At night in the Yulkes Hospital.
Silvia, Sara, Latty, Mariya, Rose, Jack, Rames, Shawn, and Jin were all gathered quietly inside Kayle's hospital room.
Silvia and Sara were sitting right beside Kayle's bed, both of them lost in their own deep, worried thoughts. Latty, sitting on a chair nearby, softly broke the heavy silence.
"The Headmaster said she's going to summon the forgotten god tonight to ask for help to wake Kayle up. What type of task do you think they'll give her?" Latty asked, her voice filled with nervous curiosity.
Sara, keeping her eyes fixed on Kayle, replied, "I don't know. Kayle had to face five-star risk rating monsters to gain those healing potions when he was just a third-circle mage. But the Headmaster is a completely different story. She is at the absolute pinnacle of the 8th circle. There aren't many people in this world who can rival her. Whatever task she gets, she'll probably be able to complete it easily."
"She's right," Rames agreed, nodding respectfully. "My father always said that among the 8th-circle mages, the Headmaster is the strongest because she has a double elemental affinity, and her hybrid element is Ice, which is incredibly rare on this continent. Among the Eight Stars, she is one of only three 8th-circle mages with a double affinity, and she has reached the pinnacle of her ice attribute. That makes her strong enough to confront any other 8th-circle mage. If she is going to use that forbidden spell, we can firmly believe that she'll succeed and wake Kayle up."
"I really hope she succeeds," Latty sighed, still looking anxious.
"Don't make such a gloomy face," Rose said from the corner, offering a warm, encouraging smile. "As Rames said, no one can match the Headmaster in terms of sheer power. She will definitely succeed and bring Kayle back to us."
CREAK.
The door gently opened, and James and Nana entered the room.
James looked around at the exhausted faces of the students. "It's already night, and you guys haven't had anything to eat since this morning. Go and get some food. I'll stay here with him," James said gently but firmly.
"You guys go. I'll stay with Kayle," Silvia immediately protested, refusing to leave his side.
Sara turned to Silvia and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Silvia, starving yourself won't magically wake Kayle up. When you were unconscious, he was also heartbroken, but he didn't stop eating or taking care of himself while he thought of a way to save you. So, you need to eat and stay strong to pray for him."
Hearing Sara's logical words, Silvia finally agreed and slowly stood up from the bed. Everyone quietly left the room, leaving only James and Nana behind.
James pulled up a chair right next to Kayle's bed, and Nana sat closely beside him.
James gently reached out and grabbed Kayle's cold hand.
Seeing James's profoundly sad face, Nana squeezed his shoulder. "Don't be so sad, James. The Headmaster will wake him up. You heard everyone talking about it, right? He will surely wake up. Just believe in the Headmaster," she comforted him.
"I have known him since his childhood," James whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "He has always been exactly like this. I still remember when he was just a tiny kid who used to run all around the village with Silvia and the others. He had this bright, smiley face that made everyone around him instantly happy. He always cared deeply about his friends and their families. He was always helping everyone, even if he got hurt in the process, but he never stopped."
James took a shaky breath and continued. "Silvia had me, her brother, to be her family. But Kayle didn't. No one in the village knew anything about Kayle's parents or who they were. Just like me and Silvia, all we knew was that someone had left him on the church doorsteps, and the local father took him in. He was an orphan, but he never let himself feel like an orphan. Instead, he made us his family.
"Then, one day, Silvia came home holding Kayle's hand. It was the first time I properly looked at him, and I must say, he was the cutest, most innocent child in the world. Silvia introduced him and proudly declared, 'Brother, from now on, Kayle will be living with us! He's my friend, and we'll live together forever!' I was so surprised at the time because Silvia was just four years old, saying heavy things like 'living together.' But I couldn't deny her. After that, we all started living together. We shared the same roof, the same bed, and the same food. As time passed, I realized that Silvia and Kayle had grown incredibly close to each other. I was happy about it because Kayle had a pure soul, but as an older brother, I had to be absolutely sure he was good for my sister."
James smiled, a nostalgic tear forming in his eye. "I still remember it perfectly. It was the day right before the Witch Hunt incident. I took Kayle with me out into the crop fields. We were walking together under the moonlight when Kayle suddenly stopped, looked me dead in the eye, and said without me even asking him, 'James, I love Silvia.'"
Nana gasped softly in surprise. "He directly told you?"
