"The place has been cleaned, my lady. Please forgive the simplicity of what we've prepared." Grix bowed once again, respectfully, toward Hein.
The space inside the round building was fairly spacious and tidy. There wasn't much furniture—just a small kitchen corner visible right from the main entrance. The wooden floor added a sense of warmth. Kala took a deep breath, letting the scent of wood fill her lungs. It seemed that after lilies, this was another fragrance she liked.
"There are only two rooms, so…" Grix cast an awkward glance toward Raken, who remained standing guard behind Kala.
"He can sleep anywhere, Grix."
"Ah… I see. That's a relief." Grix rubbed his hands together, clearly eased. The problem was, no place here had more than two rooms. And surely someone like Hein Brodic wouldn't be willing to share a room with anyone else—even with another woman. At least, that's what Grix thought.
"Then, please rest well, my lady, sir, and miss. If you need anything, I'll come right away." With that, Grix excused himself, leaving the three of them in silence.
After he left, Kala moved first, walking toward the sofa and sitting down. Her head throbbed faintly—perhaps now that she had relaxed. The aches from the battle and the lingering shock began to creep in. Her entire body felt sore, and the nausea returned.
Kala was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to lie down and drift into sleep. But her mind refused to rest, reminding her of something she needed to know. Her gaze shifted between Raken and Hein, hoping they would understand the silent question she was asking.
"Don't you want to rest first? We can talk once you're feeling better." Raken understood her immediately. That was why he tried to stall, buying time to piece together the most reasonable explanation—even though his very presence here defied logic.
"No. I'm fine. Just tell me what all of this means." Kala crossed her arms, demanding answers.
Hein glanced between them. Honestly, she wanted no part in this. But her curiosity kept her rooted in place. Like Kala, she wanted to hear what Raken would say.
Raken pinched the bridge of his nose before sitting down beside Kala. There was no avoiding it anymore—or she would sulk all day.
"This used to be my home. As you can see, this world is very different." He rested his elbows on his thighs.
"Whatever you're thinking—the answer is yes. An immortal world, a parallel world, or anything else you've heard of… this place isn't far from those ideas." He paused, glancing at Kala to read her expression.
"But we call it the Kingdom of Noctyr. A dark world where the souls of sinners are kept until the day of judgment."
"We're the ones who guard it," Hein added quickly.
Instead of understanding, Kala only grew more confused. She had imagined worlds like this before—but experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely.
"The human world and the dark world aren't supposed to intersect. But I broke that rule. I opened a dimensional portal on my own will and escaped… until I found the Ningtyas family."
Silence fell when Raken stopped speaking. The wooden floor became the only refuge from the heavy pause.
For some reason, telling Kala all of this felt unbearably difficult. He hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't lied. He had simply lived quietly, hiding everything about himself. Living like an ordinary human without breaking any rules.
So why was this so hard?
It felt as though he had committed some unforgivable deception. Why was he afraid Kala would be disappointed? The thought of her fearing him—or looking at him like he was something disgusting—made his chest ache.
"With the Ningtyas family, I felt safe. I lived like everyone else. No need to use my powers, no endless demands… it was truly a place of escape."
"Why did you run?" Kala finally spoke. Her low tone sounded like disappointment to Raken.
Annoyed that Raken still wouldn't answer directly, Hein stepped in. "He's a prince."
Kala's eyes widened. Her body instinctively shifted, putting distance between herself and Raken. The word prince triggered something in her mind—something sacred. She was startled to realize that the man she had treated so casually was actually a noble of the highest rank.
Sensing her movement, Raken lowered his head even more.
"Raken is the sole heir to the Kingdom of Noctyr… the wielder of an ancient power."
"Ancient power?"
"A tremendous force that only he possesses. It had long vanished from existence—until it reappeared in Raken."
"A disaster," Raken muttered, rejecting Hein's description.
Hein merely glanced at him before continuing. "Raken strongly refused to become king, even though the King and Queen insisted. Instead of accepting it, this prince chose to run away to the human world—so no one would dare chase him. On the very day of his coronation."
Kala tried to process everything. No one liked being forced—but running from the responsibility of being a prince? That had to come with a heavy price.
"Our world isn't as simple as the human world, miss. Most people possess abilities. And we don't have shadows… because we are the darkness itself."
Hearing that, Kala immediately looked down at the floor. Under the light streaming through the window, there should have been a shadow beneath Hein.
But there wasn't.
Kala rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn't imagining things. Hein was right—there was no shadow at all.
"The Prison of Sinful Souls—or what you call hell—does exist. Though it's only a fragment of the true hell, it is a horrifying place. We bring souls from the human world to be punished. There's no escape, because we guard it without rest."
"The royal family stands at the top, overseeing everything. I, along with four other families, help keep it all organized. The creature that attacked us earlier isn't the only one. There are far more of them here—more than the foam upon the sea."
Hein's heels began to ache, so she walked over to the sofa and sat gracefully before continuing.
"Even so, our lives are normal—aside from those disgusting creatures you saw earlier. Just like humans, we can eat, though we don't feel hunger. You'll see how life is here soon enough."
"This feels like a dream, Hein. I still can't believe it. Just yesterday, my life was completely normal. You were all still 'human.' And suddenly—this dark world? Sinful souls? A world I never even imagined could exist? Seriously… are we filming a movie or something?" Kala leaned back against the sofa. Just trying to make sense of everything had drained her completely.
"What kind of director could even create a world like this?"
Kala fell silent. Hein had a point. No human could bring something this detailed and beautiful into reality.
"Ken, why don't you want to accept the throne?"
"I still can't believe he'd rather be a lowly servant in the human world," Hein added teasingly—but Kala didn't take it that way.
Kala's expression hardened as she locked eyes with Hein. "No one sees him as low, Hein. Not me—and not my family either. How do I put this…? Here, he might just be a prince. But in my life, he's a king."
Raken, who had been staring down, lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Kala. His heart pounded wildly, heat rising to his ears.
"My apologies, miss. I spoke out of turn." Hein smiled faintly. From Kala's tone and gaze, she felt as though she was facing someone entirely different—someone both charismatic and intimidating at the same time.
"What are you staring at, Ken?"
Raken chuckled softly, amused. Kala's expression changed instantly whenever she faced him. He couldn't deny the relief he felt knowing she still saw him the same way.
He reached out and ruffled her hair.
The next second, his world seemed to stop. His heartbeat raced like he was in a sprint.
Kala had lost consciousness.
Her body slumped forward, and Raken quickly caught her as her head fell.
"Kala?"