CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: HUMANITY

Chapter 40 – Humanity

Kaden exhaled softly and closed his eyes for a brief moment.

By now, this had become a habit—every time he was about to do something dangerous, something that actually mattered, he would close his eyes and breathe. Deep, calm, deliberate.

It was his way of anchoring himself. His way of preparing for the storm.

Then, slowly, Kaden opened his eyes again.

They were calm now. Empty. As if he had shed every emotion just to wear the silence better.

He walked toward Rome and crouched in front of him, bringing himself down to eye level.

And with a tone that was far too soft, too composed for what it carried underneath, he asked—

"Do you have anyone you hold dear?"

Rome blinked.

Of all the things he expected, that question wasn’t one of them. But he still answered—he had to. After everything Kaden had done, after everything he’d seen, disobedience wasn’t an option anymore.

"I... I do," he nodded weakly. "I have a brother. He’s waiting for me inside the capital."

Kaden said nothing. His expression didn’t shift, not even slightly.

But inside?

Inside, he was struggling.

He had accepted the necessity of cruelty. He had accepted that mercy was often a knife turned against you. But something about killing someone who was expected somewhere, someone who was being waited for—

It didn’t sit right.

It wasn’t logical. Hell, it was idiotic.

And yet.

He knew that pain too well—the pain of waiting for someone who would never return. The ache of holding onto hope only to watch it rot into silence. The endless echo of loneliness.

That was why—

Kaden decided to spare him.

It was risky. He knew that. He really knew that.

He let out a low sigh. ’Please don’t make me regret this.’

Finally, he spoke.

"I’ll spare you," Kaden said.

Rome’s eyes widened, joy flickering through the exhaustion and terror.

But then—

"But..." Kaden added, and the word dropped like a guillotine.

The temperature dropped with it. Sharp and sudden.

Like death’s fingers had just brushed the cave walls.

"If you ever try to set me up... if you ever speak a word of me..."

Kaden’s red eyes darkened, shifting from blood to something worse—something vile.

"I’ll find you. I’ll kill you. Not just you—your brother, too."

He let it sit. Let the silence stretch.

"You understand?"

Rome was speechless at first.

Because he had taken note of Kaden’s rank—he was just at Awakened Rank, the weakest stage. That meant he’d been thrown into this hellhole by The Will, not by choice. After all no awakened rank can enter here by themselves.

And yet, here he was—not panicking, not falling apart, but planning, adapting, enduring.

That was terrifying.

Because this type of person, the kind that doesn’t break even when they should, this type was the most dangerous of all.

And if he escaped this forest?

If he came back?

Rome knew what that would mean.

’I’ll die.’

So he responded.

"I won’t tell anyone," Rome said, voice trembling but clear. "I swear... on the Will."

He wasn’t stupid enough to provoke something like this. He had a brother to return to. He wanted to live.

Kaden studied him for a moment, then raised his hand.

Reditha appeared instantly, summoned with a thought.

"Sleep for a while," Kaden said, raising the hilt of his sword. "And when you wake up... forget everything."

BAAAM!

The strike landed clean on Rome’s head.

Thud—

He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Kaden let out a long, heavy sigh and stood back up. He looked at the unconscious man one more time, still wondering if this had been the right call.

But he’d already made his choice.

He’d let him live.

And if it turned out to be a mistake?

Then once he had those Death Coins, he’d just come back, find him, and kill him. And also kill his whole fucking family.

No mercy. No second thoughts.

But for now—

He let his humanity win.

With another sigh—his tenth, maybe twentieth—he tore a strip from his already ruined shirt and tied it around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

It was a flimsy disguise. Pathetic, really.

But it was all he had.

And the longer this went on, the more he realized how completely unprepared he was.

Still.

Let’s look at the bright side.

At least now he knew what not to forget next time.

But to use that knowledge?

’Let’s get out of this damned forest first.’

He thought that, then stepped out.

Perfect timing.

The guards had just started their 30-minute rest.

So, with slothful steps and heightened perception, Kaden moved toward the golden castle—ready to risk everything just to break out of this cursed place.

...

In the Warborn estate, inside her chamber, Daela lay flat on her back, staring blankly at the black ceiling.

She stared at it like it held secrets.

It didn’t.

There was nothing there.

Daela just didn’t know what else to do.

Her training was done. And normally, at this hour, she’d be stalking her little brother—watching him train, watching him do whatever he wanted to do.

Because no matter what he did, it always made her heart lighter. Just watching him... was enough.

But now?

That joy was gone.

And it was driving her insane.

’I... I miss my little brother,’ Daela thought as her fist clenched tightly.

She wanted—needed—to enter Fokay. To find him.

She didn’t need to be close. Just watching from a distance would be enough to ease the ache.

’But I don’t know where he is. I don’t even know how to track him...’

Fokay was massive. Searching aimlessly was impossible. She couldn’t afford to move blindly.

And that only made her angrier.

But Daela wasn’t someone who gave up.

She didn’t know when Kaden would come back. It could be tomorrow. Or it could be years from now.

Because that’s how evolution quests worked. Unpredictable. Unforgiving.

Especially since their family hadn’t even given him an Evolution Stone.

Why?

Simple.

They were Warborns.

They were supposed to claw their way forward on their own—no pampering, no help.

Daela would’ve swallowed that whole damn philosophy for anyone else.

But not for Kaden.

And if only she had the strength to force her father to listen...

She would’ve beaten that idiot senseless. Beaten him for so many things. Especially the ones that had to do with Kaden.

Knock knock.

A soft knock broke the silence as her maid, Sana, stepped in.

She bowed her head.

"My lady, I’ve done exactly what you asked," she said with quiet respect.

Daela didn’t respond. She just nodded, her face blank, her eyes still locked on the ceiling.

Sana didn’t mind. She was used to it by now.

But there was one thing she still wasn’t used to—

The way Daela was so attached to her brother.

It was...

’Eerie.’

That was the only word Sana could find for it.

And she could only think it.

Because if she dared say it out loud?

Let’s just say—Daela was a Warborn.

And Warborns?

They loved to kill.

—End of Chapter 40—