Kael struggled to open his eyes. His body lay weakly against the shifting floor of the dream—though no true floor existed, only the trembling surface of the lake. His chest heaved painfully. Each breath felt like glass scraping his lungs. He tried to rise, but his head refused to lift. The boy's violent grip had left his neck fractured; broken bones made every breath jagged and shallow.
The child of light—the one who resembled Kael's past life—remained beside him, clutching his hand tightly. The warmth from that grasp seeped into Kael, not harsh, not suffocating, but steady… as if sharing strength. Kael forced his eyes wider. Beyond that boy, he saw the other one—the hazel-haired child, the past he could never escape—still chasing the crimson butterfly with unrelenting fury.
Kael coughed violently, red spilling from his lips. The effort to draw in even the faintest breath nearly tore him apart. Just then—
A voice reached him.
Not the dragon. Not the beast.
But someone far away, from the waking world.
'Kael…' The voice was fragile, trembling with desperation.
It was Elric.
'Kael… wake up…'
Kael's blood-stained breath hitched.
The hazel-haired boy froze mid-step, startled. His head snapped toward the sky, his youthful face twisted with fury.
"No!!" he screamed, his voice cracking with a feral rage. "Who are you?! Shut the fuck up!!!" His cry shook the world itself.
His attention abandoned the butterfly. His eyes locked onto Kael, lying broken on the ground. "You don't get to take him from me!" His small frame surged with hatred as he sprinted forward.
Kael's blurred vision barely tracked the boy's approach—until the earth shook.
From behind Kael, a vast clawed hand emerged—scales dark as night, strength vast as mountains. The dragon's hand descended like a guardian, slamming into the ground between Kael and the charging boy. The impact sent tremors through the dreamscape.
The child skidded to a halt, blocked. His face twisted further, crimson veins pulsing under his skin.
"Get lost!!!" he shrieked, his fists pounding against the dragon's claw. "He's mine!!! He belongs to me!!!"
The air shattered like glass with each strike. The world convulsed.
Kael coughed again, choking as his lungs screamed. His own blood dampened the ground beneath him. The hazel-haired boy's fury reverberated so strongly it felt like Kael's chest would cave under the pressure.
And still, through it all, Elric's voice reached him again.
'Kael… please… open your eyes…'
The boy went wild, clawing and slamming against the dragon's hand, desperate to reach Kael. His screams grew raw, his eyes wide with madness. "You can't have him! He's mine! He'll never leave me!!!"
But the dragon's hand held steady, immovable as a mountain.
Inside Kael's mind, another voice resonated, deep and unwavering. The dragon's voice.
'Wake up… They are waiting for you…'
The sound thundered through his bones, yet was gentle, guiding. It was a voice the boy could not hear.
Kael turned his eyes weakly toward the dragon's claw, that immovable barrier shielding him. His lashes trembled as his tears fell silently.
'Close your eyes…' the dragon urged. 'When you see the light, reach for it… grasp it with all you have.'
Kael's vision blurred. His throat burned with the taste of iron. His lips trembled as his tears streaked down his pale face. His eyelids slid shut.
"No!!!" The boy's scream ripped the sky apart, his voice piercing, shattering the air. The dream began to unravel into shadow. Darkness swallowed the lake, swallowed the sky, swallowed even the trembling ground beneath them.
Kael obeyed. In the darkness, a single spark ignited. A light—small at first, then radiant. He reached out, his trembling hand stretching forward with the last of his will.
'Kael… don't leave us…'
Elric's voice called again, this time closer, clearer, desperate.
His hand broke through the void, closing around the light.
And everything exploded into brightness.
-----------------------------------------
A soft warmth lingered on Kael's hand. He stirred, faintly aware of a fragrance—like flowers carried by a gentle breeze. The crushing pain that had once torn through his neck was gone, dissolving as though the nightmare had finally released him.
With effort, his eyelids fluttered open. The dim light of the chamber filtered through, hazy and warm. At first, his vision blurred, but then… he saw her.
Elric.
Her hand was wrapped tightly around his fingers, knuckles pale, as if she would never let go. Her head rested against his chest, pressed close to his heart, as though terrified it would stop beating if she so much as loosened her hold.
Kael's free hand trembled, heavy and uncooperative, but he willed it upward. Slowly, with effort, he brushed his fingers against her hair. The strands slipped soft against his touch.
Elric flinched. Her body stirred, startled awake. She blinked rapidly, as if uncertain if what she saw was real. Their eyes met. In that moment, the fragile line between dream and waking broke.
Her lips parted. Tears welled at once, spilling down her cheeks.
"Kael…" Her voice cracked.
She collapsed against him, arms tightening, her cheek pressing into his as hot tears streaked across his pale skin.
