Kayn opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling; the increasing number of times this happened to him wasn't lost on him. He tried to turn his neck, but the pain that radiated through his entire body stopped him from doing so. Mustering as much effort as he could, he grit his teeth through the pain in his arms and torso as he pushed himself into a seated position against the headboard of the bed.
He glanced down at his body which was wrapped in bandages from neck to toe. He could even feel some on his head when he tried to scrunch his face a bit. He probably looked like a mummy right now, but this brought to question, where was he?
The scene reminded him of the time he woke up in Horace's and Est's home, but he knew that this wasn't there as the room was slightly different. He tried to raise his voice to call for whomever was in the building with him, but the louder his voice got the scratchier it became and only air came out. For now, he would only be able to talk softly while sounding like he had gravel in his throat.
Thinking he might as well heal himself now and get it over with, he reached for his mana only to have an insane amount of pain rack his entire body stemming from his Demonic Dragon Heart. He could tell that there was mana flowing through his body, but trying to utilize it was just too painful.
Kayn sighed as he knew why he was in such a state. He released and fully utilized Wrath. An unfathomable ability that allowed him to tap into his knowledge and talents completely without having to have an understanding of them. His body was barely able to withstand Wrath at its topmost output, so now it was strained and broken. His mana core had also been overworked and abused. The only thing that could help him right now was time.
Speaking of time though, he wondered how long he had been unconscious for. He vaguely remembered checking on Lara and thanking Charlotte before passing out, but that was it. He didn't know if she was in any state to bring the two of them to safety or not.
His questions were soon answered as Charlotte walked through the door carrying bandages and a cleaning solution for wounds. She was ashamed that she wasn't able to heal Kayn, but figured she could ask about why that was when he finally woke up.
"Ah, I thought I heard noises that seemed different than your usual nightmare ramblings. How're you feeling?" Charlotte asked as she set the tray with materials down on the bed next to Kayn as she began unwrapping the old ones.
"Like a mountain landed on top of me. I can't even use my mana right now. Out of curiosity, why am I not healed?" Kayn responded.
Charlotte looked embarrassed, but still answered, "I am unable to heal your wounds unfortunately. I don't know what you did to yourself, but not even my most powerful spells will heal your wounds, interior or exterior. It's like whatever destroyed your body needs time to dissipate before we can use magic to heal you."
Kayn thought about what happened and how he abused the void while what he could only deem as "Wrath Mode", so his body probably needed to expel the lingering void mana before it could fully heal. Until he could use his own mana core, he was most likely going to have to suffer.
"What about you? Are you okay? The state I saw you in when I first arrived…" Kayn's voice trailed off as he spoke.
"Oh that? I'm fine now. I won't be able to revive again for a while, but that's nothing that I'm concerned with." Charlotte answered nonchalantly as she continued replacing his bloody bandages.
"A while huh?" Kayn mumbled to himself before asking what was on his mind, "How long was I out for?"
Charlotte gave him a weary smile, "Almost six weeks now."
Kayn's eyes widened with surprise, but he soon just let out a long sigh. With how he had been going non-stop for the last few years and then activating Wrath like that, it's a surprise he wasn't out for longer than just two months.
"What about Lara? How is she?" Kayn asked.
"Happier than ever that girl. As soon as she woke up and saw you, even though badly wounded, she couldn't stop bragging to me about how she knew you were alive this whole time when I thought you passed on. We were so positive you died because Kinzie's collar deactivated and her own control orb for you was dull.
"Back to your sister though, she spends most of her time in your room if I'm honest. She was adamant about helping change your bandages and has taken the initiative to change your bed sheets and clean you off daily as well. I expect her to be visiting soon and you can bet she'll be ecstatic that you're finally awake.
"But before I can let her meet you…I need to know Kayn, are you the same boy I knew?" Charlotte asked as she plopped the same newspaper article about the Death God that Lara had shown her all those months back in front of Kayn.
Kayn moved his eyes down to read the words as he didn't want to try moving his neck, and what he read only made him sigh.
"Kayn, I felt it you know. Hell, I could see it. Your killing intent is something that not even people like me who have lived for millions of years normally accumulate. Just how many people have you slain?"
