Ryden's voice came out heavy, a rumble that felt more like a verdict than a plea. "Veon—" he began, "our first priority is the safety of our people." His eyes did not soften. "I know I did wrong to Auren. It's my fault." The words landed like stones. He did not ask for forgiveness; he accepted the blame as a weapon.

Veon's left hand curled into a fist, the fingers digging white into his palm. The pain went unnoticed by Ryden, but it was real—salt and iron behind Veon's calm. A blank, hollow look flickered across Ryden's face for a heartbeat, something he'd been hiding for years. Then he continued, colder now: "You must counter Auren—for Ryuki City. That is your oath."

The sentence closed the room like a trap. No questions remained. The silence that followed was thick and heavy; the blue light of the room washed their skin in a ghostly glow, but the moment itself felt dim, as if the light had been swallowed.

Veon's nod was slow and deliberate. "If it comes to the city's safety," he said, each word measured and terrible, "if I must kill Auren… I will." His voice cracked only once. "Killing one life is better than watching that life kill hundreds. May I go now?"

Ryden's answer was a single, sharp nod. "Go."

Veon strode to the door, slammed it closed behind him, and fled down the corridor. In the quiet of his room, alone with the dark, he finally could not hold back the tears. They fell hot and unstoppable—grief, anger, and a brother's impossible choice carving tracks down his face.

Veon stared at his trembling hand, a rain of hot tears refusing to stop. His eyes were raw and rimmed red, vision blurred; only one thought rose through the fog of grief: I don't want to lose my brother again.

He whispered into the dark, voice small and broken, "I thought—once you became a mage, we three would live a good life. I pictured us together, proud and unbroken." The words barely left his lips before they were swallowed by the room.

His breath hitched, ragged and uneven. Around him, the chamber glowed the color of old blood—red tapestries, deep crimson wallpaper—turning every shadow into a memory. He had never wanted to become the hand that dealt death to his own blood. He had not grown strong enough for that.

He watched his hand in close, each tremor a betrayal. Anger rose in him like a bitter tide, but beneath the rage lay a deeper, colder pain—the pain of a world that forged weapons from children and made brothers into enemies.

"Auren… Auren," he muttered, voice shaking. "Please. Don't do anything rash." His words were a plea, a prayer, and a command all at once. "Forgive this city. Make your heart wide, little brother. Come back. So we can live beneath the same roof once more, like before."

He pressed his palms to his face until his forehead burned, as if physical pressure could press the longing into shape. "Please, Auren—don't turn this into your war of hatred."

Silence answered him. The only sound was his own breath, slow and desperate, and the echo of a promise he wasn't sure he could keep.

Meanwhile, high in the Hollow Mountain, Lee Wang stood before a group of trembling children—none of whom carried even a shred of the once-noble Ramuza bloodline. His very presence radiated authority, a quiet and supreme power wrapped beneath a mountain's still calm. The constant wind that flowed through Hollow Mountain caught his long, greying beard, making it flutter like a battle flag of judgment.

Lee Wang's aura was heavy, vast, and unshakable—like standing before the wrath of heaven itself. When he finally spoke, his voice carried the weight of a thousand worries, echoing across the mountain walls."You are the ones," he said slowly, eyes sharp as forged steel, "who did this to the Ramuza family?"

Nyra and Dax stepped forward at once, standing straight as soldiers before their commander."Yes," they answered in unison, their voices firm, "we did this."

The wind moved gently through the hollow pass, not cold, not warm—just a soft eternal spring. The air shimmered faintly with mist, wrapping the scene in a haze that seemed to suspend time itself. Clothes fluttered lightly in the wind as if the mountain was quietly breathing.

Then Auren stepped forward. His expression carried both pride and remorse. His voice, though low, held the weight of declaration."I am the one who led them," he said, bowing deeply, his head nearly touching the ground. "I engaged them in this act. I am sorry… I didn't know things would turn out this way. Please—forgive me."

Lee Wang's eyes widened—not in anger, but in disbelief mixed with heartbreak. He raised his hand slowly, and as he did, the sky above the Hollow Mountain cracked open with thunder.

A storm answered his fury.Lightning streaked across the heavens in wild, mad arcs, crashing against the peaks—THUDDD! THUDDD! THUDDD!

Behind Lee Wang stood rows of young students and adults—some teachers, some disciples—watching in silent terror. The thunder rolled again, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

The air grew tense; even the mountain seemed to hold its breath.Auren didn't lift his head.And in that storm of divine rage, judgment had only just begun.

"Auren… what you did is unforgivable."

Lee Wang's voice struck like thunder, rolling across the hollow peaks. "You just became my student—and you already started killing people? Is that what I taught you?" His tone was no longer just anger; it carried pain, betrayal, and disappointment deeper than the mountain's roots. "It's a shame upon me… a shame upon my life. Is it my mistake… that I gave you the Mad Hunter Orb?!"

His words roared through the sky. The storm raged louder, as if heaven itself agreed. Lightning licked the clouds, and every strike mirrored his fury.

"I see it now," Lee Wang continued, his voice echoing across the ridges. "Destiny never made you a mage because it knew—it knew you would end up in mass destruction like this!"

The words hit Auren harder than any thunderclap. His eyes widened, staring blankly at the ground beneath his feet. His body trembled; his breath grew uneven. The wind tangled his hair as he sank deeper into his thoughts.

Was that… the reason?Was destiny trying to stop me all along?

Inside his heart, a battle erupted—a war between righteousness and regret.

But I only wanted what was right… I fought for what they deserved…

The echo of his own reasoning twisted painfully inside his mind.

Then why… why does this feeling hurt so much?

His fists tightened, nails digging into his palms. His vision blurred as guilt and confusion clashed like storms within. Around him, the thunder roared again—wild, merciless, and endless—as if even the mountain itself mourned what its disciple had become.

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