Chapter Seven
Season Two – Part One
Beginning
Location: Unknown — Inside the darkness of Kaith's consciousness
There was nothing…
No ground, no sky—
not even air.
A place that did not exist.
A silent, dense darkness… like pure void itself.
Within that emptiness, Kaith heard his own voice echoing from nowhere.
Kaith (confused, uneasy):
"Where… am I?!"
The answer didn't come from afar—
it came from behind him… as if it had always been there.
Unknown (coldly):
"You're inside your own consciousness, idiot."
Kaith turned sharply.
Standing before him was a young man… who looked exactly like him—
but older. More mature.
His eyes were calm in an unsettling way,
and his voice carried the weight of someone who knew everything.
Kaith (sharply):
"What…? If I'm inside my own mind… then that means you're… me."
Unknown:
"You could say we're similar… but we're not entirely the same."
Kaith's brows tightened. A strange pressure gripped his chest.
Kaith:
"What do you mean?!"
The unknown raised his hand and pointed at him with quiet certainty.
Unknown:
"I represent three-quarters…
and you represent only one quarter."
Kaith's eyes widened.
Kaith:
"What are you talking about?!"
Unknown (calmly):
"I am you…
or more precisely, your previous version."
He didn't give Kaith time to process it.
The darkness vanished instantly—like a curtain being torn away—
Then—
Kaith Awakens
A sharp gasp tore out of Kaith's chest as he jolted upright.
Sweat poured down his forehead.
His breathing was heavy.
His body trembled faintly.
He opened his eyes slowly… as if making sure he had truly returned to reality.
Kaith (muttering, shaken):
"Did… did you follow me into reality too…?"
But instead of that unknown figure—
Another voice answered.
Reinhardt:
"Gilgamesh… are you sure you didn't hit his head?"
Gilgamesh (coldly):
"I'm a hundred percent sure. I didn't touch his head at all."
Reinhardt shook his head with fake disappointment.
Reinhardt:
"Then it's madness since childhood… no cure for that kind."
Kaith (angrily):
"Hey! I'm right here! I can hear you!"
Reinhardt didn't even look at him.
Reinhardt:
"Doesn't matter. You know yourself. Crazy. End of story."
Kaith:
"You bastard…!"
A sudden strike landed on his head.
Reinhardt:
"Don't speak to your teacher like that."
Kaith (in pain):
"Teacher of who?!"
Reinhardt:
"One more hit and your stupidity might increase…
Of course it's you. Who else? You're the weakest one here anyway."
Kaith's muscles tensed.
Kaith (mocking):
"You can't train me."
Reinhardt raised an eyebrow.
Reinhardt (curious):
"And why is that?"
Kaith:
"Because you haven't lived what I've lived…
You haven't gone through what I went through."
A heavy silence fell.
Just one moment—
but it was enough to feel that something had broken.
Gilgamesh (nervously):
"I… I think I'll leave before a volcano erupts here—"
Reinhardt (coldly):
"Stay where you are."
Gilgamesh froze instantly.
He swallowed hard, sweat forming on his forehead, not daring to move an inch.
Reinhardt slowly lifted his head…
For the first time—
his eyes held no sarcasm.
No mockery.
No humor.
Only pure, raw… terrifying anger.
A crushing aura spread, suffocating the air itself.
Breathing became painful.
Reinhardt (low, trembling with rage):
"Do you know… how much I've suffered because of you?"
(then shouting)
"YOU FILTHY RAT?!"
"For thousands of years… I've been suffering because of you."
"Do you know that?!"
Kaith stepped back under the overwhelming pressure.
Kaith (shaken):
"You… knew me before I lost my memory?!
No… you knew me before I was even born?!"
The anger intensified.
Reinhardt's golden eyes began shifting into a deep, pitch black.
Reinhardt (furious):
"That cursed memory…
how much I hate it."
Gilgamesh (choking under pressure):
"I—I suggest we leave… before this bastard crushes me too."
After a few tense moments…
the aura slowly receded.
Everyone breathed again—as if air itself had just returned.
Gilgamesh shouted:
"Get out of here, Kaith! Doesn't look like you did anything right this time!"
After a While
Kaith sat alone near the entrance of the room.
Reinhardt's words kept echoing in his mind.
He didn't understand anything.
He didn't understand why that man's eyes were filled with both pain… and contempt.
Soft footsteps approached.
Alia sat beside him.
Alia (gently):
"Kaith… why do you look like that?
Did Reinhardt scare you?"
Kaith:
"No… it's just… why did he get that angry? What did he mean?!"
She sat beside him and gently placed her hand on his head.
Alia (softly):
"Kaith… you're an idiot."
Then she smiled faintly and continued:
"Even though you've faced death more than once…
you've never faced emptiness."
Kaith looked at her.
Kaith (confused):
"Emptiness…? What is that?"
She sighed… as if recalling distant memories.
Alia:
"It's when there's no one left…
no family… no friends… no one to talk to… no one you love."
"When you're completely alone…
with nothing but air."
"Maybe… Reinhardt has lived through that."
Kaith hesitated, then spoke weakly:
Kaith:
"But… I've experienced that too."
She shook her head.
Alia:
"No. You're talking to me right now.
You laugh sometimes… you get angry… you argue."
"But if Gilgamesh disappeared… and I disappeared too…"
"Only then… you might begin to understand what emptiness truly means."
"When everything becomes hollow…
you hate your life…
you don't want to live anymore—
yet you can't die."
Kaith:
"That's… impossible. If someone wants death that badly, then life has no meaning."
She smiled… a sad, quiet smile.
Alia:
"Kaith… nothing is impossible in this world.
When you face its cruelty… you'll learn a lot."
A long silence followed.
Finally, Kaith lowered his head slightly.
His eyes… dim and lost.
Kaith (quietly):
"I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't understand anything… why?"
Alia (softly, reassuring):
"Smile, Kaith… everyone is with you.
We'll never leave you."
Kaith gave a faint smile and looked at her.
Kaith:
"Thank you… Alia."
End of Chapter