James let out a wet, genuine laugh. "Yeah. Even I was completely stunned by his bold, sudden confession. I tested him. I asked, 'Why should I give you my sister's hand? There might be many more people out there who are far more capable than you.' And he answered me so simply. He said, 'Will Silvia be happy with them? There might be many handsomer, richer, and more capable men in this world with great family backgrounds, but will they be able to make Silvia truly happy? I love Silvia, James. And I can promise you only one thing: Silvia will always be my first and last priority in this world.' Those were his exact words... and I could see the absolute, burning sincerity in his eyes."
"Then what did you say to him?" Nana asked, deeply moved.
"What could I possibly say? I have seen him grow up since childhood, and I knew his character better than anyone alive. I was happier than anyone else, so of course, I agreed," James said, wiping his eyes. "And he proved his words were true. When those heretics came to capture Silvia, Kayle fought them with every ounce of his might. It was all thanks to him that I survived. He took all the brutal beatings instead of me, and he didn't let go of Silvia's hand until someone practically busted his head open."
James's expression suddenly darkened with heavy guilt. "You asked why I am so sad... it is because he has done more for us than anyone else ever could. He has already fulfilled his promises to me. Yet, I couldn't do anything to protect him. I vowed to myself that I would protect them both, but look where I am. He knew that I became a Gladiator, but he didn't ask for my help because he was worried about me. And I wanted to become stronger specifically to ease that worry."
Nana gently grabbed James's hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "You are strong, James," Nana whispered kindly.
CREAK.
The door opened, and a nurse entered the quiet room.
"Are you the guardians of the patient?" she asked politely.
James stood up from the chair and wiped his face. "Yes, I am."
"Could you please come with me?" the nurse requested. "There is some hospital procedure paperwork left to complete. And ma'am, could you come as well?"
"Why me?" Nana asked, confused.
"We need two guardian signatures for the high-tier magical treatments," the nurse explained.
Nana and James nodded and quietly left the room, closing the door behind them.
The second they left the room, Aeon's eyes snapped open. He quickly sat up and forcefully covered his face with both of his hands. He was blushing so hard his face was as red as a cherry.
"What kind of insane load of crap was that?!" Aeon muttered into his hands, completely mortified. "Just what kind of past was that?! I don't remember a single thing about it! I know that Silvia and Kayle were described as destined lovers in The Ash Prince novel, but I never thought that he actually directly asked James for Silvia's hand!"
He ran a hand through his hair, groaning. "It happens every single time I travel to another world. I only remember as much as what was written in the book! Apart from the plot, I don't know a damn thing—not even the personal past memories of the character I take over. I never possessed anyone's soul; I traveled here with my own body! So it's completely out of the question to think I actually said those things. When I first opened my eyes in this world, I was in Oklo Village, and it was the day after James and Kayle had that romantic conversation! I didn't have Kayle's past memories... all I knew was what I had read."
Aeon sighed, his embarrassment slowly fading into deep, philosophical reflection. "It isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. Up until now, in every world I've traveled to, whichever character I played, I never had their actual past memories. However..."
Aeon looked at his hands. "...Whichever world I traveled to, I always felt some kind of intense belonging with them. The people I met, the characters I had only read about in books... I always felt a deep connection with them, as if I had known them for a lifetime. It was the one thing that never changed. And that exact same thing happened to me here. When I first saw Silvia tied to that stake on the witch-hunting ground, I felt a genuine, physical pain in my heart. When she hugged me in the mercenary camp, my heart fluttered. A profound sense of love, affection, and care toward her grew instantly in my heart. That is why I could never deny her. My feelings for her have only grown day by day as I've spent time with her."
He looked out the hospital window into the night. "It isn't my first time feeling these emotions, but it is the first time I have become the destined lover of someone. To me, these people aren't mere characters in a book. They are all real. These worlds are real. And I, who travel along in them under different names, am also real, and a true part of it. I don't know what will happen after I eventually leave these worlds, or what happens to the people left behind. All I know is that there is someone out there who is allowing all of this to happen... and I must find that entity to get my answers."
Aeon's expression hardened, and he threw off the hospital blanket, standing up from the bed.
"It's time to leave," Aeon declared, though his facial expression remained quite sad.
Suddenly, the solid ground beneath Aeon's feet started turning pitch-black, transforming into a dark slime that flowed like water. Then, something sinister began to appear from within the black substance. It was a pale, rotting hand. Soon, multiple gruesome hands started emerging from the black ground, reaching upward. As the hands grew taller, it became clear they were all desperately grabbing onto something—a weapon's handle.
Aeon turned and extended his hand toward the handle. As his fingers brushed the grip, a massive, violent surge of dark energy exploded from the hands.
Reacting instantly, Aeon forcefully isolated the entire room with his absolute power. A barrier of light-colored energy instantly coated the walls, ceiling, and floor, completely stopping the destructive dark energy from obliterating the hospital room.
