The shocking truth they had just heard left the three sisters almost unable to accept it. For a moment, none of them spoke. Their breaths grew shallow as they looked at Kazien—no, stared at him—searching for any hint that all of this was a misunderstanding. Yet the calmness in the faces of their parents, their brothers, and even the household knights standing nearby proved that there was no lie hidden behind these words.
Kazien and Alvin… immortal.
Not merely blessed with long life, not gifted with slow aging—truly immortal, unbound by time itself.
Rosalia was the first to force herself to breathe again. Raliana gripped the hem of her dress as though trying to anchor herself to reality. But it was Ritalia who reacted the most strongly—her lips trembled, tears filling her light blue eyes as she stared at her beloved older brother.
And yet, when she saw Kazien's expression—his pale face, his trembling fingertips, the fear he clearly tried to hide—her tears stopped. She didn't cry. Instead, she walked silently to him and climbed into his lap the same way she always did whenever she felt uneasy or scared. Except this time, it wasn't her fear she was trying to soothe.
It was his.
Kazien didn't push her away. He looked as if he didn't even have the energy to do so. His arms lifted automatically, supporting her lightly as if she might break. But he didn't speak. His voice had been locked away the moment the final truth left his lips and the last flicker of hope for a normal future died.
Ritalia leaned her head against his chest.
His heartbeat was steady… but slow, as though burdened by centuries of sorrow that hadn't even happened yet.
"Brother…" she whispered. "It's okay."
Her voice was small, soft, warm—yet those simple words struck him harder than any weapon ever could. He squeezed his eyes shut, hiding the fear he could no longer control.
Rosalia swallowed hard. "Is this… really true? Immortal… forever?"
Kazien nodded weakly.
"But… how?" Raliana whispered, her tone not accusatory but desperate for understanding.
Kazien opened his mouth, but the words didn't come. It wasn't that he didn't know how to explain—it was that explaining it meant accepting it, and accepting it meant acknowledging the burden he had been running from since the moment he first awakened in this world.
Instead, his voice broke into a shaky whisper.
"Even if I explain everything… it won't change the fact that I'm terrified."
The sisters exchanged looks.
Fear.
Yes… that was written all over him.
He looked nothing like the calm, wise, or composed immortal beings from the legends. He didn't radiate the confidence of someone who could conquer the world or survive millennia. He looked like a boy—just a boy—who had been given a future so immense, so crushing, that he could barely breathe beneath its weight.
Ritalia tightened her hold on him, her small fingers gripping his clothes.
"You're scared of the future?" she asked gently.
Kazien nodded again, slower this time.
Rosalia's chest tightened.
Raliana bit her lip, her breath trembling.
Ritalia looked like she wanted to cry again.
The room fell into silence so heavy it almost felt solid.
Their parents, understanding the emotional storm unfolding among the siblings, quietly left the room. They knew this was a conversation that needed to happen among them alone. Even Selena, William and Davin slipped out without saying a word, giving them privacy.
Only Kazien, Rosalia, Raliana, Ritalia… and Alvin—standing silently in the corner—remained.
Alvin's face was pale as well.
He might be immortal, but unlike Kazien, he had accepted it long ago. Even so, he understood better than anyone the fear that eternity could bring. But for now, he didn't speak. He merely watched silently, ready to step in if Kazien needed him.
Rosalia stepped forward first. "Kazien… Look at me."
His eyes slowly opened, though they avoided everyone at first. Rosalia approached him as gently as if approaching a wounded animal.
"You said you're scared of the future," she repeated softly. "Does that mean… you think you'll have to face it alone?"
Kazien hesitated.
And then nodded.
That single gesture broke their hearts.
"Kazien," Raliana said calmly. "You're not alone. You never have been."
"But I will be," Kazien replied, voice cracking. "One day… all of you will grow old. You'll live your lives. You'll have families. And I… I'll still look exactly like this."
His fingers shook against Ritalia's back. "What happens when I'm still fourteen while the world moves on? What if I forget the sound of your voices after hundreds of years? What if… what if losing you breaks me so much that I become someone else entirely?"
Raliana felt tears slip down her cheeks. She tried wiping them, but they kept falling.
"Please… don't say things like that…"
"I'm not strong," Kazien said fearfully. "I'm not ready. I'm terrified of what immortality will force me to face. I can't accept that everything will change while I remain frozen."
Ritalia lifted her head and cupped his cheeks with her tiny hands.
"Then don't think about hundreds of years," she said gently. "Think about today. Think about us. About now."
Kazien blinked, stunned by the simplicity of her words.
"You don't have to be ready for eternity," Ritalia continued. "You only need to be ready to live one day at a time."
Rosalia sat beside him, placing a hand on his back.
"You're scared because you love us… and that's okay. But don't forget that every future begins with the present. If the present shakes you… then we'll steady you."
Raliana nodded, stepping closer. "And if you're afraid of being alone hundreds of years from now… then let's make memories so many and so strong that even eternity can't erase them."
"But you'll all… leave me one day."
"No," Rosalia shouted to calm him down. "We'll live our lives fully. We'll make you proud. And even if we're gone one day… it doesn't mean you'll be alone."
She pointed gently at Alvin. "You have him!"
Alvin stiffened but didn't look away.
"And you have the family you'll build in the future. You'll meet new people, help new lives, see new worlds. Brother… immortality isn't a curse unless you let it become one."
Rosalia suddenly smiled warmly—soft, sincere, sisterly.
"Besides… even if our bodies grow old, do you think our hearts will stop loving you? That's impossible, Kazien."
Raliana gently squeezed his hand. "Whether I am fourteen or forty… you'll always be my brother who always in my heart."
Ritalia giggled. "And always my lap pillow."
Kazien finally cracked a tiny, fragile smile.
"I… I don't deserve all of you."
"You do," the three sisters said at the same time.
The room grew warmer.
Even Alvin exhaled faintly, relief softening his mint-green eyes.
Kazien lowered his head. "I'm still scared."
Rosalia hugged him from the side. "Then be scared. Fear doesn't make you weak. It makes you human."
Raliana leaned her forehead against his shoulder. "And we'll be with you… until our last day."
Ritalia wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "And Alvin will be with you even after that."
Alvin stepped closer at last. His voice was quiet, gentle.
"My dear… Eternity isn't something you're supposed to face alone. That's why I'm here. As long as you want me to stay… I'll walk through every century with you."
Kazien's breath caught.
Not because of the words—but because, for the very first time since learning the truth, he felt the crushing weight of eternity lighten just a little.
Maybe immortality would still terrify him.
Maybe he would still doubt his future.
Maybe the unknown would always loom ahead like an endless night.
But…
He wasn't alone.
Not now.
Not tomorrow.
Not even in centuries yet to come.
And for the first time, that truth gave him the strength to breathe deeply again.