The afternoon of the remaining Avalorians' departure had come. Mr. Takashi personally brought Xiaolan to the gates. Rethrus was there too, ready to say his last goodbye. He and Xiaolan hugged tightly—after all, they had spent almost every moment together before this day.
"Goodbye, Rethrus. Thank you for everything," Xiaolan said, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes.
"You're welcome. Don't worry, okay? Mr. Takashi promised to take care of you," Rethrus replied, glancing at Takashi for reassurance.
"Don't worry, Xiaolan. We'll visit him again if we come back here, okay?" Mr. Takashi said gently, wiping a tear from Xiaolan's cheek.
He turned to Rethrus. "Thank you, Rethrus. I promise she'll be personally taken care of."
"Oh, thank you, sir. And thank you for everything," Rethrus said sincerely.
"Bye! I hope next time I come here, I can hang out with you, Sister Clea, Orin, Toby, and Sibel," Xiaolan said, managing a small smile.
"Yes, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you too," Rethrus smiled back.
Rethrus watched Xiaolan from a distance as she disappeared from his sight, the sun setting behind her. He looked around—the city was now completely dark. Tilting his head back, he gazed at the sky and took a deep breath.
'It's done.'
He walked through the bustling streets of Starhaven, the sounds of children playing, music, gossip, and whispers swirling in his ears. He managed a small smile, wondering what might come next. Suddenly, he spotted smoke rising in the sky, and the image of Aurelia's destruction flashed vividly in his mind. Shocked, he stood frozen as the cries of playing children morphed into the wails of those he'd seen in Aurelia. The memories overwhelmed him.
'No, I'm not the one who caused those things,' he thought, but panic gripped him as he broke into a run toward the academy, numb and shaken.
He passed the guards, who looked surprised to see him running.
On the academy grounds, he glimpsed some students, but sometimes their faces blurred into the crying people and scenes of destruction from his memories. 'No, what's happening? No—'
"Rethrus!"
A familiar voice snapped him out of his trance. He stopped and looked—Lumine and the others were waving at him.
"We're going to the market, care to join us?" Jack called out.
Rethrus forced a smile. "No, I need to take a rest."
"Oh, okay," the group replied, heading off together.
Rethrus's expression shifted as he walked on, trying to calm his mind. He reached his room without a word, exhaustion weighing him down. His eyes lost their usual glow as he went straight to bed and closed his eyes.
'I'm just tired, that's all,' he thought.
The next morning in class, Rethrus felt exhausted—his sleep problems had only gotten worse. His mind was foggy, and he found himself zoning out until one of his teachers called on him.
"Are you okay, Rethrus?" Mr. Volt asked.
"Oh, yes. I'm just a bit tired, sir. I'm sorry," Rethrus apologized.
"Oh well, you can rest there if you want. After what we heard about your journey, you must be tired," Mr. Volt said kindly.
"Thank you, sir."
Mr. Volt turned to the class. "You see, Mr. Rethrus here cleared two purple-coded dungeons alone and used the money to travel all over Aurelia."
The class fell silent, then erupted in shocked whispers. All eyes turned to Rethrus—some filled with disbelief, others with envy or admiration. The whispers grew so loud they hardly seemed like whispers at all.
Aethra's eyes grew sadder as he watched Rethrus. The gap between them felt even wider now. He looked at Rethrus, who was resting his head on the desk. 'Do I even have the power to clear one myself?'
In truth, the gap wasn't so large. Aethra was actually more talented and skilled than Rethrus in many ways, but the way others saw Rethrus—and the way Rethrus showcased his power—made Aethra put him on a pedestal. All Aethra could think was, 'At least I'm not that far behind.'
Julian didn't look happy either. He glanced at Jasper, disappointment clear in his eyes. 'It should have been him.'
Jack, meanwhile, slapped Rethrus on the back so hard he nearly jolted awake. "Damn, Rethrus, you really are the strongest!"
"Ouch, Jack, stop!" Rethrus grumbled. 'These people can't stop praising me as if I was really born this way,' he thought.
That night, Rethrus barely slept. The thoughts still haunted him. He was scared to turn off the lamp in his room, afraid of being surrounded by darkness. His eyes drifted to the sleeping potion on his bedside table, but he feared taking it—worried it would only bring the same nightmare.
'It's normal. Everyone in war feels what I feel,' Rethrus thought, trying to ease the guilt weighing on him. But the haunting memories wouldn't let go.
'I didn't ask for this. I just did what I could to save her,' he whispered to himself as he lay in bed.
The next morning, despite how he felt, Rethrus joined the drill and participated well. Afterwards, he walked alone, his mind still heavy and growing more tired with each step. Days passed, and he remained the same. Everyone around him started to notice, yet whenever they asked, he simply said he was tired and needed to rest.
