Location: TIB Interrogation Room 12, Eastern Hidden Area of Headquarters
Edie was brought into the interrogation room—a dazzlingly bright room, with only a steel table and two chairs facing each other.
He sat down without uttering a word.
Duun entered, nodding slightly to the person standing next to him.
The other person understood, approached the crystal recorder on the table, and touched it.
The light immediately dimmed.
-Duun's voice was gentle, not pressing: "How do you feel?"
-Edie was silent for a moment: "I don't know... I feel an emptiness."
Duun leaned back in his chair, staring at the boy in front of him who no longer resembled the hero who had once stopped As Now.
Now, he was just a child lost in life.
-Duun: "I don't want to take your statement. It's just a formality... A child like you can't overcome this shock if you keep suppressing it."
He didn't answer. He just lightly clenched his hands under the table.
Detention Area No. 5: Where National-Level Dangerous Subjects are Held
The iron door opened.
Edie stepped into the small room.
Facing him, sitting silently on a chair, was Hakan.
He wasn't wearing a prison uniform, just an old gray shirt, with dark circles under his eyes, his hands lightly cuffed on the table.
-Hakan smiled, his voice hoarse: "I'm sorry, Edie. Even if this makes you sad... this is the price I have to pay."
-Edie looked up directly: "You're not wrong... so you don't need to apologize."
After that, no one mentioned the imprisonment again.
They just talked about everyday things:
The meals they used to cook, their last hunting trip, small memories in the wooden house.
Edie always smiled.
Not because he was happy, but because he knew—if the atmosphere became heavier, no one would be able to bear it.
He wanted to give Hakan a conversation... as if there had never been a day of separation.
Outside the surveillance room, Efill approached, adjusting the monitoring crystal.
-Duun sighed softly: "Help me submit a proposal for Hakan's execution as soon as possible."
-Efill: "Are you sure?"
-Duun: "The longer we wait... the more likely the boy Edie is to do something foolish."
-Efill shook his head: "Poor kid... He just got a real family... and now..."
Detention Room – Time Almost Up
Hakan looked up at Edie, his eyes red-rimmed.
Hakan (very slowly): "Edie... Live well. Become a kind person, help others... Don't be like me—a demon."
Edie stood up. He didn't speak.
He just looked at him for a long time.
Then turned away.
The iron door closed behind him.
Inside the room, Hakan bowed his head.
Tears rolled gently down his cheeks.
Not because he was afraid of death.
But because he knew... this was the last time he could protect someone.
No matter how strong a man is... before death,
He doesn't cry for himself,
But cries for the one who has to live on—alone.
Prison Corridor – After the Last Meeting
As the door closed behind him, Edie stood still for a very long time.
He didn't move, didn't look up.
A hot tear slid down his cheek.
Then another.
Then a whole stream...
He didn't even know he was crying
Until a sob burst from his mouth:
"No one... it's just me..."
Not a word of comfort.
Not a hand on his shoulder.
Only the cold fluorescent light, and loneliness clutching him like a wet blanket draped over his chest.
A Few Weeks Later
Edie disappeared from the lecture hall.
No one saw him in class.
No assignments submitted.
No messages. He didn't answer anyone.
He lived quietly in the old wooden house—where there used to be laughter, a warm stove, and Hakan's eyes.
Now, the house only had the sound of wine bottles falling to the floor.
Every day, another scratch on the wall, another empty can in the corner.
A dose of something... that made him forget his own name.
Jinna came. But he sent her away.
"I don't want you to live with someone like me."
"I'm not the Edie you knew anymore."
One rainy afternoon, someone knocked on the door.
The wooden door creaked open.
A woman stood there—lightly curled hair, carefully made-up eyes, a designer coat.
Seal.
Edie's biological mother.
The person he had never fully called 'mother'.
-Seal looked into the house, frowning: "Goodness... I heard you haven't been going to school lately, just cooped up like this... You don't need to be so sad. After all, he deserved it. He's a murderer, Edie."
-Edie stood still for a few seconds... then sprang up, yelling: "What do you know? Even if he was a killer, at least he showed me what family was, while you and dad had me for your own benefit, after already having an affair? Why did you even have me? I didn't want to be born!"
Without waiting for her reaction, Edie pointed outside.
Edie hissed through clenched teeth: "Go.
I know you're not here for me. You're here because I made you proud by being a hero in everyone's eyes.
You denied the name Edie before, didn't you?"
Seal stood still for a few seconds, then turned and walked away.
No apology. No explanation. Never looking back.
Edie collapsed onto the floor.
Staring at the ceiling.
Alone.
"If this is light... then I truly don't belong with it."
Bellasia Academy – Female Dorm, Room 512 – Late Night
It was raining lightly.
