He slowly lifted his head.
Eileen stood before him, her mouth moving rapidly, panic clear in her eyes as she tried to reach him. Sera beside her, saying something urgently.
But no sound reached him.
"...What?"
His voice came out weak, but he couldn't hear it himself.
Why can't I hear them?
The silence wasn't peaceful.
It was terrifying.
His heartbeat became the only thing he could feel…slow, heavy pulses inside his chest.
Is this... how it ends?
Father... Mother...
Am I going to die here?
His fingers tightened against the dirt.
I haven't reached it yet.
I haven't become stronger.
The throne... power... everything ends here?
A memory surfaced without warning.
The old house.
The sound of wood beneath his feet as a child.
The scent of the nearby forest.
He saw himself training again and again, repeating the same movements until exhaustion forced him to stop…only to begin again.
And the voice behind him.
His father's voice.
"Why isn't my power changing?" he had asked once, breathless.
"Why do I feel like I'm falling behind everyone else?"
His father had paused before answering.
"Because we can't."
The answer had been simple. Heavy.
"In our kingdom, power has limits. Some are born within those limits."
The memory faded.
Ryan's breathing slowed.
So... this is the end?
The sorcerer stepped closer.
"You took something," he said calmly,
"that once belonged to me."
Ryan tried to lift his staff, but his arm trembled before rising.
"So," the sorcerer continued,
"I decided to take you instead."
Behind him, Eileen forced her focus again, blue light struggling to reappear before collapsing under the pressure filling the air.
"Ray! Watch out!"
Sera pushed herself forward despite her exhaustion.
"Stay away from him!"
The sorcerer raised his hand once more.
Symbols formed in the air…unstable, shifting, unlike any magic of the kingdoms. The spell did not seem drawn... but imposed upon reality itself.
Space split open behind Ryan like a page of darkness.
Light bent inward. Energy was pulled silently into the void.
Siron narrowed his eyes.
"...Why did you do that?"
The sorcerer smiled faintly.
"Because the test is over."
He whispered the incantation in an ancient tongue:
"What was taken returns to its source.
What was broken is reshaped.
Open the path... and keep the guest."
The ground froze beneath Ryan's feet. He didn't feel himself being pulled…rather, the world itself began to move around him.
The air behind him dragged him backward.
His staff's voice echoed softly within his mind.
— This is not a killing spell.
Then what does he want?
— A pulling spell. A transfer. He's taking you somewhere else.
Why me...? Who is he?
The staff did not answer.
The sorcerer's eyes never left him.
"You took something that was mine," he repeated quietly.
"And I want to know how."
The void widened.
The pull became stronger.
Inside the Prison of Ambition, shadows trembled.
Nirath lifted his head within the darkness.
"What is happening...?"
A strange pressure passed through him.
"Why do I feel like I'm being pulled again... this time with him?"
"...What are you doing, my lord?"
In the forest, the sorcerer closed his hand.
"I've decided," he said calmly.
"I'll take you with me."
The void collapsed.
Ryan disappeared.
The air returned as if nothing had happened.
Eileen stumbled forward, her voice shaking.
"Ray!"
She stared at the empty space in shock.
Sera stood frozen beside her, unable to process what had just happened.
The sorcerer turned toward them slowly, clear boredom in his eyes.
"You've reached your limit."
He raised his hand again.
Three fingers moved.
Colored lines of magic formed instantly, striking forward in a concentrated wave. Eileen tried to resist, but her strength failed. The impact knocked her to the ground before she could react.
Sera rushed toward her—but the second wave struck before she could turn. She collapsed beside Eileen, losing consciousness moments later.
Silence returned.
Only the mysterious sorcerer and Siron remained standing.
Siron looked at the empty space where Ryan had vanished and smiled faintly.
"So... that was your decision."
"Curiosity is sometimes stronger than caution," the sorcerer replied calmly.
"I want to understand that magic... before someone else does."
His form flickered slightly, his presence becoming unstable, as if the body standing there were only a temporary projection.
"Hm. Time's up. I should return."
He glanced at Siron briefly.
"You should return as well. We'll meet there."
His body dissolved into fading particles of light and vanished.
Siron remained alone for a moment, staring at the empty space.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"This won't be boring anymore."
Then he disappeared as well.
The forest fell silent once again.
Eileen and Sera lay motionless on the ground...
And the place where Ryan had stood only moments before was completely empty.