Sora was stupefied.

She sat there, eyes wide, as Kaden's words replayed in her mind again and again like a refrain that refused to end. Her heart was throbbing, excitement, hope, and even fear all colliding inside her like threads of fire and blood woven together by a witch's hand, sending her emotions spiraling out of control.

After all, she had never once in her life thought she would hear someone not admonish her for loving to sing.

"Y-You… are you serious?" she stuttered, unable to restrain the turbulent emotions trembling through her voice.

Kaden nodded simply. "Of course I am. The most influential person is usually the one who knows how to use this thing properly," he said, pointing to his mouth with his free hand while the other kept turning the salmon over the fire.

"Words can chain you, words can free you, words can ignite you, words can break you, words can make you rage, words can make you smile."

He stared deep into her quivering eyes.

"That's how it is. So can you imagine if you ever mastered this profession? The ability to wield words so beautifully that you could set fire to every soul like a sky of bursting fireworks or extinguish them as easily as snuffing out a pitiful candle…?"

He grinned.

"That would be pretty amazing, if you ask me."

At this point, Sora was shaking with excitement. In her mind, she was already fantasizing about being able to do all of this, yet… there was still a stubborn part of her that remained skeptical.

It wasn't that she didn't want to believe Kaden, but she had grown up in an environment where singing was considered the pastime of the worthless, a tool of flatterers whose only redeeming quality was their stinking, venomous mouths — mouths that could praise you, soothe your pride, and make you feel better with empty words.

So she couldn't help but ask, her voice edged with doubt, "How do you know all of this?"

Kaden set aside the perfectly cooked salmon and placed another in the pan for himself.

Without lifting his eyes, he answered flatly, his attention still on the sizzling fish. "Because I am smarter than you." His tone was neutral, not mocking, as if he were simply stating an undeniable fact.

"You are not." Sora snarled instantly, feeling her pride stabbed raw.

"Then how do you expect me to know all of this and you not?"

"If what you said is even true, then it's knowledge, not intelligence. Those are two different things," she shot back without hesitation, making Kaden fall silent.

He tilted his head, her words forcing him to acknowledge a truth. Then he looked at her with genuine astonishment, eyes narrowed with playful suspicion.

"Are… are you the golden voice I know? There's no way that uneducated girl who once threatened an innocent man like me could say something so wise."

He said it while eyeing her as though she were an imposter wearing Sora's skin.

Sora's lips twitched violently, the faint warmth she had begun to feel for Kaden after his earlier words vanishing like mist beneath the morning sun.

"I am an As—!"

"Please, I'm tired of hearing that. You are an Asterion, I get it. Don't repeat it every single time." He cut her off briskly, and this time Sora was ready to leap across the fire and bite his face off. But before she acted on the urge, Kaden's voice shifted back into its serious tone.

"I wasn't joking," he said firmly, making Sora freeze and listen.

"You just have to try. Give everything to your craft, and you'll see the results over time."

He stirred the salmon slowly, his words carrying weight.

"You don't honestly believe that blacksmiths and alchemists became renowned overnight, do you? People bled, people wept, people sacrificed everything to refine their crafts until they could create wonders. Wonders so undeniable the world itself had no choice but to grant them their rightful place."

He paused then, finally lifting his gaze to Sora.

"That's how the world works. By value."

"Value?" Sora repeated, understanding and not understanding at the same time.

"Yes, value." Kaden nodded, inspecting the salmon to see if it was cooked through before continuing.

"The world only cares for you if you are valuable. Just like you would seek out a specific blacksmith to commission an artifact instead of going to any random one."

"Why? Because that blacksmith has built his value to the point where you're compelled to go to him for good gear."

He pointed at her.

"That's exactly what you need to do. Singing is seen as worthless, low-level and let's be honest, it's true." He shrugged with a smirk, making Sora's eyebrow twitch sharply.

"But if you take the craft and raise its value, then people would have no choice but to respect it," he finished.

Sora's thoughts spun wildly. She found truth in his words, yet there was still something gnawing at her… something that made her hesitate, something that blocked her path forward, something she had secretly wanted his help with from the beginning.

She opened her mouth, then shut it again, heat rushing to her cheeks in sudden embarrassment.

