Arin woke before the sun. The house was quiet, the only sound being the rhythmic breathing of the three girls sleeping in the other rooms. He didn't want to think. He only wanted to move.
He pushed his body until his lungs burned. A ten-kilometer run, followed by hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups until his muscles screamed. He was trying to outrun the memory of that kiss, the memory of his mother's face, and the cold realization of what he was.
While Arin bled in the dirt, far away, the world was moving against him.
In the Kingdom of Ruins, the Great Hall was draped in shadows. The Pillars—the architects of the new world—had gathered for their replacement ceremony. They spoke in low, humming tones about a certain human. A human whose blood was beyond extraordinary, yet who had vanished from their sight. For now, they remained quiet, observing the board, waiting for the boy to make a move.
Arin's decision was made. He wouldn't wait for the world to find him. He would become a "Judge of Kings." He was going on a journey to Eldonia, to visit every kingdom and see the world for what it truly was. And he wanted Lily Ashford by his side.
But the night before they were set to leave, the truth about his "companions" began to leak out.
Arin found the files Siho had been keeping. She wasn't just a Class Rep; she was an investigator assigned to his mother's case, staying close to him because his father had ordered her to watch over him.
Then, there was Lifat. She didn't say goodbye in person. Instead, she left a single letter on the wooden table.
Arin,
We've known each other a long time, but you never asked why I was there. Why I was standing right there while they were taking your blood.
At first, I was just after what was inside you. I wanted the power in that blood. But then I saw you... really saw you. I realized you have no self-respect. You talk about kindness like it's everything, but kindness without self-respect is just a way to get killed. It makes you a target, not a person.
Make sure you stay strong. For now, it's goodbye. See you soon.
Arin stood there, the letter crinkling in his hand. He didn't say a word. He stood there calmly and asked if lily want to join him, he wants to travel all over the world of Eldonia. Lily answer, If you want i will be there and where you want to be. Together let's find strangers, Arin added.
He walked out into the cool night air, looking at the stars. "I used to think I needed to become strong just to survive. But I was wrong."
He looked at the road stretching out before them—a long, winding trail into the unknown. "I'm not going to be a passenger anymore. I will become the Path itself."
Arin turned to Lily, a small, genuine smile touching his lips. "What about you, Lily? Lily answer, I will become the Flowers that is needed for a path, become your roads stone or become a giant tree. I'll become everything that makes you—the Path—look beautiful. I'll stay right under your feet, making sure you never have to walk on thorns again."
The air between Siho and Lifat was no longer sharp with the petty jealousy of the previous night. The kiss, the screams, and the ghost of Arin's mother had leveled the playing field, leaving them both exhausted and uncomfortably honest.
They stood on the balcony, watching the early morning mist cling to the trees. Inside, Lily was moving about, her presence a constant, grounding force for Arin. They both knew he needed her—Lily was the only one who didn't look at him as a project or a mystery to be solved. She just saw him.
Lifat leaned against the railing, her eyes following a hawk circling above. "He's a fool, isn't he?" she said, her voice devoid of its usual bite. "So much intelligence, so much power in his veins, yet he acts like a child who doesn't know how to walk without tripping over his own heart."
Siho didn't look at her. "He isn't a child. He's just unpurified. Like the rest of us."
Lifat turned to her, a bitter smile playing on her lips. "You know, Siho, I've spent twenty-one years watching people. And I've realized we are truly terrifying. Including you. Including me. We talk about these bonds—love, hatred, trust—like they're sacred. But look at us. We are nothing but lusty lions waiting for a chance to strike. We want to own him. We want to be the 'best' for him. It's all a lie."
Siho finally turned, her gaze steady. "It's an inconvenient lie. We aren't immortal, Lifat. We're just dying creations of the Almighty, pretending we have control because we have intelligence. But our intelligence hasn't made us pure. It's just made us better at hiding our hunger."
"Exactly," Lifat whispered. "We invade this world, we treat it like our playground, but we are unbalanced. I saw it in the labs. They wanted his blood because they thought it was the key to perfection. But perfection doesn't exist in a creature that is built on contradiction."
She looked back at the house. "Someone once asked me... why should I be kind to a human or an animal when, in my hour of need, the world didn't even blink? When I was in trouble, they looked away. Why should I be the hero? Why should I save them?"
Siho crossed her arms. And the answer, Siho asked .. Option two: play the hero and bleed for people who don't deserve it."
Lifat laughed, but there was no humor in it. "If it were me... I'd choose option three. I'd watch. Like a third wheel, I'd just stand there and observe the tragedy. You think that's selfish? Maybe it is. Unkind? Definitely. But that is the truth of being human. We are bad, yet we are kind. We are negative, yet we are positive. We are a mess of lust and purity that never quite balances out."
"You say that," Siho said, stepping closer to the railing, "but here you are. You could have taken his blood and run. You could have left without a word. But you stayed to wake him up. You kissed him because you were terrified of losing him."
Lifat's expression softened, the mask of the philosopher slipping. "Because even a lusty lion won't attack its master. And Arin... he isn't our master. He's just the only person who makes the 'lusty lion' in me want to be something better. Something pure. Even if it's a lie."
Siho nodded slowly. "Then let him go with Lily. He needs to learn what life means outside of these walls. He needs to see the world we want to invade, and maybe, just maybe, he'll be the one to finally balance the scale."
The two girls stood in silence, two predators deciding to let their prey run free, not because they weren't hungry, but because for the first time, they cared more about the "Path" than the "Capture."