As fast as his speed carried him, Kaiser witnessed the swirling clematis petals completely swallow Eane and the person beside him.
The pale light vanished almost instantly.
Only a few glowing petals remained drifting in the cold night air before slowly fading away one after another.
"Eane—! No!!!"
His voice echoed violently across the cavern basin.
Kaiser lunged forward and grabbed the remaining petals before they could disappear completely, crushing them tightly inside his trembling hand. The soft glow staining his fingers only made the emptiness before him feel more real.
He was too late again.
A violent tremor ran through his chest.
Then—
Boom!
His fist slammed into the ground hard enough to crack the soil beneath him.
"Why did I come too late?!"
The cavern basin shook faintly.
Loose stones tumbled downward while nearby flowers bent violently beneath the pressure leaking from his body.
His breathing turned ragged.
Fragments of purple-black mana flickered around his arm like smoke escaping from burning flesh.
He remembered it clearly.
The moment Eane pushed him away.
The look inside his eyes.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Just exhaustion.
Kaiser's fingers dug deeper into the dirt.
"Why..." His voice cracked apart quietly. "Why did you look at me with such worn-out eyes... Brother?"
Another punch followed.
The ground caved deeper beneath him.
Fresh blood stained his knuckles almost immediately, yet he continued as though he could bury the helplessness clawing inside his chest along with the shattered earth.
Then—
something soft wrapped gently around his wrist.
A vine.
"Stop it, Kaiser."
The voice was weak.
Fragile.
"Don't hurt yourself."
Kaiser's body froze instantly. He turned sharply. Only then did he notice her standing nearby.
Martha.
The moment Kaiser saw her clearly beneath the fading light, his entire body froze.
Her figure looked thinner somehow. Unstable.
As though the wind itself could scatter her apart.
The pale glow surrounding her body flickered unsteadily now, like moonlight reflecting across disturbed water. Parts of her figure had already begun fading into drifting particles of light carried away by the wind.
Kaiser's face immediately paled.
"G-Grandma...?"
He rushed toward her at once, both hands instinctively grabbing her cold fingers.
"H-how...?" His breathing became uneven. "W-why?"
His voice sounded smaller than before.
"You said..." He swallowed harshly. "You said you still had a month left..."
So why now?
Why did this happen?
The fear inside him rose so quickly it nearly suffocated him.
Would he witness it again?
Another death.
Another person disappearing from his hands while he could do nothing except watch.
Losing someone was not pain that simply disappeared with time.
Even after years passed...
Even after everyone else slowly moved forward...
Part of him remained there.
Stuck.
Unmoving.
The memories he buried the deepest always returned during moments like this. Empty rooms. Cold hands. Voices that would never answer him again.
It was like losing a piece of himself forever.
And afterward—
He began fearing the future more than the past.
Because now, every smile carried the fear of someday losing it.
He started counting days without meaning to.
Moments.
Conversations.
Breaths.
Wondering when the people beside him would disappear too.
Like living inside an endless cycle where grief simply waited for its turn to return.
Treasuring someone deeply was terrifying.
Because once they were gone—
the heart would never truly heal the same way again.
The scars remained.
Always.
A tear nearly escaped Kaiser's eyes.
Martha chuckled softly upon seeing his frightened expression.
"I never imagined..." Her weak laughter trembled faintly between breaths. "That you could make such a face, child..."
Her wrinkled fingers brushed gently beneath his eye, wiping away the rare droplet before it could fully fall.
Kaiser held her hands tighter.
As though loosening his grip even slightly would cause her to disappear completely.
The coldness of her skin terrified him.
Then Martha noticed it.
The dark particles leaking from his wounded hand, covered in wet glove stained with blood.
She immediately removed the glove and checked it thoroughly.
Kaiser's mana circulated violently beneath his veins in chaotic waves, while the foreboding insignia glowed faintly.
Her expression immediately darkened.
"Son..." Her voice turned quieter. "I told you not to rely on that power whenever possible."
The black mana flickered again around his fingers like living shadows.
"It will taint your mind," she whispered painfully. "And slowly drag you toward madness."
