He had barely begun relaxing when his senses detected someone approaching.
He opened one eye.
Ezra was walking toward them.
As soon as she arrived, Lyra smiled brightly.
"Ezra."
"Thanks."
"I’ve been leveling so quickly today."
Ezra smiled back.
"It wasn’t anything."
"I’m glad you’re getting stronger."
Then her smile faded slightly.
She looked toward Kael.
"If you don’t mind..."
"Can I borrow your brother for a bit?"
Before Kael could speak, Lyra answered.
"Sure. No problem."
Ezra nodded.
"I’ll return him in a little while."
She looked back at Kael.
"Come with me."
Kael stared at both of them.
"...Hold on."
"Aren’t you two forgetting to ask for my opinion?"
SMACK.
A hand landed squarely against his back.
Lyra rolled her eyes.
"Just go."
"I’m sure it’s something important."
"But—"
SMACK.
Another slap.
Kael rubbed his back with an aggrieved look.
"...You’re becoming more violent."
Lyra simply pointed toward Ezra.
"Go."
Seeing there was no escaping, Kael sighed.
"...Fine."
He looked at Ezra.
"Lead the way."
Although he complained, he was curious about what Ezra wanted to talk about.
The two of them walked deeper into the forest.
Far enough that the others could no longer hear their conversation.
Only then did Ezra stop.
She slowly turned around.
The smile on her face had disappeared completely.
Her expression became unusually serious.
She looked directly into Kael’s eyes.
"Tell me something."
"The last time I visited your house..."
"Did anything strange happen?"
Kael blinked.
"Strange?"
"In what sense?"
Ezra lowered her gaze slightly.
"I don’t know..."
"Did I..."
She hesitated.
"...Act differently?"
"Did I do anything..."
She paused again, seemingly unable to find the right words.
Kael understood immediately.
He decided to spare her the embarrassment.
"No."
"You healed me."
"After that, nothing happened."
Ezra visibly relaxed.
"...I see."
Kael naturally wasn’t about to tell her everything that had happened that day.
Whatever had taken control of her clearly wasn’t something she knew much about herself.
Putting himself in her shoes, he couldn’t imagine how terrifying it would be to lose control of his own body without knowing what he had done afterward.
Changing the subject, he smiled faintly.
"Oh."
"Before I forget."
"Thank you."
"For telling me about Lyra and what happened at the hospital."
"If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known anything."
Ezra shook her head.
"It wasn’t a big deal."
Then she looked toward the distant camp where Lyra was chatting happily with the others.
A gentle smile appeared on her face.
"It’s nice seeing you two getting along again."
"She was lonely. I tried my best to keep her company, but at the end of the day, what she needed wasn’t another friend. It was family."
"Now she finally has that again. It’s good seeing her smile like this."
Then her expression suddenly changed.
The warmth vanished completely.
She looked back at Kael with narrowed eyes.
"You better not hurt her again."
"If you do..."
"I’ll fillet you alive."
"And I’ll feed your own severed dick and balls back to you."
A chill instantly ran down Kael’s spine.
For a brief second, he genuinely believed she meant every word.
Then he couldn’t help smiling.
’...Yep.’
’This is the Ezra I know.’
Fierce.
Protective.
And absolutely terrifying whenever Lyra was involved.
"You don’t have to worry."
"I won’t."
"Not ever again."
Ezra held his gaze for several moments.
Finally, she nodded.
"Good."
"Then forget we had this conversation."
"I will."
Without another word, Ezra turned around and began walking back toward the group.
Kael remained standing where he was.
Watching her figure gradually disappear between the trees.
After a long while...
He let out a quiet sigh.
"So many mysteries..."
Lyra.
His mother.
Now Ezra.
Every person close to him seemed to be carrying secrets they themselves didn’t even know about.
He couldn’t help thinking about the status screen again.
A second consciousness.
One that slowly influenced Ezra’s actions whenever her mana dropped.
The thought alone made his expression darken.
In his memories of the future, Ezra had never seemed any different.
Which meant one of two things.
Either she had somehow solved the problem...
Or...
The thing inside her had already succeeded and simply continued living as Ezra without anyone realizing the truth.
That possibility was far more frightening.
Kael slowly exhaled.
Thankfully...
He had discovered it early.
Now he still had time to find a solution before it was too late.
His gaze drifted toward the endless forest stretching into the distance.
A strange feeling had lingered in his heart for days now.
The more he uncovered...
The stronger that feeling became.
It was as though countless invisible threads were slowly tightening around everyone close to him.
Something was coming.
He didn’t know what.
But his instincts refused to let him ignore it.
His Talent was still on cooldown.
One more month.
Once it became available again he would continue climbing the Tower.
He needed strength.
Far more strength than he currently possessed.
Whatever lay ahead, he had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy.
With those thoughts lingering in his mind, Kael let out a slow breath before turning around.
Without another word, he followed behind Ezra as the two of them made their way back toward the spot where the rest of the group was resting.
...
Meanwhile, in a faraway place...
The setting sun hung low on the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of crimson and gold.
Its fading light stretched across a city that had long since died.
Towering buildings stood broken and hollow, their walls collapsed by the passage of countless years. Streets that were once filled with life had become seas of shattered stone, twisted metal, and mountains of rubble. Nature had begun reclaiming what civilization had left behind, vines crawling over cracked structures while stubborn weeds forced their way through broken roads.
Silence ruled the dead world.
A suffocating silence.
The kind that made even the wind seem unwilling to disturb the graves of an ancient civilization.
Yet today...
This ruined, empty world seemed to receive some guest.
# #
[AN_ I’d love to hear what you guys think of this story so far, so don’t forget to drop a review.]