The white light that had engulfed the surroundings receded like an ebbing tide.

Remember. Even as the fierce light surged and faded, young Saul’s whispering lips remained vividly clear. Those moving lips closed, and his thin mouth curved slightly upward. Saul was smiling—with utter satisfaction—at David who stared back at him in bewilderment.

What does that mean…? David’s lips trembled. He wanted to ask, but his stiffened tongue wouldn’t move. You’ll die because of me? What does that mean? The unvoiced words collided uselessly in his parched mouth, crumbling to nothing.

David’s gaze wavered aimlessly like a ship facing a storm. He couldn’t gather his scattered thoughts as they kept trembling. Moments from his past spilled out and dispersed like books tumbling from a tilted bookshelf.

He couldn’t tell which memories were true and which were false—his father, Saul, their conversation… These were things David didn’t understand.

He felt like a chess piece placed on a perfectly arranged board. The sequence of events he thought he knew had been completely reversed. That day in his youth, when the accident happened, David had sworn to Saul that when the time came, he would end everything with his own hands.

He promised that if Saul failed, David himself would finish what remained. But what was this? What was any of this!

Suppressing a strange sound—whether a cry or scream, he couldn’t tell—David stared at the young Saul smiling benevolently. He stepped back as though slipping, pushing away the father who embraced him, and glared at his brother standing amid that crumbling scene.

Saul, what exactly have you hidden from me? Instead of questions, only rough breathing escaped him. His unsteady, scattered breaths struck his chest and choked his throat. Was all of this predetermined… and did Saul know?

He forced his suppressed breath past his throat, clawing at his constricted chest. He felt nauseated.

“Poor thing.”

A brief sigh fell, unable to hide its sympathy. Those immature shoulders sank with a long exhale.

It was strange to see someone so young address the collapsed David this way. The boy—still in his childhood form, healthy and not fully grown—stepped toward his more robust younger brother and reached out his hand.

Until that soft, immature hand touched David’s cold cheek and fully cradled it, David remained frozen like hardened plaster, unable to breathe or blink as he watched young Saul’s actions.

“Foolish one…”

Young Saul whispered as he gently lifted David’s tilted cheek. His thin lips moved in gentle reproach.

“Did you believe Father didn’t love you?”

His touch was deeply affectionate as he caressed David’s face with those cold hands, handling him as though afraid he might break. Saul blinked slowly as he bent forward, while behind his curved back, deep darkness descended.

“Father loved you.”

His bloodless lips moved between strands of black hair falling across his face. His quiet, downcast voice crept in secretly. Despite being close enough to feel his breath, the eyes meeting David’s appeared pitch black in the shadow cast over them.

Rumble. And from far away came a sound that shook everything, resonating throughout the sky like the threatening growl of a beast…

“Despite you being the one who wounded my soul and dragged me to death’s doorstep.”

Light flashed suddenly after that declarative statement. Yet it couldn’t even touch the edges of the thick darkness, merely caressing the surroundings before fading away. The cold presence that had been tracing David’s stiffened cheek brushed against his firmly set jaw, like flower petals scattered by the wind—a chilling sensation.

That touch bounced away from his slightly trembling chin.

“Surely you must have known.”

Saul smiled faintly as he lightly touched his own chin with the hand he had withdrawn, measuring its firmness.

“Isn’t that right, David?”

His questioning voice was mischievous, as though certain that without that incident, he too could have possessed David’s robustness. David’s breath caught at that smile.

“That was… an accident!”

David spoke through a jaw that trembled so much his teeth nearly chattered. But the words he barely managed to utter sounded pathetic even to his own ears—almost like panting, so scattered they were barely audible. Yet young Saul seemed to hear them clearly. His drawn lips deepened into a smile, his narrowed eyes curving into a gentle shape.

“Yes, it was an accident.”

Saul smiled as though he found his young brother unbearably endearing… Though Saul didn’t speak further about the accident, David felt that smile was accusing him. It seemed to reproach him, saying if only he had heeded the warning, it wouldn’t have happened—how dare he make excuses for something that occurred due to his own fault? His heart sank before that benevolent smile.

“And it seems it was also something destined to happen to someone eventually.”

Saul’s gaze slowly dropped to the floor. Unconsciously, David followed his gaze. Near his carelessly sprawled legs lay a familiar object—a long, solid item very close to his hand. It was his father’s cane. David flinched in surprise.

“If that’s truly the case, then I have no reason to hate you, do I?”

At these words, David quickly looked up. But before he could fully turn his gaze, cold hands embraced him. David froze. Despite the gentle touch that patted his shoulder and stroked his back, comforting him like a pitiful child, he couldn’t move a finger, captivated by that intensely cold, fragile terror that seemed it might shatter with the slightest movement.

“So I too love you.”

Just as Father did, I too love you… The voice, now closer, clung softly to David’s ear. The arms embracing him were firmly entwined as though they would never release him. Through this embrace, that secretive whispering voice continued quietly.

“Who could possibly not love you?”

David exhaled deeply at the end of that whisper, which sounded increasingly distant. Suddenly, he vaguely recalled those cold eyes that had stared at him. The afterimage of that black hair flowing in waves, that resolute back that never turned to look at him—they all scattered in succession. Slowly, his eyelids lowered and rose again. Once more, he heard the voice.

“Do you think Catherine doesn’t love you?”

Before he could even formulate a response to that question, a low, bubbling sound tapped at his ear—laughter. Between breaths that brushed his nose and scattered into fragments, Saul’s faintly muttering voice grew distant. This poor, foolish thing…

“She too will be unable to help but love you.”

The breaking breath moistly covered his ear. My beloved brother… Remember this. A quietly whispering voice was heard.

“Catherine too, once she learns that your mission comes from divine providence, will be unable to help but love you.”

It continued endlessly. How could a mere human fathom God’s will? It was something bound to happen someday. You were simply faithful to your duty. It was something you couldn’t refuse. Who could blame you? Who would dare defy God’s will…?

“So kill me.”

End my breath and fulfill the mission given to you. Then go before God and declare that you have completed your duty. God will love you. Just as Father did, as I do… Catherine too will come to love you…

“David, what are you hesitating for…?”

David suddenly realized that Saul had been holding his hand. Between their intertwined brotherly hands, he saw a gleaming sharp point. Even in the pitch darkness, a faint light flowed along its surface.

“Isn’t this something that would happen eventually?”

Pushing his dry palate with the tip of his tongue, David swallowed.

Pressure increased in their intertwined hands. The immature cold hand fully pushed the blade into the stronger hand and then withdrew. David. Hearing his brother call his name, David closed his eyes. Saul’s benevolently smiling face disappeared from view.

With clenched teeth, David slowly raised his gripped hand. Yes, that’s right. Following the encouraging voice, he lifted it high, then paused to take a breath.