The night crept in, draping the forest in a deep, heavy silence. Only the occasional hoot of an owl and the cold sigh of the wind broke the stillness, carrying the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves.
Inside the dimly lit treehouse, illuminated by a single flickering candle, Rian sat motionless. The tears he had been holding back finally streamed down his cheeks without a sound. For hours, he had been lost in a trance, his gaze fixed on the body of Kakek Bebegig, who would not wake.
Catty could only watch her master in silence, trying to understand the depth of the wound in his heart. She edged closer, her voice as soft as velvet.
"If you need anything, you can tell me, Master."
Rian didn't turn. His eyes remained on his master's peaceful face.
"I just want to stay like this," he whispered, his voice hoarse from holding back his sobs. "Let me be, just until I can truly let him go. Right now, I still want to be by his side. It's so hard… after everything that's happened, for him to just leave like this. It's too hard for me."
His grief finally broke through in uncontrollable, shuddering sobs.
"May I sit beside you, Master?" Catty asked gently.
"You may. Come here," Rian replied softly.
Catty pulled over a wooden chair, placing it next to Rian before sitting down. Slowly, she leaned her head against her master's shoulder.
"Master, I have felt what you are feeling now," she murmured. "When my parents sacrificed their lives to save me from that troll. It was so hard to accept, but I could do nothing. I was helpless and weak."
Rian remained silent, his hand reaching out to clasp Bebegig's, which was growing cold and stiff.
"Do you know what happened after that, Master?" Catty continued gently. "There was nothing but vengeance in my mind."
"Yeah… I felt that too, when I lost you," Rian answered softly, his voice trembling. "But Gramps… he stopped me from thinking like that. My days with him were filled with his spirit… his spirit for torturing me and training me to be strong. But I liked it, even though it was exhausting."
He bowed his head, letting his tears fall onto his master's hand.
"It was different for me, Master. At that moment, my vengeance was unbearable. I attacked the troll, but because I was weak, I was thrown aside and wounded. It was then that a faint whisper from my parents drifted past my ear, 'Don't, my child. Our sacrifice will be for nothing. Go, live for us.' That whisper pierced my heart. I don't know why, but my legs fought to run far away from that troll, and the next day, I met you."
Rian stayed quiet, absorbing every bitter word that Catty was able to share.
"From my experience," Catty tried again, "I don't mean to compare. But look at the smile on his lips. It's as if he was ready, wholeheartedly, to leave this world. If you continue to grieve like this, I'm sure he will be sad to see you."
"Alright," Rian sighed at last. "But I still need time. Just let me be."
He laid his head on his master's chest, wrapping his arms around the body that no longer held life, and closed his eyes, letting darkness and exhaustion claim him.
The world around him faded away, replaced by an endless white expanse, just like when he had first met Goddess Bodas. Suddenly, a sharp blow landed on the back of his head, struck by a familiar wooden sword.
"You foolish boy! Bury me at once! Are you going to let my corpse rot in this bed? Is this how you repay the training I gave you?"
That voice—it was Kakek Bebegig's. Rian turned and saw him standing there, a faint smile on his lips, just as it was on his deathbed. Without a word, Rian lunged forward and hugged him.
"Gramps!" he cried freely, releasing all his remaining sorrow.
"You foolish boy," Bebegig replied, returning the hug and stroking the back of Rian's head. "What kind of hero cries like this?"
"I don't care about being a hero anymore! Just let me stay like this, don't go!" Rian hugged him tighter.
"You have a long journey of joys and sorrows ahead of you," Bebegig said gently, like a grandfather spoiling his grandson. "I have lived mine, and it is my time to leave. Become a man others can rely on. Throw away that foolish arrogance of yours. I am happy that you could fulfill my wish, to summon back a precious one who was lost. So do not let your companion go again. Be strong, and use that strength to protect, not to be prideful. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Gramps," Rian answered through his sobs.
"Now wake up and give me a proper burial next to my cat, alright?" Bebegig gently pushed Rian's shoulders.
"But Gramps… can't you come back? I need you for longer," Rian pleaded.
"You want me to become an undead? You foolish boy!" The old man laughed freely, his voice echoing in the void. "It is time. I must go. Goodbye, you foolish boy. I have always thought of you as my proud grandson."
"Gramps!"
His scream echoed in the dream world but came out only as a choked sob in the real one. Rian woke with a start. The morning sun was already slipping through the cracks in the window, signaling a new day.
He wiped his tears and saw Catty asleep in the chair, having faithfully stayed by his side all night.
A faint smile touched his lips. "I have to get up and bury him," he murmured. "Otherwise, his ghost might haunt my dreams every night."
Rian lifted Kakek Bebegig's body with the utmost respect. With a light leap from the treehouse doorway, wind magic instinctively wrapped around his feet, allowing him to land on the ground as softly as a feather.
Next to the gravestone of Bebegig's feline friend, he dug a grave with all his heart. The cold, damp earth was nothing to him. He gently laid his master's body to rest.
"Goodbye, Gramps. I will use the knowledge you gave me wisely," he said as he filled the grave.
Catty came and stood beside him as Rian stared at the newly placed wooden marker.
"He must be so proud of you, Master," she said, reaching out to hold his hand.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you last night," Rian said, his eyes still fixed on the grave.
"It's alright, Master. I understand."
After a moment of silence, Rian walked toward their training grounds.
"If I keep standing here, it will only be harder to let him go. I have to leave this place."
He began to draw a complex circle on the ground, just as he had learned. Mana pulsed at his fingertips, flowing into the sigils.
"Aing ngageroan manéh, buru datang ka dieu! SUMMON!"
A violet light and a plume of thick black smoke erupted, the same as when he had summoned Catty. From within, a magnificent Jaguar emerged, its yellow coat marked with black spots, standing as tall as Rian's waist.
He repeated the ritual twice more, feeling a massive amount of his mana being drained, a sign of the creatures' immense power.
The three Jaguars sat before him obediently.
"Guard this treehouse and these graves with your lives," Rian commanded, his voice firm and filled with authority. "Work together, and become the rulers of this territory. Let no one desecrate it. If you face a threat you cannot handle, one of you will find me, and I will annihilate anyone who dares to destroy this place. Do you understand?"
The three beasts nodded in unison without hesitation.
Rian turned, ready to leave the only place he could call home in this world. He glanced one last time toward the grave.
"I'm leaving now, Gramps."
Then, with Catty by his side, he stepped into the dense forest, toward the destiny that awaited him.