I sat cross-legged on the floor, resting my hands over my stomach.
Taking a deep breath, I began to focus on the pure mana flowing relentlessly within my body.
Before long, my perception of reality began to blur into darkness.
When I opened my eyes again, I was floating in a void, right in the dead center of a pitch-black abyss.
Scanning my surroundings with a smirk, I muttered, “You’ve finally accepted me.”
Right in front of me, a dense shadow materialized from the darkness, evolving within seconds into a swirling vortex of mist.
Circling me slowly, it spoke in a whispered voice: “I have abstained from contacting you until now for your own protection.”
Laughing softly, I said, “So you remember?”
The mist made a movement akin to nodding.
“I am you, and you are me.”
Hoping for a definitive answer, I waited for it to look me in the eyes.
“Then what were you doing two years ago?”
It shook its head again.
“There is nothing regarding my memories from a year ago.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I see.
What is this threat you speak of?”
It shook its head in a rhythmic, dismissive manner.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…
You simply do not understand.” It paused for a moment, its whisper deepening even further: “The gods are watching you.”
“How would you know that?” I snapped.
The mist abruptly closed in, stopping right at the edge of my face.
“Because I am one of them.”
Faced with this absurd confession, I couldn’t help but burst into a loud laugh.
“No, you’re not.”
“What makes you so certain?” the mist asked, its voice carrying a strange resonance.
Staring directly into the heart of that darkness, I said, “Because you aren’t.
I can feel it.”
This time, the mist laughed softly in response: “True…
I am not.”
Fixing my gaze upon it as if clashing with my own inner power, I demanded, “Then why did you imprison my consciousness?”
The mist began to distort its form, shifting into bizarre contortions as if opening a mouth.
“You are clever,” it admitted honestly.
“I did not imprison it, little mortal.
I merely wanted to intercept the main channel and have a little chat with you before you could reach it.”
Turning toward it, I asked, “Could it be that you…
belong to the faction that opposes the gods?”
The mist produced a sound that mimicked a sharp clap of hands.
“Bingo!”
Lifting my hand sharply, I unleashed my absolute mana.
“Then you aren’t even worth talking to.” With a single surge of my will, I began to forcefully drive the mist away from me.
Just before it dissipated completely into nothingness, it left one final whisper in my mind: “You have disappointed me, mortal…”
With its departure, the surroundings plunged into an even deeper, heavier darkness.
I turned to the other man who sat composedly right in front of me, clad entirely in black garments.
“Hey…
Why did you let it slip in here?”
He turned toward me slowly.
“He said there is no need for extra enemies.”
I looked at his face with an unsatisfied, skeptical expression.
“You know everything that happens outside, don’t you?”
He nodded silently.
Taking a step toward him, I asked the question I was most curious about: “How is she doing?”
He smirked faintly.
“As always.”
As I attempted to walk toward him again, the mental link abruptly severed, sending me collapsing forward onto the ground.
“I guess our time is up,” I grumbled.
He nodded in approval.
“Great powers are watching you.
Be careful.”
And suddenly, I opened my eyes on the floor of the empty room.
Letting myself fall flat on my back against the stone floor, I spread my arms wide.
Feeling the cold sweat trickling down my spine, I stood up and muttered, “Great…” I wiped the sweat from my face with a towel I had prepared beforehand, draped it over the back of my neck, and walked out of the room.
“Ermo!” I called out as I walked toward the living room.
Sitting alone at the table, Scatroj made a sharp, forceful ‘shush’ sign with his hand the moment he heard me.
Promptly covering my mouth, I lowered my voice to a whisper.
“What is it, what happened?”
He pointed toward the garden outside.
“Velmora and Ermo are asleep.
Let the lovebirds rest in peace.”
Glancing out the window, I noticed that the night had deepened considerably; the moon was shining from the absolute peak of the sky.
“Well, why aren’t you sleeping then?” I asked.
Fixing his eyes on the drink in his hand, he murmured, “I can’t sleep.”
Walking over to him, I placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.
“I was going to ask you about the thermal bath.
Our Ermo didn’t neglect the hot spring water, did he?
Scatroj’s eyes lit up instantly.
Standing up abruptly, he said, “I know, yes, it’s open.”
Unable to make sense of his sudden and bizarre reaction, I asked, “Want to go in together?”
He waved his hand in refusal, backing away.
“Nah, I’m not really in the mood.
But you go ahead and soak alone if you want; there’s absolutely no one inside right now anyway.”
