The night was colder than ever.
A pale moon hung above the silent mountains while the restored barrier shimmered faintly across the sky.
The realm had been saved.
Yet the people who had saved it were falling apart.
Kael walked alone through the empty streets.
He didn't know where he was going.
His feet simply carried him forward.
Every familiar place reminded him of Larissa.
The small bakery where she always bought sweet bread.
The bridge where they had argued over the color of the sunset.
The flower shop where she once forced him to wear a flower crown.
Every memory stabbed deeper than the last.
Hours passed.
Eventually...
His steps led him to a lonely cliff overlooking the valley.
It was the same place where he and Larissa had sat only days before.
The wooden bench still faced the moon.
Her empty teacup remained on the small table beside it.
The wind gently moved the pages of the book she had forgotten to take.
Kael slowly sat down.
He picked up the cup with trembling hands.
It still carried the faint scent of tea.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"You said..."
"...we'd come back here together."
His voice broke.
"I couldn't even keep that promise."
For the first time since the wedding...
He cried without trying to hide it.
The mountains answered only with silence.
---
Far away...
On the highest mountain in the western region...
Larissa stood alone.
The cold wind blew through her torn clothes.
Bandages wrapped around her arms and shoulders.
Fresh blood slowly soaked through the cloth covering her side.
Every movement hurt.
Yet she welcomed the pain.
It was easier than what she felt inside.
She slowly walked toward the edge of the cliff.
Far below...
Nothing but darkness.
The drop was so deep that even the river couldn't be seen.
Behind her...
Soft footsteps approached.
James stopped several meters away.
"I knew I'd find you here."
Larissa didn't turn around.
"Go back."
James sighed.
"You've been standing here for an hour."
"I thought you wanted answers."
Larissa laughed quietly.
A hollow laugh.
"What answer is left?"
"I saw everything."
"He married her."
James lowered his head.
"He didn't choose this."
Larissa whispered,
"...He said yes."
Those three words echoed in the empty mountains.
"He could've refused."
"He could've died."
"But he said yes."
James slowly walked closer.
"You know that's unfair."
"He carried an entire realm on his shoulders."
Larissa remained silent.
James continued,
"If you had been standing where he was..."
"...and thousands of innocent people were dying..."
"...what would you have done?"
Larissa finally looked at him.
Tears quietly rolled down her cheeks.
"I don't know."
"I honestly don't know."
She looked back toward the endless darkness beneath the cliff.
"But my heart doesn't care about logic."
"It only knows..."
"...that the person I loved belongs to someone else now."
James couldn't find another argument.
Some wounds couldn't be healed with reason.
---
Back at the castle...
Emily stood alone outside Kael's empty room.
She slowly opened the door.
The room was untouched.
His sword...
Gone.
His coat...
Gone.
Only the necklace box Larissa had once given him remained on the table.
Emily picked it up.
Inside...
The necklace was gone.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I failed both of you..."
Behind her...
Arulines quietly entered.
"Did you find him?"
Emily slowly shook her head.
"He disappeared."
Arulines looked out the window toward the peaceful sky.
"The realm is finally safe."
Emily smiled bitterly.
"Safe?"
"Look around."
"We saved buildings."
"But we destroyed lives."
Arulines closed his eyes.
For the first time...
The old leader had no answer.
---
Meanwhile...
Grace stood alone inside her room.
The wedding dress had already been replaced with her usual clothes.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
Everything she had wanted...
She finally had.
The leadership.
The ritual.
Kael.
Yet...
Why did it feel so empty?
She remembered the way Kael had looked at her.
Not with anger.
Not with hatred.
With complete emptiness.
As if she didn't even exist.
Grace slowly clenched her fists.
"...You'll understand someday."
"You'll forget her."
"You have to."
She repeated those words again and again.
Almost as if she were trying to convince herself.
---
The wind grew stronger atop the mountain.
Larissa closed her eyes.
Fragments of memories flashed before her.
Kael teaching her swordsmanship.
His awkward smile.
The birthday pendant.
The city festival.
The promise beneath the stars.
«"I'd rather die than betray you."»
She slowly opened her eyes.
"...Promises..."
"...are fragile."
One more step.
Pebbles rolled down into the darkness below.
James' voice suddenly came from behind.
"Larissa."
"If you jump..."
"...you won't just end your pain."
"You'll pass it on to everyone who loves you."
She didn't answer.
