The days that followed passed peacefully.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Zaraf found himself living a simple routine. Every morning began on the training grounds, every afternoon was filled with lessons, and every evening ended with quiet discussions beneath the setting sun. There were no disasters to stop, no worlds to save, and no unbearable burdens pressing against his shoulders.
Just...
Teaching.
It was unfamiliar.
But strangely comforting.
As the days passed, Zaraf gradually began understanding each of his students.
Clay possessed remarkable talent. His physical ability, natural instincts, and boundless stamina were all far beyond what most beginners could hope to achieve. Yet despite all of that potential, Clay rarely made the first move during battle. He always waited for his opponent to attack first before responding, allowing countless opportunities to slip away.
'Too cautious...'
Zaraf thought while watching another sparring session.
'His confidence still hasn't caught up with his talent.'
Hussen was different.
No one trained harder than him.
Before sunrise, he was already swinging his sword. Long after everyone else had gone to sleep, he was still practicing alone beneath the moonlight.
His determination was unquestionable.
But...
He fought as though the battlefield belonged only to him.
Every charge.
Every swing.
Every decision.
He ignored the existence of his teammates, believing he alone had to shoulder everything.
'He's carrying something far heavier than his sword...'
Zaraf quietly observed him.
'If he continues like this... one day he'll charge forward alone... and never return.'
Then...
There was Nihara.
"..."
She was lying beneath a tree.
Again.
Sleeping.
When she wasn't sleeping...
She was eating.
When she wasn't eating...
She was somehow finding another excuse to avoid training.
Zaraf sighed while folding his arms.
"...I seriously need to find something that motivates her."
She clearly possessed talent.
He could sense it.
Yet she simply refused to use it.
If Clay lacked confidence...
And Hussen lacked trust...
Then Nihara lacked motivation itself.
'I suppose every teacher has one student like this...'
Even so...
Watching the three of them slowly improve together made him smile.
Their teamwork was still clumsy.
Their coordination often fell apart.
Arguments happened almost every day.
Yet little by little...
They were beginning to fight as companions instead of strangers.
That alone was enough.
...
Several days later...
Another ordinary training session was underway.
The sounds of swords clashing echoed throughout the field as Zaraf stood calmly before the three students.
"Again."
The battle resumed immediately.
Hussen rushed forward first, just as Zaraf expected.
His sword sliced through the air with impressive speed.
But...
His footing was wrong.
Too much force.
Not enough balance.
At the very last moment, Zaraf simply shifted half a step to the side.
The blade missed him completely.
Before Hussen could recover, Zaraf gently pushed against his shoulder.
The slight movement completely destroyed Hussen's balance.
"Wha—"
His body stumbled several steps forward.
At that exact moment—
"Now!"
Clay leapt high into the air from behind.
His timing was perfect.
Unfortunately...
His target was Zaraf.
"...Wind Burst."
A compressed explosion of wind erupted behind Zaraf.
Boom!
Clay's eyes widened.
"Aaaah!"
Instead of landing on his teacher...
He found himself flying helplessly across the training ground before crashing into a nearby pile of hay.
"...Again?" Clay groaned.
Nihara couldn't help laughing.
"You make that look easy."
Zaraf smiled helplessly.
"You two have improved."
"...But you're still fighting separately."
He glanced toward Hussen.
"You attack without considering your teammates."
Then toward Clay.
"And you hesitate for too long."
"You both need to trust each other."
Only then...
Can your attacks truly become dangerous."
The two quietly nodded.
After another hour of training, Zaraf finally raised his hand.
"Let's take a short break."
Everyone immediately collapsed onto the grass.
Even Hussen looked exhausted.
Clay lay flat on his back while staring at the clouds.
Nihara looked happiest of all.
"A break..."
"The greatest invention in history."
Zaraf chuckled.
Just as he was about to sit down—
He noticed two figures approaching from the distance.
"...?"
One of them...
He recognized immediately.
Gray.
The Creator walked casually toward them with both hands inside his pockets, wearing his usual neat clothes and that mysterious smile that never seemed to leave his face.
But...
There should have been another person beside him.
Zaraf could sense someone else.
Yet...
He couldn't see anyone.
Gray stopped several meters away without saying a word.
He simply smiled.
That alone was enough to make Zaraf suspicious.
"...You're planning something."
Gray's smile only widened.
Before Zaraf could react—
Someone suddenly grabbed his arm.
His body was violently pulled off balance.
"...!"
There was nobody there.
Instinct took over.
Before he could fall, a burst of wind gathered beneath his feet, lifting him into the air.
At the same time, countless streams of invisible wind spread silently across the ground below like an enormous web.
"...Interesting."
Something moved.
Just for an instant.
Although invisible to the eye...
The disturbance flowing through his wind told him everything.
'Someone stepped back.'
Gray hadn't moved.
Meaning...
The invisible person had.
"So that's how it is..."
Instead of landing, Zaraf remained suspended in the air atop several compressed platforms of wind.
His students watched in complete confusion.
"...What's happening?"
Clay whispered.
"No idea..."
Even Hussen couldn't follow what was happening.
Suddenly—
Zaraf's eyes shifted toward an empty space several meters away.
"There."
His hand moved.
A powerful blast of wind exploded toward seemingly empty air.
At the exact same moment...
A hidden figure instinctively jumped backward to dodge.
"...Found you."
Before the invisible person could recover, Zaraf had already disappeared.
The wind carried him forward almost instantly.
He never drew his sword.
Instead...
He gently flicked the invisible person's forehead.
Bonk.
"...Ow!"
The invisible figure stumbled backward while rubbing her head.
Moments later...
The air around her shimmered.
Her invisibility slowly disappeared.
