Page 1
The forest behind the village.
Three people standing between the trees.
Before them — the village burns.
The flames dance across their faces in the darkness. Yuzuha. Karki. Totoki.
No one speaks.
Page 2
Karki looks at the fire.
Inside his mind: the alleys they played in as children. The hideout. The smell of stolen fruit. The laughter.
Totoki sits slowly on the ground. His hand touches the earth.
"No… this can't be real."
The tears don't ask permission.
Page 3
Yuzuha tightens her fist until her knuckles go white.
Inside her mind — one face only.
Linsan.
She stands. She turns to face them both.
"Pull yourselves together. Now."
Her voice doesn't shake. But her eyes say something else.
Page 4
"We have a destination. The Kingdom of Karkin. The old man said ten days — but we don't have ten days. Not here."
Totoki raises his head: "But he said—"
"I know what he said."
She looks at the burning village one last time.
"But what do you suggest we do? Wait here until they come back?"
Silence.
Page 5
Totoki rises slowly. He brushes the earth from his hands.
He doesn't answer.
But he stands.
Karki rises after him.
Yuzuha turns toward the forest road.
"We move."
She walks.
They follow her in silence.
Behind them, the village burns alone.
Page 6
Elsewhere.
The old man on his horse. Thian behind him. Mabu between them.
The old man holds the address paper. He asks every person they pass on the road.
He rides. He asks. He rides. He asks.
Until a remote village appears between dense trees.
He dismounts. He walks toward a house at the end of the road. He knocks.
Page 7
A man opens the door.
"Doctor Lukaji?"
"Yes. That's me. Who are you?"
The old man pauses for a moment.
"Someone from a long time ago. Don't you remember me?"
Lukaji studies him with his eyes. Then freezes.
"Sharo?"
"Yes."
Page 8
Lukaji opens the door completely. He steps forward. He hugs the old man with a force no one expected.
"My God. How long has it been?"
"A long time."
"How are you?"
"Fine. As much as possible."
Lukaji steps back. He looks at the old man. At Thian. At Mabu — being carried.
"Come in."
Page 9
Thian lays Mabu on the table carefully.
Lukaji approaches. He looks. He sees the green light wrapping Mabu.
"What is this?"
"An incantation. It stops time inside the body so he doesn't die. I can end it now — but I need you to be ready."
Lukaji nods.
"Let me get my things."
Page 10
Lukaji opens a large bag on his desk. He takes out syringes arranged with care.
"Before you knocked on my door years ago, I was working on something. Zuu mixed with the restoration power I possess. It took a long time — but I got there."
He picks one up. He holds it up to the light.
"This can treat the entire body in a single day."
Page 11
The old man looks at the syringe. Then at Mabu.
"Will it be enough?"
"To heal what can be healed — yes."
Lukaji pauses.
"Let us begin first. Talk after."
The old man nods.
He raises his hands toward Mabu. He begins reading in a low voice. The green light fades slowly.
Page 12
Lukaji injects Mabu with precise movements. Then he turns to the old man.
"You as well. And this one." He gestures toward Thian.
He injects them both.
They sit. The medicine works slowly through their bodies.
The room is quiet. Only the sound of breathing.
Page 13
After some time.
"Tell me exactly what happened to him."
The old man breathes.
"He was fighting. He suddenly lost control of his power. He started fighting in a way that wasn't like him at all. He reached a point where he punched the ground until his hands were completely destroyed."
Lukaji looks at the place where Mabu's hands used to be.
He goes quiet.
Page 14
"I can treat his body. The wounds. The fractures. Everything internal."
He pauses.
"But this…"
He looks directly at the old man.
"Bringing hands back from this state is something I've never faced before. I'll need to examine his circuit after he recovers. To see what I can do."
Page 15
"But I won't make you a promise about something I don't know is possible."
The old man looks at him.
"What I'm asking is for you to try. Just to try with everything you have."
Lukaji nods.
"I'll try."
He stands. He walks toward the door.
"Now go and rest. The medicine needs time. Tomorrow we begin."
Page 16
The old man grabs Lukaji's hand before he leaves.
He doesn't speak.
Lukaji looks at him. He understands.
"Don't thank me yet. Wait until I've done something worth thanking me for."
He smiles. He leaves.
He appears at the outside door: "Maymo!"
His son appears.
"Take care of these two. Special guests."
Page 17
Maymo leads the old man and Thian to the house next door.
"Here is your room. And here is yours."
He shows them around with quiet warmth.
"Rest. And tomorrow morning come back to the clinic."
He closes the door behind him.
Silence fills the house.
Page 18
Thian puts down his things. He sits on the bed.
He looks at the ceiling.
Then he stands. He goes out. He knocks on the old man's door.
"Can we talk?"
"Come in."
Page 19
Thian sits across from him. He looks at him.
"You haven't told us anything. Why? Do you see what happened to Mabu? Mabu, Grandfather. My brother."
The old man looks at him with eyes that know exactly what he's feeling.
"I see. And I know."
He breathes.
"But I'm not in a state that allows for talking right now. I also need time."
Page 20
"Give me a few days. When things settle — I'll tell you everything. Everything, Thian. I promise."
Thian looks at him.
He reads his face.
This is the face of a man who is exhausted. Not a man who is hiding something.
"Alright."
He stands.
"I'm waiting."
He closes the door behind him.
Page 21
Early morning.
The old man and Thian enter the clinic.
Mabu is sitting in a chair. He looks at the floor. His eyes are empty.
Thian stops.
Then he runs.
"Mabu!"
He throws his arms around him with his full weight.
Page 22
Mabu raises his head slowly.
"Hello, Thian."
The old man comes closer. He places his hand on Mabu's head — quietly.
Thian takes Mabu's face in both hands.
"How are you? Are you alright?"
Mabu smiles — a small, faint smile.
"I'm not alright."
He pauses.
"I don't have hands to hug you back with."
Thian freezes. "Don't worry — I'll do the hugging."
He hugs him again. Harder than before.
"We'll find a way. Don't worry."
Page 23
The old man places his hand on Mabu's shoulder.
"You are stronger than this. This is an obstacle on the road — not its end. Every hardship passes."
Mabu looks at him.
He doesn't answer.
But he nods.
The old man leaves him. He walks toward Lukaji in the side room.
Thian and Mabu remain alone.
Page 24
A moment of silence.
Then Thian punches Mabu lightly in the stomach.
"Now you can't hit me back. Hehehe."
Mabu looks at him with one eye.
"I can hit back with my foot."
A kick.
Thian hits the floor.
Mabu looks down at him.
"I win."
Continued in Chapter Twenty-Nine