The house of Kaellia was steeped in a respectful silence.
The windows were slightly ajar, letting the cold afternoon breeze lazily drift through the curtains.
The aroma of warm tea lingered in the air, but no one seemed inclined to drink it.
Kaellia, Lyn, Allan, and Saphira sat in the living room. None of them spoke, but they all shared the same weight in their chests.
The grief for Jin.
A week had passed since that day. Since the meeting. Since the death. Since Lyssandrel vanished from the castle without a trace.
Saphira had been hiding there ever since. She had fled the castle in the middle of the night, without warning. Kaellia hadn't asked anything—just welcomed her with a blanket and silence.
"A new mission came up…" Allan said suddenly, breaking the silence like someone shattering ice with their bare hands. "We've been summoned for tomorrow morning. Patrol in the south."
Saphira sighed deeply and brought her hands to her face.
"We can't even rest…"
"It seems the world doesn't stop just because someone dies…" Lyn murmured, staring at the cup in her hand without really seeing it.
"When we saw him there… in the inferno," Kaellia said, her voice low, "he was different. Not just stronger. Bigger. But… darker."
"I noticed that too," Allan said thoughtfully. "It was him… but he seemed older. More… hardened."
Kaellia spoke without looking at anyone.
"What did the king see in him… to attack like that?"
Lyn answered without hesitation:
"He was still the same Jin as always."
"His eyes…" Saphira murmured. "They seemed deeper than ever. Like he'd left something behind down there… like he'd seen things no one should see."
"I can't even imagine what he went through down there…" Allan added, his gaze distant. "And even so… he fought with everything."
There was a brief, respectful silence.
"Marcus and Kael are still unconscious, right?" Lyn asked.
Kaellia nodded slowly.
"Yes… They're the only ones who can tell us what happened down there. And only the gods know if they'll wake up."
Everyone looked down, crushed by different emotions: pain, guilt, helplessness.
*KNOCK KNOCK.*
They all turned at the same time.
"I'm not expecting anyone," Kaellia said, frowning.
She stood up slowly, her body still heavy, and walked to the door. The others exchanged silent glances.
Kaellia turned the doorknob.
And on the other side of the door… stood Eriane.
She lowered her head.
"I'm sorry…"
Everyone except Saphira stood and gave a brief bow. Saphira remained seated, her eyes fixed on the fireplace, her fists clenched on her knees.
Kaellia frowned slightly but remained respectful.
"Your Highness…" Allan said with a nod.
Eriane entered slowly, looking at each of them.
"The queen… my mother…" she paused, swallowing hard, "disappeared a week ago. Before she left, she said… she was going to find Jin."
Everyone reacted immediately.
"What?" Kaellia turned fully toward her.
"What do you mean?" Allan stepped forward, confused. "No one told us about this."
Lyn straightened, trying to process the information.
"So she… went back to the inferno?"
Saphira let out a short, dry, humorless laugh.
"Her going to find him won't change anything…" Her eyes welled up. "Everyone knows there's no way he could've survived that."
The silence was heavy for a few seconds.
Eriane lowered her head again.
"I… I'm sorry. For everything. For my father's words… for not saying anything that day…"
Kaellia shook her head slowly.
"It wasn't your fault."
"Even so… I should've done more," she said, taking a deep breath before continuing with a firmer tone. "And now… something else has come up. I need to ask for your help."
Allan crossed his arms.
"We've stepped away from military orders, remember?"
"I know," Eriane said, maintaining her calm posture. "I know you're operating as adventurers now, but… the situation is changing."
Lyn stepped closer, attentive.
"What happened?"
"My father isn't thinking clearly…" Eriane's eyes narrowed. "He barely leaves his room."
Saphira tilted her head.
"Demons… thousands of them," Eriane continued. "They're migrating from the east to the south. Slowly. It might take months, but they're coming."
Kaellia frowned, her arms crossed.
"How many?"
"We don't know the exact number," Eriane said. "But enough to make us doubt we can win with the capital unscathed."
"And what do you want from us?" Allan asked bluntly.
"We need an escort. There are merchant convoys trapped in southern villages. We can't move troops right now. You're fast, capable. Can you bring them to the capital safely?"
Saphira stood abruptly.
"Merchants?" Her tone was sharp. "You killed Jin, Marcus and Kael nearly died and are still unconscious, and you're worried about merchants?"
"Saphira…" Lyn murmured, with a hint of warning.
Eriane, keeping her polite tone, stepped forward.
"I understand your pain. But if we ignore this now, there'll be more deaths. Entire families. Children. Maybe the world."
Saphira didn't respond. She sat back down, staring at the floor, her hands trembling.
