In the soft quiet of the afternoon, Sara's eyelids fluttered open.
She lay alone in her room, wrapped neatly in her blanket. Sitting up slowly, she leaned her back against the headboard, a lingering weight pressing against her chest.
"I feel like my past was clawing its way back out..." she murmured softly, staring down at her hands. "It felt like someone was watching my oldest memories."
She let out a breath, a gentle, bittersweet smile touching her lips. "I can't afford to be weak. I need to train Kael properly."
Out in the main hall, Kael was lounging on the sofa, thoroughly entertained by a television comedy show. Loud laughter echoed through the room.
Rexon walked over, stepping right in front of the screen. "Hey. It's time for your training session."
Kael casually leaned to the side to keep watching the TV, completely ignoring him.
Rexon crossed his arms, his golden eyes narrowing. "So you're just going to pretend I'm not here?"
From down the hallway, Sara pushed her door open, stopping in her tracks as she overheard their chatter.
"I don't want to train today," Kael groaned, slumping into the cushions.
"Fine," Rexon said coldly. "Then Renjiro and Ms. Vrenj will just live together from now on, and I'll be stuck doing all the house chores alone."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Relax, I'm planning on hiring a maid soon."
Rexon turned to him, his voice flat. "Really? You think an ordinary human maid can handle living in a house full of dark fantasy madness? What if she gets caught in the crossfire and dies during a fight?"
Kael's grip on the remote control tightened until his knuckles turned white. He fell silent, looking down. "You're right... I don't want anyone else dying because of me."
"That's up to you," Rexon said quietly, turning around and walking back into his room.
Sara stood by the hallway entrance, taking a slow, heavy breath. Stepping out into the living room, her voice was firm. "Kael. It's time to train."
Hearing her voice, the vivid, painful memories of her ancient past flashed across Kael's mind once again. He looked up at her and immediately stood up.
"Alright," Kael nodded smoothly.
Sara blinked, staring at him in suspicion. "You're agreeing without putting up a fight? Something is off with you."
Kael offered a nervous, sweaty smile. "N-Nothing is off! I didn't do anything wrong!"
Sara raised an eyebrow, stepping closer with a sharp gaze.
Sweating under her intense stare, Kael slowly extended his hands forward, revealing two broken pieces of a crimson hairband resting in his palms.
A few hours earlier—
The bungalow had been quiet after Mira, Sarina, and Renjiro left for the Vrenj Group office.
Rexon had walked up behind Kael, holding a delicate, crimson hairband in his hands. "Take this."
Kael looked at it, confused. "What is this?"
Rexon smirked mischief-filled eyes. "Your ticket out of today's training."
Kael raised his brows. "Should I hide it?"
Rexon closed his eyes, shaking his head downward in disappointment. "Don't be an idiot. Hiding it won't work. Sara can locate it instantly using her Soul Trace ability."
Kael's eyes widened. "She can track objects like that?"
"She has mastered countless divine abilities, and Soul Trace is second nature to her," Rexon explained. "If you want an excuse, you have to break it so the trace gets disrupted."
Kael looked down at the hairband. "Then you break it."
Rexon stepped back with an awkward smile, raising his hands in denial. "Oh no. That would be suicidal for me."
Kael sighed, gripping the hairband to snap it. But to his surprise, the material was unnaturally tough. Setting the hairband on the edge of the coffee table, Kael channelled a tiny burst of kinetic force into his heel and kicked down hard.
CRACK!
The hairband shattered into two jagged pieces.
Rexon stepped back, smirking. "Well, now you have an excuse to take her to the market to replace it."
Recalling Sara's tragic history and her ancient losses, Kael hadn't argued—he had simply nodded, feeling a quiet guilt.
Back in the present—
Sara stared at the shattered crimson hairband in Kael's hands. Her breath hitched.
"Kael...! You...!"
Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks in a sudden torrent.
Kael panicked, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her head to comfort her. "Sara, wait—"
"Get away from me!" Sara shouted, pushing him away with a burst of magic force. "I want to be alone!"
She turned and bolted into her room, slamming the door shut.
Kael sank back onto the sofa, holding his head in his hands. "What did I do wrong...? It's just a hairband..."
Rexon poked his head out from the hallway, shouting in alarm, "Didn't you see her face?!"
SWOOSH!
Before Rexon could finish, Kael materialized beside him and slapped a hand over his mouth. "Keep your voice down!"