Kael stiffened under the sudden rush of warmth and wetness, but he did not push her away. She trembled as though she had been holding back this flood of fear for far too long.
"Kael… you don't know how afraid I was…" she whispered through sobs. "I thought I had lost you… forever."
Confusion clouded his eyes. He studied her as she clung to him, her tears flowing without restraint. His voice rasped, weak, but steady enough to form the only question circling in his mind:
"…how long… I have been sleep?"
Elric pulled back just enough to look at him, her face streaked with tears. Her expression was both fragile and overwhelmed, torn between disbelief and relief.
"Two weeks," she whispered, her voice breaking. "You didn't wake up for two weeks…"
Fresh tears slid down her face. Kael reached up with his trembling hand, brushing them away clumsily. She caught his hand against her cheek, pressing into his palm as though desperate to hold onto him through touch alone.
Her tears fell harder. Relief, disbelief, exhaustion—they all melted into her trembling sobs.
Kael didn't understand. He had seen Elric's strength, her composure even under war and despair. Seeing her like this unsettled him. He didn't know how to stop her from crying. He hesitated, then slowly drew her into his arms, pulling her closer with what little strength remained in his body.
Elric buried her face into his shoulder, clutching his robe tightly.
"Please… don't leave me again… Kael…" Her voice trembled, raw with fear.
His hand weakly brushed through her hair, then down her back, steady and slow, trying to soothe her even as his body still felt unbearably heavy. In his heart, though, Kael knew—it was her voice, calling from beyond the dream, that had pulled him back, guiding him to this fragile moment of waking.
"I was so worried… I was so afraid…" she whispered again, clinging tighter, as if she feared he might vanish if she let go.
The sound of the door creaking open broke the fragile silence. Kael shifted his gaze.
Reinhardt entered, his face composed yet heavy with worry. The sight triggered a memory—Kael remembered seeing him before, in the blurred vision of his near-death dream, Reinhardt's bloodied face bent over his broken body.
Reinhardt froze at the sight of Kael awake. For a heartbeat, disbelief flashed across his face, but then he turned sharply, stepping back through the doorway. His voice echoed down the hall, commanding.
"Robert! Bring the healers—now!"
Hurried footsteps scattered in the corridor. Reinhardt re-entered, this time approaching with controlled, deliberate strides. His expression was guarded, serious, but his eyes betrayed the weight of fear he had carried these past two weeks.
Elric reluctantly loosened her embrace, shifting to sit at Kael's side, but her hand refused to release his. Her fingers twined tightly around his as though welded there.
Reinhardt stood at the bedside, his gaze piercing. "What actually happened?" His tone was low, firm, almost demanding—but underneath it, there was a tremor, one only Kael might have noticed.
Kael returned his stare. His mind sifted through memories—the fragments, the dragon, the suffocating nightmare. He sought the words, but nothing seemed adequate to explain the truth. Until finally, he found a single thread he could give.
"…Fragments. My sword…" His voice was faint but deliberate. "…The dragon told me to collect them all."
Reinhardt's face twitched almost imperceptibly at those words. For the briefest second, his composure cracked—tension flickering in the hard set of his jaw, a flicker in his emerald eyes. Then, just as quickly, he masked it.
He remained silent. His gaze lingered on Kael, heavy, unyielding, as though searching for something deeper—truth or lie, weakness or resolve.
Kael, exhausted, simply lay against the pillows, meeting that stare without another word.
The silence in the chamber grew heavier, stretching taut, until the only sound left was Elric's unsteady breath and the faint rustle of the healers gathering just outside the door.
Something was wrong. Kael felt it in Reinhardt's silence.
And yet, he was too weak to name it.
The door burst open with hurried steps. Robert entered with two healers, his face pale with worry. But when his eyes fell on Kael—awake, alive—relief overtook him.
"Young master…!" Robert's voice cracked as he rushed forward, kneeling beside the bed. He caught Kael's hand tightly, as though anchoring himself to reality. His shoulders trembled, and he bowed his head.
The healers quickly gathered around, checking Kael's pulse, his breathing, his eyes. Their hands moved briskly but carefully, murmuring reassurances to each other. After a tense few minutes, they finally nodded.
"Fortunate indeed. His body is weak, but stable. He will recover with proper rest."
Robert exhaled shakily, a smile breaking through his taut expression. "Thank God… Next time, please tell us if you feel exhausted or sick. Don't carry it all alone." He forced a small laugh, though it was clear it came from relief more than humor. He finally sat back on the chair at Kael's side, his gaze never leaving him.
Elric, still seated beside the bed, never released Kael's hand. She held on as though she feared he would vanish if she let go. Kael didn't resist her touch, but his crimson eyes drifted toward Reinhardt, who stood silently not far from the bed, observing.