Kaiser lowered his gaze silently.
He already knew.
But some battles could not be won without becoming monstrous himself.
Especially when the world itself kept demanding sacrifices from him.
Some people simply deserved to disappear for the world to remain peaceful.
Martha's chest tightened painfully seeing him like this.
Both of the children she treasured most carried hearts that constantly abandoned themselves for others.
And neither of them seemed to realize their own worth.
With the last remnants of her strength, the vines wrapped around Kaiser's wounded hand began glowing faintly.
Warm light spread slowly across his skin.
The torn flesh around his knuckles gradually closed while the violent black mana circulating around him weakened little by little.
Kaiser's eyes widened immediately.
"Grandma, no!"
He instinctively tried pulling away.
But Martha gently held his face before he could.
Her trembling fingers rested against his cheeks while her tired eyes looked directly into his.
She knew.
Her time was near.
"Son... listen carefully."
The wind blew softly across the cavern basin, carrying the scent of flowers and damp earth around them.
"Keep your promise."
Her voice weakened further.
"Always take care of yourself."
Kaiser's lips trembled slightly.
"Don't skip your meals," she whispered. "Sleep properly. Rest when you're tired."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"And take care of your brother."
The cold air suddenly felt unbearable against Kaiser's chest.
"Promise me."
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then slowly—
he nodded.
That alone made Martha smile brightly. A gentle smile filled with both pride and sorrow.
Kaiser. A child born beneath a night swallowed by darkness. A child destined to witness countless deaths. His road would be filled with poison, blood, and thorns.
'Such a cruel fate.'
Martha slowly lifted her hand and brushed his hair one last time.
"Kaiser... my pitiful child."
The glowing particles surrounding her body began scattering faster now.
"If you truly wish to change your fate..." Her voice softened. "Find the man who took Eane away."
Kaiser's eyes sharpened instantly.
"He carries the answers you seek."
The wind suddenly grew colder.
Then—
the light around Martha scattered quietly into countless glowing petals.
A suffocating silence swallowed the whole place afterward. The area darkened as the clematis gradually dried up.
Kaiser remained kneeling there motionlessly.
His trembling hand still reached toward the empty space where she once stood.
The warmth lingering on his fingertips faded little by little until nothing remained.
Only the cold night wind answered him.
—
Several days later.
Deep within the Forest of Nivas stood a massive acacia tree stretching high above the surrounding woods. A small wooden house rested between its thick branches, hidden beneath layers of leaves and protective barriers.
Medicinal herbs hung drying beneath the roof.
The faint scent of plants and brewed medicine lingered quietly in the air.
Near the enormous roots beneath the tree—
a newly made grave rested peacefully beneath the shade.
Kaiser knelt silently before it.
Freshly cultivated soil darkened beneath the evening light while pale clematis flowers rested gently above the grave.
Beside them sat a cup of steaming tea. The same kind Martha used to prepare. Thin steam curled quietly upward into the cold air.
Kaiser remained there without moving.
Night came and went in silence. The golden dawn eventually broke, only to slowly fade into dusk as orange sunlight filtered softly through the forest leaves above him.
Another evening had arrived.
Still—
he stayed.
The forest was quiet except for the distant rustling of trees and the occasional chirping of insects hidden within the roots.
The cold teacup sat untouched, its steam long gone, mirrored by the rising mist of a second twilight. He finally stood, the grass rustling softly beneath his boots as he shook the stiffness from his limbs.
"Madam Grandma..."
His voice sounded hoarse from disuse.
"I might take years before I can return here again."
The wind stirred the clematis flowers softly.
Kaiser's gaze slowly lowered.
But the pressure surrounding him gradually sharpened afterward.
Cold.
Heavy.
Filled with restrained violence.
"But I, Kaiser Heinrich Syntellyizor..."
Dark mana flickered faintly around his hand again.
"I swear upon my name..."
His eyes darkened. The forest itself seemed to grow quieter.
"I will definitely save Eane and bring him back..." His fingers slowly tightened into a fist. "And I will tear the emperor from his Rusted Seat."
The wind passed silently through the trees.
As though the forest itself had heard his vow.