They walked in silence through the thinning woods, until earth gave way to stone, and stone to the edge of a cliff. The wind howled around them, tugging at their cloaks and hair, clawing at the quiet like a beast starved for sound.
Still, neither of them spoke.
Above, the sky was a bruised shade of violet, Below, the clouds churned like a restless sea, veiling the world beneath in a stormy hush.
Kriya stood at the precipice, eyes fixed on the abyss. Behind him, Kaen waited silent, unmoving refusing to speak first.
Kaen exhaled sharply, the silence finally breaking.
"Akira…"
"I'm Kriya," he replied instantly,
Kaen's jaw tensed. He turned his back to the wind, voice low and cutting. "You're not Kriya. You are The Crown Prince, Akira Raizen. I'm sure the entire nation calls you by that name…"
Kriya didn't move. His eyes remained closed, lashes trembling ever so slightly. "Still…" he muttered, almost like a plea, "calling me Kriya won't kill you."
Kaen let out a dry, bitter laugh more pain than humor in it. "Crown Prince," he said, each syllable sharpened, "how many things have you forgotten now?" He looked out across the edge of the cliff, wind dragging at his hair.
He finally faced him. The wind caught in the tension between them. "That name… was carved into the stars the night you were born. Chosen by the heavens. It's not just a name—it's a vow. And you don't get to hide from it just because it hurts."
He stared at Akira's tightly shut eyes, at the conflict he was trying to bury beneath silence.
"Whether you run from it or not… that name carries more than just fate."
Kaen's voice was firm, but not unkind. "And yet here you are, forgetting the weight of that responsibility. You can't become Kriya unless you walk the path written for Akira. Until then… you remain the Crown Prince. That's what your mother said, didn't she?"
Akira flinched. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Kaen… please. Not again."
Kaen looked everywhere else the clouds, the wind-torn horizon, anywhere but him. "Akira," he said quietly, "don't make the same mistake again. Each time you run from it… it doesn't just haunt you. It stirs something darker. Something more dangerous than you think."
He took a slow step forward, eyes narrowing with gravity.
"You can't let their sacrifice fade into silence. They gave their lives, their light, their legacy to seal that threat. If it breaks free… everything you swore to protect will be reduced to nothing."
A pause.
Then Kaen's voice sharpened, almost cold, "Don't be a fool. You can't follow your heart. No matter what. It's better if you forget her." He turned and began walking away. The wind howled between them, scattering the words behind him. Behind him, clear and unwavering, came Akira's voice,
"I won't forget my responsibility… and I won't forget her. I'll keep following my heart—until it stops beating."
Kaen paused, the words lingering in the air like a vow etched into the wind. Then he turned, his voice low and steady as he muttered, "Then may the gods have mercy on you… because the world won't. And neither will fate."
Silence settled between them, thick as the wind that howled across the cliff's edge.
Then—without warning—Akira stepped forward and grabbed Kaen's wrist, halting him in his tracks.
"Kaen," he said, voice trembling but firm, "you know this—I won't accept a fate that tears me away from her."
Kaen yanked his hand free, anger flashing in his eyes.
"Why are you so damn stubborn, Akira?!" he snapped. "You already brought disaster once—do you want to do it again? Thousands of lives were lost because you turned away from the path you were born to walk. You were meant to save lives—and instead, you took the curse upon yourself!"
"It's not a curse!" Akira shot back instantly, voice rising, breath heavy.
A beat passed.
Kaen stepped forward, glaring, the weight of grief buried in his voice. "Not a curse?" he echoed coldly. "Then open your eyes, Akira. Look at me."
Akira froze.
Kaen's voice rose again, more pleading than angry now. "Come on! Look at me! What's stopping you? Are you afraid? Afraid of what will if you open those eyes of yours and see me?" He took another step. "Then stop lying to yourself. Admit it! Admit it's a curse, the same one that made you…" his voice broke for a second, then steadied, sharp as steel. "…that made you burn your own mother to ash!"
Akira's entire body froze.
His heart skipped—then dropped like stone.
A soundless scream trembled on his lips as memories exploded in his mind. He stumbled backward, knees giving out, crashing to the ground. His hands flew to his head, clawing at it as if he could tear the memory free. A strangled scream finally escaped him—raw, guttural, the kind that doesn't sound human.
Kaen's eyes widened. The fury in his face dissolved instantly into horror.
"Akira—!"
He dropped beside him, gripping his shoulders to hold him still. "I didn't mean to—I didn't mean to say that—" Kaen's voice trembled, shattered with regret.
Akira gasped for breath between the waves of pain, his voice broken and trembling.
"I didn't know… I didn't know it would happen. It wasn't under my control." His hands shook violently. "I only wanted to save her. There was no other way. I… I had to give myself instead."
Kaen's arms wrapped around him, pulling him close, grounding him through the anguish.
"I know," he whispered hoarsely. "And you did, Akira. You gave up everything—Your life till now… all to save her. Not just her, but all of us."
He gently lifted Akira's chin, The wind howled around them, but in that moment, only Kaen's voice existed. "That's why you can't let it go to waste again. You can't gamble your life or hers—a second time. You want justice for what happened, don't you?"
Akira nodded, jaw tight, fists trembling at his sides.
Kaen leaned closer, his voice a low vow laced with truth, "Then remember this—these powers… they were never your punishment. They were your burden and your gift. You were born not to run from fate, but to face it. Your destiny is to avenge them. To destroy the fallen Supreme of the Demons… the one who made you take this curse. That is your fate, Akira."
Akira's hands slowly wrapped around Kaen's arms, gripping tightly not in desperation, but in resignation. His voice was a whisper, fragile and cracked at the edges.
"…But to destroy the fallen Supreme means to destroy its vessel too."
Kaen froze. His breath hitched, a cold realization washing over him like a blade to the chest.
"And how do you expect me to kill that vessel, Kaen…" he breathed, his voice breaking,
"…when it's none other than Astra?"
The name hit the air like thunder, tearing through the stillness. Kaen stumbled a step back, the weight of Akira's words crashing into him like a wave. For a moment, he couldn't speak—his thoughts unraveling in the silence that followed.
Akira's voice cut through the wind, raw and trembling:
"She's the one I vowed to protect. How do you expect me to follow a fate, this world—when it demands I become her death? I'm caught between the crushing weight of destiny and the blood-stained path it lays before me. The girl I swore my life to protect… is the same girl the world now expects me to destroy." He took a shaky breath, "Tell me then—should I still follow my destiny?"
Kaen's mouth opened, but no words came. His answer was caught between the weight of truth and the fire of anger. The silence spoke louder than denial.
"What's wrong? Can't answer now? You've been with her for thirteen years—hiding her, shielding her not just from the world… but from me. Wasn't it because you promised—"
"Akira…"
Kaen cut in sharply, shaking his head. His voice trembled—not with fear, but the weight of a secret too long carried.
But Akira let out a bitter, almost broken laugh. "Weren't you the one who always said: 'Once you make a promise, you keep it to the end even if it costs your life'? You're still living by that, aren't you? So why can't I?"
Kaen turned away, teeth clenched. "Stop it. You're twisting my words, trapping me in them." His voice cracked as he added, "There must be another way to end the Supreme… Astra is just a vessel. Vessels can be replaced. We'll find someone else—someone born on the same day… the same hour, someone who can take her place—"
He stopped. The words turned to ash in his mouth. His eyes widened as they met Akira's closed ones. The truth struck like lightning.
Akira's voice was quite deadly certain. "It's me, isn't it? That's why I was able to take the curse instead of her. I was born on the same day… at the same time."