Later that night, inside one of the wards of the Academy Medical Bay…
The room was quiet.
Dim golden lights glowed softly from crystal lamps mounted along the walls, casting long shadows across the eight neatly arranged beds within the ward. The faint scent of medicine and sterilizing herbs lingered heavily in the air, blending with the distant sounds of footsteps and muffled voices echoing through the halls outside.
Dom slowly opened his eyes.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the ceiling above him, his thoughts sluggish and disoriented as fragments of memory drifted through his mind.
The exam… The beasts… the Reflezard…
Then, he slowly turned his head to the right.
Sam lay on the neighboring bed, wrapped heavily in bandages. His chest rose and fell steadily beneath the blanket, his face pale but stable.
Though still unconscious.
Dom frowned at the blood being actively transfused into Sam's arm… before noticing the fluids attached to his own hand.
He frowned at Sam's form before shifting his gaze to the other side, where Dae was already seated on his bed, his dark hair flowing in the wind from the open window beside him.
Then, drawn by the sound of the bed creaking, Dae turned toward him and their eyes met.
The silence stretched between them for a moment…
Until Dom forced a smile. "Can't sleep?" He asked.
"How could I, with how loudly you snore?" Dae scoffed immediately.
Dom let out a short laugh. "Sorry." He said as he tried to sit up, only for a sharp stab of pain to tear through his ribs. "Shit--" He groaned and grabbed his chest, lifting his shirt slightly to inspect the thick wrappings around his torso.
"You're not supposed to move," Dae said calmly.
"Since when did you become my doctor?" Dom grumbled, wincing as he dragged himself across the bed and rested his back against the bedrest.
Dae rolled his eyes as Dom groaned in pain, then turned his attention to the wall in front of them.
Dom glanced at the bandages around Dae's exposed leg and smiled weakly. "It wasn't a dream, huh?" He murmured, the memory of the beast flooding back.
"No, it was not." Dae sighed quietly.
The two shared another moment of silent reflection… The heavy kind born from surviving something neither of them should have survived.
The kind only understood by people who had stared death in the face together.
After a while, Dae's gaze softened as he finally spoke.
"Thank you…Dominic."
Dom blinked in surprise and looked over.
"Back there… before you came… I really thought I was going to die," Dae admitted, looking down at his hands.
Though his voice remained calm, the weight beneath it was obvious.
"I had already assumed you were dead from that first hit. And at some point…" He paused. "…I even began to regret staying to save Samuel instead of escaping myself."
Dom frowned slightly but remained silent.
Dae sighed heavily, his eyes squeezed shut. "I've always been told to live a life I'd be proud of when my time comes," He said, his expression darkening. "But then… when I thought it came, all I felt… was regret."
A long pause followed…
Then he looked at Dom again.
And for once, there was absolutely no coldness in his expression. No irritation. No pride.
Only sincerity.
"You saved me." He said softly. "You gave me a second chance. I'm truly grateful."
Dom's eyes widened slightly.
Despite everything they had been through together, he had never seen Dae smile like this before.
With a matching smile, Dom answered. "Don't worry about it. Besides, we're even now."
Dae raised a brow, curious.
Dom's gaze drifted to the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Even though I was determined to beat that thing," He admitted, "I knew I wasn't fast enough. If you hadn't stepped in back then,"
He paused, remembering that very moment… and how close those claws were to gouging through his body.
"...I'd be dead."
Dae frowned, watching as Dom's expression darkened remarkably… only for him to hide it with another cheeky grin.
"So thanks for having my back."
Dae nodded once… allowing the room to fall quiet again.
Then suddenly--
Dom's eyes lit up with excitement. "Hey." He said, drawing Dae's attention. "Since we beat an A-class beast, does that mean we're A-class mages now?"
Dae stared at him blankly.
"Of course not," He eventually replied, calm once more. "To be certified as an A-class, we'd have to undergo tests from the Capital's Science Division for a week. Besides, neither of us defeated it alone."
Dom groaned dramatically. "Ugh, I really hate complicated protocol."
