“Sister… where are you…”

  His voice broke as he ran through the empty path, breath uneven, hands shaking.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, tears falling freely.

  “Sorry for leaving you alone.”

  He clenched his fists.

  “Please… just hold on a little longer.”

  Then his eyes sharpened.

  Aethelgard.

  The Colosseum.

  “The battle,” he muttered. “I need to join it. Now.”

  But the fighters were already announced.

  Only one person could change that.

  Inside the Palace

  He didn’t wait for permission.

  The doors to the palace chamber opened abruptly as he stepped inside, guards startled but frozen by the urgency in his presence.

  Empress Rose looked up.

  “I want to join the battle,” he said immediately.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Rose’s expression remained calm. “The fighters are already announced.”

  “I don’t want payment,” he said, voice trembling. “No rewards. No wishes. I just want to fight.”

  Then he broke.

  Tears spilled as he bowed his head. “Please.”

  For a moment, Rose said nothing.

  Then she stood—and hugged him.

  The sudden warmth shattered his composure.

  “What happened?” she asked softly.

  He explained everything. The sister. The abandonment. The ticking fear that he was already too late.

  Rose closed her eyes briefly.

  “I’ll speak to Jiyan,” she said. “Zenithellion is already in trouble… one more change won’t break it.”

  He dropped to his knees immediately.

  “Thank you,” he said, bowing deeply. “Thank you so much.”

  “Stand,” Rose said gently.

  Later that day, the announcement spread quietly:

  Itsuki would replace Yami.

  The board had changed.

  The door closed behind her with a soft, final sound.

  Rose stood still in the dim chamber, hands pressed against the cold stone table. The Beacon’s distant rhythm echoed through the walls—steady, unfeeling.

  “…No,” she whispered.

  Her breath quickened.

  “Not again.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut.

  “I’m going to fail,” she murmured. “Every time… I fail.”

  A shadow moved in her mind.

  Not a shape.

  Not a name.

  A presence.

  “I can’t run from it,” Rose said quietly, fingers trembling. “No matter how far I go… it always finds me.”

  Her reflection in the polished stone looked calm.

  Her eyes were not.

  “And now,” she whispered, “it’s moving again.”

  The Beacon pulsed once.

  Rose straightened her posture, her expression sealing itself back into iron.

  The Empress returned.

  But the monster did not leave.

  Scene Shift — A Village on the Edge

  Shura, Zenkyou, Orin, and Yura arrived .

  The village was quiet—too quiet.

  Then they heard screaming.

  A boy sat in the dirt, clawing at his own skin, pulling his hair, eyes wild and unfocused.

  “I KNOW EVERYTHING!” he screeched.

  “I’VE REACHED THE END! HAHAHA—I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!”

  Yura recoiled. “Eww… disgusting.”

  His parents stood nearby, exhausted, broken.

  “He’s been like this for hours,” his mother said. “Screaming. Laughing. Hurting himself.”

  Shura knelt beside them. “We’ll take him to the hospital. Then we’ll inform you.”

  “Can he survive?” his father asked quietly.

  Orin’s expression hardened. “This is critical. The chances are very low… but we’ll try. Alright?”

  They lifted the boy carefully and stepped outside.

  Zenkyou frowned. “I don’t know what this is. Any ideas what’s happening to him?”

  Orin shook his head. “Mental illness—or someone interfered with his mind. Magic is also possible.”

  No one spoke for a moment.

  Then—

  Shura and Yura were suddenly surrounded by village kids, laughing, tugging at their clothes, asking questions.

  Shura smiled.

  Yura laughed.

  Zenkyou, Ren, and Orin watched quietly.

  And smiled too.

  After a while, Orin spoke. “Alright. Shall we go now?”

  “You all go ahead,” Shura said. “I’ll investigate the village a bit more.”

  Yura blinked. “Can I stay with you?”

  Shura smiled. “Is that even a question? Of course.”

  Ren crossed his arms. “There isn’t a single day you don’t cling to us… and now you’re leaving us behind?”

  Orin joined in, exaggerating his disappointment.

  They started joking, mocking Shura dramatically.

  Laughter filled the air.

  For a moment, the world felt light again.

  The chapter ended—not with answers—

  but with laughter echoing through a village that desperately needed it.