Content Warning:
This chapter contains themes of self-harm and psychological distress presented in a fictional, symbolic context. Reader discretion is advised
After a few more minutes passed, Kael returned to the place he had left behind. The moment they noticed him, the others gathered around, relief written plainly across their faces. They asked if he was all right—where he had gone, why he had vanished without a word.
Kael: I'm fine. I just spoke with someone… important. Where's Charlie?
Leona swallowed hard before answering.
Leona: (trembling voice)She collapsed. We sent her to WHA for treatment, but… we don't know when she'll wake up. It's my fault. I should've—
Michael stepped forward immediately, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.
Michael: (gently)Hey. No. Stop right there. This isn't on you. You did exactly what you had to do. You healed her—without that, things would've been far worse. None of us knew what she was enduring.
Leona clenched her fists, trying to hold herself together.
Michael: She's strong,stronger than usual all—mind and heart both. She'll come back.
Kael nodded once.
Kael: Where's Jaiden?
Diego: Oh, he left a while ago. By the way… who's this important person you talked to?
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Kael: That'll stay a secret—for now. What matters is this: our next destination is Z City.
Michael: What's in Z City?
Kael: That's where the endgame begins. But not tonight. Right now, we need rest. There's a resort nearby—we'll stay there for the night.
No one objected.
They followed Kael's lead and soon arrived at the place he mentioned.
The resort was compact yet distinctive, rising nearly fifty meters into the night sky. Once inside, they headed straight to the reception desk and booked their stay—one night, one room each. After settling the formalities, they began heading upstairs.
That was when a man entered the lobby.
He spoke briefly with the receptionist, mentioning that he had been with the group earlier. He requested to extend the reservation—for three additional days.
The receptionist nodded.
And somewhere above them, unseen and unnoticed, something quietly shifted.
The receptionist felt a flicker of suspicion toward the man, but nothing about him appeared overtly wrong. She opened the drawer beneath the counter and handed him a key—one from the set placed near Kael and the others.
Man: Thank you. Oh? Is that an award? What's it for?
He gestured toward the plaque mounted behind the reception desk.
As the receptionist turned to explain its significance, the man's hand moved swiftly. He reached into the still-open drawer and retrieved another key. By the time she finished speaking, he had already stepped back.
He thanked her once more and headed upstairs.
A moment later, the receptionist frowned.
Receptionist: Huh… didn't I have Room 24 in here? Maybe it was already reserved…
She turned to the ledger.
Receptionist: (thought)Let's see… Ronan, huh? Might as well give it a try.
The resort stood five storeys tall, with ten rooms on each floor.
Kael and his team were assigned to the fifth floor—Kael in Room 42, Diego in 43, Leona in 44, and Michael in 45.
Before they separated, Kael spoke-
Kael: I know this all feels sudden. You probably have questions—especially about why we're changing course so abruptly. But for now, I need you to trust me. I'll explain everything tomorrow morning. We head towards Z City at first light.
He paused, then added quietly,
Kael: For tonight… get some rest. Good night.
None of them pressed him. Whatever doubts lingered, they trusted Kael completely.
They exchanged brief goodnights and retreated to their respective rooms.
Alone, Kael lay awake longer than he intended to. His thoughts drifted back over the day—over the fire, the chaos… and the masked woman.
Earlier, when he had followed her, they had already moved far from the battlefield. Even then, Kael had felt it—an unshakable certainty that pursuing her was necessary.
After the long chase, when the noise of the conflict had faded behind them, the truth had finally begun to surface.
They confronted each other in a narrow alley.
Woman: I'm surprised you even had the nerve to follow me this far. Then again… I suppose that's exactly why Boss wanted you so badly.
Kael said nothing, his eyes never leaving her.
Woman: Oh, don't misunderstand, I'm not here to fight you. Not today. I'm only here to deliver a message.
That alone unsettled him. Encounters like this did not happen without reason.
Kael: And what message would that be?
