Chapter 85: The Demon King, the Wind God, and the First Journey

"Big brother, listen to me for a moment," the voice said, following Rin as he ran.

"I don’t want to listen to anything! Leave me alone! Kaelith, don’t you have anything holy in this castle?"

"What?" said Kaelith.

Rin froze for half a second. Only then did he realize what he had just asked. He was in the Demon Realm. Of course there was nothing sacred in the Demon King’s castle.

"Ah... nothing. Sorry," Rin muttered under his breath.

"Honestly, big brother, just listen to me for a moment," the mysterious voice said, sounding slightly irritated.

Rin continued running. He had no idea where he was going. At this point, he was simply following the first escape route he could find, with Kaelith being dragged along by the wrist behind him.

The Demon King himself seemed completely bewildered by the situation. He had ruled the Demon Realm for thousands of years.

He had fought gods. He had destroyed kingdoms. He had become a living legend feared by countless beings.

And yet somehow, tonight, he was being dragged through his own castle by a terrified human who was convinced that an invisible voice was a ghost.

It was, without question, one of the strangest situations Kaelith had ever experienced.

After running through countless corridors, turning corners without even knowing where they led, and nearly knocking over several decorative statues, Rin and Kaelith finally burst through a set of enormous doors.

They stopped. Rin looked around. The royal garden stretched before them. It was enormous. Far larger than anything Rin had imagined.

Ancient trees towered above them, their branches twisting together like enormous fingers. Strange flowers glowed faintly among the bushes, illuminating the stone paths that disappeared into the distance.

Fountains stood between carefully arranged gardens, their water flowing with a strange silver light. For Rin, however, the garden looked less like a beautiful royal sanctuary and more like a gigantic maze.

He had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to find his way back. Rin finally stopped and turned around.

"Fine. What do you want?"

He was still holding Kaelith by the wrist. The Demon King looked down at Rin’s hand for a moment before looking back at him. The invisible voice answered.

"You said you wanted to see the world, didn’t you?"

Rin narrowed his eyes.

"And?"

"Where would you like to go first?"

Rin stared into the empty air.

"Wait. Are you planning to follow me there too?"

There was obvious irritation in his voice.

"Of course."

The voice sounded almost nostalgic.

"Wherever you go on this earth, I will always be beside you."

Rin’s expression became even more suspicious.

"Why?"

He turned toward Kaelith.

"Kaelith, do you know who this ghost is?"

Kaelith remained silent for a moment. His crimson eyes shifted toward the empty space beside Rin.

There was something strange about watching the two of them interact. Even after all these years... Even after everything that had happened... The two brothers hadn’t changed at all. Kaelith finally answered calmly.

"Yes. And to be precise, he isn’t a ghost."

Rin blinked.

"Then what is he?"

"A god."

"...A god?"

Rin’s eyes widened.

"Yes."

Kaelith’s voice remained completely calm.

"He is the God of Wind."

Rin went silent. The God of Wind.

Suddenly, pieces of Kaelith’s previous explanation returned to his mind. Noctis. Sol. The two people who had once fought beside Kaelith when they attacked the Heavens.

Rin slowly looked toward the empty air.

Then this person... is the younger brother of the Rin from this world?

"Now do you understand, big brother?" the voice asked in a teasing tone.

Rin stared at the empty space. His mind was struggling to process everything.

"So... you’re telling me that you’re my younger brother?"

"Exactly."

The voice sounded incredibly proud. Rin’s expression immediately changed.

"Listen carefully."

His voice became cold.

"I am an only child. I don’t have a younger brother. I don’t know who you think I am, but I am not your brother."

Silence descended upon the royal garden. For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Even Kaelith remained quiet. Then the voice finally returned. This time, the teasing tone was gone.

"You don’t remember."

There was pain in those words.

"But someday, you will."

Rin remained silent.

"For now, all I want is to stay beside you and protect you."

The voice softened.

"Is that really impossible?"

Rin listened. For some reason, that question struck him harder than expected.

He wondered what he would do if he were in the voice’s position. If someone he loved had forgotten him completely... Would he give up?

Rin sighed.

"Fine."

Kaelith looked toward him.

"But don’t call me big brother anymore."

Rin lowered his eyes.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t feel anything familiar toward you. I don’t remember you."

The voice became completely silent. Kaelith looked at Rin with sadness. After a few moments, the voice finally spoke again.

"Then... what should I call you?"

Rin looked up.

"Rin."

He paused.

"My name is Rin Lee."

Then he asked:

"What is your name?"

The answer came immediately.

"Sol."

A gentle breeze passed through the garden.

"My name is Sol. It’s nice to meet you."

"Sol..."

Rin repeated the name quietly. Something about it felt strangely familiar. Far too familiar.

He couldn’t explain why. He couldn’t remember ever meeting someone named Sol. And yet, hearing the name made something deep inside his chest stir.

Before Rin could think about it any further, Sol spoke again.

"So, I heard you want to see the world."

