“Did you really think I’d die from a simple attack like this?”

The dagger fell to the icy floor with a soft clink.

Crimson blood trickled down the white bracelet that Rohana was wearing. The bracelet was made from the feathers of a Caladrius.

Without hesitation, Rohana swung the longsword she had strapped to her left, creating space. Lazar easily dodged.

“You know well that even the great Kaiden couldn’t do anything to me with human attacks.”

Several strikes passed without effect. Rohana’s heavy breathing filled the still air. In contrast, Lazar’s breath remained perfectly steady.

All of her actions against him felt futile, a waste of time. Yet Rohana continued the seemingly pointless fight, until she finally stood at the edge of a cliff.

“A cliff of ice, huh.”

White breath escaped her lips.

“How cliché.”

She quietly watched him. Lazar, now at the same eye level as her, stared back.

“What if all of this were a dream?”

Rohana’s eyes widened. Her lips, dry from panting, parted to release a hoarse voice.

“Are you trying to unsettle me with that kind of talk?”

Lazar, with a relaxed expression, narrowed his eyes and replied.

“If I were you, I’d be worried… It’s nonsense, isn’t it? That you’ve entered a book?”

Rohana took a deep breath in silence. Lazar, who had suddenly closed the distance again, stared at her intently. A silence hung between them, so close that not even a fist could fit between their bodies.

“Even if you think you can do something to me…”

His whispering voice hovered between that of a boy and a grown man.

“What do you think would happen to you if something happened to me, Rohana? Or should I call you by that name from back then?”

Rohana straightened up, standing taller. She hadn’t stood this upright in the last 15 years—perhaps not even in her previous life. Strangely, she felt a sense of peace.

She had no doubt she was doing what needed to be done.

“I’m not worried.”

“Why?”

“If you really trapped me in a dream…”

Rohana slowly raised her hand, brushing it against Lazar’s shoulder.

“…I wouldn’t be this surprised right now.”

And in that moment, it happened.

A chillingly beautiful melody.

Lazar had never heard such a sound before. He only knew that Rohana had often described “that sound” to Kaiden and others.

The song echoed as if it were splitting the ice. And suddenly, a blizzard swept through the once silent place. Before Lazar could even comprehend what was happening, only Rohana’s smile was reflected in his eyes.

In that instant, Rohana grabbed Lazar’s hand. Her grip was different from before. The white feathers stained with blood on her wrist fluttered in the wind.

It was strange.

He couldn’t shake her off. And now, he could see the white feathers wrapping around her wrist. The red bloodstains were gone.

“Feathers.”

It felt as if everything around him, except for himself, was vibrating to the unnaturally high-pitched sound.

Tap. Tap.

Rohana turned her body. The sound of her feet stepping on the ground echoed softly.

And within just a few steps, the two of them jumped off the cliff.

“It can’t be.”

Before Lazar could even voice his disbelief, the dark abyss below the cliff swallowed them whole.

***

In the vast grand banquet hall, there was nothing but a lone throne. Only the red carpet beneath it seemed to assert that this was the seat of a Emperor.

And just like the carpet, red blood slowly spread, forming a small puddle on the white marble floor.

Soldiers lined the walls, while Bardi sat on the throne. Directly in front of him, Kaiden, bound and wounded, was dragged to the floor. His serious injuries were causing blood to flow at a rapid pace.

Kaiden had fought more battles than expected because the imperial army had mobilized as many troops as possible to counter him.

Even for someone like him, fighting an entire army was too much.

“Goodness, I knew it was reckless, but I didn’t think it was this bad.”

Bardi couldn’t believe it. His sharp blue eyes glimmered beneath neatly slicked-back auburn hair as he stared intently at the bound Kaiden.

“It seems you needed quite the force to capture me, huh?”

Kaiden smirked as he looked at the soldiers standing in multiple layers along the walls.

“Even if you’re bound, I can never be sure what kind of magic tricks you’ll pull.”

Bardi, still seated on the throne, spoke while looking down at him.

“I’m a humble man. I don’t throw away my life recklessly like an arrogant fool such as yourself.”

A silence settled between them.

“So, what should I do now? Should I just cut off your head?”

“Is that really a question you should be asking me?”

Bardi, though he maintained his composed demeanor, felt a surge of inexplicable rage boiling within him at Kaiden’s perpetually indifferent attitude.

He was always like that.

Even as a child, he was insufferably arrogant. Always acting as if nothing mattered.

Quietly, he would stay in the background.

But in the end, when it came to his actions, he’d stab everyone in the back.