Rexon pulled Kael's hand off, whispering harshly, "Did you even pay attention when you looked into her memories?"
Kael froze, a realization hitting him like a cold bucket of water. "Wait... don't tell me... that hairband wasn't just some random accessory?"
Rexon nodded solemnly. "It was a precious keepsake. Likely a gift from her late mother or her elder sister before her village was destroyed."
Inside her locked room, Sara collapsed onto her knees beside her bed. She clutched the tiny, broken pieces of the crimson hairband tightly against her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Elder Sister..." she wept softly into the quiet room.
She raised her hand, channeling her divine restoration magic over the broken fragments. But the hairband was made of an ancient, non-magical material—and Kael's kinetic kick had pulverized its internal structure. The restoration spell fizzled out into harmless sparks.
Sara stared at the ruined pieces. Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, she set the fragments gently on her nightstand.
She took a deep breath, her sorrow hardening into a sharp, terrifying focus. A soft, cold smile touched her lips. "I'll fix this later... after I deal with him."
The bedroom door swung open.
Sara stepped back into the living room, radiating a suffocating, lethal aura. Her green eyes sparkled with a dangerous, predatory glint.
The moment Kael caught sight of her eyes, he stood up instantly, cold sweat breaking out across his neck. "Sara... I'm really sorry—"
Sara didn't hear a word. In a streak of movement, she grabbed Kael by the back of his collar and dragged him toward the backyard.
Outside, the evening sky was painted in shades of deep crimson and orange as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Sara murmured softly under her breath, her voice detached, "Kael... you're going to pay for this."
Kael tilted his head slightly, nervous. "Huh?"
RUMBLE!
Sara raised her hand, snapping her fingers. A massive spatial void tear opened behind them, swallowing both of them whole in a flash of blinding light.
An instant later, they materialized inside an endless, floating Void Realm—a sterile dimension surrounded by shifting purple clouds.
Kael looked around, adjusting his footing. "Why did you bring us to the Void Realm?"
"To settle the score," Sara replied coldly, summoning a faint glow around her hands.
Kael stood his ground, raising his hands pacifically. "Sara, I said I'm sorry..."
In his mind, Kael gritted his teeth, calling out to his roommate, Rexon... if I survive this beatdown, I am going to make you pay.
Without another warning, Sara lunged forward. Her speed was terrifying—far faster than her normal combat pace.
Kael barely managed to dodge her palm strike, feeling the air pressure slice past his cheek. "Your attacks are way more fatal than usual!"
A cold smirk touched her lips. "Consider this a special test of your survival skills!"
SWOOSH!
Before Kael could react, Sara vanished, reappearing directly behind him. She drove a devastating kick straight into his lower back.
BOOM!
Kael dropped to his knees, his breath exploding from his lungs as intense pain shot up his spine. "What the hell?!" he yelled, wincing.
"You broke something precious to me!" Sara growled, her eyes blazing. "The emotional pain in my heart is a thousand times worse than what you're feeling right now!"
Kael struggled to his feet, dodging a relentless flurry of strikes. "I didn't know it was a gift from someone you loved!"
"Silence!" Sara snapped, sweeping her leg to trip him.
Kael leaped backward, realizing she wasn't going to listen to reason. "Fine... don't blame me for fighting back!"
"No one's blaming anyone!" Sara countered, her speed increasing. "Let's see who's standing when this battle ends!"
Kael reached out his right hand, summoning a glowing spatial circle in mid-air. He reached inside and pulled out a sleek, translucent broadsword.
Sara paused, eyeing the weapon. "What is that?"
"It's my Replica Sword," Kael said, taking a firm stance. "I can copy any technique or weapon structure that makes contact with it. I think you forgot about this ability."
Sara scoffed softly. "Who cares?"
She lunged forward again, drawing a simple weapon from her side. Kael raised the Replica Sword to block, clashing blades with her in a shower of sparks.
Kael smirked, activating his copy skill. "Now... let's see what kind of high-tier divine weapon you're using!"
He waited for the Replica Sword to analyze her blade and replicate its power.
Nothing happened. The Replica Sword remained completely inert.
Kael blinked, stunned. "Wait... why isn't it copying?!"
Sara's lips curled into a victorious smirk as she pushed his blade back effortlessly. "Because I'm literally using a reinforced wooden training sword."
Kael stepped back, his jaw dropping in utter disbelief. "WHAT?!"