What would he say if she admitted that for months she had wanted to write a song, but hadn't managed to put down even a single line?

It was as if some invisible wall stood in her way, something she couldn't climb over no matter how she tried.

'Ahh! Sora, it's now or never. You have a chance to improve, to take your first step… don't let pride blind you…!' she screamed inwardly, squirming on her seat like a wingless bird trapped against the ground, nerves consuming her.

Kaden noticed, but didn't address it.

He had said what he wanted to say, given her his view.

If Sora wanted more, she would have to ask for it herself.

So he acted as though he hadn't seen her struggle, turning back to his cooking. With the salmon finished, he moved on to preparing a salad to go with it.

At that moment, he almost wanted to fall to his knees, tears of gratitude running down his face as he thanked his mother for forcing him to learn so many "useless" things back at home.

'Still… I need to improve my cooking. This is all too bland for my taste,' he mused, though grateful nonetheless that they had food to eat at all. Others might not be this lucky.

As he finished arranging the plates with his blood skill, Sora's voice finally rang out.

It was hesitant, awkward, dripping with embarrassment.

"I… I have a question for you," she murmured, her face flushed so red it spread to the tips of her ears.

She was achingly cute in that moment, fidgeting with her hands and darting her eyes around, searching desperately for something to settle on, but all she saw was endless cold ice that seemed to recoil from the heat of her burning desire.

Yes, definitely cute.

But Kaden felt goosebumps crawl across his skin at the sight of the always-murderous Sora acting like this.

He frowned in disgust. "Stop this, woman. This isn't you. Who are you trying to fool?"

"Just state the question. Don't try to get me with feelings," he added, nodding to himself, almost smug, feeling proud to throw those words at a princess — a celestial one at that.

Immediately, all the embarrassment Sora had felt melted away like snow under a scorching sun, and she glared at Kaden with eyes sharp enough to kill.

She couldn't help but wonder how he could be so insufferable. She bit her lip to stop herself from spitting curses at him, then finally asked her question.

"I don't know how to write a song," she blurted out.

"I've tried countless times, but I can't find a single spark of inspiration."

She paused.

"I… I think maybe it's not my path. Because if I can't even write one satisfying line, then what am I supposed to believe?" she said bitterly, exposing both her fear and her deepest insecurity.

What if she couldn't do the one thing she wanted most because she simply lacked talent?

It would break her.

Kaden handed Sora a plate of food. She took it half-heartedly, her mind still clouded, as he finally responded.

"I don't… quite believe in talent," Kaden said after taking a small bite of his salmon.

Sora looked at him strangely. "What?"

He chuckled. "It might sound weird coming from me. Hypocritical even, I know." A smirk tugged at his lips.

"Talent does exist. Some people grasp things more easily than others. Some are born with a naturalness in doing what others find inconceivable…yes, I agree with that."

"But I believe more in obsession and consistency, golden voice. Talent without obsession never blooms."

He leaned forward slightly, his voice steady.

"What if you don't know how to write a song? Then collect every damn song in this damned world. Listen to them, study them, tear them apart and learn how they're built."

"And don't stop there. Learn other things too. Fuse them together."

He smiled faintly.

"The more you learn, the more knowledge and skill you absorb, the greater your chance of creating something truly unique. There's no cheat code."

His tone softened unconsciously.

"But for this first song of yours… let me give you a hand."

He finished his plate in a single gulp, stood up, and walked toward the mouth of the cave.

He looked up, and above him stretched a pristine white sky, a glowing blue full moon embedded like a jewel in its center.

They still had about an hour before it would end.

Sora followed behind him, came to stand at his side, and gazed at the sky with a perplexed, apprehensive look.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Sometimes," Kaden said slowly, "you don't need to go through the entire process. Sometimes all it takes is to witness, to feel something powerful enough to stir your soul and then the words will come."

He glanced at her, then back at the moon.

"I'll give you that inspiration," he finished.

"How?" Sora pressed, her voice quiet, uncertain.

Kaden's eyes locked onto the moon with an intensity that seemed to pierce it. Then he slowly parted his lips.

"The moon…" he began, his voice low.

"…we are going to kill the moon, golden voice."

—End of Chapter 218—

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