.
---
Chapter Eighteen: The Master's Return
Blood dripped from Ethan's body; his breath came in gasps, but his eyes remained ablaze.
The King of Time advanced with calm steps, as if the battle had been nothing more than a ludicrous dance he entertained himself with.
In his hand, he held his legendary staff, and on its tip, a violet jewel pulsed with a deadly light, like the heart of another universe.
He drew near, then plunged the jewel into Ethan's chest.
The scream that erupted from his throat was not the scream of a man, but the scream of a hell exploding from within.
And before he could bring the staff down to shatter his existence forever… the moment stopped.
Another hand grasped the staff.
A hand Ethan knew…
Even before he saw it, his heart recognized it.
He raised his head with difficulty, blood trickling from his mouth, to find before him a face he knew better than he knew himself.
His Master. That man who saved him at the beginning of the ruin, the man who stood before the King of Time one day, the man who remained steadfast when everyone else fell.
The King of Time… smiled.
A farewell smile, the smile of one who planned everything from the start.
"I knew you would come… so now I bid you farewell."
Then, as he had come, he vanished.
As if Time itself had turned the page and departed.
…
Ethan, despite his weakness, rushed forward with a frenzy, like a child who had found a long-lost father.
He leaped onto his teacher and embraced him with all the strength he had left, tears mingling with his blood.
But… there was no time for tears.
He raised his trembling hand and pressed it to his forehead.
In a single moment, all the memories poured forth.
The previous life, the ruin, the pain, the fall, and the rebirth.
Everything flooded the teacher's mind.
The teacher closed his eyes, saw what his student had experienced, and sighed as if he carried a secret heavier than mountains.
Then he smiled a quiet smile, placed his hand on Ethan's chest, and infused him with a little of his energy.
That energy wasn't ordinary; it was the final spark that opened the last gate.
And with it… a vortex of emptiness exploded, swallowing them both.
…
When he opened his eyes, the place was different.
His friends… all of them.
The survivors, the prisoners he had freed, Iris… all the faces he had fought for.
But Ethan couldn't stand.
He collapsed to the ground, his body like a lifeless doll.
He raised his eyes with difficulty, his words emerging in a whisper:
"Bring… the child."
The child stepped forward, placed his hand on Ethan's body, and a healing aura emanated from him, a blue light that could mend impossible wounds.
Ethan's breathing returned slowly, but his eyes remained dark, as if what lay within him was deeper than any external injury.
The teacher… picked up the purple gem from the ground.
He gazed at it for a long time, then walked on with steady steps, ignoring everyone's stares, ignoring his friends' shouts, ignoring even Iris, who stood there in shock, her tears still wet.
He approached her, placed his hand on her trembling shoulder, and said in a firm, deep voice:
"Don't blame him… Ethan's going through much harder than you, Iris. Much harder."
…
End of Chapter
---