63~ Two Paths ,One Blood

A voice belonging to Yassin echoed in his mind.

"What do you want to become when you grow up?"

Wail's innocent voice replied,

"Someone who helps people!!"

Silence fell for a moment.

Then came Wail's cold voice.

"I'm sorry... I've let you down, Master."

---

Wail slowly opened his eyes as the morning sunlight washed over his face.

He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the light, then exhaled and got up.

He washed his face with water from a nearby barrel, then raised his head and gazed at the horizon.

This was the hill where he used to spend so much of his time.

Wail put on his clothes, his expression turning serious.

With his aura surrounding his body, he took to the sky.

---

Elsewhere, there was an area enclosed by walls on all sides.

Unlike the outside world, which was now almost entirely uninhabited and overrun by destruction and ruin, this place was bustling with life.

Inside the enclosed area, people went about their lives as usual.

"I'm sorry, we already have someone."

"We don't need any more help at the moment."

"I'm afraid I can't help you."

Dua walked out of one of the shops and let out a tired sigh.

"Ugh... I'll never find a job at this rate."

Suddenly, she heard someone shouting.

She turned and found everyone staring at the sky.

She looked up and saw a blue light streaking across it at incredible speed.

"Could that be... Wail?"

---

Some time later, Wail entered a frozen region, where snowstorms engulfed the entire area.

He looked down before descending onto a vast frozen lake.

The snowstorm did not reach this area. His gaze traveled across the icy surface until it reached the center, where a sword was embedded in the ice.

Wail slowly approached, keeping his eyes fixed on it.

It was Excalibur.

Small black sparks rose from the blade.

"I never intended to return here..."

---

Elsewhere, the previous night...

Elyes entered the house.

"Ahhh... I really need to get some sleep."

Amira approached him and said,

"Why did you leave before I could finish what I was saying?!"

"It was important. I had to leave immediately."

Amira gave him an irritated look, then sighed.

"Fine, fine..."

Elyes walked beside her before she asked,

"So... what did you find?"

Elyes's eyes widened.

He remembered their earlier conversation about Wail while they were having dinner.

He hesitated briefly before answering,

"It wasn't any of them... just someone I defeated easily."

"That's all? You don't even look like you broke a sweat."

"Haha, I told you I defeated him easily. He was weak!"

"But the way you reacted when he appeared... You were worried."

"I just overreacted, maybe because I..."

Amira interrupted him, fixing him with a serious gaze.

"Elyes... you're lying."

Elyes paused for a moment before replying nervously,

"It wasn't Bahaa, all right? If you're hoping that..."

She interrupted him again.

"Didn't we talk about Bahaa? Didn't we agree that I would forget him and that you wouldn't mention him again?"

Elyes spoke quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

Elyes fell silent for a moment, thinking before finally speaking.

"Wail and Amin were fighting... and Amin had joined them."

Amira's eyes widened.

"Really?!"

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"Yes... But Wail defeated him, and Amin no longer poses a threat."

Amira grabbed Elyes by the shoulder.

"What about Wail? Is he all right?"

"Yes, he didn't suffer any serious injuries."

He paused briefly, then added in a cold voice,

"But he's not okay."

Disappointment crossed Amira's face as Elyes went to take a shower.

As the water poured over him, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, his expression serious.

He said to himself,

"I'll bring him back to who he used to be... I promise, Amira."

---

The scene shifted to a massive explosion that swept across the region.

The ice melted around it, and the blast's impact extended all the way to the mountains.

The two men with the Bloody Eyes appeared, fighting against Aetherion.

Both were severely wounded, yet smiles remained on their faces.

Below them, Aetherion stood firm.

Black and yellow lightning repeatedly struck Excalibur as Wail's words echoed through his mind.

"Fight... Fight until the very end, Aetherion!! Don't you dare stop!!"

Then Aetherion shouted,

"I won't stop, Warrior Wail!! I won't die before I fight you again!!"

All the electricity in the area converged around his sword.

The armor covering his entire body shattered, revealing part of his face and his eye, which glowed yellow.

Then he unleashed an enormous beam toward his two opponents.

The resulting explosion engulfed the entire region.

---

In the present, Wail reached out toward Excalibur.

But the moment he drew close, black electrical sparks surged out and stopped him completely.

Wail recoiled, blood streaming from his hand.

Then he thought to himself,

"So... In the end, you lost because you were the strongest."

He slowly turned to look to his side.

There, he saw an enormous trench that had carved its way through the mountains, leaving behind a massive crater.

Suddenly, he noticed someone approaching from a distance.

The man wore a black cloak.

The same cloak Amin had worn... and the same kind worn by the two men who had fought Aetherion.

Wail spoke.

"Don't come any closer."

But the man ignored him and continued walking.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of the man's feet.

Wail spoke sharply.

"I said don't come any closer... Who are you?"

The stranger stopped.