Nodding in acknowledgement, I headed toward the entrance of the thermal bath.
Upon stepping inside, I meticulously left my clothes in the changing cubicle.
Wrapping myself in a white towel that reached my knees, I unlocked the main door.
Sliding the door back, I thought to myself, Holy hell…
The scent inside felt just like a serene spring breeze.
The water cascading from the overhead mechanism was adjusted perfectly to massage one’s shoulders.
Leaving my slippers at the edge of the pool, I let myself sink into the warm water.
Leaning against the marble corner, I completely relaxed my body.
As my skin drifted gently in the water, I closed my eyes in blissful peace.
Just then, I heard the outer sliding door open.
Shouting through the thick steam inside, I roared, “Don’t touch my clothes, damn it!”
The inner sliding door slowly parted as well, allowing the dense vapor within to drift outward.
Then, I heard that familiar, gentle voice: “How incredibly rude…”
Drifting slowly through the water toward the door, near her feet, I opened my eyes.
Looking at her hair, which was slightly damp from the steam, I asked in astonishment, “What are you doing here?”
Pouting her lips, she said, “I came to stretch.”
I caught the subtle tremor in her voice instantly.
Nodding slowly, I asked, “Why?” Meanwhile, my eyes drifted to her legs beneath the water; her skin looked remarkably flawless and noble.
The moment she realized I was looking, she parted her towel slightly and asked, “Why are you staring like that?”
Smiling, I straightened up in the water.
“Luna…
You don’t understand.
I don’t expect anything of this sort from you right now.
Why do you push yourself so hard for these matters?
You claim you will kill me at the first opportunity, yet here you are, literally using your charm to manipulate and use me.”
As she tried to process my words in her mind, I stepped out of the pool with heavy strides and stood right in front of her.
Looking into her eyes, I continued with raw honesty: “If your tribe is truly that important to you, I will give you the strength and support you desire regardless.
And I won’t ask for anything in return.
I…
just want to see a genuine smile on your face.
You are not a girl who should stoop to such cheap, underhanded schemes.”
I made a move to brush past her and get dressed.
Right then, I noticed her trembling slightly behind me.
Just as I was about to ignore it and continue dressing, a hurt, low voice rose from behind:
“Can you stay?
Please…”
While rapidly considering what to do and how to act, Luna turned toward me.
The moment I saw the distinct redness in her eyes, I couldn’t resist; I abandoned my clothes, locked the door from the inside, and stepped back into the pool.
I gestured toward the marble ledge at the edge of the pool for her to sit.
Watching her with attentive, calm eyes, I observed how her tears vanished as they trickled down her cheeks amidst the steam.
Luna took a deep breath and began to speak:
“I…
I have always been raised this way since childhood, Kaan.”
“How?” I asked in a quiet voice.
Swallowing hard, she continued, her eyes welling with tears: “The honor of the tribe always came first.
They always told me that the future of the tribe is more important than anything and anyone…”
Cutting her off, I asked directly, “But what about your choices?
What did you want?”
She paused for a moment, as if she had never even posed this question to herself.
“I never thought about it…” she said in a low voice.
“From the very beginning, I endured all the pain and all the hardships solely for my tribe and my family.
They made me feel as though it were an obligation, a debt.
I…
I don’t know any other way.”
I moved closer to her in the water.
“It’s alright, I’m here,” I said.
At that, Luna could no longer contain herself; she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.
“Ever since I met you, my mind and my body have been in a constant war…
And I am so afraid,” she whispered against my chest.
“What are you afraid of?”
Her tears intensified, and she began to sob openly: “I’m afraid that you’ll turn out just like the others…
That one day, you’ll abandon me and leave.”
As her arms gripped me as if clinging for dear life, she rested her head against the back of my shoulder, weeping softly.
“This is the first time in my life I’ve cried in front of someone…” she said, her voice choking amidst her sobs.
“Until now, I was always forced to stay strong, no matter what.
This is too much for me…”
Not wanting her to suffer any further, I cut her words short: “You are not alone anymore.
It’s alright.”
Since I had never comforted someone so deeply broken in my life, I had to choose my words very carefully.
Pulling back slightly, I disengaged from her tight embrace.
Holding her shoulders with both hands, I locked her gaze directly to mine.
“Never forget this, Luna…
Unless you personally tell me to ‘go,’ I will neither abandon you nor change how I am toward you.”
