The deck of the ship creaked beneath the steady rhythm of waves. The earlier confrontation with Levy still lingered in the air like smoke after fire. He sat hunched, one arm covering his face as though hiding from the world, or maybe from himself. His shoulders trembled faintly, betraying the weight of tears he refused to show openly.

Yograj stepped forward at last, his heavy boots thudding against the wooden planks. His expression was unusually soft, almost sympathetic, though his voice carried its usual edge of bluntness.

"Alright, now come on," the old man said, his deep voice rumbling across the quiet deck. "You're being too harsh on the kid."

Razeal, perched again on the ship's railing, didn't turn his head. His gaze remained fixed on the endless horizon where the sky met the restless sea. His white hair stirred with the wind, his expression shadowed with something more complex than anger disappointment, frustration, something harder to name.

He said nothing to Yograj's words, as though they were already irrelevant. Only after a beat did he speak, his voice plain and cold.

"So… are you staying here?" His dark eyes shifted, not toward Yograj but toward the girl walking just beside him.. a striking figure with sharp features and haughty expressions carved across her face like she was born with them. Her posture alone screamed resistance.

Before she could open her mouth, Yograj answered for her, nodding as though to settle the matter. "She will." His eyes flicked sideways to his daughter, testing her reaction.

Razeal didn't accept that. He kept his eyes on the girl, ignoring the old man entirely. "Do you want to?" His tone made it clear that the father's word meant nothing if the daughter herself said otherwise.

Aurora, as the girl was called, narrowed her eyes. Her lips curled into an expression of pure disdain, like she'd been dragged into a nightmare against her will. "Do I have an option? If I want to leave, this old man seems to be forcing me." Her voice dripped with disgust. She turned her head sharply, but even as she did, she caught Yograj's side-eye. It was enough to silence her rebellion. She hmphed under her breath and folded her arms.

Yograj sighed, his large shoulders dipping. "Aurora," he whispered, his voice carrying both weariness and disappointment. He seemed almost hurt by her rejection, but he said no more.

Aurora only crossed her arms tighter, her chin tilting upward in stubborn defiance. She turned her face away, pouting like she was sealing herself off from the world.

Razeal, however, wasn't finished. He raised his right hand..well, the stump of it and extended two fingers with his left. His gaze locked on her, calm yet sharp.

"I have two options for you," he said flatly. "First, I can throw you off this ship right now, and you can swim to shore yourself if you really want to leave."

Aurora blinked, taken aback. Her arrogance faltered just a fraction as she stared at him speechless. "And… what's the second?" she asked finally, her voice edged with disbelief.

"I'll spin you around and launch you straight into the air toward the empire. As for landing" his lips curved in the faintest smirk, "..Well that's on you. Can you manage that?"

The girl stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "Fuck yourself," she muttered, her haughty façade slipping just enough to reveal her shock. Then she turned abruptly, storming to the side of the deck. "No need."

"Hey, hey.. daughter, listen to me!" Yograj called, his voice cracking with urgency. His face fell as he hurried after her, his usual stoicism replaced with fatherly desperation. "Why are you acting like this? That wasn't my fault in first place.. i didn't knew!" His words tumbled over each other as he followed, the two falling quickly into a heated back-and-forth, voices fading as they moved toward the far railing.

Their argument, however, resolved nothing. Father and daughter seemed destined to clash endlessly, neither willing to bend nor listen.

Razeal only exhaled a short breath and turned his gaze elsewhere. "Whatever. Don't let anyone disturb me," he said quietly, his words directed toward Maria.

Maria blinked, caught off guard. She hadn't expected him to place such responsibility on her. Still, she gave a small nod, her usual sharp tongue held back for once. "...Alright," she murmured, her eyes softening briefly.

Razeal leaned back against the railing, closing his eyes for a moment. Inside, he spoke silently. Alright, system. Let's go to Zara. Gotta get this arm back. His gaze lowered to the right side of his body, where his arm had been cut away. The absence still burned like phantom fire.

[Absolutely,] the system replied. And in the next instant, Razeal's consciousness was pulled inward, swallowed into the vast void of system space.

---

Far away, within the empire.. inside lands few dared tread another scene was unfolding.

A heavy air of dread clung to the barren clearing before the gates. They were no ordinary gates, but a warped, towering structure of ancient black stone, carved with runes older than the empire itself. Flames licked along the edges of the archway, radiating heat that shimmered the air like a desert mirage. It was as though the very boundary between worlds had been stretched thin here, a passage that led somewhere beyond mortal understanding.

Arabella stood in front of it, her robes shifting faintly in the furnace-hot winds. Her flamy hair, usually so pristine, clung slightly with sweat at her temples. Her eyes, however, did not waver. They were fixed on the Areon in her arms.

But he was hardly the boy he had been weeks ago. His face was ghastly blue, veins bulging across his skin like writhing serpents. Blood seeped from those veins, thin red lines tracing across his scalp, dripping down his temples. His body trembled violently, as though he were fighting battles inside his very blood. Even his armor, once shining, seemed to pulse faintly with the heat radiating off his poisoned body.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Arabella's voice was calm, but the weight of it pressed down like stone. She looked down at her son, her heart torn in two.

Areon's lips parted, his voice hoarse and trembling but steady in resolve. "M… Mother," he rasped, his breath catching. "Sister needs my presence. I shall be the one to hold her dignity… I have failed. I cannot… fail her amd myself again. I shall do this." His voice broke on the last words, but his eyes. red-rimmed, bloodshot still burned with stubborn fire.

"Very well, then." She exhaled, her voice softening to something only a mother could give. Her eyes reflected her son's broken yet unyielding figure his weakest and his strongest state, all at once.

Without another word, she tightened her hold on him. Then, with a sudden motion, she hurled him toward the gates.

The runes flared As flames roaring. The gates yawning open, their light blinding, searing. For a single breath, the temperature around them surged to unbearable levels.

The moment Areon crossed the threshold, his clothes ignited. His armor evaporated into nothingness, disintegrating from his body like ash caught in the wind. His scream was torn away instantly by the roar of fire. Then his form vanished inside, swallowed whole by the inferno.

The gates slammed shut behind him with a thunderous boom.

The silence that followed was deafening. The world seemed to hold its breath. Arabella stood rooted, her hands still extended as though holding him even in absence. The searing wind died slowly, leaving only the faint shimmer of heat across the blackened ground.

She did not move. Only staring at the gate, her lips parting with the faintest of sighs. It was the sound of a mother releasing her son into a fate from which there would be no return.

The firelight reflected in her eyes, but they did not break. They held steady, cold yet trembling beneath the surface, as she stood sentinel before the gate that had devoured her child.

"Sighh" finally after dont know how long she sighed and disappear from place she was standing

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Hey everyone

I'm really sorry, but today's chapter ended up short and honestly not as strong as I'd like it to be. I started writing, but life got in the way. I had to attend two cousins' birthdays in different places, and when I finally got home, my mom suddenly got very sick. We had to rush her to the doctor, and she was put on drips.

With everything going on, I was tired and anxious, but I still tried to write something rather than leave you all waiting. I'll be honest I don't even know if what I wrote makes sense the way I wanted it to, but I hope you can understand the circumstances.

Thank you all so much for being patient with me and for continuing to read, even when I can't give you my best. I'll try my hardest to bring you a proper chapter tomorrow.

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