Chapter 158: Sealing the Memories

The emerald green radiance from the Tree of Life and the pale golden light radiating from Julius slowly merged together, blanketing Kei entirely.

The pure, concentrated energy traced every contour of the boy’s tiny frame, soaking through his skin and bones before plunging deep into the recesses of his soul. Kei’s body trembled faintly. His old injuries, the lingering marks of exhaustion, and even the impurities anchored deep within his core all seemed to be touched and dissolved by that luminous current.

Julius pulled his son tightly into his embrace, yet allowed the radiance to envelop the boy unhindered. He didn’t rush, nor did he attempt to rouse Kei, merely gazing down in silence at that slumbering face, as though staking everything he had left upon this single moment.

Neither Ian, Kael, nor Eleanor uttered a single word.

The entire forest fell into an absolute hush. Only the colossal leaves shivered gently, while a stream of greenish-gold light flowed placidly around the father and son.

Ian looked down at his own hands. The fingers that once bore the natural skin tone of an Elf had darkened, and his golden locks had transformed into an inky black. He had already known he had fallen into a Dark Elf, and that Eleanor loathed his current appearance.

Yet right up until this moment, as he watched Julius and Kei standing amidst a light far exceeding his understanding, Ian truly comprehended the chasm separating them.

Kei was the son of the Creator God, whereas he was nothing more than a Dark Elf freshly disowned by his own race.

Ian clenched his fists. His fingernails dug sharply into his palms, yet that tiny ache did nothing to dispel the suffocating weight pressing down on his chest. He had risked his life to save Kei, and yet now, even standing by the boy’s side had become an unattainable luxury.

Julius caught Ian’s gaze. He turned his head, staring at the youth for a moment before offering a faint smile.

“Being a Dark Elf isn’t a bad thing at all.”

Ian lifted his head.

“To me, every living creature in this world is equal. Form and race do not dictate a being’s worth,” Julius observed, his tone carrying that same all-encompassing gentleness. “Yet you likely cannot remain within the Elven Forest any longer. Step outside into the wider world and explore it for yourself.”

Eleanor stirred slightly. He looked as though he wished to voice an objection, yet ultimately kept his mouth shut. Though deeply resentful, he didn’t dare defy the Creator God. Furthermore, after everything that had just transpired, Ian’s exile was practically a foregone conclusion.

Ian understood Julius’s underlying meaning.

This wasn’t a comforting platitude promising that everything would turn out fine. Nor was it a guarantee that he would one day be permitted to return.

Julius was simply telling him what Ian already knew deep down: from this day forward, he had to walk his own path.

A path where he was no longer an Elf, and where he had yet to figure out who he was supposed to become.

Ian looked at Kei. The boy remained fast asleep within Julius’s embrace, swathed in light. His complexion had grown much healthier, but his eyes stayed tightly shut. Ian abruptly recalled the times Kei had smiled at him, his childish voice calling out his name, and those tiny hands that had reached out to grasp him without an ounce of fear toward his hair color or his eyes.

“Sir…” Ian rasped. “In the future… will I ever be able to meet him again?”

The smile on Julius’s lips faded slightly. He looked down at his son, his fingertips brushing gently across Kei’s hair.

“I am going to seal away all of this child’s memories.”

Ian widened his eyes, his fists clenching so hard they trembled.

“Kei will forget everything that transpired here. This child will forget you, forget this forest, and forget everything the two of you shared.”

And he would forget his own father as well, his memories would be wiped completely clean.

Julius paused for a beat before finishing, refusing to sugarcoat the truth. “If you cross paths again in the future, in his eyes, you will be nothing more than a stranger. The two of you will have to start over from scratch.”

Every single word landed heavy on Ian’s chest, weighing far more than Eleanor’s blow just moments prior.

Ian had envisioned countless scenarios. Kei waking up to flash him a radiant smile. Kei inquired about what had happened. Kei grabbing hold of his hand just like before. He had foolishly hoped that so long as Kei survived, everything else could be sorted out at a leisurely pace.

Yet as it turned out, Kei surviving meant Kei forgetting him entirely.

Ian wanted to demand ‘why’. He wanted to beg Julius not to do it, to plead that Kei couldn’t possibly forget him, that he had promised to take the boy home, that he had done everything simply to watch Kei open his eyes one more time and flash him a sweet smile.

And yet, looking at Kei’s face, then down at Julius’s arms cradling him, Ian understood that the man before him was paying a steep price, as well. He wasn’t sealing Kei’s memories to intentionally tear them apart; he was doing it so his son could survive.

Kei’s future lay fraught with overwhelming hardships he would have to face entirely on his own. Ian couldn’t selfishly demand that Kei remember him when holding onto those memories might only subject the boy to further pain.

Ian’s throat constricted tightly. He lowered his head, desperately swallowing the surging tide of agony threatening to break his composure.

“Thank you… for saving him.”

Julius looked at him, his gaze heavy with unsaid emotions, though he offered no empty consolations.

Ian turned to look at Kael. His younger brother still lay upon the stone floor, his face pale from his injuries. The two brothers exchanged a lingering look, neither knowing what words could possibly bridge the gap. From this day onward, their paths diverged in opposite directions. One was exiled from the Elven Forest, while the other remained behind to shoulder his punishment and the consequences of his choices.

Ian harbored no resentment toward Kael, nor did he possess the energy left to ask whether his brother regretted his actions.

He propped himself up to his feet. Though his legs still shook and his throat burned, Ian refused to cast a single backward glance at Eleanor. He simply bowed deeply toward Julius one final time.

“With your permission… I shall take my leave.”

Julius gave a solemn nod.

Ian turned and walked toward the exit. Every single step felt agonizingly heavy, as though he were leaving behind a vital fragment of his very soul within this forest. The greenish-gold glow still cast its warmth across his back, yet he refused to look back.

Beyond those gates lay an unfamiliar world. Ian had no earthly idea where he would go, nor how a Dark Elf was supposed to survive out in the wider world.

Yet he would live on.

He would grow strong, strong enough that no one could ever arbitrarily dictate his fate or the fate of those he held dear. If the day came when Kei woke up with no recollection of him, Ian would accept starting over from the beginning. He would approach him as a total stranger, and make the boy trust him all over again.

And should the day arrive when they crossed paths once more, Ian would never permit anyone to inflict harm upon Kei ever again.

Even if it meant standing against the entire world, he would protect Kei at any and all costs.