Kael fell to his knees.

His entire body throbbed—muscles on fire, breath ragged, the metallic taste of blood still in his mouth. The silence of the surrounding forest was almost suffocating, as if the world itself were holding its breath.

He thrust his sword into the ground to keep himself upright. The golden metal—or what felt like metal—pulsed beneath his fingers, emitting a faint glow that breathed as if it were... alive.

For a moment, he thought he was delirious.

But then he heard it.

A whisper.

Low, husky, ancient.

It didn't come from the wind, or the forest.

It came from the sword.

Distorted words, in a language he didn't know, but somehow...understood.

"Awaken... Blood of light... tear the veil..."

Kael gritted his teeth and yanked the blade from the ground, the metallic sound echoing like a muffled scream.

"Shut up." he growled, staring at the glow spreading across the blade.

The answer was a softer whisper, almost... mocking.

"To deny... is to accept..."

Kael shook his head, trying to push it away. It must be fatigue. It must be exhaustion and the dense mana of the forest interfering with his mind.

But part of him knew it wasn't just that.

From the moment he'd wielded that sword—a common weapon, one the witches had hurriedly given him before they left—he'd felt something different. A weight. A consciousness.

The blade wasn't just steel and magic.

It watched him.

He stood, panting, trying to ignore the nagging pulse vibrating in his hand. The golden glow faded, and for a moment, everything was quiet again.

Behind him, a soft sound.

The princess stirred.

Kael turned and saw her waking—her blue eyes cloudy, her skin pale, her lips dry. She blinked, confused, before trying to sit up.

"Where... where are we...?" Her voice was weak, hesitant.

Kael took a deep breath, still trying to catch his breath. "Far enough," he replied, avoiding looking at her directly. "But not safe."

She watched him for a moment, noticing the open wounds on his arms and the tremor in his hands. "You need to rest."

He let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Rest? Here?"

She stared at him, surprised. "You'll fall if you keep this up."

"If I fall, you die with me," he replied coldly, straightening. "The forest is saturated with mana. Something is drawing it all here."

He looked around. The air vibrated, the ground throbbed beneath his feet. Each breath seemed to draw too much energy, as if the very environment wanted to suffocate them with power.

"We need to find Sylphie," he said, his voice firm. "She's connected to the forest; perhaps she can understand what's happening before everything turns against us."

The princess watched him silently. There was something in his tone—something that made her hesitate.

"You..." she began softly. "You don't need to continue this mission."

Kael stopped walking. Slowly, he turned his face toward her.

"What did you say?"

"You've already done more than any soldier could." Her voice trembled, but it held sincerity. "You could have left me there, but you carried me here. You risked your own life. I... I don't want to be the reason for your death."

Kael was silent for a moment. The wind blew between them, cold and charged with mana.

Then he took a step forward—then another.

He placed her carefully on the ground, resting her against a moss-covered rock.

And suddenly, the atmosphere changed.

His expression, previously weary, was now cold. His golden gaze glinted, hard as steel.

"I want to ask you something," he said softly, almost in a whisper.

She looked at him, confused. "What...?"

"Why are they after you?"

The question sounded like a blow. Direct, heavy.

The princess blinked, stunned. "I... I already told you, I don't know—"

"Stop lying," he cut her off, stepping forward. His sword flashed in his hand. "I'm tired of this shit. Ever since we accepted the request, I've seen all kinds of shit and even been captured for days because of this shit."

She swallowed, backing away a little. "I don't know!"

Kael raised his sword.

"Stop lying, Princess of Skaldi."

The sound of the title echoed through the trees, heavy, almost sacred. The forest seemed to react—the air filled with energy, the leaves trembled.

She stared at him, her eyes wide, her voice wavering. "How... how do you know who I am...?"

Kael kept his blade raised. "That doesn't matter to you."

"I'm not lying!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "I only came here because my kingdom is going to be destroyed!"

The sound of the confession hung in the air, cutting through the silence.

Kael froze.

The sword's glow wavered, fading.

"What...?" he murmured.