Long silver hair fluttered gently in the breeze.
Bright eyes stared back at him.
Tears had already begun forming.
Zaraf blinked.
Then smiled.
"...Playing games with me now?"
"...Abeth."
The moment she heard her name...
She rushed toward him.
Without warning—
She threw herself into his arms.
"Brother!"
"...!"
The impact nearly knocked him backward.
She hugged him tightly.
Far tighter than necessary.
"...You're crushing me..."
She ignored him completely.
Instead...
She buried her face against his shoulder and began crying.
"You idiot..."
"You absolute idiot..."
"Do you know how worried I was...?"
Her voice trembled between every word.
For a while...
Neither of them spoke.
Gray quietly walked over with his hands still inside his pockets.
He looked between the two before smiling.
"So..."
He tilted his head.
"Feeling better now?"
"...Or would you like another round with my student?"
Zaraf blinked.
"...Your student?"
He looked toward Abeth.
"...Wait."
"You became Gray's student?"
"When?"
"And..."
"...Why?"
Abeth finally released him before crossing her arms.
An annoyed expression quickly replaced her tears.
"Hmph."
"Because the teacher I wanted..."
"...Was too busy ruining his own life."
Her words struck surprisingly hard.
"So I had no choice."
"I trained under him."
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"I wanted to surprise you."
"...And prove how much stronger I'd become."
Then she narrowed her eyes.
"But you still found me."
"How?"
"I know my concealment was perfect."
Zaraf couldn't help smiling proudly.
"It was."
"You completely hid yourself from sight."
"But..."
"You still had presence."
He pointed toward the ground.
"I spread an extremely thin layer of wind across the battlefield."
"It was almost impossible to notice."
"The moment you walked through it..."
"The wind told me exactly where you were."
Abeth stared blankly.
"...That's cheating."
"No."
Zaraf laughed.
"That's observation."
"Hmph..."
She looked away dramatically.
"Fine."
"Still..."
She glanced toward Gray.
"He may look like a complete idiot..."
"...And maybe a pervert..."
"...But he's surprisingly good at teaching."
Gray froze.
His entire face lit up with happiness.
"...You..."
"...You think I'm good?"
He placed a hand dramatically over his heart.
"I'm so moved..."
"...Marry me!"
BAM!
Abeth's fist buried itself directly into Gray's face.
The Creator disappeared into the ground headfirst.
A cloud of dust exploded upward.
"...Absolutely not."
Gray's muffled voice came from inside the crater.
"...Worth asking..."
Zaraf couldn't help laughing.
"...Some things really never change."
At that moment, Clay, Hussen, and Nihara finally walked over.
Abeth looked toward them curiously.
"Hm?"
"So..."
"These are my brother's students?"
Hussen remained silent.
Clay tilted his head.
Neither of them recognized her.
Only Nihara immediately stepped forward before bowing respectfully.
"...It's an honor to meet you, Lady Abeth."
Clay's eyes widened.
"You know her?"
Nihara nodded.
"Of course."
"She's a Reincarnation just like us."
"...But she's our senior."
"And..."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Probably the strongest Reincarnation alive."
Clay's eyes sparkled.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward Abeth.
"So..."
"Can you defeat a Creator?"
The sudden question caught her completely off guard.
"...Eh?"
She scratched her cheek awkwardly before laughing.
"I did beat the Fourth Creator ..."
"...Though that situation was a little complicated."
She shook her head.
"But seriously..."
"No."
"Even if I'm considered the strongest among the Reincarnations..."
"I still don't stand a chance against any Creator."
Hussen quietly lowered his gaze.
He had hoped...
Perhaps...
There really was someone capable of reaching that level.
Gray eventually climbed out of the crater before walking over to Zaraf.
"I heard from Shin that you finally came back."
His smile gradually faded.
"So..."
"...Have you gone to see Ben?"
A brief pause followed.
"...Or..."
"...Her?"
Zaraf's smile slowly disappeared.
His eyes lowered toward the ground.
He wanted to.
More than anything.
But...
How was he supposed to face someone whose memories no longer existed inside him?
How could he look into her eyes...
Without remembering the promises they once shared?
"...I was planning to."
He answered quietly.
"I just wanted to finish training them first."
Before Gray could respond—
Abeth immediately clapped her hands together.
"Perfect!"
"I'll train them while you're gone."
Zaraf stared at her.
"...You what?"
She smiled brightly.
"I'll handle everything."
"You go."
"...Traitor."
"I heard that."
Clay suddenly raised his hand.
"...Wait."
"You called Master Zaraf your brother."
"...Brother?"
Abeth looked toward Zaraf with a mischievous grin.
"Oh..."
"This should be fun."
Even Gray folded his arms with a smile.
"...Well?"
"Any more excuses?"
Zaraf let out a long, defeated sigh.
"...Fine."
He looked toward Abeth.
"Take care of them..."
"...Sis."
Abeth immediately gave him a bright thumbs-up.
"Leave it to me."
Then she turned toward the three students with a mysterious smile.
"So..."
"Would you all like to hear the story..."
"...Of how my brother and I first met?"
Immediately...
Three pairs of curious eyes focused entirely on her.
Even Hussen, who rarely showed interest in anything, silently waited for her answer.
Gray chuckled before patting Zaraf's shoulder.
"I'll come later."
"Now go."
"...Alone."
Zaraf looked around.
One by one...
Every single person nodded.
"...So all of you planned this from the beginning."
Abeth simply smiled.
Gray whistled innocently.
Clay looked away.
Even Nihara was trying not to laugh.
Zaraf could only shake his head.
"...I've been completely betrayed."
Yet...
For the first time in a long while...
Being betrayed like this...
Didn't feel bad at all.