Regret does not come when we still have the power to make things right, but when we realize that the end has already arrived. And in a suffocating moment of silence, everything turned upside down.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I have ordered the soldiers to search every corner of the Empire," General Andrew said with a stern expression, attempting to soothe the Emperor, who seemed unable to remain composed.
"That is enough… You may leave now. Just keep me informed of any developments from time to time," the Emperor said, barely restraining his agitation. His voice remained steady in words alone, not in his heart.
The general bowed respectfully and left the hall in silence.
The Emperor remained alone, staring into the void with lost eyes before whispering, "I must not lose Adrian. If I lose him, the Empire will perish."
The search for Adrian continued everywhere, but to no avail.
In the other palace, the Empress stood before her window, gazing coldly at the cloud-covered horizon, her expression devoid of emotion.
"So, have you confirmed his death?" she asked in a calm tone, as though inquiring about the weather rather than a human life.
The hired assassin bowed before answering, "Yes, Your Majesty. I saw the monsters dragging him away before I left the place."
She raised an eyebrow in disapproval. "Is that all?"
The man hesitated before replying, "Forgive me, but if I had stayed there any longer… I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything, because I would have died as well."
The Empress gave a crooked smile before whispering contemptuously, "Hah… Fine, it doesn't matter. He won't survive. After all, he is a weak human."
Then she let out a long laugh that made the entire place tremble, a triumphant laugh brimming with wickedness.
But behind the closed door, her son Kieran had been listening to every word, his eyes widening with shock and fear.
~~~
Deep within the forest, where fierce winds battered the trees mercilessly, the sky was blanketed by red clouds, and thunder struck the earth with unrelenting fury. The crimson moon hanging in the sky had been completely obscured by the clouds.
A deafening silence settled over the place. It lasted only a few brief seconds before a tremendous bolt of lightning pierced it, striking Adrian's mangled, lifeless body. A brilliant light enveloped the entire forest until it seemed as though night had turned into day.
At that moment, Adrian opened his eyes in an unfamiliar realm, a world filled with white light where not even a shadow could be seen.
"Adrian… You have truly grown up."
A gentle female voice, filled with tenderness and sorrow, broke the silence like a warm breeze amid a storm.
Adrian turned and came face-to-face with his sister Diana, whom he could barely recognize.
"Sister… Diana? How…" Adrian asked in astonishment and confusion.
Diana answered, "I arranged this meeting for you, so everything you see now is real, not a dream."
Tears streamed down Adrian's face as he lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. This happened because of me. If you hadn't always defended me, perhaps Father would have loved you and protected you."
She approached him as he spoke and embraced him tenderly. "You are not to blame. It's not as though our father would ever choose us over the Empire."
He clung to her tightly, as though afraid she would slip through his hands once again.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" he kept repeating in a broken voice.
Diana wiped away his tears with a gentle smile. "It's all right, okay? I'm actually happy with what happened… I'm living with our mother now, and you can't imagine how happy I am."
Adrian looked at her with a sorrowful, childlike expression and asked, "Sister, will we be able to stay together now?"
Diana gazed at him with a broad smile before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! You're still adorable, even though you've grown up."
Adrian grumbled, turning his gaze away from her. "Sister! Don't make fun of me!"
Diana wiped a tear of joy from her eye and said, "Sorry, sorry… But my adorable little brother, did you like what happened so much that you wish we could stay together?" She added with exaggerated arrogance, "But I don't want to stay with you, Your Highness."
Adrian grumbled theatrically, "My knight, are you going to abandon me and leave?"
She replied with childish arrogance, "Of course." Then her expression softened, tinged with sadness, as she continued, "Because magic does not last forever."
Adrian looked at her suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
She smiled gently as she patted his head. "I mean that the skill I used is about to run out. After all, it is a forbidden skill."
Adrian stared at her in astonishment mixed with admiration. "Magic after death? That's amazing! Were you learning forbidden techniques in the palace?"
Diana put on a slight, feigned frown and said, "You little nuisance, how dare you mock my achievements?"
Adrian replied, "I'm not mocking you. Besides, I'm dead, so we can leave together."