She was trembling. Her hands clutched the cloak to her chest, and her breath was shaky. "I didn't come out of cowardice. Not for power. I came because... because Skaldi will fall, and my father sent me to Azalith!"

Kael slowly lowered his sword, his gaze fixed on her.

"Will fall...?"

She nodded, crying silently. "My father... he... he's probably already dead. But they're hunting me all over the kingdom to make sure I don't return! He just said I was supposed to go to Azalith, that some people would take me to the headmaster! That's all! I don't know why, but I'm no princess!"

Kael stood there, motionless. The sound of the princess's breathing was the only audible sound among the trees—panting, trembling, human. Everything else around seemed dead. Even the forest, alive and pulsating moments before, seemed to contain its very air.

He didn't know what to think.

His golden gaze, until then filled with anger, began to lose its luster—replaced by something she couldn't decipher. Distrust, perhaps. Or fear.

"'You're not a princess at all'?" he repeated slowly, the words coming out between his teeth. "You just confirmed otherwise."

She shook her head hard, tears splashing onto the moss at her feet. "I was...!" she said, her voice cracking. "But that means nothing now! Skaldi is gone!"

She clutched her cloak to her chest, as if it were all that remained of her old life. "My father told me to run away, Kael. I don't even know why!" He said I should find the director at the Azalith Institute. He said he was the only one who could stop—"

She paused.

Her gaze trailed off for a moment, as if trying to remember something she didn't want to surface.

"Stop what?" Kael's voice sounded lower, colder.

She swallowed. "—the complete fall."

"Of the kingdom?"

"Of the continent."

Kael felt a shiver run down his spine.

The wind blew again, and for a brief moment he thought he heard the same whisper of the sword mingling with the rustle of leaves.

"Blood of light… veil torn… the cycle returns…" He closed his eyes, tightening his grip around the blade.

The princess continued, trying to find the words. "Before everything fell, I heard the mages arguing. They spoke of a corruption… something ancient, an energy that had begun to seep into the castle walls." The seal that held Skaldi's magical borders began to break. And... and then came the mana storms, the dead...

She took a deep breath, and her body began to tremble. "My father... tried to contain everything. He said he would sacrifice anything to keep the kingdom alive. And then, out of nowhere, he sent me away. He just gave me a medallion and told me to go to Azalith before it was too late."

She pulled the chain from her neck and showed the medallion to Kael. It was silver, ancient, engraved with a spiral symbol—sealing runes, intertwined like chains.

"I know nothing else! All I know is that the day I left the royal castle, everything was in flames!"

The ground was unstable—loose rocks, sharp roots, mud oozing from the slopes like the blood of the earth itself.

The sound of the three women's heavy breathing mingled with the distant roar of a mana storm gathering above the treetops.

Sylphie ran ahead, her bare feet barely touching the ground. Her skin, faintly glowing in the green light of dusk, seemed to pulse with the forest. The veins in her arms shone an emerald hue—her connection to the environment, vivid and blaring.

"This way!" she shouted, turning for a moment, her silver hair stuck together in damp strands. "I can feel his presence!"

Amelia and Irelia were close behind, stumbling over branches and rocks.

"Are you sure about that?!" Amelia asked, gasping, trying to hold on to her wind-torn cloak.

"Absolutely," Sylphie replied, without looking back. "The mana in the forest has changed. She's reacting to Kael... and to something with him."

Irelia clenched her fist, leaping onto an exposed root. "So he's alive."

The tone in her voice was cold, but her lilac eyes betrayed contained relief. The wind blew against them, bringing the smell of burnt metal and damp leaves.

"Alive... but in danger," Sylphie added, frowning. She paused for a moment, placing her hand on the ground. She closed her eyes, feeling the vibration coming from the deep roots of the forest.

A dense energy pierced the ground, almost like a silent scream.

She opened her eyes suddenly. "There's a presence with him. Something ancient..."

"How ancient?" Amelia asked softly, already drawing a dagger.

"Ancient enough to make the forest tremble," Sylphie replied, standing up. "And worst of all... she seems to be inside him."