His voice sounded much lighter now.

"Where would you like to go first?"

Rin was silent for a moment. Then he became suspicious again.

"You want to come with me?"

"Of course."

Sol answered without hesitation.

"I told you. Wherever you go, I’ll come too."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Kaelith’s voice thundered across the garden. Rin flinched. Even Sol went silent for a second.

Kaelith stepped forward. His expression was cold.

"There is no possibility of that."

Sol’s voice immediately became arrogant.

"Oh?"

The wind stirred around them.

"And who exactly are you to decide that?"

Kaelith’s eyes narrowed.

"The husband."

His answer was immediate.

"Husband?" Sol repeated.

There was a long pause.

"I don’t remember Rin agreeing to that."

Kaelith’s expression darkened.

"He called me that today."

Sol went silent.

"You were there when he did."

Another pause.

"Yes, but—"

"He called me that."

"You forced him—"

"He called me that."

"That’s not the point!"

"It is the point."

Rin stared at the two of them. His mouth slowly opened. Then closed. Then opened again.

Neither of them seemed interested in noticing him. For more than five minutes, Kaelith and Sol argued nonstop about who had the right to decide what Rin could or couldn’t do.

One insisted that Rin was his husband. The other insisted that Rin was his older brother.

Neither seemed willing to compromise. Rin stood between them with an expression of complete disbelief.

What am I supposed to do with these two?

Finally, his patience snapped.

"ENOUGH!"

The entire garden fell silent. Rin pointed toward the castle.

"I will visit the first human city near us!"

He looked at Kaelith. Then at the empty space where Sol’s voice came from.

"If you want to come, fine!"

His expression hardened.

"If you don’t, I’ll go alone!"

"Absolutely not!"

Kaelith and Sol answered at exactly the same time.

Rin’s eye twitched.

"Then make peace with each other!"

Silence.

"Tomorrow morning, we’re leaving!"

Neither responded.

"Now!"

Still nothing.

"Everyone is going to get along!"

Sol and Kaelith stared at each other. The atmosphere became almost painfully awkward. Several minutes passed. Rin crossed his arms.

"Well?"

Sol finally sighed.

"Sorry."

Kaelith looked away.

"I’m sorry."

"Perfect."

Rin nodded decisively.

"Tomorrow morning, we’re leaving."

He turned toward the castle.

"Now let’s go back and sleep."

He took two steps. Then stopped. A strange sound echoed through the garden.

Grrrrrrrroooowwwl.

Rin froze. His face immediately turned bright red. Silence.

Kaelith looked at him. Sol was silent.

Rin slowly lowered his head.

Please. Please let the ground swallow me.

Sol was the first to speak.

"Well..."

His voice carried unmistakable amusement.

"Before sleeping, we should probably eat."

Kaelith immediately nodded.

"I support this idea."

Rin’s face became even redder.

"Damn it..."

He covered his stomach with one hand. Of all the things that had happened tonight, being embarrassed by his own stomach was somehow the final blow.

But despite everything... For the first time since arriving in the Demon Realm, Rin felt something different.

Not fear. Not confusion. Not the overwhelming pressure of being surrounded by demons.

Just... Normality. It was strange.

He had spent the entire night running from an invisible god, arguing with the Demon King, discovering that he supposedly had a younger brother he couldn’t remember, and somehow making plans to travel through an unknown fantasy world.

Yet now, standing in the middle of the royal garden with his stomach loudly demanding food, the situation almost felt absurd rather than terrifying.

Kaelith looked at him. For the first time in a long while, there was genuine happiness in the Demon King’s eyes.

Rin didn’t notice it. He was too busy being embarrassed.

Sol, however, did.

"You haven’t changed," Sol said quietly.

Rin turned toward the voice.

"What?"

There was a pause.

"Nothing."

Sol’s voice became softer.

"Let’s eat, Rin."

Rin looked toward the castle. Then at Kaelith.

Then at the strange, invisible presence that claimed to be his younger brother.

Tomorrow, he would leave the Demon Realm. He would see the human world. He would search for answers.

He would find out why he had been summoned. He would discover the truth about his supposed past.

And, most importantly, he would find out whether this world really was the world of Betrayal.

Rin still didn’t know what awaited him beyond the Demon Realm. He didn’t know what secrets were hidden in the other kingdoms.

He didn’t know what had happened to the original Rin. And he certainly didn’t know why the name Sol felt so familiar.

But tomorrow... He would begin searching for the answers.

For now, though, there was one problem that needed to be solved first.

Rin looked toward Kaelith.

"...Do demons actually eat normal food?"

Kaelith blinked.

Sol laughed. And for the first time that night, Rin didn’t run.

The three of them slowly returned toward the castle together.

One was the Demon King. One was the God of Wind.

And one was a human who had somehow become the center of both their worlds.

None of them knew it yet, but tomorrow’s journey would be the beginning of something far bigger than any of them expected.

For tonight, however... Rin just wanted dinner.