Kael’s eyes lingered on his mother lying in the hospital bed, her skin pale and wrinkled.
Her once healthy figure had withered until she looked painfully thin beneath the hospital blanket.
Countless tubes ran across her body.
Monitors surrounded her from every direction.
The rhythmic beeping of the machines confirmed she was still alive.
Barely.
Kael felt his chest tighten.
The image before him was completely different from the woman he remembered.
His mother had always been beautiful.
She shared many of the same delicate features as Lyra.
She had always smiled warmly whenever they came home.
She always made sure they had enough to eat, even when she herself skipped meals.
Whenever either of them got hurt, she would gently rub their heads and tell them everything would be alright.
Those memories remained vivid.
Almost painfully vivid.
Yet the woman before him felt like someone else entirely.
Mana sickness had stolen nearly everything from her.
Even his future self rarely came to visit after Lyra died.
He paid the medical bills.
Worked himself to exhaustion.
Made sure she never lacked treatment.
But visiting...
That was another matter.
Every time he came to the hospital, he would stop outside this very room.
He could never bring himself to enter.
The guilt was too overwhelming.
He couldn’t face her.
Not after Lyra’s death.
Not after everything that happened.
Even now...
Those same emotions clawed their way back into his heart.
His feet felt heavy.
His breathing became uneven.
Every instinct screamed at him to turn around.
To leave.
To wait outside.
Anything except stepping closer.
Then...
A warm hand gently wrapped around his own.
Kael slowly turned his head.
Lyra stood beside him.
She wasn’t saying anything.
She simply held his hand tightly and gave him a small, reassuring smile.
That single smile struck harder than any monster ever could.
Kael suddenly understood something.
He had been fooling himself.
What did defeating powerful monsters matter?
What did gaining unimaginable strength matter?
If he still ran away when it truly counted.
His future self had abandoned them.
He had sworn this life would be different.
Yet over the past few days, what had he actually done?
He had given Lyra gifts.
He gave her money.
He smiled.
He joked.
Somewhere along the way, he’d started believing those things meant he was finally becoming a good brother.
But standing here...
Faced with the woman who had sacrificed everything for them...
His first instinct was still to run.
How pathetic.
How disgustingly hypocritical.
He hadn’t changed nearly as much as he’d convinced himself.
The realization left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He didn’t deserve Lyra’s unwavering trust.
He didn’t deserve the warmth of the hand holding his.
He certainly didn’t deserve that smile.
At this moment, Kael had never felt more ashamed of himself.
He wanted to kneel before his mother.
He wanted to apologize.
For everything.
But not yet.
There was still something far more important that had to be done first.
Kael slowly looked up before forcing a faint smile onto his face.
"I’m okay now."
His voice was calm.
Far calmer than he actually felt.
"Thanks."
He gently withdrew his hand from Lyra’s grasp.
Lyra frowned almost immediately.
She could tell something was wrong. Kael’s smile looked the same as always, yet somehow... it wasn’t. There was something hidden beneath it, something he clearly wasn’t ready to talk about.
She opened her mouth, intending to ask what was bothering him.
Before she could, Dun suddenly spoke.
"I’ve got to say..." he said quietly as he looked at the woman lying on the hospital bed. "Your mother is an incredibly strong woman."
The siblings turned toward him.
Dun scratched the back of his head before continuing.
"I’ve seen quite a few patients suffering from mana sickness over the years."
His eyes lingered on the various life-support machines surrounding the bed.
"Most of them never even make it this far."
Silence settled over the room.
Only after the words left his mouth did Dun realize how inappropriate they sounded.
His expression immediately stiffened.
"I... I didn’t mean it like that."
Kael simply shook his head.
"It’s fine."
His gaze returned to his mother.
"I know what you meant."
He didn’t dwell on the subject any longer.
Instead, he took a slow breath before speaking again.
"Let’s begin."
The moment those words fell, Dun’s previous awkwardness disappeared.
A hint of excitement surfaced on his face as he carefully reached into his storage bracelet.
Moments later, he withdrew a small crystal vial.
His movements were surprisingly gentle.
Almost reverent.
To most people, it was just another potion.
To Dun...
It represented years of relentless effort.
Years of failures.
Years of dead ends.
Years spent chasing an answer that countless alchemists had long since given up on.
Every shattered experiment.
Every wasted ingredient.
Every sleepless night.
Everything had finally led to this single vial.
How could he not be excited?
Kael’s eyes remained fixed on the potion.
It looked surprisingly ordinary.
The liquid inside was almost completely transparent, carrying only the faintest hint of pale green.
If someone placed it among a dozen ordinary healing potions, it probably wouldn’t stand out at all.
Yet this unassuming liquid carried the hopes of countless families.
Kael slowly extended his hand.
"Can I take a look?"
"Of course."
Without hesitation, Dun handed the vial over.
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of hesitation in his movements.
He trusted his own creation.
Kael accepted the potion and quietly observed it.
He trusted Dun.
He also trusted the countless successful trials that had already been conducted.
But trust alone wasn’t enough.
Not when his mother’s life was involved.
Without anyone noticing, mana quietly flowed through his eyes.
The world around him changed.
Every tiny fluctuation of energy became crystal clear.
His Eye of Judgment silently examined every inch of the potion.
Its composition.
Its mana circulation.
Its stability.
Its impurities.
Nothing escaped his gaze.
Several long seconds passed.
Finally...
Kael gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
There were no hidden defects or an abnormalities.
Everything matched exactly what Dun had claimed.
Only then did he hand the vial back.
"You can administer it."
Dun carefully uncorked the bottle before moving beside the hospital bed.
Supporting the unconscious woman’s head with one hand, he slowly poured the transparent liquid into her mouth, ensuring every drop was swallowed.
The room instantly became silent.