"Rules are rules," Dae said, giving a small smile, but it quickly faded as an old memory resurfaced.
Dom noticed the way Dae's eyes suddenly darkened but chose to remain silent until Dae finally spoke,
"Do you… remember before it happened… when you asked me about my goal?"
"You mean when you blew me off for no reason?" Dom scoffed.
Embarrassment crossed Dae's face. "I admit that my behaviour was rude. I'm sorry." He said, frowning at his leg. "It's… a long story."
Dom gestured around the room. "I think we've got plenty of time." He commented.
"You have a point," Dae said. He glanced at Sam, ensuring he was still asleep, then focused on the ceiling.
Then, with a deep breath, he began to delve into his past.
"The man who taught me the Thunder Sword Style… my master… was my grandfather."
His eyes softened with memory.
"He was a kind, respectable swordsman. And he was so skilled that he became known as the Blade King. People revered him as the greatest swordsman in the world."
"Cool," Dom said, excited.
Dae smiled faintly. "I idolized him. So much so that when I turned six, I convinced him to start training me. By seven, I didn't just want to become like him—I wanted to surpass him."
Dom's smile widened as he processed this.
"That's why…" Dae added, looking at Dom. "… when I heard your goal, I was surprised to learn that we're on similar paths,"
Dom comfortably lay back on the bed, his smile still wide. "So that's your goal?" He mumbled.
"Not completely," Dae replied, a shadow now crossing his expression. "I actually have two goals."
Dom narrowed his eyes, noticing the darkness in Dae's eyes. "And the other one?" He asked curiously.
Dae's fingers gripped the bed sheets tightly, his purple eyes glowing with cold intent as he responded,
"To find a man named Akito Nakamura… and kill him."
A sudden silence filled the room.
Almost as if the walls themselves had heard Dae's confession. His words were so filled with hate and bloodlust that it took Dom a few seconds to fully process them.
"Okay," Dom mumbled, his eyes still wide with shock. "I did not expect that."
Dae looked away, frowning silently.
For a while, they stayed silent.
But eventually, Dom's curiosity pushed him to ask. "Is there a reason?"
Dae stiffened. He was silent for so long that Dom thought he wouldn't answer the question.
Then--
"When I was nine," Dae began, voice heavy and eyes fixed on his tightened grip. "… my grandfather adopted a boy two years older than me. Till this day, I don't know why grandfather did it, but I remember that he wanted us to treat him like family."
"And that boy was…?" Dom prompted.
Dae nodded. "Akito." He said the word was almost like a revolting slur to utter. "Since he also wielded lightning magic and was similarly eager to learn the sword, Grandfather trained him too."
As Dae continued, a subtle smile peeked through his frown.
"He was mischievous, messy, and loud… but extremely intelligent with an unnatural sense for swordsmanship. Despite starting three years after me, he surpassed my skills in a single year."
Dom frowned. "A genius, huh?" He asked.
Dae smiled weakly. "I was so jealous when I watched them fight on par with each other. Frustrated that my years of experience meant nothing to his swordsmanship… but I still looked up to him, like an older brother."
Another beat of silence passed before Dom asked, "Then… what happened?"
Dae's smile vanished.
His purple aura trembled faintly as he spoke. "Due to the danger of the Thunder Sword Style, the first swordsman created strict rules for its use. Codes that all swordsmen after him strove to follow. Akito… broke the most sacred one."
He turned to Dom, eyes filled with fury.
"He turned his blade against the innocent. Against his own family. My family."
Dom looked away, frowning as he tried to imagine what that must have felt like. The burden that came from such an unimaginable loss.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Dae ran a hand over his face, suppressing his aura. "I still don't know why he did it." He said, resting his head against the wall with his eyes closed. "We took him in… treated him like family… and yet…"
He paused, gathering his thoughts.
"It happened years ago…" He added, his eyes opening as he recalled that dreadful night. "… but I remember it vividly."
< Late at night, Dae's family mansion, once showered in peace and harmony, fell into an eerie darkness… thunder roaring above and harsh, cold wind blowing against its walls.
