her hands and gently pulled Eane closer into her arms.
"Don't say that, my dear."
Her voice was warm, yet fragile enough to break apart.
"I've already lived long enough," she whispered softly. "Seen more than enough for one lifetime."
A faint scent of herbs and damp earth clung to her robes as she held him close.
"Now it's your turn to continue the story."
Eane bit hard against his lip while her wrinkled fingers slowly brushed through his white hair.
"Even if I'm no longer here, you still have Kaiser."
The clematis swayed quietly beneath the night breeze.
"If your brothers and sisters turn away, he won't."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"You know how much that child treasures you."
Eane's shoulders trembled harder beneath her embrace.
"We're family, Eane," she whispered. "So please... don't say things like that."
"K-Kaiser is destined for greatness," Eane whispered shakily. "If I can't become his strength... then I don't want to become something that drags him down."
The old woman's expression softened with quiet sadness.
"Oh, Eane..."
She pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead.
"You still don't understand how precious you are to us."
After that, Eane buried his face against her shoulder while his quiet sobs disappeared into the fabric of her robe. Around us, the flowers continued swaying beneath the moonlight as the air shifted through the basin.
And for the first time, I finally understood what kind of person Eane truly was.
He wasn't weak or fragile.
Just tired.
Tired of surviving.
Tired of believing everyone who loved him would eventually suffer because of him.
The realization settled heavily inside my chest, and guilt followed almost immediately after.
Because I knew something they didn't.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Eane was never meant to survive this long.
And somehow...
that thought disgusted me now.
As if sensing it, the old woman suddenly reached out and brushed my hair lightly. Her fingers were warm despite the cold night air.
"It's not your fault, my dear."
Those words nearly broke something inside me.
I lowered my gaze toward the flowers beneath my feet.
"...Are you the former princess of Lazelluan Forest?" I asked quietly. "The lost princess of the Elven Kingdom?"
Surprise appeared on her face. Wind stirred her golden hair while silence stretched between us.
Then she smiled.
Tired.
Almost nostalgic.
"It has been a very long time since someone called me by that title."
So it really was true.
She wiped the blood lingering at the corner of her lips before sitting beside Eane atop the glowing petals.
"You know far too much for someone claiming to be a simple wanderer."
I stiffened slightly.
"...And you know far too much for someone who shouldn't know about me either."
A soft laugh escaped her lips.
"My dear, there are many things in this world that exist beyond fate's written pages."
Cold air swept through the basin, carrying glowing pollen into the air as the flowers moved softly around us.
It wasn't her words that unsettled me.
It was the way she spoke about fate.
Like it wasn't absolute.
Her eyes lowered toward Eane's sleeping face. Without fear clouding his expression, he looked younger somehow beneath the moonlight.
Too young.
Too innocent.
"This child has suffered greatly," she whispered.
The guilt returned almost immediately after hearing those words.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
"You regret it."
Her quiet voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I stared silently at the glowing petals beneath my feet before finally answering.
"...I do."
The old woman remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
"The world listens closely to those who shape fate," she said softly. "Especially those who abandon it midway."
The cold suddenly felt sharper against my skin.
"...What does that mean?"
She lightly brushed a glowing flower petal beneath her fingertips.
"When a creator leaves behind an unfinished story, the suffering inside it does not disappear."
"The grief remains. The pain remains."
Her eyes slowly lifted toward me.
"And unfinished destinies continue searching for an ending."
Not even I could find words after that. Only the distant sound of wind moving through the cliffs echoed faintly around us while glowing pollen drifted beneath the moonlight.
Then—
Crunch.
A faint sound echoed from the darkness.
Both of us froze instantly.
Another step followed shortly after.
Footsteps.
Someone was descending.
The atmosphere shifted immediately as the warmth surrounding the flowers vanished beneath a suffocating pressure that rolled across the cliff like a storm.
Cold.
Violent.
Overwhelming.
Even the glowing vines recoiled instinctively, retreating closer toward the old woman's sleeves.
Then a familiar voice echoed from above.
"...Eane."
Kaiser.
At the same moment, sharp pain exploded through my hand.
I nearly hissed aloud as the eye buried beneath my skin started burning again.
[Warning: The Protagonist is within a fifty-meter radius.]
Of course he found us already.
The old woman sighed softly beside me.
"My troublesome grandson arrived faster than expected."
Meanwhile, my soul nearly left my body.
I immediately tried forcing myself upright.
"...Ow."
Pain instantly shot through my entire body.
The old woman glanced toward me with visible amusement.
"My dear," she said gently, "you currently resemble a dying fish attempting to walk."
'That was unnecessarily accurate.'
Her gaze slowly lifted toward the cliff above us before her expression softened slightly.
"Young man," she said quietly, "that child... and the one approaching... both carry the future this world needs."
Her tired eyes met mine.
"Guide them well."
A strange heaviness settled inside my chest.
"For now," she continued softly, "your soul and Kaiser's are not yet in harmony."
The way she said it made my stomach tighten again.
Like she could see far more than she should.
She carefully lifted the sleeping Eane before placing him back into my arms. His body still felt cold, though his breathing had finally steadied.
Then she brushed away the remaining tears on his face and kissed his forehead gently.
"And now..." Her voice trembled faintly. "Before Kaiser reaches us... you must leave."
She stepped back slowly before raising her staff.
The moment it touched the ground, glowing clematis petals bloomed around us in swirling waves of pale light as a magic circle spread beneath my feet.
Warm air rushed upward while glowing petals spun around us like drifting feathers, brushing softly against my skin.
For some reason, seeing her standing there alone filled my chest with unbearable sadness.
Before I could stop myself, the question escaped
my lips.
"Wait... what's your name?"
The woman smiled softly.
"Martha."
Moonlight rested across her golden hair while flowers swayed quietly around her feet.
Her eyes curved gently as she looked toward me one last time.
"I hope you succeed this time... my dearest."
Then the petals closed around us completely.