CHAPTER 64
Adrian’s boots crunched softly against gravel as he reached the familiar clearing, the jagged peaks looming like silent sentinels around him. The scent of pine and earth filled his lungs, carrying with it memories he hadn’t allowed himself to touch in years- harsh training at dawn, bruised palms gripping wooden poles, the steady, patient voice that had guided him through pain and growth alike.
He lifted his gaze
and stopped.
Kai was there.
He stood near the edge of the clearing, sleeves rolled up, muscles tout, his face twisted with raw fury. An axe rose and fell in his hands, again and again, biting into a thick log with brutal force. The sound echoed through the mountains–thud, crack, thud- each strike heavier than the last.
Too heavy.
Too desperate.
Adrian frowned slightly.
At first, he thought it was training. Kai had always pushed himself hardest when his emotions were tangled. Adrian moved closer, the leather bag of herbs slung over his shoulder.
“Kai,” he called out, voice light despite the climb. “I’m back. I got the herbs.”
Kai didn’t answer.
The axe came down again.
Adrian stepped closer, reaching out and placing a hand on Kai’s shoulder.
“Kai-”
The axe slipped from Kai’s grip.
His knees buckled.
He collapsed onto the ground like a man whose spine had been cut, shoulders shaking violently. A choked sound escaped his throat, halfway between a sob and a gasp. Tears poured freely down his face, soaking into the dirt beneath him.
Adrian froze.
The bag slipped from his hand.
Herbs scattered across the ground.
“Kai?” His voice dropped, tight and sharp. “What’s wrong?”
Kai didn’t look up. His fists dug into the soil, knuckles white, body trembling as though he were holding himself together by sheer force of will.
Adrian’s heart sank.
Slowly, painfully, understanding dawned.
He turned.
He ran.
The small wooden dwelling came into view–unchanged, peaceful cruelly ordinary. Adrian burst through the door.
The room was silent.
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Too silent.
A low bed stood in the center.
Covered with a white cloth.
Adrian stopped.
The world narrowed to a single point.
Step by step, he approached the bed. His breathing slowed, controlled, disciplined–every instinct he had honed screaming at him not to rush, not to hope.
He reached out.
Pulled the cloth back.
His master lay beneath it.
Still.
Too still.
The lines on his face were peaceful, almost gentle, as if he were merely resting after a long day. No rise and fall of the chest. No warmth lingering beneath the skin.
Adrian’s fingers hovered just above him, then slowly withdrew.
He stood there for a long time.
He did not cry.
His chest tightened, a pressure building behind his ribs, threatening to crush him–but he forced it down, locking it away behind walls he had built long ago.
Just as a single tear gathered at the corner of his eye-
The air shifted.
A presence unfolded before him.
Adrian lifted his head.
His master stood there, translucent yet unmistakable, robes flowing as though stirred by a breeze that did not exist. His expression was calm, faintly amused, eyes as sharp and knowing as ever.
“Don’t cry,” the spirit said gently. “It doesn’t suit you.”
Adrian swallowed hard.
“…You’re dead,” he said quietly.
The spirit smiled. “Obviously.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “How can you jake?”
“You’ve always been too serious,” his master replied. “Even as a boy.”
Adrian finally let the breath he was holding escape. “Why?” His voice cracked despite his effort. “Why now? I brought the herbs.
I was on time.”
His master shook his head slowly. “No. You were exactly on time.
Adrian clenched his fists. “Then why did you leave?”
“Because my time was up,” the spirit said simply. “The herbs you tched were never meant for me.
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Adrian’s eyes snapped up. “Then why-
“Because you needed to walk that path,” his master interrupted gently. “Every step you’ve taken in your life has been self- discovery. Even this one.”
Silence stretched between them.
Adrian looked at the ring on his finger. “I still don’t know how to use it. How am I supposed to face twenty–one immortals? How am I supposed to survive?”
The spirit’s gaze sharpened.
“You already know the answer,” he said. “You just don’t want to accept it.”
Adrian shook his head. “Then tell me.”
“No,” his master said softly. “That’s the one thing I cannot do.”
Frustration flared. “You leave me now, and you still refuse to explain?”
A chuckle escaped the spirit. “That refusal is the explanation.”
He stepped closer, placing a hand over Adrian’s heart. Adrian felt nothing physically–but something deep inside him resonated, humming like a struck bell.
“You have power over life,” his master said. “Not destruction. Not domination. Life. Healing. Balance. As long as you never intend to harm, nothing can truly harm you.”
Adrian’s throat tightened. “Then why did I refuse it for so long?”
“Because you were afraid of becoming what you hated,” the spirit replied. “Power without restraint. Talent without compassion.”
The spirit bowed deeply.
“You are a healer reborn to correct past mistakes,” he said solemnly. “And the fact that you chose restraint–that you refused to use your power recklessly–is precisely why you are worthy of it now.”
Adrian’s eyes widened. “Reborn…?”
But the spirit was already fading.
“Figure out the ring,” his master’s voice echoed softly. “It is the key. To everything.”
“Wait!” Adrian stepped forward. “We’ll meet again, right?”
A faint smile.
“A legend doesn’t die,” the spirit said. “We’ll meet in the afterlife
Then he was gone.
The room returned to silence.
Adrian stood there, staring at the empty space where his master had been. Then he looked down at the body on the bed.
“…Even gone,” he murmured, “you still won’t leave me alone.”
Outside, footsteps approached.
Kai entered quietly, eyes red, carrying an armful of firewood. His voice was hoarse. “We should prepare the pyre. It’s what my father wanted.”
Adrian turned sharply. “No.”
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Kai froze. “What?”
“He should be buried,” Adrian said firmly. “So we can come back. So there’s a place for memory.”
Kai’s grip tightened on the wood. “He didn’t want that. He said if someone wa enough.”
wanted to keep him forever… ashes would be
Adrian looked at the body once more.
Silence.
Then he nodded slowly.
་་ “…Then we’ll honor his will.”