Kael's voice, quiet but firm, broke the silence.
"Why are you here?"
Reinhardt's emerald eyes narrowed slightly, but then he let a smile curve his lips. "Well… let's say that I missed you?" His tone was light, almost playful, but beneath it lingered something unreadable.
He stepped closer, his boots clicking softly against the stone floor. Then, with a calm voice edged with authority, he said, "Elric, Robert—give us a moment alone."
Elric froze, hesitation flashing across her face. Her hand tightened instinctively around Kael's. She searched his face for reassurance, but Kael gave none. At last, reluctantly, she released him and stood. Robert, though reluctant as well, obeyed. Together, they exited, leaving the chamber heavy with silence.
Reinhardt moved slowly, deliberately, until he stood near the bed. Without a word, he crouched and reached beneath it, pulling out a bundle wrapped in white cloth. The faint trace of old magic seemed to cling to it. He placed it carefully into Kael's hands.
Kael hesitated, his fingers trembling as they touched the fabric. With deliberate movements, he unwrapped it—revealing a short sword.
The sight stole his breath. Once, it had been a dagger. Now, reforged with fragments, it had grown into an incomplete short sword. The very blade he had wielded against the Demon Kingdom.
"They gathered the fragments while you were asleep," Reinhardt said calmly. "I came here to help them search. Only I can withstand the aura the fragments release. After all… I was the one who carried them, and hid them, here in Delcra's castle."
Kael's eyes lingered on the sword. He touched the blade, and immediately, wisps of black smoke leaked from his body, drawn into the steel. A weight lifted from his limbs, leaving him lighter, freer.
His gaze lifted toward Reinhardt.
"Why are you hiding it here?"
Reinhardt's smile returned, but Kael noticed—it did not reach his eyes.
"Well… this is a good place. No one dares defile this land, not since I declared it yours when I became Emperor."
Kael studied him in silence. Something in the man's expression rang false. He wasn't telling the whole truth.
Reinhardt's gaze sharpened, noticing the unspoken accusation in Kael's stare. He chuckled softly, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Don't look at me like that. I chose this place because you treasure Delcra. Most of our comrades came from here, did they not?" His voice softened. "Elric and Robert sent me letters about your condition. I… couldn't ignore them. I couldn't stop worrying. So I decided to come."
The last words carried a sincerity that tugged at Kael's memory—of the dream, of Reinhardt's face twisted with anguish when Kael had been on the brink of death. Slowly, with effort, Kael lifted his hand and rested it against Reinhardt's shoulder.
Reinhardt turned his head slightly, surprised by the gesture. Then he smiled, though his eyes flickered with something deeper. "What did you see," he asked quietly, "when you touched the fragment?"
Kael turned his gaze back to the sword. His voice was steady but weak.
"…at first… I saw both of us fighting a dragon. You are injured."
Reinhardt froze. His composure cracked for just a heartbeat, his lips tightening. "You mean the dragon that attacked the city near here?" His brows furrowed.
Kael gave a slow nod. "At the forest, near the mountain… I keep getting flashes of memory when I touch the fragments."
Reinhardt leaned back into the chair, exhaling. His voice dropped lower. "That was the first time we were assigned to Delcra. We heard rumors of a beast terrorizing the city. We fought it together. But in the end… you killed it."
Kael shook his head firmly. His crimson eyes gleamed sharper now.
"No. I'm sure I didn't kill it. I let it die… and I found the remains in the mountain. Explain that."
Though his tone was calm, the edge of steel in his voice was unmistakable.
Reinhardt's expression twisted, a shadow crossing his face. "What do you mean you didn't kill it? We all saw you stab its heart." His voice was controlled, but tension bled into his words.
Kael's eyes widened at Reinhardt's answer. The certainty in his voice clashed with the truth Kael remembered.
"Albert and Elric told me about the dragon's remains," Reinhardt continued, his eyes narrowing. "But even I doubted it was the same beast you fought. There's no way you wouldn't have finished the job."
Confusion stirred in Kael's chest. His teeth worried his finger as he lowered his gaze. Something was wrong. Deeply wrong. The Kael of the past—the hero everyone remembered—would never have hidden such a thing from Reinhardt. There was no reason to keep such a secret.
And yet… here they were.
Reinhardt, ever perceptive, read the turmoil on his face. He leaned closer, his hand settling firmly on Kael's shoulder, his grip both grounding and commanding.
"Kael," he said softly, voice dipping into a polished menace, "is there something you want to tell me?"
His words carried no force, no demand—but the weight of them pressed heavy all the same.
Kael lifted his gaze, crimson eyes locking with emerald. Should he tell him?
The silence stretched, thick with unsaid truths.