Evening had fallen.
The house was still silent.
The fire hadn't been lit.
The door hadn't been opened.
There were no footsteps.
When Zakaryon crossed the threshold and stepped inside, it was his ears that noticed it first.
Then his eyes.
Then that uneasy tightening in his chest.
"I told them not to be late…"
The sun had already set.
He stood at the doorway for a long time.
As if, if he waited just a little longer, the children would walk in.
They didn't.
His brows furrowed.
Ashmere.
Whenever Eryon got angry, he went there.
He grabbed his cloak and set out.
"Elvaira, I'm going to check on the children."
"Alright, my love. Don't be late," Elvaira said in that gentle, delicate voice of hers.
The Ash tree rose like a dark silhouette in the twilight.
Its trunk was cold.
As the wind passed through its leaves, it left behind an ominous whisper.
But the children weren't there.
When Zakaryon reached the base of the tree, he stopped.
His chest tightened.
The air… was heavy.
As if something had broken.
As if something had shifted out of place.
He lifted his head.
A metallic scent reached his nose.
Not blood.
But something that reminded him of blood.
It resembled Ruven…
But it was far more ominous.
"Those brats… No…" he muttered.
He started running toward the forest.
Zakaryon didn't hesitate for even a second.
He sprang forward.
Dived between the trees.
Branches scratched his face.
Roots caught at his feet.
But he didn't stop.
His breathing quickened.
His heart pounded hard.
And then—
He felt it.
An ominous aura.
Sharp.
Unstable.
Familiar.
"Kaien…"
Without hearing anything, without thinking, he ran.
The cave entrance was dark.
There were sounds coming from inside.
Muffled breathing.
Someone gasping rapidly for air.
When Zakaryon emerged from between the trees, the sight before him stopped him for a moment.
At the cave entrance, the first thing he saw was firelight.
Flickering.
Uneven.
Then shadows.
Two children.
Bound.
Zakaryon's heart nearly stopped.
Kaien and Eryon.
They had been forced to their knees.
Their arms were tied behind their backs.
Eryon was clenching his teeth.
His eyes were filled with anger, but fear was there too.
It couldn't be hidden.
Kaien—
Kaien had collapsed to the ground.
His breathing was irregular.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
His face was deathly pale.
His lips had turned purple.
And what was emanating from him—
Zakaryon's knees nearly gave out.
The ominous feeling he had sensed at Ashmere…
It was here.
It was coming from Kaien.
A woman stood at the front of the cave.
Silent.
Watching everything unfold.
The pain on her face was obvious.
Right beside her stood a large man.
Broad-shouldered.
Thick-necked.
His hands never left the hilt of his katana.
The moment his eyes locked onto Zakaryon, the threat had already been made.
The large man took a step forward.
— "Hey."
His voice was deep.
Impatient.
— "Take one more step and you'll die right here."
A little farther—
The young heir.
Calm.
He had approached Kaien.
He extended his hand toward the child's right side.
"Interesting…" he said in a low voice.
"There's a seal here."
The moment his fingers touched the seal—
The air warped.
Kaien's breath suddenly caught.
His chest seized up.
A muffled sound escaped his lips.
"A—gh…"
From beneath the seal, a black wave seeped out.
Cold.
Oppressive.
Rotten in feeling.
The heir's hand trembled for a brief moment.
Then he pulled it back.
"So that's how it is…" he murmured.
At that moment—
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
Zakaryon lunged forward.
His voice echoed against the stone walls of the cave.
The young heir turned his head.
For the first time, his gaze shifted to Zakaryon.
There wasn't the slightest crack in his calmness.
"Hoo…" he said.
"And who might you be?"
Zakaryon's eyes never left Kaien.
"If you're asking whether those are my children—
There's no need to ask."
He took another step.
"I told you to take your hand off my son."
His voice was filled with restrained fury.
His concern couldn't be hidden.
The young heir's lips twitched slightly.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The large man stepped in.
He moved forward.
His body blocked the cave entrance.
— "Hey," he said.
"If you don't watch your mouth, I'll kill you right here, in front of your children."
There was no joke in his eyes.
It was real.
The young heir raised a hand, signaling him to stop.
"Gorai," he said calmly.
"Calm down."
Then he turned back to Zakaryon.
"My name is Shigure Chenju," he said.
"From the Eastern Kingdom."
"Heir of the Chenju Clan."
His tone was gentle.
But there was something beneath it.
Cunning.
Measuring.
Weighing.
"From your words earlier," he continued,
"It seems you're a local."
He took a step forward.
"What's your name?"
Zakaryon stood straight.
His chest was still locked onto Kaien's breathing, but he didn't take his eyes off Shigure.
"Zakaryon Juhesta," he said.
"Vertarast."
"Chief physician of the Riveryan Clan."
Shigure's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I see…" he said.
"So, the chief physician."
Gorai thought to himself:
Zakaryon Juhesta…
I feel like I've heard that name somewhere.
Strange… Why would a clan's chief physician be in a small northern village?
Shigure fell silent for a moment.
"I'll pretend I didn't see that."
He tilted his head to the side.
"This is a misunderstanding."
But Zakaryon knew.
The tension in the air was not fake.
Zakaryon's gaze briefly dropped to the ground.
The woman.
Her arm… severed just above the elbow.
The edges were clean.
It had been done hastily, but deliberately.
The blood had already stopped.
That meant it wasn't recent.
Eryon couldn't fully grasp what was happening.
He was only worried about his brother.
His throat tightened.
His hands were bound, but his eyes never left Kaien.
