Lee Wang looked disgusted, and yet Auren didn't even flinch in the wind and thunder near the dark clouds of Hollow Mountain. "They are all wrong," Sukamu confirmed. Auren said nothing to Lee Wang, only gazing at the ground, unwavering. But inside him, guilt reflected constantly.

Lee Wang took a deep breath, turned his face while his eyes closed, then drew another deep breath and looked upward. Some words fell across him like the cold of a heavy mountain: "You are my student, but I didn't teach you anything.

I know Ramuza and their past — they would have been better off dead. But what happens, happens. From now on, until you are here in Hollow and my practicing student, you will do only what I tell you to do."

After saying that, Lee Wang covered his face with one hand in disgust and shame. Auren clenched his fist and grinned — like a decade-old buried feeling clawing up his throat. "I am grateful to you. You are the one who ignited hope in me. Without you, I never would have become a mage.

But even with all that, I can't deny the way I want to live. I just can't." Emotions rushed through Auren; he lost his tremor. "I will kill everyone bad. It doesn't matter who they are or what family they belong to.

I want a world where evil dares not rise, and people feel happiness. I want this world to happen — whether there are mages or not. I will make everyone a mage, like you made me."

As Auren spoke his ambition loudly on Hollow Mountain, a glossy, hopeful look flashed across his face. Kids and teachers listened with mixed reactions — some smiled, many found it funny, and many were shocked. But as Auren roared his desire, he drew the attention of those around him.

Lee Wang smirked. "So that's your ideology? Haha. Can't expect less. But only those who carry the power to change things succeed. In this vast world, your strength is nothing. Make yourself stronger than all. Then you can think of changing something. Train more. It's not your time yet."

Meanwhile, Dax stood, barely holding himself up, leaning on Nyra for support. His legs trembled, the chill wind brushing against the open wound on his stomach. His eyes wandered and fell on Maira — standing quietly behind Lee Wang, just a few meters away. For a moment, the whole chaos, the cries, and the heavy storm of Hollow Mountain faded into silence for him.

His eyes widened.

Maira's face — that soft, shy, pink-tinted expression — struck him like a forgotten memory of peace. Her lips trembled, unsure, and that small pink ponytail danced slightly in the breeze, stealing his attention into another world entirely. Something inside Dax twisted. He didn't know what it was — pain, maybe, or something purer than that — something that reminded him what it felt like to be alive before blood and battles.

Maira didn't realize at first that Dax's gaze had found her. She stood close to Lee Wang, her hands tight together, eyes low. But her heart suddenly beat faster — like someone was staring at her from far away. Slowly, she turned her head.

Their eyes met.

Dax stood there — barely on his feet, his face pale, his black hair messy and scattered across his blood-stained cheek. Yet in his eyes, there was a light — a gentle spark that refused to die.

Maira's breath hitched. She grimaced softly, whispering in a trembling tone, "Oh—M, are you alright?" Her voice was faint, almost carried away by the wind, but Dax heard it. He didn't need words — he understood her completely, just by the way her curls framed her worried face.

He nodded, a small, warm smile on his lips — finally, she looked at me.

That single moment felt enough to melt his pain away.

Maira exhaled slowly, relief slipping through her lips. "Hasss…" she sighed, almost to herself.

Nyra noticed. Of course she did. She stood beside Dax, her grip on him tightening slightly. But what could she do, except pretend it meant nothing? That silent eye contact between Dax and Maira stung her heart in ways she didn't understand. Something burned inside — jealousy, fear, something unnamed — yet she forced herself to stay still.

As the heated air of Hollow Mountain settled and the storm of words between Lee Wang and Auren calmed, Nyra finally broke the silence.

"Master," she said, stepping forward, "he is Nova Makai. He has no family. His friend was killed by the Ramuza family… and he no longer lives in the Down World. It might be risky for him."

Lee Wang turned, his cloak brushing the ground, and without looking back, said in a deep voice, "Take him to your room."

He walked toward the temple — his figure fading into the dim mist — leaving behind tension, unspoken feelings, and three hearts silently burning under the cold sky of Hollow Mountain.

But deep inside Ryuki City, someone was training — someone burning with a quiet, stubborn determination.

Rain poured endlessly, drenching the cracked tiles of an old garden. The place was hidden behind wooden boundaries, half-broken and soaked by years of storms. The world outside was asleep, but inside that small yard, a single sound echoed — fists striking mud, the rhythm of breath, and the sharp slap of rain hitting bare skin.

That someone was Veon Ryuki.

He trained like a ghost in the storm, each movement raw and deliberate. His body was trembling, his palms bruised, but he didn't stop. Every pushup hit the ground like a heartbeat of defiance — 2256, 2257, 2258… his voice whispered through the rain, counting with grit.

He wasn't training to show strength. He was hiding his pain inside it — making his suffering his discipline. The downpour washed over his face, but he didn't wipe it away. He let it fall, mixing with sweat, with breath, with will.

His muscles screamed. The garden floor turned to mud under his hands. The rain hit harder. And yet — his rhythm stayed the same.

"2998… 2999… 3000."

He exhaled, collapsing onto the wet ground, staring up into the dark clouds above. Lightning cracked across the sky — white and merciless — and in that flash, his eyes gleamed like molten steel.

Veon Ryuki, the one who carried his pain as purpose, was still rising.

He was breathing heavily, chest pounding with every breath. Be ready, Auren. There was no other way. I am the one who brings the dawn. I have to. He let the rain wash his face and hid the tears inside it — his red-rimmed eyes still shimmering with something fierce and fragile at once.

"Kaen… one of us," he whispered into the storm. "Soon he will reach you. You will not be alone." He smiled — a small, stubborn curve that carried the weight of inevitable sorrow.

From the wooden gate, Okabaru entered. His body was a map of carved tattoos — beasts and animals writ in black across skin like old stories. He walked as if he owned a forbidden kingdom, every step measured, every movement carrying a manly calm. His voice was rough but not unkind.

"Veon Ryuki," he said, stepping into the rain. "You didn't invite me to training today. Sounds like you're in a hurry."

Veon kept his gaze on the dark clouds, rain tracing lines down his face. "Preparing to face my brother — what else?" He smirked, half in disgust, half in tired defiance.

Okabaru's eyes flashed; a grin split his face. "Oh? Is that so? Taking Soma Niko's words so seriously, are we? But you can't kill him. That's my bet."

Veon looked at Okabaru with a slow, curious stare — wonder edged with something like dread. "Why?" he asked, because even in the rain, some questions need to be spoken aloud.

Okabaru smirked, the corners of his lips rising beneath the rain's shadow. "Time will tell you, Veon," he said, his tone carrying that strange mix of certainty and patience. "What Soma sees in the future — yes, it's destruction. Destruction caused by Auren, right? But prophecy is just a reflection of fear. We can rephrase it into anything."

He took a few steps closer, the tattoos across his chest glistening under the lightning's flash. "Maybe Auren becomes the one protecting our city from the Yuzen invasion. Or maybe he's the one who brings us the strength we need to fight them. The lines between savior and destroyer blur when the world is burning."

Okabaru paused, the rain dripping from his chin. His eyes softened for a brief moment — rare, almost hidden. "But what I see in Auren," he continued quietly, "is kindness... and innocence. That's why I still believe—he's a good guy."

Veon didn't respond at first. The words hung in the cold air like mist, between two men who had both seen too much and still dared to hope.

"There's something in Auren that always makes me wonder," Veon said quietly, his voice nearly lost in the rain. He wasn't looking at Okabaru anymore — his eyes were fixed somewhere far beyond the clouds, as if trying to see a boy he once knew through the storm.

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