Kyle's eyes opened, and he found Julie looking at him with curiosity. She still didn't understand how Kyle could wield chi without a magic heart. She hadn't even considered the possibility of Concepts. After all, there was no master to teach him. No one in the world had ever comprehended a concept by themselves. It was simply impossible. Not even Kyle had done it; he had received the power from Lucifer, but the world didn't need to know that much. Still, the whole situation wasn't just luck; Kyle had been talented in his own right. Apart from Kyle's ability to wield chi, she also felt his aura was quite different; it wasn't the pure chi she felt from him before that radiated from the bright eclipse heart that she was familiar with. It was something else.
Kyle, on the other hand, was just getting familiar with his newfound powers. Controlling chi through Concept was a bit weird for him, and cultivating felt even weirder. He gazed at Julie and spoke teasingly. "Am I that good-looking? Why are you staring so much?"
Julie, thinking Kyle took offense to her stare, immediately bowed, pressing her head to the floorboards and apologizing. She didn't blush or consider it a subtle joke.
"Am sorry, young master. I'll refrain from doing such in the future."
When Kyle saw this scene, he didn't know whether to grin or grimace. He slapped his forehead and wanted to laugh out loud; this girl was truly clueless and lacked the necessary communication skills to understand any joke. That was when both of them heard footsteps coming from the courtyard—two distinct footsteps. Kyle was wondering just who had come to visit when a voice made him realize he was supposed to be pretending he was wounded: "Oh Kyyyleeee, where are you? Your dearest older brother has come to pay a visit." He turned to Julie, his eyes widening. That bastard—just what was he doing here? There was no time for anger. All of his careful planning and pretending was in jeopardy. If Kane saw him well, or with so much as a smile on his face, he might never get to leave the clan with Julie. Maybe he would leave alone, but not with her.
He began to frantically search the cupboards and drawers for the bandages that were used to wrap him up before. Every second he took, every empty drawer he pulled, Kane drew closer. His steps were like the ticking of an imaginary clock.
Finally, he found the bandages lying somewhere in a corner. He paused and slowly turned to Julie. She wasn't panicking at all; instead, she was staring at Kyle. Kyle gestured exaggeratedly, keeping a hushed tone despite speaking fast. "What are you doing? Go distract them!!" Julie, as reliable as ever, finally woke from her stupor and immediately bolted out the door, bumping straight into Kane's chest. Luckily, she didn't bump into Claudius, or someone was going to lose a thumb. But Kane was worse. She looked up at his tall figure and saw Kane staring down at her with a big smile. The other footstep accompanying him belonged to Grace. Julie glanced at her, then at Kane, but she kept standing in their way.
Kane frowned.
"Julie, you're still here with this fool. Where is he? your so-called young master." Julie acted as if she didn't hear the question; if she could make him repeat himself, that would save Kyle a little time. So, she only tilted her head like she was confused. Kane repeated while raising his voice slightly. "I said, where is Kyle?" She purposely stumbled, attempting to save even more time.
"Oh… you mean… young master Kyle? He said he doesn't want to see anyone today."
"Kppaaa!!" A slap landed on Julie's face. It was Grace. She stepped closer to Julie, her silver hair dancing behind her, her beautiful eyes locked on the maid's face. Julie still hadn't moved; she was still standing in the way. Grace's face morphed into an evil smile as she put her refined mannerisms of a noble lady aside, lifted her foot high in the air, and landed a kick straight into poor Julie's stomach, sending her crashing through the door she had just closed behind her. A soft melodic voice drifted inside as Grace moved, her hips swaying sensually. "A mere servant dares stand in my way."
Kyle looked at this scene and clenched his fists, closing his eyes as if that would calm him. If Grace refused to love him, well, that was not an issue. The system might not have given him a mission, but he would make sure
He opened them again and looked at the woman in front of him, his first and only love. He had never dealt with heartbreak before, so it was kind of strange. His heart began to ache. Then he saw his so-called brother step in after her. Kane couldn't help but burst into laughter after seeing the pitiful way Kyle was bound in bandages. He clapped his hands and stepped forward until he stood in Kyle's face.
"My, oh my, if it isn't the almighty Kyle. Riding on the front line of battle with nothing but his Eclipse Heart and raw chi. You were so arrogant; it felt like you were on top of the world. But now… now it's my turn. And you'll never get a second chance."
Kyle's rage had attempted to take over several times now, but he reminded himself that he was doing this because of Julie. This was real revenge, not just lashing out but waiting and preparing for the perfect time to strike his enemy. Kane waited to see his brother's reaction. Nothing, just a blank look.
Grace chimed in, her sensual voice like that of a siren. "It's not a surprise I couldn't stay with a man like you. I just can't believe this. Even after everything—all the insults and disrespect—you're still sitting there like a broken twig. Kyle, you honestly have no backbone. Just a pretty face. Your only defense is to go around parading a nasty wound. Kane, I don't even know why we came here. Let's go back home." She pouted, replacing the hateful look she had thrown at Kyle with a loving one toward Kane.
Kane wasn't done with Kyle, however; he wanted to rub it in until he got a reaction. He continued, opening his arms wide. "You lost, Kyle. I have everything now. You… you have nothing. Your magic heart? Don't worry, I'm taking good care of it." As he paused, he released the heart in the small room. A majestic aura filled the air as a massive symbol of the moon blocking the sun materialized behind Kane. It smashed through the roof, tearing almost half of it apart and leaving Kyle's home damaged. Kane stood proudly for a moment, then withdrew the power of the heart. "You're lucky you got to see it one last time. Goodbye, brother."
Grace held his arm as they were about to leave, but Kane stopped after two steps. He turned back to Kyle and slowly walked toward him. When he reached in front of Kyle, he bent over and whispered in his ear. "Oh… and I forgot to say, Grace's soft and curvaceous body fits perfectly in the center of my palms. Besides your heart… I'll also take very good care of her."
Kyle couldn't help but react with a scoff. Right now, it was taking all his willpower not to channel raw chi through his arms and punch Kane in the face. When Kane saw this reaction, he laughed. He turned and this time didn't look back as Grace leaned on his shoulder, and they both walked out. After their footsteps faded, Kyle slowly took his bandages off. His wounds had healed, but the ones in his heart would definitely take longer than expected.
The only plan he had was to leave this city so that images of the time they spent together wouldn't keep popping up in his head. Just another week, he would wait. But with his luck, which was precisely -20, he wasn't sure things would go as planned. In fact, he was sure something would definitely give him a hard time. The question, though, was what?