The journey to the South had finally begun.
The morning sky stretched endlessly above the moving carriage as Delcra Castle slowly disappeared behind them. Several knights escorted the carriage from both sides while the sound of horse hooves echoed steadily along the road.
Inside the carriage, silence lingered quietly.
According to their original schedule, it would take nearly two weeks to arrive at the Southern Port if they continued traveling normally.
But Kael had already decided otherwise.
He wanted to arrive faster.
Much faster.
Which meant using the teleportation gates stationed throughout the Empire.
Elric Caen Vaelthorn sat across from him while watching him quietly. She had noticed it ever since they departed from Delcra—
Kael was rushing himself again.
"Kael," she finally spoke softly, "we can take our time."
Kael lifted his eyes toward her.
"The teleportation gates are expensive to use repeatedly. We don't need to rush this much."
Her tone remained calm, but concern lingered clearly beneath it.
Kael stayed silent for a moment before lowering his gaze again.
"I want to get there quickly."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
As if he had already made up his mind long ago.
"There's something I need to tell Lord Theodore."
Elric blinked slightly.
Something?
Kael rarely sounded this determined unless something was truly weighing on him.
She watched quietly as Kael pulled his personal bag closer to himself.
The bag looked unusually heavy.
When he opened it, stacks of papers became visible inside.
Documents.
Investigation reports.
Letters.
Elric's brows furrowed faintly.
Kael slowly pulled out two old papers before handing them toward her.
One was a portrait of a young man with red hair and red eyes.
The other—
A younger Theodore, likely around twenty or thirty years old.
Elric accepted them slowly.
At first, she simply stared.
Then—
Her eyes widened slightly.
A flicker of realization crossed her face.
She looked between both portraits repeatedly.
"…John…"
Her voice came out almost as a whisper.
Kael nodded quietly.
"Lord Theodore looked strangely familiar the moment I saw him," he explained softly. "At first I didn't understand why."
He lowered his gaze briefly.
"But then I remembered John."
Elric stared at the papers in disbelief.
The resemblance truly existed.
Not identical—
But undeniably similar.
The shape of the eyes.
The structure of the face.
Even the expression.
"John's face…" Elric murmured quietly. "It really does resemble Theodore's…"
Kael carefully folded his hands together.
"I asked Sebastian to investigate further."
Elric slowly lifted her eyes toward him.
"And?"
Kael's expression turned heavier.
"…John was Theodore's lost son."
Silence filled the carriage immediately.
Elric's eyes widened completely.
"What?"
She looked back at the papers again.
"But… Theodore doesn't have any children."
Confusion filled her voice.
"Everyone knows his marriage ended early after his wife died. He never remarried afterward. There were never any rumors about illegitimate children either."
Kael slowly shook his head.
"He did have a child."
His gaze lowered toward the portrait.
"But Theodore never knew the child survived."
Elric's breathing slowed slightly.
Kael continued quietly.
"The child was born as a curse child."
The carriage became silent once again.
Only the faint sound of wheels moving along the road could be heard.
Elric slowly looked back toward Kael.
And only then did she realize something else entirely.
All of this investigation—
Kael had done himself.
Alone.
She knew how deeply the orphanage still affected him emotionally.
Every mention of the children hurt him.
Every memory left scars.
Yet he still forced himself to investigate everything personally.
"…Are you alright?"
Her voice softened immediately.
Kael blinked slightly.
Elric carefully held the documents in her lap.
"I mean it," she continued gently. "Looking through all of this… doesn't it hurt you?"
Kael's expression slowly turned sorrowful.
His fingers tightened faintly around the edge of his bag.
For several seconds, he didn't answer.
Then slowly—
He nodded.
"…I'm fine."
But even he could hear how weak that answer sounded.
Kael lowered his eyes again.
"…I already promised them."
His voice became quieter.
"To find their parents."
Elric listened silently.
Kael continued while staring at the old portrait of John.
"They deserved to know."
His fingers trembled faintly against the paper.
"That even until their final breath…"
Kael paused.
"…they were still waiting for someone to come for them."
The sadness in his voice tightened Elric's chest painfully.
She stared at him quietly.
Kael truly carried the orphanage children inside his heart like unfinished regrets.
As if he believed their suffering was somehow his responsibility.
Elric slowly looked down at the documents again.
Then another question surfaced inside her mind.
"…Why didn't you ask me or Robert for help?"
Her tone remained soft.
There was no anger.
Only quiet sadness.