"I still can't fully control it," Aeon gritted his teeth, feeling the strain.
He grabbed the handle tightly. "Stop it, and release my weapon!" Aeon commanded in deep vexation.
He pulled his arm back, ripping the weapon out from the grasp of the dead hands. As he pulled, the weapon finally came into the light.
It was a massive dagger. The blade was entirely cloaked in pure darkness, and violent Green and golden lightning viciously emitted from its edge.
Refusing to let go, the dozens of severed hands that had been holding the weapon aggressively lunged toward Aeon.
Aeon's eyes narrowed. He lightly swung the dark dagger horizontally.
FLAAAAAAAAAAAAASH.
A terrifyingly thin, perfect horizontal line of dark energy drew outward from Aeon's slash. All the lunging hands were cleanly sliced in half, cutting them down like a hot knife through butter. The slash was so incredibly precise, accurate, and perfectly controlled that there wasn't a single outburst of wasted energy. The room remained exactly as it was.
The severed hands fell lifelessly to the ground, yet they still twitched, trying to reach for Aeon's boots.
"No," Aeon commanded coldly, looking down at the hands.
Instantly, they sank and vanished back inside the dark slime. Aeon retracted his isolation barrier, and the room turned perfectly back to normal.
"You have become much more violent, my friend," Aeon whispered to the dark dagger in his hand.
He looked back out the window at the quiet city. "I was planning to stay safely in the academy until graduation. However, my decision to save Silvia has changed too many things. Most of Lorath's powerful followers have ended up dead or in prison. I don't know what twisted future awaits us now. I need to move alone and quietly in the shadows, all while remaining 'present' in Silvia's eyes."
Aeon gripped the dagger tighter. "Silvia... if it weren't for her losing control of her emotions like the last time she thought I died, I would have taken the original route and just disappeared. But seeing her violently desperate reaction in the Garzix Forest... I need to take a route with minimal emotional fallout for her. This is the best method. And I pray she won't do anything reckless to worry me while I am gone."
Without a single moment of hesitation, Aeon extended his right arm forward and placed the impossibly sharp blade of the dark dagger against his own shoulder.
SLASH.
CUT.
Aeon brutally cut off his own right arm.
The severed limb fell to the hospital floor with a heavy thud. Blood instantly started pouring from his shoulder, flowing out like a stream into a lake.
But then, suddenly, the intense bleeding stopped. Muscle, bone, and skin rapidly began regenerating from the stump. Within a single second, Aeon's entire right arm was fully and flawlessly regenerated.
Aeon looked down at his severed arm lying on the ground. The arm was quickly swallowed inside the dark, slimy shadow on the floor.
After a few tense seconds, something began to rise from the shadow. The black substance twisted and molded itself, rapidly turning into a human body. It took on the exact appearance, height, and face of Aeon.
It was a perfect, living clone.
Aeon stepped close to it, inspecting the newly formed body. "Hmm. Perfect," Aeon said with a highly satisfied smile.
The clone slowly opened its eyes.
"You are just like me in every physical aspect," Aeon explained. "You are very different from the basic dark clones I usually make. You have my actual blood, flesh, and bones. I made you directly from my own body, so you don't just share my appearance—you can also genuinely wield my powers. With this flesh, you can use at least Five Percentof my total power."
Aeon placed a heavy, authoritative hand on the clone's shoulder. "You know what your role is."
"Yes, Master," the clone answered with absolute, robotic respect.
"Good. Just lie down on that bed and pretend to be in a deep coma. You are a complete, biological human in the eyes of any healer or priest, so just lie there and fake my presence. With you here, Silvia won't go crazy with worry," Aeon instructed with a calculating smile. Then, his eyes darkened dangerously. "And don't you dare try anything funny while I am gone. Because I can see whatever you see." Aeon threatened the clone with deadly seriousness.
His eyes shone with a faint light, and his clone's eyes immediately mirrored the glow, confirming their deep mental connection.
"Pretend to be me until I return. And above all else, keep Silvia and Sara safe," Aeon ordered.
Suddenly, Aeon's sharp senses picked up the presence of footsteps approaching down the hallway.
"Go lie down. James and Nana are coming back," Aeon ordered swiftly.
"Yes, Master," the clone answered, quickly climbing into the bed and closing its eyes, perfectly mimicking the comatose state.
Aeon instantly vanished into the shadows.
CREAK.
The door opened, and James and Nana walked back into the quiet room. Inside, Aeon's flesh-and-blood clone lay perfectly still on the bed, breathing softly in the dark.