Kaellia looked at Eriane seriously.
"How far?"
"Three days' travel to the main village. The convoys leave in two."
"We'll go," Allan said.
Kaellia glanced at him, then nodded firmly.
"We'll prepare everything tonight."
Lyn approached Eriane.
"Send the maps and the names of the villages. We'll plot the safest route."
Eriane seemed relieved.
"Thank you… truly. Kaeron said he'd go with you."
Allan nodded.
"Good. He's strong, and any help is welcome."
Kaellia walked to the fireplace, leaning against the stone.
"But this doesn't change anything…" she said without looking at anyone. "When we return… we want to know more about these demons."
Saphira's eyes were fixed on a distant memory. The only thing that broke her silence… was a tear.
And then.
Saphira squeezed her eyes shut, her voice trembling between barely contained sobs.
"You all saw him as a monster the whole time…" her breathing hitched, "and now you say you wanted to save him?"
The silence fell like a weight in the room, until Kaellia stood, her expression tense, her eyes narrowed.
"Saphira…" she said firmly, "the queen tried to save him even there, in the face of everything. And Princess Eriane has already apologized several times."
Saphira lowered her head, tears streaming silently.
Lyn approached, her voice softer, trying to soothe.
"We're all grieving over this… But they're at least trying to fix what they can."
---
*A week ago.*
The impact was blunt.
Like a stone hitting a tree.
Aserion's fist struck Jin square in his already wounded chest.
His body was thrown back, like a rag doll, collapsing onto the ground. His form sank slowly.
The sounds around him began to fade.
The pain drifted away like smoke.
Everything was becoming distant.
His half-open eyes caught one final image.
Queen Lyssandrel.
Standing between the king and the chaos, her eyes carried something impossible to describe in a single word.
It was pity.
It was pain.
It was regret.
It was… understanding.
And then, everything went dark.
---
*Silence. A field.*
Jin awoke.
Not with a start.
Not with fear.
He simply… opened his eyes.
Above him, a white sky, faintly gray. No clouds, no sun, no warmth.
The air was lukewarm.
Neither cold nor hot.
Nothing.
He rose slowly.
He was lying on short, dull green grass, almost colorless.
The field stretched in all directions, flat, endless.
No mountains.
No flowers.
No shadows.
He looked at his hands.
Both were there.
His right arm… was back.
Whole.
No scars.
The skin clean. The blood, gone.
Jin brought a hand to his chest.
Nothing.
The wound had vanished.
As if it had never existed.
And then… he noticed something even stranger.
His mind.
It was silent.
No fear.
No anger.
No guilt.
No shadows whispered in his thoughts.
No names. No laments.
"…Bouros?" he murmured.
Nothing.
"Bouros…?"
The silence answered with a faint whisper of the wind.
He stood there, still. There was no sound of birds. No sound at all, except the grass gently swaying.
Jin took a deep breath, confused.
He took two steps.
And then he saw.
A tree.
Alone, solitary, a few meters from where he stood.
Tall, with a white trunk and wide branches. Its leaves were grayish, like thin glass.
Beneath the tree, in the shade, sat three figures.
Three.
Jin approached slowly. Still confused.
After a few steps.
Jin felt the world tremble within him.
The first—a woman with long hair, soft skin, and a serene expression.
Lira.
The second—a tall man, broad-shouldered, with a weathered face and ever-watchful eyes.
Ragan.
And between them—the smile he would never forget.
Kael.
The brother who smiled as if everything was alright. As if everything was still possible.
Jin stumbled a step.
Lira smiled. That same motherly smile.
Ragan crossed his arms, with a rare, restrained smile.
Kael gave a slight nod, his eyes shining as they once did.
Jin's chest tightened.
The tears came before the realization.
He began to walk.
Then to run.
"Mom… Dad… Kael…"
Each step echoed in the silence as if breaking something invisible.
The tears flowed freely.
No shame.
No pride.
Only love.
Longing.
And a relief so deep it hurt.
He ran.
And the three waited for him, under the tranquil shade of the tree that seemed eternal.
Jin reached them without thinking. His body moved on its own, as if returning home after a long war.
Seeing his mother's face so close, so real, so alive—he fell.
Literally fell to his knees, then threw himself into Lira's arms, like a child who had finally found shelter.
She embraced him immediately, holding him as she always had—as if she had never left.
He cried.
Cried like never before.
They weren't just tears of pain.
They were of exhaustion.
Of longing.
Of everything he couldn't say, everything he'd held back for so long.
And so he stayed.
Hours.
His face buried in her lap, his body trembling, his sobs choking words that never came.