Until one night, he lay in his bed, the lights still on, unsure what to do. He used his arms to cover his eyes, thinking about his past life. His eyes hurt, but he didn't want to sleep.
'Mom, dad, what are you doing right now?' He then remembered Nick.
'Bro, you should have been here.' And then he remembered Eska.
'Hayst, some things I will never have.' And then he realized something profound.
'There's nothing I can do about it. It's my fault,' he said, tears streaming down his face. He desperately wanted to forget, but he couldn't. 'It's time to face this.' He reached for the sleeping potion and drank it all. It shouldn't have been consumed in one gulp, but he did it anyway. He felt dizzy, then blacked out.
He opened his eyes and found himself in a plain of darkness. He looked around, seeing nothing but black. He walked, feeling as if he were treading in dark water, yet he was floating.
'It's just like when I meditated,' Rethrus thought. 'A dark plain where my devil should reside, yet I don't have one.'
"Then I'm gonna let you have one," a whisper came from behind him. He gasped, a shiver of cold running down his spine. He looked around as a faceless monster appeared before him. He instinctively distanced himself, ready to fight, but he couldn't wield any magic here. The monster roared and lunged, but all Rethrus could do was run.
'Is that my devil? Why doesn't it have a face? How can I fight it without magic?' he thought while running. Then the monster appeared in front of him again.
"Is that all you could do? Just run?" it spoke again.
Rethrus was terrified, but he kept running.
"Run as far as you can, boy," it said, then suddenly appeared right in Rethrus's face. "But you can't run forever." It punched Rethrus. Rethrus punched back, but his attack was nullified. It laughed and kicked Rethrus away.
Rethrus stood up and continued running. This time, he found the courage to ask, "What are you?"
The monster, crawling maniacally, answered, "Me? Why would I answer that?" It appeared again on Rethrus's face. "Go figure it out yourself, boy." Rethrus ran again.
"Run, go run and leave. Do these things always like you always do as if it's not your fault," it said as it caught Rethrus and hit him again. It's not his devil, it's his conscience attacking him with guilt.
"How could you cause that damage and leave all of a sudden?" the monster shouted, lunging to catch Rethrus.
Rethrus ran and ran, but he realized its voice was now mixed with many others—voices of those lost—as the monster relentlessly pursued him.
He didn't answer; instead, he dodged every attack.
"Does saving one kid cost so much? Children's tears, trauma, and loss? Answer me, boy."
"Those men who died in the war—you created that war. Do they deserve it? Some of them fought their first battle. Some had families. All of them had lives."
Rethrus stopped running and faced the monster.
"Tell me, chosen one," it said. Suddenly, multiple dead faces appeared before him, growing larger and larger. "Did you choose the right path? Answer me!" It lunged to attack, but before it reached him, Rethrus spoke.
"I did."
The monster froze, then grabbed Rethrus and lifted him close to its face.
"What?" it asked.
"At the time, I made the right choice for my situation," Rethrus said, tears streaming down his face. "It's my fault. I did kill those men indirectly. We killed Caesar, and we planned it that way. We just didn't expect it to end like this." He sobbed. "Please forgive me. It's my fault."
"Open your eyes," the monster said.
Rethrus opened his eyes and saw the monster's face up close—a rotten mask made of the faces of those who died in battle. It shouted:
"We will never forgive you! We will haunt you every time and try to kill you here!"
"Do it then," Rethrus answered, trembling.
"What?" the monster was shocked.
"Do it. Haunt me every time, scare me every time. Do it all. I deserve it."
The monster fell silent, shrinking smaller and smaller. Rethrus saw every face in it—especially the one that started it all.
"We'll keep haunting you," Caesar's voice whispered, then the monster disappeared.
Rethrus woke up; it was already noon.
A strong knock sounded on his door.
"Rethrus! Rethrus! Wake up!"
He looked at his shaking hands, his eyes filled with tears, but he felt lighter—somehow free. He smiled.
"Coming, Lumine!"
Lumine waited outside for a few minutes.
'Arggh, what's taking him so long? General Chan wants to see him, so I'm going again to meet him. Ackkkk,' Lumine thought.
The door opened, and she saw Rethrus fresh and smiling.
"Hello, Lumine!" he said cheerfully.
"Wow, you're in a good mood today, huh?"
He put his arm around her shoulder. "Oh, I'm kinda hungry. Should we eat?"
"No, I'm pretty sure General Chan already prepared food. Let's get there quickly," Lumine said as they stepped outside the academy.
"Hmm, you just want to see General Chan, don't you? Hahaha," Rethrus teased.
"No, I'm not!" Lumine blushed and pinched him as they teased each other down the road.
The End