Owen stared.
"…Uncle?"
The man smiled faintly.
"Yes."
Owen exhaled through his nose.
"I was abandoned early in my life," he said flatly. "Don't start saying nonsense like that."
The man laughed.
It wasn't mocking.
It was amused.
"You are a brat... Just like your father"
Owen didn't flinch.
Just stared back.
The man crouched beside him.
"Did you accomplish what you wanted with your power?"
Silence.
Owen's jaw tightened.
"I wasted it."
His fingers curled slightly.
"I kept reacting. Fighting. Surviving."
His voice grew quieter.
"I never really understood it."
The man studied him carefully.
"That is true."
Owen's eyes flicked up.
"But," the man continued calmly, "you have not lost everything."
Owen frowned.
"You lost your core," the man said. "Not your foundation."
Owen's breathing slowed.
"What does that mean?"
The man's gaze sharpened slightly.
"The moment we met… I removed your father's affinity."
Owen's eyes widened.
"What?"
"It was incompatible with you at the moment."
The man's tone wasn't apologetic.
It was factual.
"I replaced it with something refined."
Owen pushed himself up on one elbow.
"You replaced my father's affinity?"
The man nodded once.
"With my ascended affinity."
Silence.
The weight of that sentence hung heavy.
Owen swallowed.
"…Who are you?"
The man stood fully.
The white space trembled faintly around him.
"Caelum Midgar."
The name hit differently.
Not loud.
But heavy.
"The Fallen One of the Midgar line."
Owen stared.
"…You're Lloyd's brother."
Caelum's expression shifted slightly.
"Ah."
A faint smile.
"So you know of him."
Owen's voice lowered.
"You betrayed the kingdom."
Caelum's eyes darkened — not with anger.
With memory.
"Yes."
Silence lingered.
Owen swallowed.
"How long do I have?"
Caelum tilted his head.
"In the physical world?"
He looked upward briefly, as if checking something unseen.
"Approximately thirty minutes."
Owen's breath caught.
"…Before I die?"
"Yes."
There was no cruelty in it.
Just honesty.
Owen closed his eyes briefly.
Then reopened them.
"Tell me about yourself."
Caelum studied him.
"…Words are insufficient."
He stepped closer.
Kneeling again.
"It is better to show you."
His hand pressed gently against Owen's face.
The white world shattered.