The silence was deafening.

One would think it a metaphor, but one would be wrong. There was something in that silence that followed Kaden's realization, something that made the space around him suddenly devoid of air, as if breathing itself had been stolen.

Kaden didn't know what to say, nor what to think of any of this situation. There he stood, suspended high in the air, crimson sword intent cloaking them from all perception, Aurora nestled safely within his arms, while before them stretched a field of tortured souls.

Kaden and Aurora were sharing their first truly heartfelt moment. Just not the kind either of them expected.

Aurora was doing her best not to fold, not to waver, not to betray the conviction of the words she had just spoken.

But gods…

'Since when had it become so difficult?' she wondered, her mind and heart twisted into a knot of quiet misery, the weakness of her flesh and soul slowly creeping outward, betraying her resolve.

She wondered why, now of all times, the sight of her inevitable fate felt so unbearable. It wasn't as if she hadn't known her path led to death. She knew it. She had accepted it gladly.

But now, things had changed. Now the thought of dying that way…so easily, so silently…had begun to choke her from within.

She didn't know why.

No. She did know. But admitting it would be far too dangerous, to her psyche, and far more, to her heart.

And yet… it was already too late.

There, cuddled in the embrace of the warming heat of her Knight, Aurora felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time.

She felt the sensation of being protected, of being seen as herself, and her thoughts began to wander…

…they wandered to the last week she had spent with her witty, sarcastic Knight. How he looked at her without ever folding, how he did everything she asked even when he clearly didn't like it, and how he never once rebelled against her, even though he was powerful enough to do so.

The funny thing was, she had never known he was this powerful until now. Only now did she realize she had been living alongside a monster who could have killed her a million times over.

And Aurora might have thought this was the prince's doing, but she could see clearly now that her knight held no particular fondness for the Golden Son.

That made her laugh. That made her feel something new.

The last week had been one where she had found true human warmth.

Lady Sora was different. As gentle as she might be, she was still the nanny of her prince, and her heart and loyalty lay with him, not with Aurora. Lady Sora was there to watch her fade away, not to stop her from fading.

Kaden was different.

She could see that he cared about her, not about what she represented to her prince. He had proposed numerous times to clean her room, to change her diet, all for her well-being.

He was holding her now in his arms, as if she were too frail to stand on her own, simply because he saw her exhaustion.

He hadn't used her to find the path to this wretched place, even though he could have, because he knew it would drain her.

And also with him around, her mind seemed to ease. The burden she carried lightened and she no longer thought about her prince.

It was strange, she realized, how she had only just noticed the quiet peace that settled within her whenever she shared the same space as him. But when they were apart, when night fell and he was no longer there, her thoughts would always drift back to her prince.

All of these acts seemed small… but give one platinum coin to a man who's lived his whole life on copper, and he'll never forget the weight and the chill of it against his skin.

That was what Aurora was feeling.

Her prince might have loved her, but it wasn't the kind of love she wanted. And that truth only revealed itself after her time with Kaden.

After all, how could you know there's something better out there when all you've ever known is one thing?

Because with Kaden…

She finally caught a glimpse of the love she deserved.

But it was far too late.

Oh… it was already too late, alas.

She had already given everything of her soul. Only a husk remained, a flicker of a dying flame that could be snuffed out by the faint exhale of a worm.

So even if she stopped walking the path…

"I will live, at most, only two years, Fraud," she whispered, her voice small. Then she smiled, a woeful smile.

"So just let me keep my oath. Let me finish this path I've chosen, with you as my Knight." She chuckled softly. "Will you respect my will, Fraud?"

Her arms tightened around his neck, her starry eyes boring deep into his crimson ones. "Will you be my partner for this last dance?"

Then she grinned, that same mischievous grin she always wore when ready for a prank. "Let's make it one worthy of a dying star, Fraud."

Kaden was silent, watching her quietly, his heart aching more than he had imagined it could. It was as if someone were clenching it from the inside, stealing the air from his lungs.