LadyMarmalade: You may call me LadyMarmalade—that's my codename. Our boss wished to introduce himself properly, but circumstances prevent him from appearing in person. So I was sent in his stead.
She paused, letting the weight settle.
LadyMarmalade: His name is Zerathos. Codename: Old Dominion.
Kael's breath caught.
LadyMarmalade: He congratulates you, on your return… after five hundred years.
For a moment, Kael could only stare at her.
Kael: Wait, did you just tell me—willingly—who our enemy is?
LadyMarmalade: It's exactly what he said to do.
Confusion and disbelief collided in Kael's mind. Why would an enemy expose himself so openly? Why reveal his name… and why invoke five hundred years as if it were a casual detail?
Before he could ask, she continued...
LadyMarmalade: His hideout is in Z City. He wants you to come there—to settle the score.
She turned away, already taking a step back.
LadyMarmalade: I must leave now. But before I go—
She glanced over her shoulder.
LadyMarmalade: Please… take care of my daughter.
And then, without sound or warning, she vanished.
Kael stood frozen in the alley, staring at the empty space she had occupied only seconds before.
Back in the present, the memories tangled in his thoughts.
No matter how he tried, the pieces refused to align. Too many truths had been dropped at once, too deliberately. In the end, he did the only thing left to him—the thing that sometimes untangled even the cruelest riddles.
He slept.
Yet even as exhaustion claimed him, one thought refused to loosen its grip.
Take care of my daughter.
Who was she?
Was she already among them?
Leona?
Charlie?
Elsewhere, Diego and Leona contacted WHA to check on Charlie. No updates had come yet—but she was still breathing, and WHA assured them that everything possible was being done to stabilize her condition.
Michael sat silently on his bed, staring at the image of his sisters he made using his strings.
The night pressed on.
All they could do was wait, clinging to the fragile hope that things would somehow right themselves. Eventually, exhaustion claimed them, and one by one, they drifted into sleep. Downstairs, Ronan watched in silence before murmuring to himself-
Ronan: Finally. They've all fallen asleep. Little do they know… they'll never wake up again. Not in this world, at least. Their next awakening will be in the afterlife.
A faint smile crossed his face.
Ronan: That...is WhiskeyLullaby for you.
Kael woke up in his home.
He sat upright, blinking as familiarity washed over him. The room—his room—was exactly as he remembered it. Too exactly. A strange unease crept in as he muttered-
Kael: Wait… wasn't I—? Huh? Did I forget something important?
The door opened.
Elise: Oh, you're awake, my boy. Did you sleep well?
Kael froze.
Kael: Mom…? I—I thought you were—
She approached him, concern softening her expression.
Elise: What's wrong, Kael? You look worried.
She pulled him into a warm embrace.
He hesitated, then hugged her back.
Kael: No… nothing. Just a bad dream.
Life resumed as it once had.
The day passed in a familiar rhythm—chores, work, routine. Yet something gnawed at Kael's mind. A hollow feeling lingered, as though his last true moment of happiness had vanished long ago. When he took out the trash at the same old dumpster, a sharp wave of déjà vu struck him—an unsettling sense that something important had happened there once.
He shook it off and returned inside.
Later, dressed for work, Kael left home. Even on the way, his thoughts felt scattered, his focus slipping as the strange sensation followed him. At the bus stop, he noticed children playing in a nearby park, pretending to have superpowers—laughing, shouting, mimicking heroes.
His chest tightened.
A fragment of memory stirred, distant and incomplete, and the déjà vu returned stronger than before.
The bus arrived. People stepped off. Others climbed on.
And as the bus pulled away, Kael remained.
Still there, standing exactly where he had been, Kael tried to steady his breathing.
This makes no sense, he thought. There's no mistaking it—I'm still dreaming.
He remembered everything. His friends. The fight. The decision to rest at the resort before continuing their journey. And yet this world—this flow of time—felt wrong. Artificial. Constructed.
An enemy, he concluded. There's no other explanation. It has to be an enemy.
