They was back in the broken void.
The void crackled.
Red electricity crawled endlessly across the broken darkness like veins beneath shattered skin, illuminating the emptiness in violent flashes. Every spark carried enough power to distort the space around it, causing reality itself to twitch unnaturally.
Jae stood motionless.
Silent.
His breathing had finally calmed… but his mind hadn't.
Not even close.
The deaths of Kaelira. Lyn. Rael.
The image of Eryndor standing there alone with tears hidden beneath hatred—
It refused to leave his head.
The black void around him remained quiet.
Too quiet.
And somewhere nearby, the Divine Flame of Curses watched him carefully.
Jae's eyes remained fixed forward.
Thinking.
Remembering.
Questioning.
"…So do you still want to continue?"
The voice broke the silence softly.
Jae didn't answer immediately.
Red lightning sparked from his fingertips.
His jaw tightened.
Then—
Slowly—
He turned.
His face was cold now.
Not angry.
Not emotional.
Just…
Heavy.
"Yes."
The single word echoed through the void.
But then his eyes sharpened.
"This time…"
His voice lowered.
"Show me until the end."
The Divine Flame of Curses froze slightly.
For the first time since these visions began—
It hesitated.
The red flame around its form flickered violently.
"…Jae…"
"I said show me."
Jae stepped forward.
The void beneath his feet cracked from the pressure leaking from his body.
"I'm tired of fragments."
"I'm tired of half-truths."
His eyes glowed faintly red.
"If Eryndor became the monster everyone feared…"
"Then I want to see WHY."
Silence.
Long.
Heavy silence.
Then—
The Divine Flame of Curses closed its eyes.
"…I'm sorry…"
Jae frowned.
"…What?"
The flame's voice dropped into something quieter.
Something almost guilty.
"I'm sorry… System."
The void trembled.
"I know this breaks our agreement…"
Its flames pulsed violently.
"But he deserves to know."
A pause.
"To witness Eryndor's full descent and to see the man who killed his father."
The void shattered.
CRACK—
The darkness split apart like glass.
The void twisted.
Folded inward.
And suddenly—
Water roared.
Jae's eyes widened slightly.
A massive waterfall towered before them.
Moonlight poured through the forest canopy above, reflecting beautifully against the rushing water. Mist drifted through the air in silver waves while the sound of crashing water echoed endlessly through the valley.
It was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
And beneath the waterfall—
Eryndor stood.
Jae froze.
"…What the hell…"
The water crashing onto Eryndor wasn't normal.
It steamed.
The rocks beneath him glowed faintly red from heat.
This wasn't ordinary water—
It was boiling.
No.
Worse.
The pressure behind it was monstrous.
The waterfall slammed onto Eryndor's bare body with enough force to crush stone apart, yet he remained standing beneath it unmoving.
Muscles tensed.
Veins visible across his arms and chest.
His body was covered in scars now.
Not small scars.
Real ones.
Deep cuts. Burn marks. Torn flesh healed incorrectly over time.
Thirty years had changed him completely.
His once youthful appearance had hardened into something sharper.
More dangerous.
His wet black hair hung over his face as steam rose from his skin.
And still—
He endured it silently.
Jae swallowed.
"…How long has he been doing this…?"
The Divine Flame of Curses answered quietly.
"since he came back alived."
The waterfall intensified suddenly.
BOOOOM—
The force doubled.
The ground cracked beneath Eryndor's feet.
Still—
He didn't move.
Didn't scream.
Didn't break.
Jae's eyes narrowed.
"…He's using pain to stabilize himself…"
The Divine Flame of Curses looked toward Eryndor.
"He fears silence."
Jae looked confused.
"…What?"
The flame's voice lowered.
"When he stops moving…"
"When he stops fighting…"
"He remembers them."
Eryndor suddenly stepped forward.
The waterfall exploded behind him.
Steam rolled off his body heavily as he walked toward the riverbank.
Jae immediately looked away.
"AHH—WHAT THE HELL—"
The Divine Flame of Curses stared at him.
"…Really?"
"HE JUST WALKED OUT NAKED!"
The flame sighed.
"You are witnessing one of history's greatest fallen beings…"
"And that's your reaction?"
"Yes."
Eryndor calmly grabbed clothing resting beside a nearby rock.
Dark pants.
Bandages around his arms.
A black cloak lined with red stitching.
He dressed slowly.
Quietly.
Then sat down on an old wooden chair near the fire.
Silence.
The forest breeze moved softly through the trees.
And then—
"…Kaelira."
Jae froze.
Eryndor's eyes widened slightly the moment the name left his mouth.
Like even he hadn't expected himself to say it.
"…"
His hand clenched violently.
THUMP.
His heartbeat echoed loudly.
"Thump."
Again.
His breathing became uneven.
"What…"
He grabbed his head suddenly.
"WHAT is going on with me?!"
BOOOOM—
His fist slammed into the log beside him, completely shattering it into splinters.
The forest shook.
Birds scattered instantly.
"WHERE IS THAT BASTARD?!"
Killing intent exploded from his body.
