A full hour had passed. Heavy rocks were piled on top of a boy—none other than Cael—trapped beneath them. He could barely think, his body crushed and pinned.
In his mind, he whispered,
"I can't feel my hand… my arm… anything…"
Blood was trickling down from his head, and breathing had become a painful struggle. Once again, death had slapped him across the face.
His thoughts spiraled as silence surrounded him. The sounds of the children had long faded. No voices reached him anymore.
"Maybe… maybe this is it," he thought.
"Maybe this is where I end… Maybe happiness was never meant for me…"
His heart ached more than his broken body.
"Every time I try to live… every time I find someone who cares about me, life drags me back into the darkness again. Is this what I deserve? To be buried under stones, alone?"
He thought of Luna. Of Elena. He hadn't even spoken their names out loud in so long…
Memories flashed — the few moments of joy, the brief laughter, the warmth of shared meals, the spark of hope. Now, it all felt so far away.
His eyes began to close. He gave in.
But then…
A soft hand gently covered his eyes.
A voice, low and steady, echoed in his ears:
"You're not allowed to die here."
"Remember what you decided… Remember those promises. The ones you made. To Luna. To Elena. You swore you'd meet her again, that you'd speak your heart."
"If you die now… you lose everything. So gather every last piece of strength you have… and fight to stay alive."
The hands slowly lifted from his eyes.
Cael opened them.
He saw nothing — just a glowing, radiant space, blinding in its purity. He couldn't tell where he was, but it wasn't the rocky tomb he'd just surrendered to.
He turned, trying to glimpse who that voice had belonged to. But just as he tried to look back…
he was slammed back into reality — right beneath the same crushing rocks.
He begins to think to himself, "Maybe… whoever that was… he was right. I've survived so much already—what's a little more pain?" He remembers what Elena had taught him, every word echoing in his head like a guiding light in the dark.
Clenching his fists and gathering every ounce of willpower, Cael begins to focus, drawing the mana from around him. "Miss Elena said… when I use Mana Conflux, I can pull the energy of everything around me into myself… and use it."
And that's exactly what he does.
Breathing slowly, Cael enters a state of deep concentration despite the crushing pain. Bit by bit, he starts absorbing the mana of the surrounding stones, the roots, even the very air itself. Power begins to flow into his broken body, warm and crackling like a fire being reignited in the heart of winter.
And then—another memory flashes before him. Elena's voice, calm but serious:
"But remember, Cael… drawing in too much mana can damage your body. It's dangerous."
But right now, Cael didn't care. He didn't care what it cost. He just wanted to live.
With renewed determination, he pulls harder—more mana, more light—until his entire body begins to glow. The rocks pressing down on him start to tremble.
And then—
Boom!
A brilliant flash of light bursts from within the rubble. The energy explodes outward, shattering the weight of the collapsed stones. The air whips around him as if the forest itself is gasping in awe. In that instant, Cael is lifted—floating—rising out of the pit like a star reborn.
His vision is hazy, but one thing is clear.
He's no longer looking up at crushing stones…
He's looking up at the stars.
He lay there beneath the open sky, breath shallow, ribs aching, his broken body barely clinging to consciousness. But in the quiet of that shattered moment, one truth pulsed louder than the pain—
He was alive.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Cael let himself feel it: not victory, not relief—just the raw, burning will to live. And with that flicker of resolve, he shifted.
A flash of pain exploded through his legs as he tried to stand. His knees buckled. His vision blurred. He gasped, clutching his side, only to realize his arm was hanging limp—broken.
He almost gave in.
But he didn't.
Grinding his teeth, he forced one foot forward. Then another. Every movement was agony. Each step was a war he fought and won with sheer grit. The forest was dark, its silence heavy, but Cael pressed on, dragging his injured body forward through the tangled undergrowth.
Leaves scraped his skin. Twigs snapped beneath his weight. He was half-walking, half-crawling now—but the lights of the distant village blinked like stars on the horizon.
Just a little further.
His breath came in ragged bursts. Blood still trickled from his temple. The world tilted. But he didn't stop.
Not until he reached the edge of the woods.
And when he did—when the rooftops of the village broke through the darkness and the wind carried with it the faint smell of smoke and home—
His strength gave out.
With one last trembling breath, Cael collapsed into the earth.
But as his eyes fluttered shut, his lips moved ever so slightly, whispering a name:
"...Elena..."
Time passed like a quiet storm, brushing gently across the walls of the small house as dusk deepened into night.
Cael's eyes fluttered open, sluggish and unfocused. Everything around him was dim, tinged with the faint glow of lantern light. His breath was shallow, his body heavy. And then, slowly, his vision cleared—just enough to see a familiar figure sitting beside his bed.
Elena.
She was there. Her posture stiff but weary, her back slightly hunched forward as she sat on the wooden stool beside him. Despite her armor being replaced with simpler travel clothes, she looked like a warrior who had spent days on the battlefield—watching, waiting, protecting. And somewhere in the quiet, she had fallen asleep sitting up, her head bowed, her fingers still curled slightly as if they had just moments ago been clutching something.
Cael turned his gaze downward. His arm—wrapped in layers of fresh bandages, treated and cleaned with precision. His legs ached with every breath. His chest felt like it had been trampled by time itself.
How… how did I get here?
His thoughts were a tangle of pain and confusion. Last he remembered—stones crashing down, the hollow sound of silence closing in, the overwhelming pressure of the world above him.
And Elena… what is she doing here?
He shifted ever so slightly, trying to sit up, but his limbs betrayed him. His body collapsed back onto the bed with a faint thud, and at that sound—Elena stirred.
Her eyes snapped open instantly, as if a part of her had never truly been asleep. She turned toward him in disbelief.
"You're awake..." she whispered, barely able to speak as her voice cracked mid-sentence.
In the soft lantern glow, Cael caught sight of something he'd never expected: tears. Not in her eyes, not simply welled up—but falling, real and quiet.
He had never seen her like this. Not even when they'd faced danger side by side. Not when she'd trained him until he collapsed from exhaustion. Not when she'd spoken of past sorrows she rarely shared.
And now, she stood before him, trembling.
His throat was dry, his voice rough. But he had to ask.
"Miss Elena… why are you crying?"
She looked at him, eyes shining. And then—her voice broke, soft and raw.
"Because of you."
She took a shaky breath. " because the thought of losing you made me feel something I didn't even know I could feel anymore."
Cael blinked, stunned. His heart beat slowly, heavily, as if time itself had paused in reverence.
And then she did something he had never expected.
She reached out and pulled him into her arms—not like a knight embracing a student, but like someone clinging to a fragile piece of life. Her grip was tight, desperate. Like she was afraid that if she let go now, he would vanish again.
Cael's breath hitched, but he didn't resist. His broken arm throbbed, his muscles burned, but for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he felt warm.
Not because of the bandages, not because of the blankets.
Because someone had waited. Because someone had cared.
Because someone had cried… for him.
And in that moment, as the night held its breath and the stars blinked quietly above, Cael closed his eyes—not in pain, not in fear.
But in peace.