As fast as his legs could carry him, Kaiser plunged downward, not caring how far he had to fall. But by the time he landed safely amidst the scattering dust, the swirling clematis petals had already swallowed Eane and the stranger whole. The pale light vanished almost instantly, leaving only a few glowing petals to drift through the heavy subterranean air before fading away one after another.
"Eane! No!"
His voice echoed violently across the cavern basin. Kaiser lunged forward and grabbed at the remaining petals before they could disappear completely, crushing them tightly inside his trembling hand. The soft glow staining his fingers only made the sudden emptiness before him feel more real.
He was too late again. A violent tremor ran through his chest. Then, his fist slammed into the ground with a deafening boom, hard enough to crack the soil beneath his knuckles.
"Why did I come too late?!"
The cavern basin shook faintly. Loose stones tumbled downward while the nearby dried vines and flowers crushed to dust beneath the suffocating 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 exact moment Eane had pushed him away. He remembered the look inside his ocean-blue eyes. It had not been fear or anger, but a profound, hollow exhaustion.
Kaiser's fingers dug deeper into the dirt.
"Why…" His deep voice cracked apart quietly, echoing in the silence of the basin. "Why did you look at me with such worn-out eyes… Brother?"
Another punch followed, and the ground caved deeper beneath his weight. Fresh blood stained his knuckles almost immediately, yet he continued striking the ground as though he could bury the helplessness clawing inside his chest along with the shattered earth.
Then, something soft wrapped gently around his bleeding wrist. It was a slender green vine, touching him like the gentle hand of a child offering comfort.
"Stop it, Kaiser." The voice was weak and fragile. "Don't hurt yourself."
Kaiser's body froze instantly. He turned sharply, his unreadable obsidian eyes widening as he finally noticed the elderly woman standing nearby in her gray cloak.
It was Martha.
The moment Kaiser saw her clearly beneath the dimming moonlight, 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 form had already begun fading into drifting particles of light, carried away by the failing mana and dissolving into the world's energy.
Kaiser's face immediately paled. "M-madam Grandma…?"
He rushed toward her at once, both hands instinctively grabbing her frail hands..
"H-how…?" His breathing became uneven. "W-why?" His deep voice sounded smaller than before, stripped of all its terrifying weight. "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 have to witness it again? Another death. Another person disappearing from his hands while he could do nothing except watch helplessly.
Losing someone was not a pain that simply disappeared with time. Even after years passed, and even after everyone else slowly moved forward, a part of him remained there—stuck and unmoving. The memories he buried the deepest always returned during moments like this: empty rooms, cold hands, and 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 terror of someday losing it. He started counting days without meaning to, tracking moments, conversations, and breaths, constantly wondering when the people beside him would disappear too. It was 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 single tear nearly escaped Kaiser's obsidian 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 sudden drop in her temperature terrified him.
Then, Martha noticed it—the dark particles leaking from his wounded hand, covered by a wet glove heavily stained with blood. She immediately removed the fabric and checked his skin thoroughly. Kaiser's mana circulated violently beneath his veins in chaotic, volatile waves, while a foreboding insignia glowed faintly against his flesh.
Her expression darkened instantly.
"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.
An iron band seemed to constrict around Martha's ribs 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. A 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. "Madam 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 air shifted subtly across the cavern basin, carrying the fading scent of clematis 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 oppressive stillness of the basin suddenly felt unbearable against Kaiser's chest.
"Promise me."
For several seconds, he could not speak. Then, slowly, he nodded.
That alone made Martha smile brightly—a gentle smile filled with both pride and sorrow. Kaiser was 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. If you truly wish to change your fate…" Her voice softened to a bare whisper. "…Find the man who took Eane away."
Kaiser's eyes sharpened instantly.
"He carries the answers you seek."
The swirling mana around them suddenly grew sharper. Then, the remaining light within Martha scattered quietly, her entire form dissolving completely into a brilliant haze of drifting particles.
A suffocating silence swallowed the whole place afterward. The area darkened completely as the remaining clematis gradually dried up. Kaiser remained kneeling there motionlessly, his trembling hand still reaching toward the empty space where she once stood. The warmth lingering on his fingertips faded little by little until nothing remained. Only the cool, stagnant air answered his silent grief.
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, their faint scent of plants and brewed medicine lingering quietly in the air.
Near the enormous roots beneath the tree, a newly made grave rested peacefully beneath the shade. In this corpseless grave, Kaiser had buried Martha's emerald staff and gray magic cloak, and he knelt silently before it now. Freshly cultivated soil darkened beneath the evening light while pale clematis flowers rested gently above the mound.
Beside them sat a cup of steaming tea—the exact same kind Martha used to prepare. Thin steam curled quietly upward into the crisp night draft.
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, yet 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 now-chilled 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. "It might be 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. It was cold, heavy, and filled with a restrained violence.
"But I'm his brother," Kaiser murmured, the dark mana at his fingers settling into a cold, still shadow. He did not speak to the trees or the empty air; he spoke directly to the dirt covering his family. "I'm going to find the bastard who took him. I'll bring Eane back, and then I'm going to drag that emperor off his throne myself."
The forest fell completely quiet around him, leaving only the rustle of dry leaves in the wake of his words.