The 5th floor of the female dorm was as silent as if no one lived there.
Furina sat motionless by the window, her empty eyes reflecting the distant streetlights.
-Amal: "You've been looking so sad lately, Furi. Is something wrong? Can I help?"
-Furina softly: "My relative just passed away.
So now... everything feels so quiet."
-Amal paused for a moment, then nodded: "I'm sorry... If you want to be alone, I'll go back to my room."
-Furina: "Mm-hm."
The door closed.
Furina still didn't move.
Only her eyes... were a little wet.
Her mother – had died of illness 5 years ago.
Her father – who had just appeared, before she could even truly call him 'father'... had vanished from this world.
She sat close to the windowsill.
Arms hugging her knees, head against the wall, silently watching the raindrops spread on the windowpane.
Until—
A hand reached up from outside the window.
Then a face... drenched in rain, gasping.
Edie.
-Edie whispered: "Help me..."
Furina was stunned, unable to react.
But when she realized who was clinging to the 5th-floor window ledge, she quickly leaned out and pulled him in.
Both fell onto the wet, cold floor, disoriented.
Edie carried a bag inside with wine, a few open cans, and some hastily packed snacks.
The smell of alcohol mixed with the smell of rain and... the smell of pain.
-Edie: "Do you drink?"
Furina nodded slightly: "Yes."
No chairs needed. No table needed.
They both sat on the floor, backs against the wall, shoulders touching.
No one said anything serious. No one tried to ask each other "Are you okay?"
Only the sound of cans being opened.
And the wind whistling through the gap in the door.
"I lost my father."
"I lost my mother."
"Now... I don't need anyone."
No one said those words.
But they both understood every bit, every detail, every silent sentence.
The night dragged on.
The rain fell very slowly.
Only two people... and the same sadness, silently sharing it with wine.
No one saved anyone. It was just that if they sat there together, it felt a little less cold.
Wooden House – The Next Morning
Edie woke up.
His head ached slightly.
His hands were cold.
His body felt like it had just emerged from a very long dream.
He turned his head to the side—and saw a magic staff leaning against the wall.
"...Jinna."
He didn't remember how he got home.
He only knew he had been sitting on the 5th floor, drinking, and then...
He walked outside.
The smell of soup permeated the air.
Jinna was busy by the stove, her hair tied up high, stirring the pot, humming softly.
-Jinna turned around, smiling lightly: "You're awake?"
Edie frowned, his voice hoarse: "I told you... don't care about me anymore. Leave me alone."
Jinna didn't turn back: "I like to care. Who was it who said they wanted to marry me, and now they're so irresponsible?"
Edie was speechless.
He didn't say anything.
He sat down next to her.
Watched her cook.
Watched the soup boil in waves.
And inside him, something overflowed...
Not tears.
But the feeling of seeing light for the first time after many weeks in darkness.
They ate together.
No one said too much.
But the silence was very gentle.
After the meal, Jinna took Edie for a walk around the forest.
The wind was cool. Sunlight filtered through the leaves.
They talked about trivial things: the squirrel in the tree, the heart-shaped stone on the ground, and the smell of damp moss after the rain.
Until they stood on a cliff overlooking the river, where the wind blew strong, and the sky seemed clearer.
Jinna took Edie's hand, looking directly at him: "Edie... I love you. And I hope we can share and move forward together. No matter what happens... I won't leave."
Edie didn't answer immediately.
He just squeezed her hand gently.
His eyes looked at the flowing water, thinking about what he had lost.
"Some pains never end. But if you don't move forward... then the person next to you will hurt instead."
From that moment, Edie chose to live.
Not for himself.
But because there was still an important person holding his hand.
The cliff.
Sunset.
Two people.
Jinna stepped closer.
The wind blew softly, her hair fluttering as if the air was also waiting for something to happen.
Jinna:
"Edie..."
She looked up.
Kissed him.
Very light, very gentle.
Very real.
And in that moment, Edie believed everything would be okay.
Until—
Pain.
Cold.
Stinging.
Something pierced his skin, straight into his abdomen.
He opened his eyes.
Her arm was still around his shoulder.
But her other hand... was holding a knife handle.
-Jinna smiled faintly: "I love you."
Then she pushed him.
Not hard.
Not fast.
Just enough... for him to lose his balance.
Thud!
Edie's body fell into the river.
Cold water enveloped him.
He couldn't breathe.
And as he slowly sank, he burst into tears. Not because of the pain.
But because finally... he had no one left to cherish.
From behind a nearby rock, someone emerged.
-Two X angrily: "What are you doing?! Why did you push him down?!"
-Jinna turned around, casually: "I slipped."
