Vashuki stood silently, as if lost in deep thought.
There was no gun in his hands.
No desire to fight.
No strength left to push him forward.
For the first time, it felt as though everything had already come to an end.
The wind slowly changed direction.
Vashuki looked at Mara.
Somehow, he already knew that many more struggles awaited them. A troubled expression appeared on his face.
Then his eyes shifted toward Torisa.
Tears began to well up in his eyes.
Alpha was desperately trying to lift Torisa. He kept trying to wake him, as though a small spark of hope still remained inside him.
But Torisa did not respond.
His body had grown cold, and he seemed to be barely holding on.
Seeing this, Vashuki slowly stepped forward.
It was as though he wanted to help.
But then he saw the anger in Alpha's eyes.
Vashuki stopped.
That look made him feel as though everything that had happened was somehow because of him.
He lowered his gaze and thought,
"From the look in his eyes... I feel like my journey may be coming to an end here."
Suddenly, Vashuki noticed that all the flames around them were beginning to die out on their own, as if the fire itself had decided to disappear.
Vashuki watched silently.
Then, with an unusual calmness in his voice, he said,
"The fire is dying here... yet it feels as though it has burned itself away after leaving me with nothing but disgrace."
There was a strange peace in his voice, as though he wanted to say something more—but could not find the words.
Just then, two figures emerged from the crowd of soldiers.
It was Lady Kamino and Nakime.
Both of them wore worried expressions.
Alpha looked at them.
"Lady Kamino..."
Kamino's expression grew even more concerned.
She slowly raised both of her hands.
Then, as if a miracle were taking place, her hands began to glow.
Her body slowly lifted from the ground.
A powerful energy radiated from her, illuminating the sky around her.
Even Nakime stared at her in shock.
But after a moment, Nakime lowered his gaze toward the ground, as though he had suddenly begun thinking about something.
Vashuki watched Kamino.
He quietly wiped the tears from his eyes.
For the first time in a long while, a small ray of hope began to awaken inside him.
Torisa's wounds began to heal.
It was as though something inside him was changing.
The moment his wounds were completely healed, a strange smoke rose from his body.
Alpha's face immediately lit up with joy.
He looked as though he could barely contain his happiness.
Then Nakime looked up.
Standing before him was Torisa.
Tears began to flow from Nakime's eyes.
Torisa looked at him and said,
"He'll never change."
Vashuki hesitated before turning toward Kamino.
"How... how did you do that?"
Everyone's eyes suddenly turned toward Vashuki.
Vashuki noticed their expressions and thought nervously,
"They're looking at me like they're going to tear me apart..."
Then Alpha turned his gaze away from him.
Vashuki froze.
Seeing Alpha's reaction, an unbearable sense of regret and shame filled him.
He lowered his head.
"I did something terrible by reading that book..."
Alpha looked around at the ruined buildings.
People were trapped beneath the rubble, while soldiers were desperately pulling them out and helping them escape.
Alpha watched silently.
For a moment, he felt as though he had lost.
Then he gave an order:
"Everyone else, help the people!"
He paused and looked toward Vashuki and Torisa.
"And arrest these two."
"Wait."
Nakime's deep voice suddenly cut through the soldiers.
He calmly looked at Alpha.
"They're just innocent children. They made a mistake. Let them go."
Vashuki looked at Nakime.
Tears began to stream down his face.
Alpha's expression hardened.
"How can you call them innocent when they put an entire city in danger?"
He took a deep breath before continuing,
"You go around spreading knowledge to people... yet you didn't even know that the book was cursed?"
Vashuki's heart sank.
He could no longer bring himself to meet anyone's eyes.
Nakime slowly walked toward him.
"What about their future?" he asked. "Have you forgotten?"
"We have to entrust the future of our country to these eight young people."
Alpha raised his voice.
"There is no shortage of young people in our country!"
Vashuki trembled.
Torisa then spoke quietly,
"Let these two go."
There was pain in his voice.
His gaze slowly shifted toward Mara, who was lying motionless on the ground.
Torisa gently closed his eyes.
And then he saw a boy.
The boy was sitting alone inside a prison, crying.
Everyone around him was keeping their distance, as though they were afraid of him.
Alpha finally spoke.
"Fine. But I will not train these two."
He looked toward the others.
"And neither of them will be trained by any of the other Eight Gems."
Vashuki slowly raised his head and looked toward Nakime.
There was a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes, as if he were silently begging him to say something.
But Nakime only shook his head.
One by one, everyone began walking away.
Nakime remained behind for a moment, sitting on the ground and quietly watching the people leave.
Then he finally stood up and began walking forward as well.
Vashuki closed his eyes.
According to Darshaka's words, dark clouds were beginning to gather over the Kazime Clan, as if they were a warning of the destruction that was about to come.
But the people remained completely unaware.
Then, on a city road, a young man suddenly came running toward the crowd.
His body was burning, and his face was filled with fear. The skin on his hands appeared torn and damaged, while his voice sounded frightening and broken. His hair was completely disheveled.
He screamed in pain as he ran, looking like a terrified and frightened person who had no idea where to go.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A girl stood directly in front of him.
The people around them froze in shock and immediately became alert.
An old man stared at the young man in disbelief.
"Wait... aren't you the boy whose death was caused by an accident?"
Another person looked at him in shock.
"That boy..."
Everyone turned toward him.
He swallowed nervously before speaking.
"This young man... he came running out of his own grave."
The girl became frightened when she heard those words.
But the young man simply gave her a faint smile.
Without showing any fear, the girl suddenly stepped forward and hugged him.
Tears filled her eyes.
Then, the young man's body began to burn even more.
Yet for the first time, it seemed as though he had received something precious—something he had never experienced before.
The old man stared at him and finally asked,
"Do you know that this boy is from the Vyas Kazime family?"
The girl remained silent.
Then the young man suddenly ran toward several other people.
They were covered in blood.