He turned in place, forcing himself to think.
Kael: (thought)Think, Kael. Think. If this is a dream… what wakes us up involuntarily?
After a long though, he realised what he needed.
Kael: Death. We wake up when we experience death. Or rather, the mind forces us awake because it cannot comprehend what comes after it. The brain pulls the emergency lever—the wake button—out of sheer instinct.
But…
There was a real risk. If he pushed too far, if his body failed to wake in time, his heart could simply stop. Cardiac arrest. No second chances.
Yet it was also his only way out.
My only chance of waking up.
Kael began ascending through the building, heading for the rooftops. But something felt off immediately. Every building was sealed. Cameras guarded every access point. Every door refused to open.
He clicked his tongue.
Kael: This must be the bastard's doing. He knew I'd try this. What a pain in the ass.
Frustration flared, and instinct took over. He raised his hand and attempted to erase the doors—erase the cameras—erase the obstacles entirely.
Nothing happened.
His abilities were gone.
His eyes widened.
Kael: Even my powers…? Son of a bitch…
A low breath escaped him, steadying his resolve.
Kael: …Fine then. If you want to do this the hard way—
His gaze hardened.
Kael: —then the hard way it is.
Kael went outside and began climbing the fire escape. Before he could get far, the steps collapsed above him, crumbling away as if they had never existed.
He clenched his jaw.
Kael: Why is it so persistent…?
Then an idea surfaced.
Kael: Then I'll have to try 'that'.
He scanned the streets and spotted a police patrol. Moving carefully, he slipped close, opened the officer's holster, and yanked the pistol free before sprinting away.
Officer: Stop right there! Drop the weapon or I'll use the taser!
Hope this work, Kael thought.
He turned, raised the pistol, and fired—aiming straight at his own head.
Nothing.
No recoil. No sound. No bullet.
His eyes widened.
Kael: Why didn't it fire? The magazine's full—so why?
Pain exploded through his body as the taser struck. His muscles locked, his vision spasmed, and he hit the ground, temporarily paralyzed. The officer retrieved the gun, warned him sharply, and walked away as if nothing unusual had happened.
Kael lay there, teeth grinding.
Kael: Grrr… bastard's underestimating me.
He forced himself upright.
Kael: I know this city's every nook and cranny. I've known it since I was eight. If you won't give me access to buildings… to guns…
A slow, dangerous smile formed.
Kael: …then I know a place you can't deny me access to.
His eyes hardened.
Kael: Once I wake up, I'm gonna bust your ass.
Kael headed uphill, toward the mountain road where a massive boulder blocked the path. Instead of turning back, he veered right and squeezed through a narrow gap between the rocks.
The stone was scorched and split—evidence of a lightning strike from many years ago. But because the city was underdeveloped, no one had bothered to clear the path.
Except him.
He had found this passage long ago. A secret route. And from that day on, it had been his alone.
He was the only one who knew the path to the summit of this mountain.
He said nothing more as he emerged on the other side, finally reaching the peak. It was high enough that a fall from here would mean certain death. Kael stepped closer to the edge, ready.
Then—
A familiar voice called out.
Elise: Honey? What are you doing?
Kael froze. He turned around and saw his mother standing there, worry etched across her face. Her eyes searched him, pleading, asking what he was trying to do.
Kael: (softly) I know, Mom… I know. You're only a fragment in my dream. But even if it's just for a while… I'm happy I get to spend time with you again.
She pulled him into a hug, holding him the way she used to.
Elise:My brave little knight. I know what you've gone through for me. And you need to go back. Even if this is only for a moment, I'm glad I can be with you again.
They leaned their foreheads together, gently touching.
Kael: love you, Mom.
Elise: And I love you too, my son.
Then she faded away.
Kael took a deep breath. He turned back toward the edge and muttered-
Kael:Just you wait for me, asshole. I'm coming for you.
He leaned forward.
And fell.
The moment his body struck the ground, everything went black—and his dream came to an end.