— The God's Weight —
Lucien's face went slack with something like worship. "He is a god," he breathed. "There's no other word for him."
He stared past them as if the memory stood before him. "He was right there—and I couldn't see his face. He moved a finger and a rock hill turned to dust. One look from him, and I felt death like a hand on my throat..."
His voice shook, swallowed by the memory. "He even flew. The first time he came down it was from the sky—thunder, pressure... I felt tiny as dust. Before him I was an ant. If that isn't a god, what is?"
He paused. A twitch at his mouth. "I've told you everything. Do you not feel despair? Fear? Powerless?"
The crowd froze. This was no mere man—Lucien described something insane, godlike, deadly.
Eren's mind raced. Could it be... the same level of power as the demon he fought on the Tibet Plateau, sealed for seven thousand years?
Lucien's gaze snapped to Eren. Cold. Sharp. "I don't know why he wants you. But you? What can a speck like you do except obey? You and I—both pawns. My fate today is your fate tomorrow."
Eren lifted his head. Gold flared in his eyes. "No."
His voice thundered. "You're wrong, Lucien. I am not you. I will never be a pawn. Even if he is a god—I will kill that god."
The words struck like a blade. A mortal defying heaven.
"Even if my bones shatter and my soul scatters—I will not hesitate."
The sky roared.
Black clouds churned. Lightning tore the heavens. Wind shredded sand and stone. The world trembled.
The crowd flinched. Had his vow summoned divine wrath?
Lucien sneered. "Fool. You mock the divine. Face your punishment."
Eren felt the thunder's eye sweep toward him—felt it—but his fear did not come. Power stirred in his blood like a flare; his will set like iron.
The storm gathered—then, as quickly, it fell apart. Clouds thinned. The wind died down.
Eren exhaled, slow and controlled. He looked at Lucien. "Do you believe in an endless hell?"
Lucien blinked, unready. Eren's tone went colder. "If it exists, you have earned it. That man you fear is powerful—yes. But if you had dared to resist back then, you might have died. You would not have become something worse."
A strange light flickered across Lucien's face. Then he threw back his head and laughed—wild, brittle, incredulous. "Ha—well said! I, Lucien, clever all my life, was the coward. You see clearer than I—hah!"
The laugh snapped. Lucien's chest hiccupped. A dark bead of blood leaked at his lip. His body stilled.
He was dead.
Silence fell heavy as a lid. The forest wind carried the smell of dust and iron; Lucien's grin lay broken on the ground.
Eren stood a moment, then turned to Arden. "Did you get all of it on record?"
Arden's face was flat with gravity. "All of it. Full recording. I'll file it right away. This should clear your name."
Eren nodded once. Relief did not come. A colder thought sat behind his eyes—the sense that the god Lucien feared had not vanished. Someone—or something—had just heard a mortal speak its name.
— Blood Evidence —
With the wrongful accusation cleared, Eren finally felt a weight lift. He carefully plucked a single hair from his own head and one from the unconscious Lyra, handing them to Arden. "I need a favor. Verify as soon as possible—whether there is any blood relation between us."
He paused, then added, "Also, the authorities should still have Oliver Caelthorn's DNA profile from twenty-three years ago. Please compare both Lyra's and my DNA against his data."
"No problem, the records are intact. I'll see to it immediately." Arden accepted the samples solemnly.
Eren requested a copy of the video, then bent down, scooped Lyra into his arms, and carried her away from the bleak cemetery.
---
A short while later, in the car, Lyra's eyelashes fluttered, and she awoke groggily.
She was dazed for a moment before whispering, "Lucien?"
"Dead." Eren's single word made the air in the vehicle freeze solid.
Lyra's expression first went blank, then shifted into melancholy and loss. She was silent for a long while before asking softly, "What... happens now?"
Eren didn't answer, merely silently pulled up the video Arden had sent and handed it to her.
In the footage, Lucien's final confession played out clearly.
As the video neared its end, Lyra's hands began to tremble, her eyes wide with horror.
"Eren..." she spoke, her voice shaking. "Did you see? We... we might be siblings. But we already—"
Her words cut off as she covered her mouth, tears falling once more.
Eren reached out, gently holding her shoulders. "Don't worry. I've already sent our hairs for DNA testing. The results aren't back yet, but I believe—there is no blood relation between us."
His tone was resolute, but a thread of unease coiled deep within him.
Lyra's eyes were full of sorrow. "Really? If... if we really are siblings, I truly won't have the courage to go on living."
Eren looked at her, his voice gentle yet firm. "It's true. You have to trust me."
