Beru grabbed Kael by the collar before he could take another step.
"If you lay a hand on Baku… or the Misaki Clan," Beru said, his voice trembling yet sharp, "I will forget that you are my brother."
The words struck Kael harder than any blade.
His hands loosened, then slowly moved to Beru's shoulders, gripping them as if afraid Beru might disappear again.
"You are my brother," Kael said hoarsely. "Everything I did… I did it for you."
Beru lowered his head.
A faint, bitter smile formed on his lips.
"For me?" he whispered. "You destroyed my life."
Kael froze.
Those words shattered something deep inside him—something he had carried for years without realizing it still lived. He had imagined this reunion a thousand times. Anger, tears, forgiveness… even revenge.
But not this.
Not rejection.
Kael opened his mouth to speak, to explain, to scream, but Beru had already turned away.
He ran.
Out of the restaurant, out into the streets, leaving Kael alone amid the clinking of cups and murmuring strangers. Kael remained standing there, unmoving, his hands still raised in the air—empty.
For the first time since becoming the shadow that ruled the underworld, Kael felt powerless.
His own brother saw him as a monster.
At the hospital, Nobu sat quietly on his bed, gazing out through the window.
The sky was pale blue, calm—too calm for the storm that had once ruled his life. The sunlight brushed against his face gently, as if afraid to disturb him.
Then the door opened.
His wife entered first, followed closely by their two sons.
For a moment, Nobu forgot how to breathe.
They stood there—not as distant figures from his memories, not as faces he had watched from afar—but as his family.
"Father…"
The word hit him like a wave.
Both sons rushed forward and wrapped their arms around him. Nobu stiffened at first, then slowly returned the embrace, his hands trembling as they rested on their backs.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
Not the tears of pain he had known all his life—but tears of belonging.
Kaito, his elder son, hugged him tightly, yet something stirred uneasily in his heart. As he looked at his father's weakened form, questions rose unbidden. About the past. About the man who had once disappeared. About the mysterious figure who had attacked him.
But before he could speak, his mother gently interrupted, guiding everyone to sit together.
For the first time in years, the family sat as one.
Nobu watched them silently, afraid that even blinking might make it vanish.
Even if this is a dream, he thought, I never want to wake up.
The door opened again.
Beru stepped inside.
He looked shaken—his expression dull, his shoulders heavy, as if carrying a burden too great for one man. Nobu noticed it immediately.
Beru greeted Nobu's wife and sons softly, forcing a smile.
Nobu studied him for a moment, then spoke.
"What happened?"
Beru didn't answer.
Nobu gently asked his family to step outside. Though confused, they obeyed, leaving the two men alone in the room.
Beru sat beside Nobu, staring at the floor.
"I met my brother today," he said quietly.
Nobu remained silent, allowing him to continue.
Beru spoke of his childhood. Of hunger and cold nights. Of Kael—the brother who had raised him, vanished without a trace. Of the reunion… and the man Kael had become.
Nobu listened carefully, his expression unreadable.
When Beru finished, Nobu exhaled slowly.
"That should be a good thing," Nobu said. "So why do you look like this?"
Beru clenched his fists.
"He's not the brother I remembered."
He told Nobu everything—the gangs, the threats, the plan for revenge, Kael's obsession with destroying the Misaki Clan.
Nobu closed his eyes.
"I know what the Misaki Clan has done to people," he said calmly. "Baku is also a victim of that curse."
Beru looked up sharply.
Nobu continued, "I don't care about revenge anymore. I only want my wife and sons to live safely. That's all."
Beru hesitated. "Then… what about Baku?"
Nobu thought for a moment.
"Maybe," he said slowly, "we should send him to another country. Somewhere far from all this. He'll be safe there."
Beru nodded.
That seemed like the best solution.
A small smile appeared on Nobu's face. "Things are finally getting better. I don't want danger near my family anymore."
He turned to Beru. "Stay away from risky work. Live normally. We'll live in the same house—our families together."
His voice softened.
"That would be my happiest ending."
Beru smiled genuinely for the first time that day.
Far away, in the depths of an old mountain range, Baku searched desperately.
His hands brushed through dirt, leaves, broken roots—anything that might hide the golden herb. Sweat soaked his clothes, but he didn't stop.
As long as Nobu is safe, he thought, that's enough.
He straightened suddenly.
A presence.
"You failed to save him," a cold voice said behind him.
Baku turned slowly.
A man stood there, his eyes sharp, his aura heavy with danger.
"I don't know what you did," the man continued, "but you ruined everything."
Baku's heart sank.
He didn't recognize the man—but he knew one thing clearly.
This was not someone he could reason with.
"My name is Kael," the man said calmly. "And I'm here to kill you."
The mountain wind howled.
Baku clenched his fists.
He didn't understand the reason—but he understood the danger.
And he knew… this encounter would change everything.