"You are right." The man spoke.

There was no change in his expression.

He was calm and composed, as if nothing in this world could shake him.

"However," he continued, "You are wrong about one thing. I chased this for my whole life. Do you know why?"

He gave a soft chuckle. It was quiet, almost tired.

"At first, it was simple," he said. "I wanted excitement. I wanted to feel something new. Something that could move my heart."

His eyes dimmed for a brief moment, as if old scenes were passing through his mind.

"But when I looked back at my memories," he went on, "the excitement was still there. Yet something had changed."

He lifted his gaze and looked at the woman.

"Do you want to know what?" The man asked.

The woman did not look at him.

Her fingers continued to move across the veena, smooth and steady.

The music did not pause, not even for a breath.

The man did not wait for an answer either as he spoke.

"I wanted to be free,"

"Free from rules."

"Free from cycles."

"Free from fate".

"For a long time, I thought power would give me freedom," he said.

"Then I thought breaking the laws would do it. But none of that worked."

He let out a slow breath.

"Freedom," he continued, "is not about winning or losing. It is about choosing your own end."

The woman's music flowed on, calm and unbroken, as if it had already heard these words long ago.

The forest remained silent, listening, while the man stood there with a faint smile, waiting to see whether freedom would finally answer him this time.

After a moment of silence, the woman finally spoke. She did not turn around.

"What kind of freedom?" she asked calmly.

"Aren't you already free?"

Hearing this, the man chuckled.

"Everyone has a different idea of freedom," he said.

"A slave wants to be free from his master."

"A fisherman wants to be free from his duty."

"A broken boat wants to be free from its work."

"A wealthy man wants to be free from taxes so he can keep all his money."

He paused for a breath.

"And in the same way," he continued, "I also have my own sense of freedom."

The man looked at the woman.

His eyes were clear like still water. His heart was calm.

There was no doubt in him, no confusion.

Only one thing remained strong inside him.

The desire to be free.

The woman stayed silent for a while.

The veena continued to play, soft and steady. Then she spoke again.

"Your sense of freedom is really puzzling…"

"Hahaha!"

Before she could finish, the man burst into laughter.

It was open and carefree.

"My apologies," he said, still smiling. "I didn't mean to laugh, but it really was funny."

"What exactly was funny, if I may ask?" the woman said.

Her voice was calm, steady, as if she already knew the answer.

The man slowly stopped laughing. He looked at her back and spoke in a gentle tone.

"What's funny," he said, "is that you asked if I was already free."

He shook his head lightly.

"I can move anywhere. I can live forever. I can ignore most rules of this world," he said. "Yet I am still bound."

"Bound by cause and effect. Bound by endings I cannot choose. Bound by laws I can not control."

His smile faded, but his calm remained.

"That," The man said softly, "is why I am not free."

Silence stretched between them once more.

For a long time, neither of them spoke.

The music of the veena continued, slow and steady, filling the space where words did not exist.

Then the woman spoke.

"Hmm. So do you wish to become immortal?"

She paused briefly before continuing.

"You do realize that immortality is a curse."

"Yes," the man replied calmly. "I know. That is why I do not desire it."

The woman's fingers moved gently across the strings.

"Then what do you desire?" she asked.

Hearing her question, the man did not answer at once.

He stood there in silence, his gaze fixed ahead. Time passed. Then, at last, he spoke.

"I desire control," he said quietly.

"Control over life. Control over death. Control over fate."

He turned his eyes toward her back.

"Only then," he continued, "can I be truly free."

The woman did not respond right away.

The forest and the garden seemed to grow heavier, as if it was listening closely.

After a moment, she spoke again.

"You do realize that if you achieve this," she said, "the balance of the world will be destroyed."

"Yes," the man said without hesitation.

A soft chuckle escaped him.

"And that," he added, "is exactly why it would be even more exciting. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed," the woman said calmly. "It would be exciting. However, you would not be able to achieve it. You haven't forgotten what happened to the Demon god of Pride, have you?"