The temperature around them dropped instantly.
Jae looked toward the Divine Flame of Curses.
"…He means the Contractor…"
The flame nodded.
"After Kaelira died…"
"The Divine Flame of Shadows Contractor vanished."
Jae clenched his fists.
"…Coward."
Eryndor stood up suddenly.
His expression had already returned to coldness.
Like the brief moment of emotion never existed.
He grabbed his sword.
His cloak.
And began walking.
No destination.
No hesitation.
Just walking.
The vision shifted rapidly.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Rain fell endlessly across ruined lands.
Eryndor never stopped moving.
Villages avoided him instinctively.
Monsters hid from his presence.
Even the air around him felt cursed now.
Jae watched silently.
"…He looks exhausted…"
"He is."
The Divine Flame answered.
"But hatred keeps him moving."
Eventually—
The scenery changed.
Jae's eyes widened.
Ruins.
Massive ruined walls stretched endlessly across the horizon.
Broken towers.
Collapsed castles.
Burned streets.
"…The destroyed Capital where his older brother sacafice himself to save eryndor…"
Eryndor stopped walking.
For the first time in days.
In the center of the destroyed kingdom—
A single grave remained untouched.
The area around it was strangely peaceful.
No destruction.
No blood.
Flowers still grew there somehow.
Eryndor slowly approached it.
Then—
Kneeled.
Jae's expression shifted slightly.
"…His mother…"
Eryndor placed one hand against the gravestone.
For a long time—
He said nothing.
Then finally—
"O Mother…"
His voice came out quieter than Jae had ever heard before.
"Please forgive me."
The wind moved gently around the graveyard.
"I know I never met you…"
A pause.
"But the choices I have made…"
His fist clenched.
"I know you would never approve of."
The atmosphere darkened slowly.
"Because of your faith."
Jae listened carefully.
Eryndor lowered his head.
"But tell me…"
His voice cracked slightly.
"How am I supposed to worship a Lord of Light…"
"…who created divine beings to protect us…"
"…only for them to abandon us?"
The air trembled.
"How am I supposed to kneel before a God…"
"…while children burn…"
"…while families are slaughtered…"
"…while monsters wear crowns?"
His aura began leaking violently now.
Dark flames spread slowly around the grave.
"So I refuse."
Jae's eyes widened.
"I refuse to pray…"
"To wait…"
"To hope…"
His voice deepened.
"Because hope never saved anyone."
The ground cracked beneath him.
"I see God now…"
"…as a silent observer."
"A being who watches suffering…"
"…and calls it patience."
Jae clenched his fists instantly.
"No…"
Eryndor rose slowly.
Veins bulged violently across his forehead.
"And those who continue worshipping blindly…"
"…while the world rots…"
"…shall perish alongside it."
Darkness gathered into his palm.
Violent.
Chaotic.
"My flames…"
The sky darkened instantly.
"…will become the judgment this world never received."
Jae's face darkened immediately.
"How could he…"
He stepped toward Eryndor angrily.
"How could he say that about God…?"
"It's not God's fault…"
Red electricity sparked violently around Jae.
"This is Satan's corruption."
"The reason God hasn't destroyed everything yet…"
"…is because He's giving people time to change."
Jae's voice shook emotionally now.
"I remember the scripture…"
"2 Peter 3:9…"
"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise…"
"…but is patient…"
"…not wanting anyone to perish."
The Divine Flame of Curses stared at him silently.
Then—
It chuckled softly.
"…That's a beautiful verse."
Jae looked at it.
The flame nodded slowly.
"You are correct."
"If God descended today and erased all evil…"
"…then Judgment Day would begin."
"And countless souls would be lost forever."
The flame looked toward the sky.
"He waits…"
"Because love without free will is meaningless."
Jae stayed silent.
The Divine Flame continued softly.
"There's another saying…"
"About wheat and weeds."
"A farmer waits until harvest before separating them…"
"…because pulling the weeds too early could destroy the wheat too."
A pause.
"God waits…"
"Because humanity still has a choice."
Silence filled the ruins.
Then—
The Divine Flame looked toward Jae warmly.
"…I'm glad people like you still exist."
"People who understand Him…"
"…instead of blaming Him."
Jae looked away quietly.
The flame turned suddenly.
"Come."
"We're losing him."
The vision shifted again.
Eryndor was already far ahead.
Walking endlessly.
Mountains.
Forests.
Ruins.
Winter became spring.
Then summer.
Weeks passed.
Then—
Eryndor suddenly stopped.
Jae immediately felt it too.
An aura.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Eryndor's eyes narrowed slowly.
"…What is that…"
He moved instantly.
Through the forest.
Faster.
The trees blurred around him.
Then—
He arrived.
And froze.
Jae's eyes widened.
Nine figures stood in the clearing.
All cloaked.
All powerful.
The air around them distorted from sheer mana alone.
And among them—
A girl stood silently.
Blonde hair.
Familiar eyes.
Eryndor's breathing stopped completely.
"…No…"
His voice barely existed.
"…Ellie…?"
Jae's heart dropped.
"…His sister…?"