The sky was bruised with clouds when Kael, Elric, and their guards reached the foot of the mountain. The narrow road leading toward Taylor Orphanage — Branch 34 was too tight for the carriage, overgrown with crooked roots, thorny shrubs, and mud slippery from the earlier drizzle.
As planned the night before, Robert remained in the carriage. He had argued—of course he had—but even he couldn't deny the strain on his body after the poisoning. Kael worried just as much; Robert's stubborn smile had not fooled him.
Elric placed a hand on Robert's shoulder before mounting her horse.
"Rest. We will return before nightfall."
Robert forced a smile and bowed his head.
Kael looked back once before following Elric. He tugged at the hood of his robe, concealing his face, then climbed behind her on the horse—he still didn't trust himself to ride alone.
They began their ascent.
The deeper they went into the woods, the quieter it became. Not even the chirping of birds accompanied them, only the sound of hooves on damp earth.
After nearly an hour of climbing, they reached the mountain's crest.
And there it stood.
—or rather, what remained of it.
The ruin of Taylor Orphanage Branch 34 was half-collapsed, its stone walls scorched black, its roof now only metal ribs against the dim sky. Vines strangled the windows, roots split the floorboards, and the burned sign—once proudly hung—lay cracked under tangled weeds.
Kael's breath hitched.
A tingling pressure crawled up his spine.
This place… this smell…
His hands trembled.
Elric, walking beside him, caught it immediately.
Without a word, she slid her fingers into his—warm, grounding, strong.
"I'm here, Kael…" she whispered.
Her voice steadied something inside him.
Kael looked at her briefly before inhaling deeply. He forced himself forward.
The guards advanced first, lanterns and swords drawn.
"Your Grace, the ground is uneven. Please follow behind us. Stay alert."
Inside, the ruins swallowed all light.
Burnt beams littered the floor. The remains of old furniture lay crushed beneath debris. Moss clung to the walls like a slow-moving rot. Every step echoed with ghosts.
Elric moved cautiously, inspecting the corners.
"They destroyed everything… Every record, every trace. I can't find anything at all."
Her tone held frustration—and anger.
Kael stopped near a charred wall.
His fingers hovered inches above the surface.
And suddenly—
Yet again, his mind shattered into fragments.
Rumbling… fire… chains dragging… children screaming… guardians shouting… blood…
He staggered.
"Kael! Don't push yourself! You're pale—let's return and come back later," Elric urged, catching his arm.
He shook his head.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"…it's ok. I remember the path…"
His voice trembled.
Elric and the guards exchanged looks.
They couldn't force him—not here. Not when this place held answers he alone could unlock.
Kael stepped deeper into the ruin, toward the east wing.
The hallway ended abruptly at a wall.
Elric raised a brow. "Is the secret basement behind this wall?" She knocked on the stone—solid, old, unbroken.
Kael shook his head.
He walked into the last room of the hall—an empty space filled with rotted papers and dust.
He knelt.
His fingers brushed across the corner, searching…
Then—
click.
A faint mechanical tremor vibrated through the floor.
The guards stiffened.
The room shifted.
The wooden planks parted down the center, sliding away to reveal a gaping stairwell spiraling into darkness.
A cold breath of air rose from below, thick with the smell of rot.
The guards descended first, torches raised.
Elric and Kael followed.
The basement swallowed them whole.
No sunlight reached here.
Only the flicker of flames revealed horrors long left in the dark.
Bloodstains painted the walls—still visible, still clinging.
Bones littered the floor, broken and brittle.
Kael's chest tightened.
Elric stepped closer to a cell door.
Her foot accidentally nudged something—
crack.
She froze.
On the ground was a skull—small, delicate, barely the size of her palm.
An infant.
"This is… too cruel…" Elric whispered, voice breaking.
All around them were tiny skeletons chained to walls—ankle cuffs rusted, neck shackles still bolted to metal rings. Some bones were piled in corners, as if swept aside long ago.
Kael stood motionless, eyes hollowing at the sight.
"They let them die here…"
His voice was barely audible, breaking through the suffocating silence.
"They didn't manage to go out from here during the massacre…"
Elric slowly turned toward him.
Her heart clenched as she saw Kael—standing amidst the bones of children he once lived with.
"…Kael…" she whispered.
But he wasn't looking at her.
He stared into the pitch-black hallway ahead.
A place his memories had been buried for years.
"I was once… dragged to be here…" Kael murmured.
His hand clenched tightly, knuckles white.
Elric swallowed hard, nodding to the guards.
"Stay close. Torches forward. We follow Kael."
Together, they walked deeper into the darkness—toward the heart of the orphanage's cruelty.
Toward the place where Kael's nightmares began
The basement stretched deeper than any of them expected.
Unlike the charred ruin above, the underground rooms were untouched by fire. Everything remained intact—furniture preserved beneath layers of dust, shelves warped but standing, papers scattered where they had fallen years ago. And the dark stains that marked the floors… unmistakably dried blood.
Elric moved cautiously through what looked like an office, her torch illuminating rows of decaying drawers and toppled cabinets.