Another step.
Only her toes remained on solid ground.
The cold wind roared around her.
James' heartbeat quickened.
"Larissa!"
She slowly whispered into the night.
"...I'm tired."
The mountain fell silent.
And for one terrifying moment...
James felt as though even the wind had stopped breathing.
The cold wind screamed across the mountaintop.
Larissa stood at the edge of the cliff.
One more step...
That was all it would take.
Behind her, James remained frozen.
For the first time in years...
He didn't know what to say.
His voice became quieter.
"...Larissa."
She didn't answer.
The silence between them felt heavier than the entire mountain.
James slowly took one careful step forward.
"You've always been stronger than everyone else."
"You endured things most people couldn't."
"But today..."
"...you're running away."
Larissa laughed.
The sound carried no happiness.
"I'm running away?"
She slowly turned her head.
Tears continued sliding down her face.
"The man I loved married someone else."
"My own brother works for the man who destroyed my home."
"The people I trusted believed I was dead."
"My realm is burning."
"My body hurts."
"My heart hurts even more."
She looked back into the endless abyss.
"Tell me..."
"What exactly am I supposed to stay alive for?"
James couldn't answer immediately.
Instead...
He slowly walked until only a few steps separated them.
"You once told me something."
Larissa frowned slightly.
James continued.
"When we were children..."
"I lost every sword duel against you."
"You laughed and said..."
«'The moment you stop standing back up is the moment you've truly lost.'»
A faint memory surfaced in Larissa's mind.
She had said those words.
Long ago.
James smiled sadly.
"You taught me that."
"So don't throw away your own lesson."
Larissa's shoulders trembled.
"I can't..."
"I don't have any strength left."
"You don't need strength."
James stretched out his hand.
"You only need one reason to take one step back."
The wind blew harder.
Larissa stared at his hand.
For several long moments...
Nothing happened.
Finally...
Her trembling foot slowly moved backward.
Then another.
The moment she stepped away from the cliff...
Her legs completely gave out.
She collapsed onto her knees.
All the emotions she had been suppressing burst free.
She cried.
Not quietly.
Not with dignity.
She cried until her voice became hoarse.
James walked over without saying a word.
He gently placed his hand on her head.
He didn't try to stop her tears.
Some pain needed to leave before healing could begin.
After a long time...
Larissa finally whispered,
"...I hate him."
James remained silent.
"...I hate him so much."
Another tear fell.
"...So why..."
"...does my heart still love him?"
James slowly closed his eyes.
"Because love doesn't disappear just because it hurts."
---
Far away...
Kael remained on the lonely hill where he and Larissa used to spend their evenings.
The moon reflected across the quiet lake below.
Everything looked exactly the same.
Except...
She wasn't beside him anymore.
He slowly reached into his coat pocket.
A small wooden box rested inside.
He carefully opened it.
Inside lay the birthday pendant Larissa had once given him.
He gently held it in his palm.
"...I couldn't protect you."
His voice barely escaped his lips.
"I'm sorry.
A tear landed on the pendant.
For several seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then...
A faint golden light briefly flickered from inside the pendant.
Kael froze.
"...What?"
The light disappeared almost instantly.
He stared at the pendant in confusion.
"...Did I imagine it?"
He waited.
Nothing happened again.
He slowly closed the box.
"...Maybe I'm just tired."
Without realizing it...
The pendant had responded.
Somewhere...
Someone connected to it was still alive.
---
Back at the headquarters...
Emily sat alone in the empty dining hall.
No one touched the food placed across the long table.
The castle felt colder than ever.
Grace quietly entered the room.
She looked around before sitting opposite Emily.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally...
Grace broke the silence.
"...He's still not back?"
Emily shook her head.
"No."
Grace lowered her eyes.
"I only wanted to protect the realm."
Emily looked at her for several seconds.
"You may have protected the realm."
"But you never protected the people inside it."
Grace frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Emily slowly stood.
"It means..."
"A leader who wins the kingdom while losing every heart..."
"...stands alone on an empty throne."
She quietly walked away.
Grace remained seated.
Emily's words echoed through the silent hall.
For the first time...
Grace wondered whether becoming the leader had truly made her victorious.
Or whether she had already begun losing everything that mattered.
Outside...
The restored barrier shimmered peacefully above the realm.
But beneath that peaceful sky...
The hearts of those connected by fate had never been further apart.