The black mist crept into the house like a living creature, slithering across the floor, tracing the walls, and swirling in small eddies beneath Lirian and Vael's feet. The air grew heavier. Hana's chest tightened with each breath.
One step from Vael made the wooden floor groan as if in pain. "I thought we could finish this quickly. But you still want to fight, Prince?"
Mathien didn't answer. His once-limp hand slowly lifted before him, forming a faint circle. A silver-blue aura began to envelop his body—thin, but pure, glowing with strength. The air inside the house seemed to reverse, sucked toward the center between them.
Lirian hissed softly. "He's starting to draw in the surrounding magic… fall back, Vael."
But it was too late.
WUUUUMMMM!!!
In an instant, blue light burst from Mathien's body, forcing the black mist back. Curtains snapped violently. The windows rattled.
Behind him, Hana's eyes widened. The unseen force half-pushed her back, like a storm pressing against her chest. She had never seen Mathien like this—not even when he first turned into a man. His gaze was no longer that of a lazy cat, nor the irritating boy who refused to be carried.
It was… the gaze of a prince.
"Mathien—" Hana stepped forward, her hand reaching out.
But Mathien turned sharply, his face flashing with both fury and fear. "GO, HANA!!"
That voice… it wasn't just a command. It was a desperate cry hidden beneath the sternness.
But Hana shook her head, her lips trembling. "I won't leave you alone!"
"DON'T BE STUBBORN!" Mathien roared. "You're no match for them!"
Lirian and Vael began to move. The dark magic thickened, curling like shadow-serpents. Two whirlwinds of black sorcery shot toward Mathien.
At once, he slammed his palm against the floor.
TRAAKK!!
Light flared. A pillar of blue magic erupted upward, forming a shield around Hana and shoving her backward. She struck the glowing barrier, pounding on it, trying to break free—but it held.
"Don't get in the way of me protecting your life…" Mathien muttered under his breath. Yet his eyes burned fiercely as he turned to face his enemies.
Vael raised his hand, unleashing a whip of shadow magic from his palm.
Mathien leapt aside, his body glowing with speed. In midair, he twisted and flung a small orb of light that collided with the whip, shattering it into smoke.
Lirian moved in a flash. He teleported to the left and hurled a dagger of magic straight at Mathien. But Mathien spun, casting a circular shield. The dagger exploded in midair, unable to pierce his defense.
Hana froze. "Mathien!!"
He heard her. And that voice… was fire in his chest.
"I will not lose before your eyes," he whispered, then surged forward again.
The battle was anything but quiet. Their home became a battlefield—walls cracked, furniture burned, bursts of light clashing with shadows.
And Hana could only watch from within the shield, her body shaking, her chest tight. Tears spilled—not from fear of the magic, but because the only one she had left was now laying down his life.
To protect her.
To keep her safe.
And for the first time, Hana truly understood…
Mathien was not just a fat cat who loved salmon.
He was a prince.
A true hero.
And the only place she could ever return to.
🌸🌸🌸
Hana's feet sank into the muddy earth, each step less certain. The flower field that once bloomed with color was now a plain of shadows. Petals scattered, ripped from their stems, whipped into the air by merciless winds. Some whole stalks tore free, flung helplessly into the storm.
The wind felt alive.
As if trying to stop her.
Or drag her back into danger.
Hana shielded her face with one hand as her long hair whipped wildly. Her chest heaved, her eyes squinting against the gale. Head lowered, she forced herself forward—leaving the house, leaving Mathien, leaving behind the deafening clash of magic exploding in the storm.
But her heart… refused to go.
Her steps faltered, knees weak, yet she ran on. Her canvas shoes nearly slipped off, her school skirt whipped violently, and her small bag was nearly torn away by the wind. She stumbled through the field, battered from all sides by the unseen vortex.
Sometimes… she looked back.
And every time she did, the sight struck her chest harder.
Above the battered house, three figures hovered low—two cloaked in black mist, swift as shadows in the night. And the third… glimmering faintly in blue light, flickering as though forcing itself to burn against the darkness.
Mathien.
He fought.
He protected.
And in Hana's eyes, he had never looked so fragile.
Yet never so resolute.
Hana bit her lip. Tears mingled with the dampness of rain clinging to her lashes. Her fingers tightened around the small pouch of coins and the house key inside.
"I have to go…" she whispered, as if convincing herself.
Yet with every step farther away, it felt like her heart was left one pace behind.
She knew… Mathien told her to leave for her safety.
But she also knew… the creeping terror of loss had already taken hold of her body.
The wind shoved her sideways, almost toppling her. But Hana kept running, through the storm of memories and shattered blossoms.
And once more, she looked back.
This time, longer.
The sky behind her was pitch dark. Clouds rolled like a black sea swallowing all light. And within the flashes of magic colliding in the heavens…
She saw him.
Mathien.
Still standing.
Still fighting.
Still enduring—for her.
With the last of her breath, Hana whispered, barely audible against the howling wind.
"Hold on… Chiro…"
And she ran again.
Toward someplace safer.
But her soul remained behind—
with the only being who had ever made her feel like she was enough… even in a life that had always been lacking.
🌸🌸🌸