Her voice was not loud, yet the moment she spoke, a faint ripple spread through the forest and entered the garden.

But it did not affect the man much.

"I remember him," the man replied. "And I also remember the one who killed him."

As he spoke, his eyes slowly drifted toward the sky.

It was as if he was looking at something far away, something old that only he could see.

After gazing at the sky for a while, he spoke again.

"The ocean reflects the endless sky," he said quietly. "But the ocean cannot bind the sky. A small creature that cannot even understand the ocean has no right to dream of holding the sky."

He let out a slow sigh.

"He was a fool," he continued. "Even though he ruled over pride, he could not control it. In the end, he was ruled by it instead. Someone like that could never conquer anything."

The woman nodded slightly.

It might have been the first time she agreed with him. It could also be the last.

"He was ambitious," she said, "but incompetent. So tell me, why do you believe you can achieve what even the God of Pride could not?"

The man smiled and spoke again.

"Don't you think that is irrelevant?"

"How exactly?" the woman replied.

Her expression did not change. Her hands continued to move across the veena, calm and steady.

"Well," the man said slowly, "one could say it was a flaw of fate itself. To give humans such potential."

He let out a quiet breath.

"A human can do anything if their heart is truly set on it. That is why humans are called the ultimate life form."

He paused and looked ahead.

"But can it really be called a flaw?" he continued. "Millions of years ago, long before the two continents of today even existed… you remember, don't you?"

"Apex."

At that name, the forest seemed to grow still.

"Wisdom greater than any other being," the man said.

"A body stronger than any other being. And yet, Apex did not know how to use mana."

He shook his head lightly.

"That was the balance. That was fate's answer. Without mana, such power was not a problem."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"But then one day, someone learned what mana truly was."

He raised his gaze.

"And from that moment on, this so-called flaw of the world caused countless cycles to repeat."

As he spoke, his eyes slowly shifted toward the man sitting cross-legged under the Bot tree.

A faint smile appeared on the man's face.

"Even you had to descend," he said softly, "just to stop that someone."

The veena's sound did not break.

"So tell me," the man continued, his voice calm but firm, "doesn't that alone make me eligible?"

He spread his hands slightly, as if presenting a simple truth.

"If fate itself keeps repeating mistakes," he said, "then why is it wrong for someone to step in and take control?"

The woman remained silent.

The music flowed on.

And somewhere between those notes, the weight of his words lingered, refusing to fade.

The woman sighed and finally turned to look at him.

When their eyes met, there was a strange light in her gaze.

At the same time, the music of the veena grew deeper and more complex, as if her thoughts had begun to flow through the strings.

"You are delusional," she said quietly. "If you truly believe you can achieve this, then give up now. Otherwise, there will be nothing left to regret."

The man chuckled.

"As long as I give my best," he replied calmly, "then even if I fail, I will have no regrets."

The woman sighed once more. She already knew it.

This was a man who could not be persuaded.

"Every law exists to keep balance in this world," she said.

"If you try to break them, nothing will remain. Isn't it easy for you to understand this simple fact?"

Hearing this, the man chuckled again.

He took a slow, sharp breath, as if steadying himself, and then spoke.

His voice was calm, yet firm, each word clear.

Born in this world, I endured its suffering.

An eternity of endless wandering.

Life revealed itself, harsh, unyielding.

The mountain I climbed had no ending.

The joy I felt while climbing, was that the meaning?

As I drew my final breath, fate gave me a chance…

To keep pursuing.

I rose above the clouds, still existing.

Through storms and shadows, I kept walking.

Each scar taught me, each wound enlightening.

I searched for meaning, but silence kept answering.

They gather and whisper, what am I?

A man? A beast? A passing spirit?

No. Beyond their reach, beyond their knowing,

I am a true human, unbroken, unyielding.

I am Vern Kael, forever unbound!!

And I will keep pursuing.

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