“Someone who worked so hard to gain our favor, even eliminating Axton…”

At the mention of Axton’s name, Kaiden’s eyebrows twitched for the first time.

“Why would you have cut the neck of such a great leader if things were going to end up like this?”

Kaiden recalled him in his mind. Even while dying from illness, he had told Kaiden to wait for the “right time.” And since he was going to die anyway, he had asked Kaiden to cut off his head to ensure his safety until that moment.

Kaiden clenched his teeth quietly. He had tried so hard to figure out what that “time” was.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t understand.

If it wasn’t something for this life but rather a task for the next generation, all he could do was prepare accordingly. Strengthening Nopthal was the only thing he could be certain about. He wasn’t confident in anything else.

And then, he met her again.

“Is it because of Rohana? Are you an incorrigible romantic?” Bardi asked.

As Kaiden assessed the situation silently, he questioned the same thing Bardi had asked.

“Is it because of Rohana?”

“No.”

It wasn’t because of Rohana. It was only thanks to her that he realized he had ignored the “right time.”

Bardi seemed surprised by Kaiden’s quick denial, pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows.

“Really? No?”

“You seem to think so,” Kaiden replied. What was Bardi thinking?

Couldn’t he have chosen another way? Was there really no better move than the one their former emperor had made?

“I only want things to return to how they were.”

“Does that include wiping out the Kark Tribe?”

“You know as well as I do, being a half-breed yourself, how difficult it is to deal with those with such dangerous power.”

“I don’t think I need to explain anything more to you.”

As Kaiden cut his words short, Bardi’s face hardened even more.

“Arrogant bastard.”

In an instant, Bardi stood up and drew his sword. The blue blade gleamed sharply.

“Show me your strength. Show me how much of a monster you are. Stop pretending like you’re tied up by some feeble rope.”

“So, do you feel better when your army here stands behind you?” Kaiden replied in the same calm voice.

At that moment—

“Your Majesty!” a panicked voice called out.

“Finally,” Kaiden thought to himself. It was a sign that he no longer had to sit still.

“Your Majesty, there’s been an attack by the Kark Tribe at the east gate—or rather, near the prison!” The messenger abruptly stopped speaking.

“If you were so terrified of me, you should’ve hurt me more,” Kaiden said, his already pale face drained further from blood loss. Yet his lips curved into a thin smile. His muscular arm wrapped around Bardi from behind, binding him.

“Ha…” Bardi groaned as he signaled his soldiers to hold back.

“Your Majesty!”

“Careful, fools! Do you want to see me dead?” Bardi scolded, though he couldn’t help but notice that Kaiden’s strength wasn’t what it used to be.

Bardi’s foot slipped on something. Kaiden, taller than him, had locked him in a chokehold from behind, and blood was pooling at their feet.

“So, the Kark Tribe bleeds just like humans, huh?” Bardi tried bluffing for the first time.

“What will you do now? Are you going to slit my throat?”

“Of course not,” Kaiden replied without the slightest hesitation.

“You have to survive too.”

Bardi struggled with all his might, but it was futile.

“For both races to survive together…” Kaiden’s voice was rough.

“Isn’t it difficult to live on a history where one side has killed the other?”

Kaiden whispered through clenched teeth.

“I’ll keep you alive.”

In moments of extreme tension and exhaustion, people tend to let their guard down when their opponent shows even a hint of weakness.

Bardi let out a disbelieving laugh and murmured to himself, “So, I’ll live. Alone, but alive.”

Kaiden tightened his grip even more.

‘Bluff,’ Bardi thought. No human could survive after losing that much blood. It was clear that Kaiden was merely enduring. Knowing Kaiden’s personality, Bardi could guess his plan.

‘He probably didn’t even include an escape route for himself.’

Given that Heath wasn’t around, Kaiden might have planned to pass the throne to him in case things went wrong.

‘That means I still have a chance.’

Even if it wasn’t a fatal blow, a small wound could be enough.

‘And more than anything, this fool doesn’t plan to kill me.’

Bardi quickly calculated.

‘That’s the fundamental difference between us.’

He just needed to buy time.

How long had passed?

The standoff continued.

Watching the size of the blood puddle, Bardi roughly measured the time that had passed. And then, he pretended to faint, allowing his body to go limp as if he had passed out from being strangled.

In extreme situations of tension and fatigue, a person tends to lower their guard when their opponent shows a sign of weakness.

Sure enough, Kaiden’s grip loosened ever so slightly.

At that moment, Bardi quickly reached into his chest. Hidden there for emergencies was a poisoned needle.