Diana answered, "No, you still have a chance to live."
He froze, a look of bewilderment spreading across his face. "What are you saying? I… I've already been killed."
She looked at him with eyes filled with both sternness and tenderness. "No, you are not dead yet. Because I ****"
Adrian was bewildered when Diana's voice suddenly disappeared.
"What are you saying? I can't hear you!"
Her silhouette began to fade gradually, and her voice returned for her final words.
"Goodbye… Adrian."
"Wait…"
He ran toward her to embrace her, but his arms closed around nothing but empty air. His tears fell and touched the path, causing a strange door to appear before him. He wiped his tears and stared at it hesitantly, anxiety filling his heart. Then he slowly reached out and opened it, only to be suddenly pulled through.
At that moment, the thunder stopped, and the light gradually receded.
One heartbeat… then another. His heart began beating again, and life returned to his dead body.
He slowly rose, looking at himself in disbelief.
"I thought I had lost my limbs… All that blood, where did it come from if my body wasn't injured?"
He looked around, whispering to himself, "What happened was undoubtedly real… but something brought me back to life."
~~~
Somewhere else.
The child ran through the palace corridors in sheer terror and fear, wiping away his falling tears with his small, trembling fingers.
"This is impossible… My mother can't have done that. Adrian is my brother… She can't have killed him!"
He kept repeating those words to himself, unable to believe what he had heard.
Old memories flooded his mind—images of himself as a young child, secretly peeking at Diana and Adrian as they played and laughed happily together. Prince Kieran, the second prince, had always lived in loneliness because of his mother and her strictness, which forced him to study and maintain discipline instead of playing. But whenever he saw Adrian and Diana, he felt, if only for a moment, as though life itself were smiling at him.
"Hey, you there! Why are you peeking at us?" Adrian had appeared before him back then, wearing a childish smile full of arrogance.
"I-I… I…" Kieran stammered, unsure of how to answer. But Adrian held out his hand and said with a smile, "Come on, let's play together!"
That was the first time Kieran had truly felt alive. They played and laughed together until the sun went down. That memory remained the most precious thing he possessed, despite the harsh punishment he received from his mother afterward, simply because he had dared to play with them.
Kieran returned to the present, his eyes gleaming with determination through his tears.
"If Mother really did kill my brother… shouldn't I tell Father?"
Then he murmured in confusion, "That man said he only saw the monsters dragging him away… Perhaps he isn't dead yet! Perhaps he's waiting for help!"
Kieran rushed toward his father the Emperor's palace without saying a word to his mother.
At the gate, he shouted in his small, hoarse voice, "Let me in! I have to tell Father something important!"
General Andrew approached him in surprise. "Your Highness, return to the palace at once. His Majesty is busy—"
Kieran interrupted him with a shout. "I know where my brother is!"
The soldiers exchanged astonished glances, and Andrew quickly stepped forward and took Kieran inside with him.
Kieran hurried into the royal hall and stood before his father, whose face bore signs of exhaustion.
"Kieran? Why have you come at this hour? Shouldn't you be asleep?" the Emperor asked in a tense voice.
"Father… I know where my brother Adrian is!" Kieran said, fear and confusion in his voice, which trembled with every word.
"It was Mother… I mean, I heard someone say that he was taken to the forest and that the monsters dragged him away. The man said he was dead, but I don't believe it! I think he's still alive and waiting for help!"
Silence fell over the room, and astonishment spread across every face.
The Emperor approached slowly and asked cautiously, "Do you mean that this person was speaking to your mother?"
Kieran stammered in confusion. "Y-yes… I mean, no, not exactly! I heard him in the street… Mother has nothing to do with it!"
But the tension in his voice betrayed him. The Emperor stared at him for a moment before shouting at the top of his voice, "General! Take your forces and head to the deepest part of the forest—to the boundary between the beasts and humans! Search there immediately!"
General Andrew bowed respectfully, then hurried off with his soldiers toward the dark forest at full speed… while the Emperor remained standing in place, his expression brimming with anxiety over the truth he would soon hear.