Upon hearing these honest words, she hugged me even tighter than before, as if she might break my bones.
“I just want to be happy…” she wept, and I wrapped my arms around her in return.
“We will be happy,” I said firmly.
We remained like that in the water for a while, enveloped in that steamy silence.
Finally, I noticed the tense muscles in Luna’s arms relax as she calmed down.
Laughing softly, I said, “Are you done crying, my queen?”
She nodded relentlessly, albeit shyly.
When we parted, her face and eyes were slightly puffy from crying.
“Come on, go get some sleep.
We have to wake up very early tomorrow morning,” I said.
As I straightened up in the water intending to climb out, she gripped my towel tightly from behind, preventing me from leaving.
“What about you?” she asked, a strange expectation lingering in her voice.
Surprised by her question, I replied, “I’m going to sleep too, of course.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t fully checked the empty rooms yet.”
Still refusing to let go of my towel, she averted her gaze.
“I…
I’m afraid of the dark.”
I looked at her face with a smile.
“If you want, we can place a lamp on the desk in your room; it can stay lit until morning.”
“I’m afraid of thunder too!” she insisted.
I chuckled again.
“Don’t worry, it isn’t even cloudy.
It’s not raining at all.”
Finally, locking her hands behind her waist and donning that fierce, stubborn mask of hers, she snapped: “I want to sleep with you, dummy!
Just get it through your head!”
Hearing this blunt confession, I froze for a moment.
While I was trying to figure out how to respond, Luna wiped the sweat from her forehead with the tip of her finger and let out a deep breath: “Whew!
Finally, I can speak the way I want, you dummy!”
While I hadn’t even fully digested the emotional outburst from moments ago, this sudden, unfiltered petulance caught me even more off guard.
I nodded my head slowly in agreement.
Swiftly stepping out of the water and brushing past me, she left the room, saying, “Fine, hurry up and follow me.”
After she left the bathroom, I delivered a hard punch to my own stomach.
You idiot, Kaan…
How could you not understand, man?
The girl has been through so much; why else would she say those things?
You don’t have a single brain cell, Kaan, I scolded myself while quickly putting on my clothes.
When I reached the door of the room and knocked softly, a loud shout echoed from within: “Come iiiin!” Opening the door and stepping inside, I saw that Luna had already spread out right in the middle of that massive bed, looking at me in a half-asleep daze.
In a groggy tone, she complained, “What took you so long?”
“Sorry,” I said, quietly sitting on the vacant edge of the bed.
Luna suddenly knit her brows in anger: “Lie down properly!
The pillow is too far, you are too far!”
Laughing, I lay down on the bed.
“The pillow?” I asked mockingly.
The moment I lay down, Luna didn’t hesitate for a second; she wrapped her arm across my stomach and held me tightly.
Feeling myself starting to sweat internally again due to her proximity, I whispered without turning my head too much, “Luna?”
But there was no answer; Luna’s calm, rhythmic breathing was already brushing against the nape of my neck.
She was already asleep.
Moving slightly as if to slip out of the room undetected, she gripped me even tighter in her sleep and whispered, “Please don’t leave…”
At that moment, I completely abandoned the idea of leaving.
Slipping my arm under her head—beneath the pillow—I drew her close to me and fell into a deep sleep amidst that warmth.
When I opened my eyes in the morning, literally every part of my body felt stiff and aching.
Lifting my head slightly to look around, I saw Luna still sleeping peacefully, her head resting against my chest.
To avoid waking her, I remained motionless and sent a telepathic wave toward Enwoybi.
Responding instantly, I asked in my mind, “Are you awake?”
Enwoybi burst into a mocking laugh inside my mind: “Are you stupid, Kaan?
If I weren’t awake, how could I answer this telepathic wave?”
“Whatever…
What did you guys do about breakfast?” I asked, recovering the situation.
Enwoybi laughed even louder this time.
“Look, Scatroj is right next to me, and do you know what he’s saying?
He says, ‘Oh, look at his majesty, sleeping in there in total bliss, and then waking up just to ask about breakfast.'”
“Heh, yeah, exactly like that,” I smirked while watching the ceiling.
Clearing his throat in his mind, Enwoybi turned serious: “Everything on the table will be ready shortly.
Pack it up and head downstairs slowly.”
Severing the telepathic bond, I continued to stare at the ceiling.
While I was anxiously contemplating how to get out of this bed without waking Luna, I noticed that the small head upon my chest was beginning to move slightly…