"Kaivan! Open the door! What are you doing?" Radit's voice sounded firm, but laced with worry.
Kaivan flinched. Every knock echoed like his mother's dying scream.
Felicia's gentle voice followed. "Kaivan… you're safe. Please, open the door."
But to him, it sounded like mockery.
His eyes widened in raw terror. "No! You're all lying to me!"
And then,
CRASH!
Glass shattered as Kaivan hurled himself out the window. Shards scattered across the ground as he hit the dirt below, scraping his hands and knees. Ignoring the pain, he jumped to his feet and ran.
The sun was sinking, casting long shadows as the cold evening wind whipped against his bruised skin. Every step was drenched in panic, every breath uneven. Whenever he looked back, he swore he saw Vella's shadow following him.
The faces of strangers blurred as he ran past them. Calm, ordinary people, yet to Kaivan, every face twisted into an accusing glare.
He ran faster.
There was only one place his feet would carry him,
His home.
Back at Livia's house, panic erupted.
"Kaivan ran away!" Radit shouted, face flushed with fear. "We have to find him before he does something reckless!"
Isabel stood slightly apart, eyes widening as she grabbed Tome Omnicent from the table. She flipped it open with trembling fingers.
"What happened to him? Shouldn't he be recovering?"
The Tome vibrated, faint red light etching words onto its pages:
"Kaivan forced me to raise his mental capacity. He saw things no human should ever know. His psyche is damaged. Take me to him. I know where he's going."
Isabel's breath hitched. "This is bad," she whispered, then dashed out the door with the Tome in hand.
She had to reach Kaivan before it was too late.
By then, Kaivan had arrived at a lonely park lit by a flickering streetlamp. He collapsed under the wavering light, hugging his knees. His face was streaked with tears and dried blood.
His sobs were hoarse, raw.
The sound of a soul breaking in the dark.
"Mother... I have to save Mother..." he whispered again and again. His eyes were empty, seeing nothing but his mother's wounded face, and Vella's cold, twisted smile.
The world around him faded into silence. The night wind brushed past, carrying a whisper that sounded like his mother's voice… but slowly, it warped into Vella's laughter.
Footsteps approached. Isabel appeared with anxious eyes, holding Tome Omnicent tightly in her arms. "Kaivan!" she called gently, afraid to startle him. But Kaivan only sat curled up, hugging his knees, staring at nothing with trembling eyes.
"We came to help you," Isabel said softly. Yet to Kaivan, her voice sounded like his mother's desperate plea. His shoulders shook; his breaths were sharp and uneven.
The Tome in Isabel's embrace shivered, releasing a faint glow toward Kaivan. Words formed across its pages: "I know this is heavy, Kaivan. But I'm here with you. You still have a promise to keep, don't you?"
Kaivan slowly lowered his hands from his head, drawn to the light. In the ruins of his mind, a sliver of hope flickered, like a hand reaching out from the darkness swallowing him whole.
That night, in the lonely park, they found him trembling, drowning in silent tears. No words could soothe him. Only a prayer remained, that he might find his way back to the self he had lost.
Seeing his condition, Isabel decided to bring him home. In a lavender-scented room, Kaivan sat on the bed with weary eyes, clutching Tome Omnicent as if it were the only thing anchoring him to reality.
The room was quiet. A warm, dim lamp cast long shadows across the walls. Isabel entered softly, carrying two cups of tea. Her face was calm, yet her eyes trembled with worry.
When Kaivan looked at her, confusion surfaced in his gaze. His mind was fractured, he felt as if he had seen her face somewhere in another life. Isabel noticed and asked without hesitation, "You forced yourself to expand your brain capacity, didn't you?"
Kaivan, still dazed, stared blankly. Her words barely reached him. In his mind, countless visions clashed, possible fates of his mother shown by the Tome. Every path was soaked with death, loss, and regret.
Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes. His hands shook as he tangled his fingers in his hair, frustration tightening in his chest. Tome Omnicent slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor with a dull thud.