-Two X: "Slipped my ass... Did Ras hire you to push him down?"
-Jinna shrugged: "I'm a reliable professional. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate. Remember to give me my payment."
-Two X trembled with rage: "You... if he dies, I'll kill you."
-Jinna laughed arrogantly: "Try it. Our organization will put you on the blacklist immediately."
She took off her mask.
It wasn't Jinna.
Just a fake face.
-Jinna sighed, as if just finishing a performance: "Finally done... Hypnotizing myself to believe I loved him... so tiring."
-Two X roared: "Xam! Where are you?!"
A figure appeared.
-Xam: "What is it?"
-Two X: "Jump down and find him! Hurry!!"
The sound of splashing water.
The sound of wind.
The sound of someone's heart... no longer beating to its old rhythm.
The water splashed as Xam jumped down.
Deep river.
Undercurrents.
And the dark night swallowed all light.
Two X stood on the cliff, clenching his hands, his eyes scanning the ripples.
Jinna stood by, smiling indifferently, as if she had just completed a scene in a script.
-Xam resurfaced after a few minutes: "No body found."
-Two X frowned: "Impossible.
It's not that deep. It doesn't flow that fast."
-Xam: "The river has many underground branches.
If he drifted into a branch then... he's lost."
-Two X gritted his teeth, his hands trembling: "That bastard Ras... Always ruining my plans."
He turned to look at Jinna.
She was still calmly adjusting the fake skin on her face, paying no attention.
"No body.
No person.
No trace."
In the darkness, the wind howled stronger.
On the river, only a few bubbles spread out...
Then everything fell silent.
Drelas Riverbank – A few days after Edie's disappearance
Police sealed off the area.
Yellow tape was everywhere, the forensic team was still diving to find the body, but the results were only negative numbers.
In the far corner of the area, near the edge of the forest, a man in black stood silently watching the swirling water.
Duun.
-???: "I didn't expect TIB to investigate the case of an ordinary person either."
Duun turned around. A tall man was approaching—black hair, neatly trimmed beard, deep purple eyes like bottomless pits.
He was wearing a neat black suit, a dark black shirt, no insignia, no need for introduction.
Ras Sloven.
-Duun nodded slightly, maintaining composure: "Hello, Mr. Ras.
I just came to see. He... has been through too much. And now he's disappeared.
I'm starting to think... someone intervened."
-Ras glanced at the river, smiling vaguely: "I'm sure they did.
Your friend... touched where he shouldn't have.
It's best... to consider this a missing persons case.
Investigating deeper... might uncover something you don't want to see."
Duun was silent.
Every word from Ras was like small pebbles falling into water—not noisy, but creating deadly whirlpools.
-Duun: "Is he alive... or dead?"
-Ras still looked at the water, his voice as even as if he were discussing afternoon tea: "He might be dead.
Or... he might still be alive. But he won't be the Edie you know anymore."
He didn't say anything more.
He just turned his back and slowly left the grassy bank.
His shadow stretched with the afternoon sun like an ink stain spreading across an ancient canvas.
-Efill walked up to Duun: "What did he say? Is it related to Edie?"
-Duun still watched Ras's retreating figure: "A lot. I'm sure he's keeping him... Perhaps to protect him... Not from us, but from that guy."
-Efill sighed softly: "He truly is a monster. He manipulated the entire cabinet, hiding behind the title of 'royal advisor' for 8 years. In reality... he was the king in the shadows."
-Duun: "And now... perhaps he's the only one who knows where Edie is."
Spiwell Manor – Stone Tea Room
The night wind whistled through the ancient corridors.
The moss-covered walls seemed to silently listen to the unnamed conversation.
Rook sat on the stone bench, his hand resting lightly on the armrest, the firelight from the fireplace illuminating his thoughtful face.
A shadow appeared on the spiral staircase.
No warning, no invitation.
Ras Sloven.
-Ras walked over, smiling faintly: "Have you been waiting long for me?"
-Rook coldly: "Not too long."
-Ras sat down opposite him: "It's time to tell you the truth, Rook. About that boy."
Rook: "I've known about it for a long time. Anyway... that child of mine couldn't live long. Congenital heart disease. At first, I didn't have any good feelings; I considered him a memory. Something unintended."
Ras didn't react, just listened in silence.
-Rook smiled faintly: "But I don't know when... He started to make me care more and more."
-Ras nodded slowly, his eyes deep: "Now... perhaps it's time for Edie to know the truth."
-Rook put down his glass, his eyes hardening: "Yes. About his bloodline... And the enemy he will face."
The fire crackled in the fireplace.
The wind stopped blowing.
The story ended there — silently, as if it had never existed.
—End of chapter—