What Kael saw inside made him stop for a mont.
His heart skipped a beat. He felt sothing stir deep inside—like a forgotten piece of himself had suddenly co back to life.
Right in front of him were neatly folded clothes. Old military uniforms, which are worn and torn, have been roughly patched up, but are clean.
Not a single speck of dust. A broken sword rested gently beside them, the edges chipped and the hilt faded, but it was carefully placed, like it ant everything.
Accompanied with we're hats, so clothes, and a few miscellaneous things. Unlike Kael, who had a stupefied expression, Alvera's expression froze.
Despite not trying to show it, her expression couldn't help but scream.
'What is this trash?'
Of all things, she had thought of, she never imagined the room, which was considered sacred, to contain such rags.
She then saw Kael, whose eyes moved up.
A large picture hung above the display.
It showed a man standing tall, holding two swords. One rested on his shoulder, the other pointed to the ground. His long hair flowed behind him, and his face carried a quiet strength. His eyes looked far ahead, like he was watching sothing beyond the world.
But that wasn't just anyone.
It was him.
Kael's breath caught in his throat. His hands trembled slightly.
Everything here—those clothes, the sword, the picture—it was all his. Pieces of his past. Of the man he used to be.
mories of Asana ca rushing in. Her smile, her quiet gaze, the way she used to walk beside him when no one else dared. He never talked much about her, but those mories had never really left.
Even back then, when he agreed to sneak through the port for that stupid mission—he knew it didn't make sense. He should've refused. But thinking about Asana, and all the things she had done for him, he got emotional and just… agreed.
Now, standing here, looking at what she had kept—he didn't know what to feel.
'She really did care,' he thought. 'But maybe she just couldn't let go of her walls.'
He rembered reading how Asana had beco Queen, not because she was born into it, but because the royal family was wiped out by the Demon Queen. She stepped up because she was strong. But she never married. Instead, she gave the throne to Alvera, who ca from the surviving royal line.
Did his presence play a role in that?
Who knows if she would have married and had so lovely children if he hadn't co into her life?
He didn't know. But one thing was clear.
She had kept all this for him. Carefully and lovingly living her days in mories of him.
Should he be happy? That she always held him close in her heart?
Or should he be sad? That even if they both felt the sa, they still never had a chance to be together?
He didn't have the answer.
"Huh?" Kael blinked, pulled back to the present. He noticed Alvera staring at the picture, her expression starting to crack.
"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"I'm just… surprised," Alvera said softly. "I didn't think Mother would keep sothing like this here."
She walked closer, her steps slow, her eyes wide.
"I thought this room would be filled with her favorite things or personal keepsakes. But this…" she paused, looking at the man in the image. "I didn't expect this."
Kael followed her.
"Do you know who he is?" he asked carefully.
"No," she answered quickly. Her tone was firm, but her eyes lingered.
"I never saw him. But I've seen Mother get lost in thought sotis. She'd look outside the window or hold sothing close, and I'd feel like she was rembering soone. I never asked. But maybe… maybe he ant sothing to her."
Kael stayed silent.
'Would you believe if I said that's ?' he thought, a bitter smile on his lips.
He chuckled softly in his mind. It was funny in a painful way.
As they walked through the small space, Alvera kept glancing at the picture. Sothing in her eyes was different now—more curious, more thoughtful.
She suddenly spoke again. "I don't know why, but he looks familiar. His stance… those two swords… It's like I've seen it sowhere before."
Kael smirked.
'Of course it does. You're looking at the world's greatest heretic.'
Then, sothing caught his eye—a small wooden box sitting at the end, sealed tight with a lock.
Alvera noticed, too.
She stopped in front of it and turned to Kael.
"This is the thing Mother talked about," she said softly. "It's yours now."
Kael looked at the box, his brows drawn together.
"You sure this isn't a trick?" he asked, serious but trying to lighten the mood. "You're not scamming with an empty box, right?"
Alvera smiled a little, but there was emotion in her eyes, too.
"It's not a treasure," she said. "But I think it might be sothing more."
"You didn't try to open the box?" Kael asked with a teasing grin.
"Hmph! Do you think so low of ?" Alvera snorted and tossed the key toward him.
Kael stopped smiling.
He caught the key and walked up to the box. His fingers tightened around the cold tal as he pushed it into the keyhole.
CRACK!
A sharp sound rang out. It wasn't loud, but it shook sothing deep in Kael's chest.
His breath grew heavy. His hands trembled.
The lock clicked, and with a rough creak, the lid of the box snapped open.
Kael leaned in and saw what was inside.
And then—everything snapped.
His body jerked. His eyes widened as his veins bulge.
"THISSSSS!" his voice cracked with a voice filled with rage, madness, and sothing darker while a twisting smile etched on his face.
Swishhhh!
A wave of cold, sharp, killing aura burst out from his body. The air around him twisted. Even the warmth of the room dropped instantly.
His eyes rolled slightly, and a grin—wild and dangerous—stretched across his face.
He looked like a man who had just rembered what he truly was.
A monster.
A lunatic.
A warrior drowned in blood and fire.
His fingers dug into the side of the box as he stood still, breathing heavy, madness in his gaze.
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