There were two sleeping figures on that merciless night, and one who remained awake.
As the foul smell of dampness filled the air, the silence of the night echoed inside their ears.
Slow footsteps erased that silence, their creaks carrying a purpose.
He slowly closed the cage door he had opened and turned toward the exit.
The door looked like a wall before his eyes as he carefully pushed it open.
Beside the door rested a gleaming forged blade.
Without even looking at the sharp sword he grabbed, he walked toward the bed.
His mind, focused on a single thing, failed to notice anything else around him.
The hand of the man whose thoughts were consumed by the figure lying in the bed was trembling with sweat.
When he reached the bedside, he stopped.
He thought.
He raised his hand to his forehead, blew into it, and moved it as if tossing something away.
As he brought the sword toward the sleeping person's throat...
Awakened by Phen's scream, Karon opened his eyes and immediately saw a blade.
He raised his hand and activated his mana with all his strength.
A figure was sent flying alongside the sword, releasing a heavy scream of pain before crashing down with a dull thud.
Karon immediately lit his torch and looked at the figure.
"Himel…"
"Ugh… ugh…"
"How? Why?"
"I need to get back to my family."
"But... we made a mana oath."
"I wasn't doing anything wrong."
Struck by those words, Karon answered with a trembling voice.
"Wrong...?"
"Isn't killing someone wrong?"
"For my family, taking a life is a necessity, not evil."
"..."
With tears running down his face, Karon pulled out the sword.
Blood spilled from Himel's mouth along with fragments from his crushed organs as he slowly opened his lips.
"Don't pity me... ugh... thank you for ending it."
The regret on his face, the tears in his eyes, and the words leaving his mouth...
"I'm sorry."
***
A heart struggling to burst out of its chest.
A mind exhausted from endless thoughts.
Red-stained hands and a mouth choking on sobs.
Those words described the young man who had been washing himself in the river for quite some time.
Those words reflected the thoughts behind his trembling eyes and furrowed brows.
Those words carried the weight resting on his shoulders.
***
The blood wouldn't leave the hand he had spent half an hour trying to cleanse.
Trying to wash away a person's life with water was Karon's irony.
Whether it came from the cold water or the situation itself, he had fallen sick and remained bedridden for days.
His conversations with Phen increased, and he had begun making plans to leave the forest.
He buried Himel's body near the cave and carved the words "A Father" onto the gravestone.
"I know it's impossible to save everyone in this world, but..."
"It shouldn't have ended like this."
Leaning back in his chair at the table, he drowned in thought.
He kept balancing the chair on two legs before letting it slam back down, calming himself with the repeated clacking sound.
Eventually, he stepped outside and wandered aimlessly...
***
Standing near the gray mist, Karon threw stones into it.
He grabbed Zelid and launched a crescent-shaped wave of fire toward the mist.
"Damn it..."
He returned home and fell asleep.
"I wasn't guilty..."
"This happened because of you..."
"Why did you imprison me..."
As Karon tossed and turned in bed, drenched in sweat, only one word escaped his lips.
"But..."
Every single time, he found another excuse, only making himself sweat even more.
Phen tried to approach him but kept running away in fear of his sudden movements, while the bed creaked alongside his repeated "buts."
He woke with a shout.
After washing his face, he picked up Phen with a tired smile.
The untouched plates of food had become Phen's new meals.
And all of Karon's mana had become Phen's snack.
Using his weakened arms, Karon opened the door and started walking.
Without realizing it, he had returned to the place where he first met Himel.
Pushing aside the memories resurfacing in his mind, he set up a trap.
Afterward, he wandered through the areas where he and Himel had once run together.
Then he noticed a shining necklace lying on the ground.
He picked it up.
With tears flowing from his eyes, he stared at the pictures inside the locket.
A woman and a little girl...