Then he slowly raised his hands and pulled back his hood.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Is this how you welcome your big brother after all these years?"

---

Nine Years Ago...

The road was packed with cars, and traffic had come to a standstill because police cars and ambulances had blocked the road leading to the bridge. The congestion stretched all the way to its entrance, where chaos reigned and the voices of rescue workers echoed throughout the area.

Firefighters were trying to reach the car that had fallen from the bridge, but getting down to it was no easy task. Still, they had only one goal: to save whoever was inside.

"I've got the door open!"

"I need help over here!"

"Count with me! One... Two... Three! Come on!"

They finally managed to pull a man out of the car. His head was covered in blood.

One of the paramedics rushed over and examined him. He paused for a moment before speaking.

"It's no use... We're too late."

The man was already dead.

---

Nearby, deep in the forest...

A teenage boy was crawling along the ground, his body covered in wounds. Both his legs were broken, and every movement intensified his pain, but he refused to stop.

He wanted to survive, no matter the cost.

He continued crawling with great difficulty, forcing himself onward despite the pain that threatened to paralyze him, until he reached the edge of a small rocky rise.

He lost his balance and tumbled down the slope before finally coming to a stop on the ground below.

He lay there for a few moments, unable to move.

"Where am I...? Damn it, I wish I'd stayed in the car..."

He tried to shout for help, but the pain and the blood he coughed up prevented him from doing so.

A few moments later, he lost consciousness.

---

When he awoke again, everything around him was blurry. Night had fallen, and he could barely make out his surroundings.

His anxiety grew, especially since he still couldn't walk.

He scanned the area with his eyes until he spotted a faint gray light in the distance.

Clinging to that glimmer of hope, he began crawling toward it, believing he might find a house or a way out of the forest.

But when he reached it, he discovered that the light came from a glowing sphere resting in the middle of a tree.

He stared at it in confusion before reaching out.

The moment he touched it, the sphere transformed into a transparent energy that surged through his arm and settled inside his heart.

His eyes widened in terror.

"W-What is this?!"

He began pounding his chest, trying to force the energy out, but nothing worked. He had no idea what had happened to him or how to get rid of whatever had entered his body.

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him.

"You... You absorbed it!"

He quickly turned around and saw an old man standing behind him.

But what caught his attention wasn't the man's sudden appearance. It was his eyes.

Both of them bore a strange red pattern.

They were the Bloody Eyes.

The boy recoiled in terror and tried to speak despite his trembling voice.

"W-What's happening? Who are you?!"

The old man approached him and spoke calmly.

"Don't be afraid. I'll help you."

The boy stared into his eyes, and soon, his eyelids began to feel unbearably heavy. His consciousness gradually faded until he slipped into sleep.

---

The boy's eyes suddenly flew open.

He found himself inside a house, with all his wounds bandaged, including the injuries to his broken legs.

Before he could make sense of what had happened, the old man entered the room.

"You're finally awake!"

The boy grew tense and glanced around before asking hesitantly,

"W-Where am I? And why did you bring me here?"

The old man replied,

"Don't worry, young man. All I want is to help you."

The boy immediately remembered the sphere he had absorbed and wanted to ask about it, but the old man spoke first.

"What's your name?"

The boy hesitated for a moment before answering.

"V-Vale."

The old man smiled reassuringly.

"All right, Vale. I'll tell you everything about what happened... and what will happen next."

---

The two spent a long time talking.

The old man told him about the car accident that had claimed a man's life, revealing that the victim was Vale's father. He also explained the nature of the energy Vale had absorbed and introduced him to aspects of the world of energy and combat that he had never known existed.

As the days passed, Vale recovered at a remarkable rate.

When he asked to leave, the old man insisted that he stay until he had fully recovered. He explained that the energy residing inside his body could attract considerable danger and that, for the time being, Vale wasn't capable of handling it on his own.

For that reason, Vale decided to stay longer.

He hated his father for never giving him the same attention he had given his younger brother. He also considered his brother weak and incapable of standing on his own, believing that he needed someone to protect him.

That was why Vale wanted to become stronger, so he could protect his brother and his mother.

During his recovery, he began practicing how to control the flow of his energy and learning the basics of using it. He already had a strong physique, and the energy helped him recover quickly, accelerating the healing of his legs.

Once he had fully recovered, he began his actual training under the old man's supervision.

But those days didn't last long.

The old man began suffering from an illness that gradually worsened his condition.

Vale took care of him constantly, bringing him food and medicine before returning to his training.

As time passed, the old man's condition continued to deteriorate.

---

One bitter winter night, Vale entered the room and found the old man lying on the floor.

He rushed over and struggled to lift him before placing him on the bed.

The old man opened his eyes with difficulty and spoke in a feeble voice.

"Vale... Get some rest. You can continue training tomorrow..."

Vale replied anxiously,

"Forget about training! Look at your condition! Why won't you go to the hospital?"