Lira said nothing. She just held him. Stroked his hair gently, while the quiet warmth of the field enveloped them.
And then, much later, between sobs and heavy breaths, Jin murmured:
"I'm… sorry…" The pauses were long, always accompanied by sobs.
"Sorry…
I… I was weak…
I couldn't protect you…
I… I only got in the way…"
His voice faded among the tremors of his crying, as if each word were made of glass.
Lira then held his face with both hands. Her fingers were soft yet firm.
She gently wiped the tears streaming down, then said with a smile full of love:
"You never got in our way, son."
Jin's heart tightened again, but there was a warmth in her words that held the pieces together.
"You're grown now… stronger."
Kael chuckled softly.
"You've become a man now, you idiot."
Jin cried and smiled at the same time. His face red, eyes swollen, chest still choked with emotion.
Ragan, sitting beside them, gave a faint smile and looked away, as if he didn't want anyone to see his misty eyes.
Lira noticed and, with a teasing smile, said:
"Your father still has to keep up appearances."
Kael let out a short laugh, and even Ragan shook his head with a restrained grin.
Jin just sank deeper into his mother's lap, still crying, but now smiling.
In that moment, the world was simple again.
There was peace.
There was home.
There was Mom.
There was the contrast of the inferno.
Lira ran her fingers through her son's dark locks, as she did when he was little.
Hours passed as they talked about the past.
The village.
The honey bread.
The grueling training.
Even the silliest fights.
There was nothing remarkable about the landscape, but for Jin, it was more than paradise.
Then came Lira's voice, soft as the breeze in that field:
"I saw everything."
Jin looked at her, his eyes red.
"Everything you went through, my son."
Ragan sighed deeply, looked straight into Jin's eyes, and said firmly:
"I'm proud of you, my boy. Proud of what you've become."
Lira nodded, continuing with warmth:
"You've been through so much…" Her eyes narrowed with a warm smile. "My greatest regret is not being able to help you."
Kael crossed his arms behind his head, leaning against the tree trunk, and added with a calm smile:
"If I could go back in time…" He closed his eyes. "I wouldn't change a thing."
Jin sobbed again, feeling his chest open completely.
And there, in his mother's lap, surrounded by those he loved most—he cried more.
Not from pain.
But from release.
He cried for long hours.
Without fear, without haste.
He just cried.
As if all the inferno he had carried until then was finally starting to fade with the tears.
Jin was still nestled in his mother's lap when she ran her fingers over his tear-streaked cheeks once more, smiling tenderly.
In a light, almost playful tone, she remarked:
"You're more handsome now.
You should find a girlfriend… or two."
Jin narrowed his eyes, blushing, still with tears drying on his face.
"M-Mom…"
Kael laughed loudly, leaning with one arm on his knee.
"Saphira, isn't that the name of that girl who helped you? She looks at you like you're the last piece of warm bread in the world."
Jin turned his face, still red.
Lira laughed sweetly and added:
"Your father always wanted to be a grandpa."
Jin, embarrassed, just hugged his mother tighter, hiding his face in her shoulder.
He didn't want to answer. He just wanted to stay there.
But then Ragan sighed, looking at the calm sky of the field.
"Looks like our time's running out."
Jin shot up, desperate, eyes wide.
"No! Not yet… please… not now…"
Lira stood with him and hugged him firmly, still smiling—but now there was something in her eyes, a melancholic sweetness.
"You're a man now, Jin…
Handsome and strong.
You don't need to forget us…
But your pain… it hurts us too."
Jin just shook his head, his eyes welling up again.
Kael approached and ruffled his brother's hair affectionately, as he did when they were kids.
"The monster in your soul… is the enemy of your mind."
Jin looked at him, confused, but didn't respond. He just felt.
Then Ragan placed a firm hand on his son's back, as he did when he wanted to convey courage without saying much.
"Make the two unite.
And then… you'll be strong."
Lira nodded, with the same smile as before, and said with a firm yet tender voice:
"The strongest of all."
And then… the light began to change.
The field grew paler, more distant.
Like a memory fading in the mind.
Lira's body began to vanish, little by little.
But her smile remained until the end.
"I love you, my son…
Never forget that."
Kael, with tears in his eyes for the first time, stepped back and said, his voice breaking:
"Yeah, you idiot…
We all love you."
Ragan was the last to fade. His steady, serene gaze, his deep voice full of pride.
"Keep walking your path with your head held high, my son."
And then…
Silence.
A gentle breeze.
The tree was still there.
But they were not.
Jin was alone.
The tears returned, but now they weren't of pain.
They were of love.
And of farewell.