The Red Rose
Silence
Sebastian's room was quiet.
The walls were plain; he had never cared for luxury.
The faint morning light filtering through the window illuminated the only splash of color in the room—
A red rose on his desk.
It hadn't withered.
But it looked fragile.
That rose had never been just an ordinary flower.
At the Same Moment
In another part of WHU—
Ella was in the throes of labor.
The voices of doctors echoed through the room.
"Breathe, Ella… just a little more…"
Sweaty hair clung to her face.
But there was no fear in her eyes.
She knew.
Sebastian was fighting.
And he had to live.
The Battlefield
Sebastian was mid-air.
Red wings were spread wide.
Push the Limit was at its absolute maximum.
Before him stood Cassiel—wounded, but still dangerous.
Sebastian was preparing the final blow.
Red pressure tightened in his fist.
Reality itself was warping.
This strike would end it.
Cassiel lifted his head.
And he smirked.
"You have strength… but what of your mind?"
Suddenly—
The world shifted.
The Gate of Trauma
Sebastian found himself in a dark hallway.
He was small.
He was a child.
The cold corridors of WHU.
Alone.
Then—
A hand touched his head.
Sunk. The man who had been like a father to him.
He was smiling.
"Be strong, Sebastian."
Time accelerated.
Training sessions.
Laughter.
Advice.
Then, that day.
Sunk was leaving for battle.
Sebastian stood before him.
Sunk pulled a red rose from his pocket.
"I'll bring a new one when I return."
Sebastian accepted the flower.
"I believe in you… don't come back without a victory."
Sunk smiled.
And he left.
Then…
A black screen.
Bodies.
Blood.
Silence.
They were all dead.
The Depth of Fear
Cassiel's voice echoed in his mind.
"You always lose."
A new vision.
Ella. Asher. Wang.
All of them on the battlefield.
Falling one by one.
Sebastian screams.
But no sound comes out.
His arms won't move.
He just watches.
Everyone he loves dies.
He is left alone.
In the darkness.
This was his greatest fear: The inability to protect those he loved.
In Reality
Cassiel attacked.
Sebastian was motionless.
One blow.
His sternum cracked.
A second blow.
Blood sprayed into the air.
A third.
The wings shattered.
Push the Limit faded.
Cassiel didn't stop.
He landed strikes across Sebastian's entire body.
Sebastian fell from the sky.
He slammed into the earth.
The red energy went dark.
Coming To
Sebastian opened his eyes.
The taste of blood was in his mouth.
His body was trembling.
He couldn't move.
Cassiel stood at a distance.
He didn't approach this time.
Because he knew—
It was over.
Sebastian smiled weakly.
"So… that was my fear…"
He closed his eyes.
But this time, the darkness didn't come.
The Last Memory
A sunlit room.
Ella was beside him.
Her head rested on Sebastian's shoulder.
Peaceful.
Happy.
There was a cradle.
A little girl.
Sebastian leaned over and stroked her head.
A tiny hand gripped his finger.
In that moment—
There was no war.
There was no fear.
Only family.
Only love.
Sebastian whispered:
"I'm sorry… I wanted to protect you…"
He took his last breath.
And quietly…
He was gone.
At the Same Moment
At WHU—
The sound of a baby crying was heard.
Ella was exhausted, but she was smiling.
"Everything is fine… your daughter is healthy."
The child entered the world perfectly healthy.
Life began.
At the exact same moment—
A life ended.
The Battlefield
The wind blew.
Sebastian was still.
The sky grew calm.
The sun shone normally once again.
Cassiel looked at him.
He didn't feel like a victor.
Because he understood—
Sebastian hadn't died in fear.
He had died in love.
And that…
Was the hardest way to defeat him.
The red rose on the desk—
Slowly fell to the floor in the room.
Its petals scattered.
But its color was still vivid.