The sky above the northern estate was deceptively clear, though the chill of winter still clung to the air like a curse. Reinhardt's neck ached as he stirred from where he had fallen asleep beside Kael's bed. His fingers were still wrapped around Kael's limp hand, his forehead resting against the edge of the mattress.
He blinked himself awake, trying to push away the fog of exhaustion. And then—
"Kael…?"
Reinhardt's voice trembled. Kael was no longer lying unconscious. He was sitting upright on the bed, his back to the window, the light of dawn painting his silhouette in pale gold. The hero turned his head, black hair falling across his face as his crimson-gold eyes met Reinhardt's. He smiled faintly.
"What's with that face? Never seen me wide awake before?" Kael's laugh was light, teasing.
Reinhardt froze. "I thought you were—" He stopped. The black hair. The warmth in Kael's eyes. The way the scars on his neck had vanished. This wasn't the Kael lying on the bed beside him now. This was the Kael he remembered from the battlefield years ago. A dream. His smile faltered.
Kael stretched out a hand and rested it on Reinhardt's shoulder. "Damn… you realized it so soon. I was hoping to see you cry while smiling."
Reinhardt stared at him, a thousand words trapped behind his teeth. "What actually happened to you, Kael? Why won't you wake up?" His fists clenched against the mattress.
Kael tilted his head, still smiling softly. "Well… it's something I deserve. I don't even know how to explain it properly. You know how bad I am at explaining things."
Reinhardt bit down on his lip. "What do you mean you deserve this suffering? You saved this world! You deserve praise—peace!"
Kael patted his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry." His voice softened. "But this is how it should be. The world finally knows peace. They don't need a hero to kill demons anymore."
Despite his words, Kael's smile stayed calm, almost tender. Reinhardt couldn't accept it. He seized the front of Kael's shirt.
"No, Kael… We promised, remember? You said you'd help me rule. You said we'd make this world peaceful together!" His voice cracked, eyes filling with tears.
Kael's sad smile deepened. "I'm sorry…"
Reinhardt's tears slipped free. "This isn't fair… not fair, Kael. You don't deserve this. Please tell me what to do. I don't want to lose you, my friend…" He lowered his head onto Kael's chest. His body shook as he whispered, "Please…"
"Hey." Kael's hand rubbed slow circles on Reinhardt's back. "Don't cry. You have to stay strong. It's not like you can't live without me." His tone was gentle but firm. "Everyone needs you—Robert, Iris, even that girl, Elric. All our comrades too. They still need you."
He lifted his gaze to the window, breathing deeply as if inhaling the last traces of morning air. "…Let me go, Reinhardt. That child needs me."
Reinhardt raised his face, blinking. "Child? What do you mean? Who are you talking about?"
Kael turned back to him, the same quiet smile on his lips. He didn't answer.
"I need to go," he murmured instead. "I've done what I needed to do in this world."
Reinhardt's eyes widened at the words, hearing them as a final goodbye.
"I need to save him. That's my last task. I'm sorry…"
The world around them began to waver, as if the dream itself were tearing apart. The clear sky darkened. The window cracked into shards of light.
"No, Kael! Don't leave me!" Reinhardt clutched his hand tightly, shaking his head.
Kael's form was already dissolving into mist. He smiled one last time. "Reinhardt… please live for me."
The mist swirled. Kael's voice echoed as everything collapsed.
"If one day, he comes to you, please protect him…"
Then Kael vanished with the crumbling world.
Reinhardt woke with a start, his chest rising and falling as if he had been running. For a heartbeat he thought he was still in the dream—Kael smiling at him with black hair, whispering, please live for me—but the sound that tore him from sleep was real.
A harsh, ragged cough echoed through the room.
"Kael?"
Reinhardt lurched to his feet, his chair scraping across the floor. Kael was convulsing on the bed, his body curled as though in pain. His lips parted, but instead of blood, a thick black liquid spilled from his mouth, staining the sheets.
Reinhardt's eyes widened. "No… no, no, no…" His heart hammered as the last words from his dream clawed through his skull: please live for me. It felt like a goodbye he wasn't ready to accept.
"Jaesper! Iris!" His voice cracked, sharp with panic. "Now!"
Footsteps thundered down the hall. The door burst open. Jaesper and Iris rushed in, both of them freezing at the sight of Kael vomiting black blood, his skin paling to a frightening hue.
Jaesper's eyes went wide. "My god…" He darted forward, pushing up Kael's sleeve, feeling for a pulse, his fingers tracing over the shattered mana channels. "What happened?"
Reinhardt's hands shook. "I don't know—he just started—what should we do?" His voice cracked again, raw with helplessness.
Jaesper swallowed hard, his own face grim. "Your Highness…" His tone was low, urgent. "I'm afraid… you have to make a choice right now."
Reinhardt stared at him. "Choice?"
Jaesper glanced down at Kael's trembling body, his fingers still pressing at the faint pulse. "We don't have much time left. His mana core is almost gone—dissolving as we speak—and…" He hesitated, looking away. "If it disappears completely, there will be nothing left to save."