A ten-year-old Dae ran barefoot through the hallways, panic and disbelief etched on his face as he saw bloodstains on the walls. Distracted, he tripped on something and fell against a corner.
He sat up and gasped once he saw the lifeless head maid, Miss Kim, in front of him, her blood moving across the floor to meet the other dead maids and house guards littered around him.
"What…" He muttered, terrified by the sight, then a thunderclap drew his attention.
He scrambled onward, following the sound of clashing swords and the surge of mana while running past more motionless bodies on the way.
He reached the rear exit, sliding the broken doors to reveal the garden beyond. He took another step, then slipped on the wet floor and fell hard again. He winced as pain shot through him before he noticed blood coating his hands.
Looking down, his eyes widened at the pool of crimson staining the floor. He followed the stream and froze at the source: two bodies, lifeless.
"Father? Mother?"
Dae's eyes quickly watered once he realized that the bodies were his parents'.
His mother, Nari, was lying face down with an arm stretched forward, most likely attempting to cry out for Dae to run before passing.
His father, Hakuji, was lying on his back beside her, his pearly white blade hung loosely in his grip. He must have fallen, trying to protect her.
Their bodies were covered in deep cuts, with their clothes ripped and soaked with so much blood that one would confuse them for ordinary red clothes.
He crawled towards them, soaking his clothes in their blood as he shook them. "Father! Mother! Please! Answer me!" He shouted, his voice trembling with grief, but only silence answered.
That silence was suddenly shattered by the clash of swords.
Dae's eyes darted toward the garden and froze as two figures stood in the midst of the still-beautiful grounds.
A lightning bolt streaked across the sky, illuminating the scene—and breaking Dae's already shattered heart even further.
One of the figures was his grandfather, now grievously injured as a long blade emerged from his back. With a groan, the old man coughed up a heavy stream of blood, his black katana slipping from his trembling hands to the blood-stained grass.
"Aki…to," He gasped, looking toward the shorter figure standing before him.
With a scoff, the young attacker drew the bloodied katana from the old man's gut, blood gushing anew as the elder collapsed.
"Grandfather!"
Dae's cry caught the attacker's attention. Another lightning strike illuminated the boy fully.
He was twelve, with long, silky black hair and pale ivory skin, his body cut and battered from battle, including a long slash across his now-functionless left eye.
"Akito? No… it can't be…" Dae whispered in disbelief. The boy before him was the same one he had called brother.
In Dae's young mind, he tried to search for a reason behind it…
But with the white katana still clutched in his dead father's grip, the sight of his grandfather bleeding on the ground, and worst of all… the exhausted yet twisted smile on Akito's face, accompanied by the eerie red glow of his right eye, it was blatantly obvious who was to blame.
A fierce purple aura burst from Dae's small body, lightning crackling violently around him.
Acting on instinct alone, he tore the white katana from his father's lifeless hands—the blade already within reach—and surged forward, feet pounding across the blood-soaked grass.
As he closed the distance, his gaze flicked to the black katana lying near his grandfather. He pushed harder, electricity snapping around his limbs as he built up speed, and at the last moment—just as he passed it—Dae dropped low, snatching the black katana from the ground without breaking stride.
Both blades now in hand, Dae swung with everything he had, grief and fury driving his movements as he slashed toward Akito.
Before the attack could land, red electrical sparks erupted from Akito's body. He vanished in an instant, leaving Dae's blades cutting through empty air.
The lack of resistance threw him off balance, and he stumbled, crashing hard onto the blood-stained grass.
Dae forced himself up, tears streaking his face, only to find Akito standing atop the outer garden fence. With one last cold, silent stare, Akito turned away—and disappeared.
"AKITO!"
Dae tried to follow, but a weak hand clutched his ankle. He turned around and gasped to find his grandfather gripping him with what little strength he had left.
Dae immediately dropped his weapons and carefully rolled the old man onto his back. He froze at the sight of the injuries—blood soaking through torn clothing, the stab wound still pouring freely—before snapping back into motion and pressing both hands down against it.
