The Kindling Has Been Lit

"Why are you saying sorry?" Ren's voice was calm, as still as a dead lake, without a single ripple.

Tears streamed down Kiana's face. His lack of anger, the very stillness of his voice, cut deeper than any accusation.

"I'm sorry." Her voice cracked. A thousand words clamored to be spoken—justifications, explanations—but they withered on her tongue, leaving only that dry, empty phrase.

If apologies were useful, then there wouldn't be so many tragedies in this world.

If apologies could mend what was broken…

Ren's voice faltered, trembling with emotion. Hidden beneath his calm demeanor, his sadness and anger were raw. He raised his head, his gray eyes locking with Kiana's.

"You said you were a Valkyrie, right?" His voice shook. "You actually had the ability to choose to save her. So why… why did you have to… have to…"

He paused, struggling to continue.

"Griseo shouldn't have died like that."

"...At least, not by your hand."

Living in this world, everyone had their own struggles. Everyone would die.

Some deaths would only make people feel the unfairness of fate, but some would be etched into their hearts, bringing endless pain.

The sunlight was bright, but Ren's voice, carrying a hint of disappointment, felt like a carving knife. It chipped away at Kiana's newly healed heart, making her feel cold all over.

If Ren had yelled or cursed at her, Kiana wouldn't have felt so bad. But because she understood Ren's personality, she knew he would only swallow all of his pain.

It was then that she understood just how intense the pain he hid beneath his calm demeanor truly was.

"I'm sorry." She didn't offer any excuses.

Griseo's ending was the result of many things happening, but it was a sin Kiana couldn't escape.

If she had thought just a little more before leaving, if she had discovered Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical's conspiracy sooner, if she had recognized that girl during the battle… would things have been different?

But reality didn't have any "ifs."

Correcting a mistake often required even more effort, and in that process, more mistakes would be made.

When she made the first choice, fate had already decided the ending for everyone.

The wheelchair stopped in the hospital garden.

It was unknown when, but the people around them had already left, leaving only the small path in front of them, waiting for their decision.

The path that led towards the shade of the trees was completely covered in shadows beneath their branches.

An intense pain turned into a heavy sigh. Ren turned his head away, no longer looking at her.

"Apologies are meaningless. You can leave now." His voice was steady. "You're a powerful Valkyrie. I don't know if you're Kiana or Sirin, and I don't want to know anymore."

He paused. "Just treat it like a nightmare. Now that you've woken up, it's time for us to part ways."

When his words fell, it was as if he had completely torn their worlds apart.

One was the powerful Herrscher of the Void, and the other was just an ordinary person, paralyzed from the waist down.

They shouldn't have crossed paths.

This erroneous journey would now come to an end.

The girl's body trembled slightly, but the hands gripping the wheelchair tightened.

"I won't leave," she said, her voice firm. "This is a mistake that I made, and I'll use my life to atone for it."

But those words seemed to have completely broken the balance in Ren's heart. The calm disappeared from his face, replaced by anger.

"Enough!" He shouted. "Don't you understand?! We're just ordinary people! We just want to live! Even if it's like ants being farmed, fooled by this world, we still want to leave our mark!"

"I'm like a moth born in darkness. Once it gets too close to you, it'll be burned to death by your heat. Everything you've experienced could easily destroy my life."

He paused, his voice softening with sorrow.

"This world was never kind. It's filled with injustice and darkness. I don't have the power to change it. Any disaster could destroy my life. But you're different. You have your own life, your own path. You have the power to change everything. The enemies you'll face are beyond my reach."

He took a breath, the words coming faster now, desperate.

"This is the sorrow of an ordinary person, the despair of the weak. My mother, my loved ones, they've all left me. This has been my fate for a long time, but I didn't think it would come so suddenly."

"Kiana!"

"I don't hate you! What I hate is this unfair world!"

He clenched his fists, his voice shaking with emotion.

"So, leave! I've already lost everything. You shouldn't stay here. You have the power to change it all. You shouldn't stay here!"

"…"

The boy gritted his teeth. He wanted to break free from the malice of the world, but he couldn't even move.

He could only lie there, like a disabled person, meaninglessly cursing this damned world.

It was the cry of the powerless, the heaviest sorrow of all ordinary people.

He began crying. Tears filled his eyes. This time, it wasn't just Ren's sorrow—it was also the sorrow of the Herrscher of Thousands.

Each of them had once been a loser, trapped in the mud. They had faced the world with kindness, only to endure its heaviest malice.

As Ren lost control of his emotions, the white-haired girl held his hand and gently rested her forehead against his.

They were so close now that they could hear each other's heartbeat.

"One day, I'll change this imperfect world into the one that we want."

The two of them, tormented by the world's malice, were like travelers huddling together for warmth on a cold winter's night.

Kiana gently wiped the tears from Ren's eyes, and also wiped away the tears from her own.

Their sorrow and pain no longer suffocated them. Instead, it transformed into a flame that burned even brighter.

The blazing kindling was small now, but one day, it would light up the entire sky, dispelling the harsh winters.

"Let me stay with you, okay?"

Her voice was gentle.

They looked at each other, and in their eyes, was the reflection of the other person.

…

After understanding each other's pain, the warmth of the sun also seemed to have returned to this world. Ren was still quiet, and Kiana was still pushing his wheelchair.

They walked down the path in the garden, choosing the same path. They passed through the shadows of the trees, and over the rocks that blocked the way, before finally reaching the end, and returning to the hospital.

Two days later, they were at the public cemetery.

Rows of tombstones stretched out before them, a silent testament to the recent tragedy. The air was thick with the scent of incense and the hushed murmurs of grief. Families huddled together, tears glistening on their cheeks as they whispered final goodbyes.

Ren had been here before, alone.

This time, Kiana's hand rested lightly on his shoulder, a silent promise of support.

The darkness hadn't vanished, not yet. But in the shared warmth of their clasped hands, a spark had been ignited, a tiny flame of hope flickering against the encroaching night.

The Kindling Has Been Lit.