Iris stepped closer, laying a firm hand on Reinhardt's shoulder to steady him. "Reinhardt. Look at him. We should do what Jaesper said. Kael doesn't seem to have enough time." Her voice was tight with worry, but steadier than his.
Reinhardt's breath came uneven, his teeth digging into his lip until he tasted blood. Kael's gasps grew weaker, his chest rising in shallow stutters. The black liquid continued to seep from his mouth.
His friend—the one who had always stood at his side—was slipping away.
Reinhardt squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to decide. His voice trembled. "…Please. Save him, Jaesper."
He still wasn't ready to say goodbye. If this could ease Kael's suffering—even if it meant he might never wake up—then it was the only choice left.
Jaesper bowed his head once, sharply. "I'll do everything I can, Your Highness."
Iris moved to help prepare, her magic already weaving faint sigils in the air. Reinhardt stepped back, his fists clenched at his sides.
As Jaesper began his work, Reinhardt lingered at the doorway, frozen. His eyes caught one last glimpse of Kael lying on the bed. This friend who had once laughed with him, bled with him, fought beside him—now motionless and pale, with only the faintest breath left.
Reinhardt's throat ached. He'll never open his eyes again, a thought whispered like poison.
He closed the door softly behind him, his palm pressed against the wood as if to keep himself from crumbling.
"Live for me…" Kael's voice from the dream echoed once more.
Reinhardt shut his eyes. "I will," he whispered hoarsely, "but not without you."
With a sharp exhale, Jaesper moved quickly, pulling a strip of enchanted paper from his coat and letting it dissolve into threads of silver light. His hands blurred as he began to draw an intricate alchemy formula in the air beside Kael's bed. The glowing symbols hung in place like shards of moonlight, shifting and locking together into a circle.
"This is the most difficult array I know…" Jaesper muttered under his breath, sweat already beading his brow. "It's the only way to gather what's left of his mana core before it disappears completely."
Kael convulsed again, black blood spilling from the corner of his lips as his body trembled violently. The sound of his strained breathing filled the room like a knife scraping against stone.
Iris knelt opposite Jaesper, pressing her palms together and summoning strands of mana into her hands. She didn't know alchemy, but she could at least funnel raw magic into the circle. "Tell me what you need," she said, her voice taut. "I'll give you as much mana as you ask."
"Good." Jaesper's eyes never left the formula. "Feed it slowly. If it collapses, we will lose him."
Across the room, Reinhardt, Robert, and Elric knelt together in a tense silence. Robert's head was bowed, his lips moving in a quiet prayer. Elric clasped her hands at her heart, her face pale but resolute. Reinhardt sat rigidly, fists pressed to his knees, unable to tear his eyes from Kael.
Jaesper risked a glance over his shoulder. "This will take too long at the rate his core is disintegrating. I'll have to create a replacement to hold it together." He looked directly at Reinhardt. "Let me and Iris handle him. I'm afraid… none of you should stay in here for what comes next. It won't be easy to watch."
Reinhardt's hands tightened. "What do you mean?"
Jaesper's voice was softer now. "I mean his body may react violently to the process. If you want me to focus, you need to leave us alone with him."
For a heartbeat no one moved. Then Elric rose slowly to her feet, glancing at Reinhardt. "He's right. We'll only get in the way."
Robert hesitated, then stood as well, placing a firm hand on Reinhardt's shoulder. "Come, Brother. You've done the right thing already." His grip was steady, but his eyes betrayed his own fear.
Reinhardt looked back at Kael, pale and trembling on the bed, Iris and Jaesper bent over him like frantic healers trying to mend a broken star. His throat burned. He wanted to stay, to keep holding Kael's hand—but Jaesper's eyes told him plainly: go.
With visible reluctance, he rose to his feet. "Don't let him die," he said hoarsely.
Jaesper's reply was steady. "I won't."
Elric moved to Reinhardt's other side, trying to soften her voice. "He's in good hands. You have to trust them."
They stepped out of the room together. As the door closed behind them, the muffled sounds of Kael's ragged breathing and Jaesper's incantations faded. The hallway seemed colder, emptier.
Robert still stood close, his hand a reassuring weight on Reinhardt's shoulder. "It's all right," he murmured. "You did the right thing."
Reinhardt's lips parted but no words came. He didn't dare tell Robert or Elric about the dream, about Kael's black-haired smile and final goodbye. If he spoke it aloud, it would become real.
Instead he forced himself to straighten, drawing a long, trembling breath. He could not break down now—not when the palace had declared them traitors, not when their enemies were closing in.
"Jaesper never said it was certain," Reinhardt murmured at last, almost to himself. "He said maybe Kael will never wake up. Maybe."
Elric caught the whisper and gave a small, grim nod. "Then we hold onto that 'maybe' until the very end."
Robert squeezed Reinhardt's shoulder again, and the three of them waited outside in silence, their hopes and fears heavy in the air like an approaching storm