"These rooms… someone hid them well," she murmured.
On a desk against the wall lay a stack of curled papers. Elric picked one up, brushing the dust aside—and froze.
Her eyes widened in horror.
The document detailed an inhuman experiment.
Extraction methods.
Dosage of pain tolerance.
The number of times blood was drawn from a single child per week.
Elric clapped a hand over her mouth, bile rising in her throat.
"This… this is monstrous…" she whispered.
She turned toward Kael, wanting to warn him, to hide it from him even for a moment.
But Kael stood before a cell.
A cell filled with tiny skeletons piled in a corner, shackled ankles still bound to rusted chains.
His expression was empty.
Too empty.
As if he were standing in front of his own grave.
"Kael…" Elric whispered—but he didn't move.
Her gaze shifted back to the desk—and she noticed something else.
A drawer beneath the desk, sealed by rust and an old lock.
Elric gestured to the guards.
"Break it open. Now."
They tried once—twice—then finally, with a splintering crack, the drawer gave way.
Inside were three black files, sealed in wax.
Elric pulled them out, her hands trembling.
She broke the seal.
Her breath hitched.
Her mind emptied.
Each file held the profile of a child.
Three children.
Three victims.
One of them—
Kael.
His picture—small, thin, bruised—stared back at her.
Under his name, written in rigid ink, were the words:
Candidate of Blood of Eternity.
Elric's blood ran cold.
She forced herself to look through the photographs—Kael strapped to a chair, needles in his arms, his neck, his leg; Kael unconscious on the floor; Kael too thin, too pale, barely alive.
Her hands shook.
"No wonder…" she whispered.
No wonder he trembles… No wonder he fears needles… No wonder the memories haunt him…
"Elric…?"
Kael's voice came from behind her—weak, unsure.
She turned immediately.
"Kael… you have to see this…"
Her hands shook as she offered the file to him.
Kael took it.
He stared at the first page.
Then the second.
Then the photographs slipped from his fingers, scattering across the dusty floor.
His breathing shattered into irregular gasps.
His knees buckled.
"Kael!" Elric rushed forward, catching him as he collapsed.
His hands clutched his chest, nails digging into his skin as his entire body trembled violently. His breath came in sharp, ragged bursts. His eyes were wide—too wide.
"I—I tried to call for help…" His voice cracked, barely a whisper.
"…but no one came…"
Tears streamed down his face, falling onto the dusty floor.
Elric felt her heart break.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him close, cupping his face with both hands.
"Kael… look at me.
Please—look at me."
Her voice trembled but stayed gentle.
Slowly—painfully—Kael raised his eyes to hers.
"You're safe now," she whispered. "It's over. It's all over. Those people can't hurt you anymore. I'm here. I won't ever leave you alone."
Kael's trembling gradually slowed. His breaths steadied, though his eyes were still reddened with pain and memory.
Elric pressed her forehead against his.
"Just breathe," she whispered. "I'm here."
After a long moment, Kael exhaled shakily, leaning his weight against her.
"…I'm sorry," he whispered, voice breaking.
"…I thought I could endure it…"
Elric held him tighter.
"You endured enough," she said firmly. "Far more than any child ever should. Don't apologize for surviving."
She turned to the guards behind her, her expression turning sharp.
"Gather every document from this room. Everything—no matter how small. We're leaving."
The guards moved immediately.
Elric slipped her arm around Kael's waist and guided him toward the stairs.
When they emerged outside, the cool night air washed over them. Kael sank to the grass, chest rising and falling in uneven breaths.
Elric rubbed his back in soothing circles.
Kael stared at the ruined building, eyes misted with regret.
"…I wanted to save them…" he whispered.
"…but I wasn't strong enough…"
He covered his eyes with trembling hands, as though trying to block out the memories still flashing painfully inside his mind.
Elric wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"You were a child, Kael," she whispered.
"There was nothing you could do. None of this was your fault."
Before either of them could speak again, the quiet crackle of footsteps echoed behind them.
Elric stood up instantly, pulling Kael behind her slightly.
An old man carrying a lantern approached—his clothes worn, his hair silvered with age. He eyed them warily.
"I saw carriages down the mountain," he said, voice raspy. "This place is dangerous… no one should be here."
Elric stepped forward, placing a protective hand near her sword.
"We're here under the authority of the palace. Tell us what you know about this place."
The old man blinked, stunned.
Then his expression darkened.
"This place is cursed," he whispered. "No one from the village comes near it. Not after what happened."
Kael slowly stood beside Elric, still pale but steady.
The old man's eyes flickered to him.
And froze.
His lantern nearly slipped from his grasp.
Fear swallowed his face.
"You…"
His voice shook violently.
"You… you're the curse child…!"
He pointed at Kael with a trembling hand, stepping backward in terror.
Elric moved in front of Kael instantly, eyes sharp.
But Kael reached out, gently touching her arm—telling her it was okay.
Kael stepped forward, voice low, soft, and trembling:
"…Please… tell me what you saw that night."
The old man stared at him—terrified, confused, haunted.
And the truth he had buried for years began to surface.