Kael immediately stiffened slightly.
Guilt crossed his expression.
Elric noticed it instantly.
Before Kael could misunderstand, she quickly reached forward and gently placed her hand over his.
"It's not because I'm upset," she reassured him softly. "I'm only asking."
Kael stared at her hand for a long moment.
Then he sighed quietly.
"…I was afraid."
Elric blinked.
Kael's voice lowered further.
"I thought both of you would feel uncomfortable if I kept asking about Theodore."
The carriage fell silent again.
Elric slowly intertwined her fingers with his.
"You're too considerate sometimes," she whispered.
Kael looked at her quietly.
Elric leaned slightly closer.
"Yes," she admitted honestly. "Robert and Reinhardt dislike Theodore."
Her expression softened.
"And I don't trust him completely either."
Then she squeezed Kael's hand gently.
"But that doesn't mean you need to carry everything alone."
Kael's eyes slowly lowered.
"I know…"
He hesitated briefly before continuing.
"But every time I look at those reports…"
His voice trembled faintly.
"I keep thinking about them."
"The orphanage."
"John."
"The others."
Elric stared at him silently.
Kael rarely spoke this openly about his feelings.
"…I was alive," he whispered quietly. "Meanwhile they died while waiting for someone to save them."
Elric's chest tightened painfully hearing that.
She slowly moved closer until their shoulders touched.
"Kael."
Her voice became firm.
"That wasn't your fault."
Kael immediately lowered his head.
"But I survived."
"You survived because you fought for everyone," Elric corrected softly.
Kael stayed silent.
Elric gently lifted one of the papers from his lap.
The portrait of young John.
"…If Theodore truly never knew," she said quietly, "then maybe John spent his entire life believing he was abandoned."
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
"That's why I need to tell him."
Elric stared at him carefully.
"You want Theodore to know the truth?"
Kael nodded slowly.
"At least once."
His gaze turned toward the carriage window.
"So someone remembers John existed."
-----------------------------------------
The smell of blood lingered heavily around him.
It clung to the air so thickly that every breath felt suffocating.
Water splashed endlessly nearby.
The cold wind brushed against his skin, carrying droplets toward him in slow, rhythmic waves. Somewhere in the darkness, the sound of the tide echoed like distant whispers.
Kael slowly opened his eyes.
He was no longer drowning.
His body felt heavy, but he could feel solid ground beneath him—a rough, grainy surface pressing against his palms. His fingers trembled as he pushed himself upward weakly.
The sound of water grew louder.
Kael lowered his gaze.
Blood.
Dark crimson water washed across the shore, flowing over his hands before retreating back into the sea.
His breathing slowed.
Slowly, he lifted his head.
His eyes widened faintly.
The lake was gone.
Before, he had been trapped within the center of that endless blood-red lake.
Now—
He was standing on a beach.
A vast shoreline stretched endlessly beneath a black sky, the sand soaked with bloodied water that moved like a living tide. Every wave carried streaks of crimson across the shore before dissolving back into the sea.
The horizon was empty.
Silent.
Wrong.
Kael pressed his hand into the wet sand beneath him. Even the grains felt cold.
Slowly, with visible effort, he forced himself to stand.
His knees nearly gave out immediately.
Then—
He froze.
A figure stood only a few steps away.
John.
Or what remained of him.
His body was drenched in blood, clothing torn open around the massive hole in his chest. Blood continued dripping from the wound, falling soundlessly onto the sand beneath him.
His expression was empty.
Dead.
Yet he stood there motionless, staring directly at Kael.
Kael's throat tightened.
"...John?"
The figure did not answer.
Slowly, John raised his arm.
And pointed somewhere behind Kael.
Kael frowned faintly before turning.
The moment his eyes landed upon it—
His breath stopped.
Something enormous rested upon the shore.
A monster.
Its massive body curled inward protectively, almost like it was sleeping. Black scales covered its enormous form, reflecting faint crimson light from the sea itself.
A dragon.
Far larger than Licht had ever been.
Its breathing was slow and deep, the sound rumbling through the beach like distant thunder.
Kael stared in stunned silence.
The creature's head remained lowered, hidden beneath its own body as though shielding something at its center.
Sleeping.
Or guarding.
Kael swallowed hard.
Then he slowly stepped forward.
The closer he moved, the heavier the air became. His instincts screamed at him to stop, but something deeper pulled him forward.
One step.
Another.
Then suddenly—
CRACK.
The ground beneath him collapsed.