The old man slowly shook his head.

"There's no cure for this illness, Vale... You're exhausting yourself for nothing."

"What are you talking about?!"

The old man interrupted him.

" You have a family to protect."

fell silent.

Despair began to creep across his face as the old man continued.

"As for me... I tried. But all I brought was despair and death... And now, I wanted to make things right."

Vale stared at him before replying,

"You already did... You saved my life, didn't you?"

The old man gave him a faint smile.

"Yes... I saw in you the hope of continuing the path I had begun. But I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."

Suddenly, the old man began coughing uncontrollably.

Vale froze.

He had no idea what to do. All he could do was stand there, watching the man who had saved his life as he lay dying before him.

Once the coughing subsided slightly, the old man gestured for him to come closer.

Vale leaned toward him, and the old man whispered something into his ear.

A warm smile then spread across his face, as though he had finally let go of everything that had weighed on his heart.

"I'm counting on you, my boy... Don't lose hope..."

Those were his final words.

The old man took his last breath.

He passed away, reassured that Vale could carry the torch he had left behind and continue the path he himself had been unable to finish.

But Vale looked anything but reassured.

He stepped away from the bed and slowly walked toward the window.

He stood there, watching the snow falling outside.

He didn't cry or speak.

All that showed on his face was anger and hatred.

Then he opened his eyes.

A strange red pattern began to glow within them.

The Bloody Eyes had awakened within Vale, triggered by the words he had heard from the old man before his death.

---

In the Present...

Vale gave a faint smile before speaking.

"After all these years... Is this how you welcome me, Wail?"

Wail replied irritably,

"I'm the one who should be asking you that! What exactly happened to you?"

Vale looked at him for a few moments before speaking.

"We can't fight life, Wail... And we can't fight ourselves."

Wail stared at him in confusion, but Vale continued.

"Nor can we fight human nature. There's no hope of changing it."

"I don't care about any of that. I asked you what happened to you!"

Vale smiled and raised his gaze toward the sky.

"Humans really are strange creatures... Each of us believes we're in the right and that we have the right to protect ourselves, even if it costs other people their lives."

His smile faded slightly.

"I can't live with that."

He turned his gaze back to Wail.

"The power we possess is beyond our ability to comprehend. We don't deserve it... And that's why someone has to put an end to all of this."

Wail briefly remembered Bahaa, then clenched his fist.

"Really? And what do you stand to gain from that?"

Vale's expression changed, and his sly smile transformed into an innocent one.

"I want to protect you... and our mother."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Having power like this brings us nothing but danger. We don't deserve it, Wail."

Wail's voice came out faintly, as though he couldn't process what he had just heard.

"Our mother...?"

Vale didn't notice the change in his brother's voice and continued speaking.

"If we get rid of our powers, we'll be nothing more than ordinary people, and those who want to take our powers from us will have no reason to hunt us down. Do you understand what I mean?"

Wail looked at him coldly.

"Our mother is dead, Vale."

Vale's smile vanished.

His eyes widened in shock.

Wail bit his lip before adding,

"They killed her..They were just like you..."

---

Memories of the past three years remained carved into his mind.

Wail lay on the ground, his body riddled with wounds. Beside him, Noah and Adam were unable to move.

Wail raised his head with difficulty and saw two girls standing before him, both with the Bloody Eyes.

One of them was holding his mother by the throat.

The girl shouted as she looked at Wail.

"That's despair, Wail!"

Then she killed his mother right before his eyes.

The two girls burst into laughter before leaving, abandoning Wail to his helplessness.

---

Wail returned to the present.

"They were exactly like you, you bastard!"

Vale remained motionless, shock written across his face.

He had only asked the two girls to make Wail taste despair...

Then his expression changed, and anger replaced his shock.

"There's nothing I can do now... It's too late anyway."

Vale turned to leave.

"We'll meet again, little brother..."

But Wail wouldn't let him get away.

He moved in a flash of lightning and appeared before Vale, driving his blade of electricity straight into his heart.

Vale fell to the ground.

Wail stood over him, staring down coldly.

But soon, his eyes widened in astonishment.

His brother slowly rose to his feet.

There wasn't a single trace of the injury on his body.

At the same moment, his Bloody Eyes began to glow.

Wail thought to himself,

"Did he use some kind of ability? No matter... I'll..."

He swung his blade and attacked again, but Vale smiled.

Beside him, an invisible sphere began to form, gradually growing larger.

The moment it touched Wail, it began penetrating his body.

Wail quickly retreated, trying to evade it. But when he looked ahead, Vale had already left.

Wail landed on the ground and punched it with all his strength.

The frozen lake shattered beneath his feet, and steam rose from his body.

The veins in the arm he had used to strike the ground bulged as the image of the two girls who had killed his mother returned to his mind.

Anger blazed in his eyes, and his voice dripped with hatred.

"I know enough now... It's time for taking revenge."