Kayn sighed again, and despite the pain, his head hung low, "Too many. The majority were undead, victims turned into pawns by the liches, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't take the lives of regular living people too. Honestly, I have known for a while now that I will need to somehow come to terms with what I've done.
"It was awful Charlotte. I know you left earlier on during the war, but once Mancea was basically secluded within Palatine, the liches and Carnet ran rampant on the entire continent. Anyone the liches killed they raised again, anyone that had fulfilled their purpose for Carnet was handed over to the liches too.
"Then due to the death-like energy present in the air due to the number of undead, even those who weren't raised by liches were coming back to life. Charlotte…Lavanth at one point had roughly 3 billion living people between all of the races. Now? Less than a third of that are alive. I swept the continent of the undead and any of those who had anything to do with the war…but that doesn't change the fact that some innocents got caught up in my actions.
"But even then, I had to kill hundreds of thousands, no, millions of kids that were undead because of that god awful war…" Kayn began to tear up and cry, his words becoming more unintelligible at this point, but he still managed one final outcry. "Do you have any idea what it's doing to my mind to have done that?!? I'm a monster!"
Charlotte looked at Kayn with pity and sorrow, she really didn't know what he was dealing with nor how to help him cope with it, but there was one thing she was going to say no matter what.
"You did the right thing. You didn't kill those children Kayn. You killed mindless, soulless monsters who were victims of a heinous act. You freed the bodies of those who didn't have the residency to make decisions on their lives nor their deaths. As for the possible victims of your actions, all I can tell you is that time heals all wounds.
"You will never forget, nor should you, but you will grow from this. It will help shape how you act and make tough decisions in the future, possibly helping to shape your actions for the better. You're not a monster, but a victim who had the option and ability to fight for what they thought was right and correct the evil that plagued the land.
"Hell, after reading that article, Lara thought it was you and you became even more of a hero in her eyes. Are you going to go back to Lavanth after you heal? To finish the war? I know that abruptly coming here probably wasn't your plan." Charlotte asked after she did her best to provide him with words of comfort.
"No, I'm not. I already did everything I needed to over there. I avenged my family, and if there is anything left of the opposition, those I rescued can deal with it. I was on my way here when I felt Lara's aura. I tried to overwhelm it and hide it with my own, but obviously that didn't work as one of them still showed up at your door."
"I see, so you killed that Carnet bastard then. Thank you for doing that, I'm sure Yelena would be happy to hear it to. I wonder if she's okay? I haven't spoken with her in years now."
Charlotte sighed, but still smiled after realizing that it was all over, and maybe she could go back to Lavanth now that she didn't need to worry about protecting Lara. She hated that she left in the first place, but in that moment, it was the correct decision. After seeing what Kayn did to the man that attacked her, she was even more positive it was the right choice.
If Kayn had come back and could do that, but his sister was dead? She wouldn't be surprised if he turned into a murderous psychopath, a catastrophe for this world and the next.
"Yelena was doing well the last I saw her, though it's been a year or so since I last dropped off survivors at her not so little camp. There weren't many survivors within Palatine itself, but Talaro survived. He should hear the news that he can move back to Mancea when he musters the resources to rebuild as Palatine itself is gone."
"That's good, thank you for helping her out. There is something else I should address before Lara arrives though…"
"Kinzie right? I felt her presence watching from a distance when I was torturing the Celestial. She probably sees me as a monster. I can't say that I'm okay with it, but I've been preparing myself to split with her for a while now. Yelena advised that I should since apparently Kinzie can't progress through to the 4th stage and is stuck on the 3rd, saying it would cause issues in the future were we to stay together."
Charlotte only nodded to his words. She didn't want to put more burden and sorrows on his shoulders when what he needed right now was love and comfort. If he approached Kinzie and she rejected him, she didn't know how he would take it. Only once he could get up and move again would they see the conclusion to that relationship, whether Kinzie and Kayn worked it out, or if the ship had long sailed.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming downcast, a soft knock was heard on the door. "Charlotte, I'm coming in."
Once the door was opened wide enough, Kayn saw a stunningly beautiful teenage girl with snow-white hair and purple-golden eyes staring at him in shock. The clean bed sheets in her hand tumbled to the ground as she rushed towards him.
"Brother!"