Kael's eyes widened as the blood-soaked sand shattered beneath his feet. Darkness swallowed him whole as he fell endlessly downward.
He reached out instinctively—
And woke up.
Kael gasped sharply.
His eyes snapped open wide as his body jolted upright.
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe properly.
His hand flew to his face, covering his eyes as his body trembled violently.
That dream again.
Another vision.
Another memory tied to John.
The image replayed mercilessly inside his mind—John being stabbed, Varyn crushing his heart without hesitation, the sound of bone breaking beneath bloodied fingers.
Kael clenched his jaw tightly.
"...Stop..." he whispered hoarsely to himself.
He took several slow breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Gradually, his awareness returned.
Canvas walls.
Dim lantern light.
The scent of damp grass.
Kael blinked slowly and realized he was inside the tent.
Right.
They had stopped temporarily before reaching the teleportation port leading toward the Southern region.
Relief flickered faintly inside him.
At least he hadn't collapsed again.
He remembered entering the tent earlier, exhaustion overtaking him almost instantly the moment preparations were finished.
But now—
The dream lingered too clearly.
Kael lowered his hand slowly, staring blankly ahead.
The dragon.
It had curled inward like it was sleeping.
No—
Not sleeping.
Protecting.
Something hidden at the center.
Kael tried desperately to remember every detail.
The shape.
The scales.
The sea.
Then suddenly—
A loud ringing pierced through his ears.
Kael gasped sharply.
Pain exploded through his head.
He staggered forward with a weak groan, one hand clutching the side of his head tightly as his vision blurred.
The tent entrance opened immediately.
"Kael?"
Elric rushed inside.
The moment she saw him hunched over in pain, her expression changed instantly.
"Kael!"
She moved toward him quickly and knelt beside him without hesitation. Kael's breathing had become uneven again, shoulders trembling as he tried to endure the stabbing pain in his skull.
Elric immediately pulled him gently into her arms.
"It's alright," she whispered softly while rubbing his back slowly. "It's alright… I'm here."
Kael stiffened at first.
Then slowly—
His breathing began to steady.
Her warmth grounded him.
The familiar scent surrounding her strangely calmed the chaos inside his mind, pulling him away from the lingering nightmare.
The ringing gradually faded.
Kael leaned closer unconsciously, seeking more of that comfort.
His forehead brushed against her shoulder before his lips accidentally touched the side of her neck.
Elric startled faintly.
But she didn't move away.
Instead, her arms tightened slightly around him.
"Do you want to turn back?" she asked quietly. "You looked really pale just now."
Kael shook his head weakly against her shoulder.
"No…"
Elric stayed silent after that.
She simply held him carefully, letting him calm down at his own pace.
The tent remained quiet except for the sound of their breathing and the soft wind outside.
They stayed like that for a long time.
Eventually, Kael slowly lifted his head away from her.
Elric remained seated close in front of him. One of her hands gently cupped his cheek while her thumb brushed softly beneath his eye.
"Another nightmare?" she asked softly. "Or another memory?"
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
Then he shook his head slightly.
When he opened them again, his gaze met hers directly.
"...John," he whispered.
Elric's expression softened immediately.
"I saw him again."
His voice was barely audible.
Kael lowered his gaze slightly, trying to organize the fragments inside his head.
"There was… a dragon," he murmured slowly. "At the beach."
Elric listened carefully without interrupting.
"John pointed at it," Kael continued. "I tried to get closer but…"
The moment he forced himself to remember further, another sharp ache pulsed through his head.
Kael winced faintly.
This time the pain was bearable.
He took a slow breath before continuing.
"The sea…" he whispered. "I think it's connected to the Southern Port."
His eyes lifted toward her, filled with quiet worry.
"Do you think…" he hesitated, "that I'll find something there?"
Elric blinked softly.
This was the first time Kael had openly shared one of his visions with her.
For a moment, she simply looked at him.
Then slowly, she smiled faintly.
"You will," she said gently.
Her fingers intertwined with his hand tightly.
"But I'll be there too."
Kael stared at her quietly.
"For now," Elric continued softly, "don't force yourself too much."
Her thumb brushed over his knuckles reassuringly.
"We still need to arrive safely within three days."
Kael lowered his eyes.
The nightmare still lingered at the edge of his thoughts.
The dragon.
The blood sea.
John pointing silently into the darkness.
Something was waiting for him in the South.
And deep inside—
Kael feared he already knew it would change everything.