His brother's breathing… was wrong.
Too fast.
Too irregular.
He looked up at his father.
His gaze trembled.
As if words weren't necessary—
Serious, it said.
Kaien is bad.
Something's happening.
Zakaryon saw it.
And that snapped the last restraint inside him.
"This doesn't look like much of a misunderstanding," he said.
His voice was low but firm.
It didn't echo off the cave walls.
It sank straight into people.
"That woman's arm has been cut off," he continued.
"I'm not here to judge you for that."
He didn't take his eyes off Shigure.
"I can tell from the clan mark beneath her neck," he said.
"She's your slave."
The woman's face didn't move.
Zakaryon took another step forward.
"But why are my sons tied up?" he said.
"It's obvious they're being held against their will."
He paused for a moment.
"We can resolve this," he said,
"without spilling blood."
There was a threat in his voice.
Open.
Unhidden.
Eryon's chest tightened.
His father…
He had never heard him like this before.
This anger…
It was cold.
Controlled.
And deadly serious.
Eryon clenched his teeth.
This is all my fault…
If I hadn't left the house like that…
Kaien would—
Damn it.
Shigure smiled faintly.
But it wasn't really a smile.
More like… a habit.
"How troublesome…" he said.
He tilted his head.
"I'm afraid," he continued,
"that won't be possible."
At that moment—
Gorai charged forward.
His heavy step shook the stone floor of the cave.
In an instant, he was right in front of Zakaryon.
"Hey," he said.
"I told you not to say those things to the young master."
His voice was deep.
Mocking.
Condescending.
"Take one more step and—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Zakaryon didn't move.
His gaze traveled across Gorai's chest, shoulders, legs.
He was measuring.
Not normal…
The Ruven he's emitting is heavy.
He might be stronger than me.
But—
That massive body.
His center of gravity.
It slows him down.
I need to make the first move.
Zakaryon's shoulders dropped ever so slightly.
To an outside observer, it would have looked like relaxation.
But it wasn't.
Shigure noticed.
Zakaryon's breathing hardened.
The blood on the ground hadn't cooled yet.
Gorai stepped forward with heavy strides.
That strange calm unique to the Chenju Clan was on his face.
Despite his massive frame, his shoulders were loose.
As if he were out for a walk, not a fight.
"I suggest you surrender," Gorai said.
"I don't want to kill you."
Zakaryon didn't answer.
He simply raised his hand slowly.
The air—
For a moment, it grew heavy.
The instant Gorai felt it, he lunged forward.
His fist was no longer a human fist.
Dark veins crawling across his muscles showed clearly that Ruven was forcing his body beyond its limits.
BOOM!
The ground exploded.
But Zakaryon wasn't there.
He appeared a step behind.
Gorai's punch struck empty air.
Zakaryon's palm sank into Gorai's ribs.
— "Surrender is not an option for me."
Blood sprayed.
Gorai slid back several meters but didn't fall.
He dug his feet into the ground.
Clenched his teeth.
And smiled.
"So that's how it is…" he said, spitting blood.
"For a physician, you're quite strong."
Zakaryon didn't change the serious expression on his face.
"Underestimating me was your mistake."
This time, Gorai slammed both hands into the ground.
The earth split.
Roots burst upward.
Stones were hurled into the air.
The Chenju Clan's bodily Ruven technique—
Pure destruction.
A stone pierced into Zakaryon's shoulder.
It shattered.
But he didn't retreat.
"The look in your eyes isn't that of a normal man," Gorai said.
"Your right shoulder is destroyed, yet you're not backing down."
"I like that."
Zakaryon's voice was cold.
"You haven't seen anything yet."
A moment of silence.
Then Zakaryon charged forward.
When the two collided, the forest roared.
Trees toppled.
Branches shattered.
Gorai's strength was overwhelming.
But Zakaryon's movements were precise.
Calculated.
Furious.
But controlled.
Gorai swung an elbow.
Zakaryon ducked.
Grabbed his wrist.
CRACK.
Bone snapped.
Gorai screamed, but immediately countered.
He drove his knee into Zakaryon's chest.
Zakaryon was sent flying back.
He dropped to one knee.
Just as Gorai was about to deliver the finishing blow—
Zakaryon's eyes shifted to the side.
Kaien.
The child's body was trembling.
His breathing was erratic.
"W-what… what's happening…"
"Why isn't my body listening to me…"
"Dad…"
"Why are you here…"
The Ruven inside Kaien had gone mad.
It wanted blood.
Not just blood—
It wanted to drown everything in blood.
Kaien collapsed to his knees.
"A—AGHHHHH!"
The scream tore through the forest.
Animals fled.
Birds abandoned the sky.
"DAD!"
"Help me!"
"It hurts!"
"It hurts so much!"
The pain in his voice didn't belong to a child.
The tears in his eyes…
The color of his eyes…
They wavered between crimson and black.
Then the first sound came.
CRACK.
His arm bone snapped.
"AAAGH!"
The second—
CRACK.
The third—
With every break, Kaien screamed, cried, and lost himself.
His small body couldn't endure this power.
Zakaryon turned.
"Kaien—!"
But it was too late.
Kaien's body began to grow.
Bones reshaped themselves.
Muscles tightened.
His height increased—
Not the body of a child…
But that of a fifteen-year-old youth.
His hair fell past his shoulders.
Black markings appeared across his skin.
"A dark ruven spread through the air.
Gorai took an instinctive step back.
'This…' he said, fear seeping into his voice for the first time.
'What is this?'
Kaien raised his head.
There was no child left in his gaze.
Only hunger."