"It's okay. You'll be fine. It's okay," He repeated desperately.
The words left his mouth again and again, even as warm blood continued to seep through his fingers. He turned toward the house and screamed for help—but the old man weakly shook his head.
"Don't bother…" He rasped. "He… killed all of them."
Dae snapped his head back to him in shock.
"There's… no one… left."
Dae's expression crumpled, tears streaming down his face. "Why… why… why?" He asked.
The old man coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips before he could answer. "I'm sorry… My past… corrupted him… destroyed our family. I—"
A sharp groan cut him off as pain wracked his body.
"I thought isolating us would be enough… that caring for him would be enough… but it appears…" His breathing grew uneven. "…that I must still atone for my sins."
Dae shook his head furiously. "Don't say that. You'll be fine. I'll carry you to a hospital." He said as he tried to sit him up, only for the old man to cough again, this time splattering blood across Dae's face.
"I taught Akito too well," He said weakly, forcing Dae to set him back down. "He attacked… a vital spot… I won't… live long enough to make it outside… this garden."
Dae's lips trembled as more tears poured freely down his cheeks.
"No. You can't. Please."
"I'm… sorry," The old man panted, his pale eyes drifting toward the porch where Dae's parents lay motionless, his son and daughter-in-law, whom he loved so much. "For some reason… he let you live. I don't know… why, but… this too… must… be destiny."
Dae shook his head again, barely able to breathe. "I don't understand." He mumbled, struggling to hold his sobs.
With great effort, the old man placed a trembling hand over Dae's. His grip tightened weakly. "I know this will be hard… but you must listen to me…" He said, his eyes narrowed with faint resolve. "Abandon the Hyeon Family name… along with the Thunder Sword Style."
Dae's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you—"
The old man squeezed his hand harder, cutting him off. "In my past, I created many enemies. That's why… I forced us to live in isolation. To… protect… all of you."
He groaned again, his face contorting in pain.
"But… but you said you saved people, that you were a hero," Dae said, his voice small, confused.
"I did," The old man sighed. "But that was… before the Great Fall."
"The Great Fall…" Dae whispered, as his grandfather squeezed his hand again.
"Akito was tied to that—and this…" He glanced down at his wound. "…is the result." His gaze shifted back to Dae's parents, tears finally forming in his old eyes at the thought of never seeing their smile again. "I tried to run from fate… and failed."
He swallowed painfully, his vision beginning to darken.
"Listen. Under your parents' bed—"
Dae shook his head. "No, stop."
"…There's our emergency funds. Take it and get as far away from here as possible."
"No. I can't." Dae whimpered.
"Yes, you can," The old man grumbled, forcing a weak, pained smile. "You're a smart child… You'll be fine."
Dae shook his head as more tears fell, his vision blurring.
The old man slowly raised his hand and brushed Dae's cheek, frowning as he watched his beloved grandchild in so much agony. "I'm just… sorry you have to do this… at such a young age. Please… forgive me."
"Please don't go!" Dae begged, pressing his wound as if his sheer will could stop the bleeding. "I don't want to be alone!"
The old man grit his teeth, frustration and sorrow finally breaking through as tears streamed down his face. He was so focused on Dae's sorrow that he didn't notice that he couldn't feel the pain in his wound anymore.
"I know, my boy… but we… don't have a… choice."
Another violent series of coughs wracked his body. Dae cried harder, desperately pressing down on the wound again.
"One… last thing…"
"No! Don't go! No! Stop!"
Dae pressed with all his strength—then flinched as the old man's hand slipped from his grasp and fell lifelessly into the grass.
"No matter what…" The old man's eyes began to dim, the world fading around him. "…don't seek… revenge… It'll only… leave you… em…pty."
Dae stared, unmoving, at the old man's lifeless face—frozen in an expression of regret and frustration.
Thirty long seconds passed.
Then Dae's mouth finally opened—
—-and a devastating scream of pain tore through the garden, raw and unrestrained, its echo drowning out even the roaring thunder overhead. >