---
In the special cell, Lyra saw Eren's living conditions for the first time—spacious, tidy, hardly like a prison at all.
Eren himself was staring intently at the terminal screen.
Soon, several documents came through.
"The reports are in." His voice was slightly unsteady.
Lyra held her breath, moving closer to him, her eyes nervous and anxious.
The first report stated clearly: Eren and Lyra - No Blood Relation.
Tears immediately welled in Lyra's eyes.
"You see? We really aren't related!"
She threw her arms around Eren, as if pulled back from the abyss.
Eren felt the warmth of her neck and the faint scent of her hair. His breath hitched slightly, his voice a bit hoarse. "Are you trying to strangle me?"
Lyra froze, only then realizing her impulsiveness, and hurriedly let go.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red, her eyes darting away, her whole being stunningly beautiful and causing his heart to flutter.
Eren looked at her, momentarily spellbound.
Lyra was already extremely beautiful, but her current shyness added another layer of allure. Thinking of the series of fateful twists between them, his feelings became intensely complicated.
The second report: Oliver Caelthorn is Lyra's biological father.
Lyra's face instantly turned ashen. Her body swayed slightly, tears silently tracing down her cheeks.
Just as Eren reached out to comfort her, she instead threw herself into his embrace and wept bitterly.
Her tears soaked into his clothes. Eren held her silently, letting her cry her heart out.
A long time later, her emotions settled. Lyra looked up, her eyes red-rimmed. "Thank you... for the shoulder."
Eren shook his head. "Between us, there's no need for words like that."
The third report: Eren and Oliver Caelthorn - No Blood Relation.
His brow furrowed in thought.
Since he wasn't a Caelthorn—then who were his real parents?
Why did Oliver Caelthorn send him to the orphanage?
And why was the mysterious man so relentlessly fixated on him?
A series of questions intertwined into an even deeper mystery within him.
Eren looked up, his gaze firm and profound.
He knew the answers to all of this—
Could only be found by locating that mysterious man.
— A Kiss of Confession —
Following the address Arden provided, the two arrived at the Caelthorn family cemetery.
A cold breeze brushed their faces; the tombstones stood in rows like a silent army.
Lyra knelt before her family's graves, tears falling like rain, the ashes of the joss paper flying like memories swept away by the wind.
Eren stood quietly behind her, his voice low as he made a promise.
"Uncle Oliver, everyone of the Caelthorn family... I will find that mysterious man and make him pay in blood."
Time passed slowly.
When the candle flames finally guttered out, the cemetery was plunged into twilight.
"Lyra, let's go."
"... Help me up," she said softly.
Eren reached out and pulled her to her feet, but didn't expect her legs to give way, sending her stumbling into his arms.
In that instant, the world seemed to stand still.
Lyra looked up, Eren's face reflected in her tear-filled eyes, and whispered softly into his ear—
"Eren, what happened... I can't blame you for it. In fact, I feel... perhaps it was our destined fate."
Her voice trembled, but each word was clear and distinct.
"If you don't refuse... I am willing, to have a child with you."
These words, like kindling to a flame, instantly ignited the air.
Eren's body jolted, his heart surging with a thousand emotions.
In the past, he might have been overjoyed.
But now, his mind was filled with the figure of the "mysterious man" and those bloody massacres—
He spoke softly, "Lyra... I have a mission unfinished. The road ahead is dangerous—"
"I know." Lyra interrupted him, her gaze as firm as fire.
"You seek the truth, vengeance for both our families. But I, Lyra Caelthorn, have always dared to love and hate fiercely. If you leave and never return—I will never marry in this lifetime."
In that moment, Eren's heart shook violently.
Before he could even form a response, Lyra suddenly reached up, lightly hooking her hands behind his neck.
The next second, their lips met.
That kiss held no desire, only the desperate, genuine feeling of a woman.
Long, fervent, yet tinged with the bitterness of a potential farewell.
When their lips parted, Lyra's face was flushed like fire, yet she stubbornly held out her hand.
"Let's go."
Eren stared blankly at that hand, but ultimately took it. The moment their palms met, he felt a long-lost warmth, and also felt the icy chains of fate tightening around him once more.
On the journey back, Lyra looked out at the night scenery and said softly,
"Eren, that formula you gave... it's too powerful. It's a force that can shake the world."
Eren said nothing. He only closed his eyes.
In that instant, fragments flashed through his mind—
Lucien's dying laughter,
the shadow of that unknown figure,
and the ancient demon sealed for seven thousand years.
Somewhere deep within, a darker power began to stir.