He had grown fond of Aurora, he had to admit that.

And without even thinking of his quest, Kaden realized he didn't want her to die.

She was too bright to die for a man who cared only for the throne. She was too heavy for that. Too dazzling.

And maybe… just maybe…

'That's what broke you, Solaris,' Kaden thought. 'You couldn't bear the weight of her sacrifice for your ascension, so you went mad. You lost your path, you lost the one guiding you through it, and once she was gone, you became like a child lost in a place you were never meant to be.'

He was certain now of how things would unfold.

Aurora would not be killed, at least not by an enemy's hand.

She would die by her own, to elevate a prince who would crumble beneath the burden of the power she gave him, destroying himself in the process.

How ironic.

How pathetic.

And precisely because of that…

"My lady," Kaden said at last.

Aurora looked at him.

"What if I don't want you to die?" he asked.

Aurora bit her lip, anger flaring inside her eyes. "It's my life!" she growled, her voice smothered by Kaden's intent before anyone else could hear it. "I have the right to do whatever I want with it."

Kaden shook his head. "Your life is not only yours, my lady. Your life includes the ugly dog, Lady Sora, the beasts, your paintings, and me, my lady."

Aurora trembled, her head shaking side to side vehemently, as if begging him to stop. But he didn't.

"You cannot choose to create connections with us, only to throw them away like this, knowing full well the pain we'll feel once you're gone."

He paused, then spoke again, his voice low and steady.

"You are not living this life alone, my lady. You are living it with us."

Kaden's whisper sank into her, and Aurora's head began to spin.

"So don't choose death," he murmured, "when there are beings whose lives depend on you."

"I made a promise," Aurora whispered back. "I made a promise with my life before I ever knew any of you, when I was alone. You cannot blame me, Fraud. You cannot."

"It's too late…" she wheezed, "…it's too late."

"If I stop here, I will no longer be able to live in peace, because I would have broken the one promise that gave my life meaning."

Tears swelled in her eyes, spilling freely down her cheeks. "Do you want me to live that way? To live in agony? What a pitiful, miserable life that would be," she said, chuckling through the tremor in her voice.

"So forgive me. Forgive me for my selfishness. Forgive me for being loyal to someone who's ready to see me buried beneath the ground for a gilded throne." Her lips trembled as she laughed bitterly, her tears streaking down. "Sorry for lov—ah! Do I even love him? Or did I mistake gratitude for love?"

Her laughter cracked, hollow and broken, until it faded into silence.

And in that moment, Kaden knew it was pointless to argue. Aurora would not change her mind.

She would walk this path to its end, even if that end meant her own corpse, cold and alone, with nothing but her beasts to mourn her.

She did not seek salvation. Or perhaps… not the one Kaden offered.

He sighed wistfully, swallowing back the pain that threatened to spill across his face.

He didn't succeed.

In that moment, when the inevitability of Aurora's death finally sank into him, Kaden felt a rising emptiness spreading through his chest, slowly poisoning him from within.

His mind froze.

Emptiness?

Then, all at once, his mind brightened, expanding as understanding poured into him like an overwhelming tide. In that instant, with his insides hollow and bare, Kaden finally grasped the calling that had been whispering to him all along, guiding him toward the birth of his Domain.

It was a Domain where nothingness existed. Where emptiness reigned. Where darkness ruled. Where time was slain. Where space fled. Where even the concept of the Void itself ceased to exist.

Nothing remained…nothing but him, alone, with emptiness as his only companion.

At last, he understood where that Domain's nature had come from. It was born from the Darkness of Death he found himself after every death, and from the emptiness that had haunted him through so many of his recent trials.

He also understood why he had feared it, because deep down, he doubted whether he was ready to embrace that emptiness and let it shape him.

But now the haze clouding his Domain creation had lifted, he knew what it would be. He understood the path.

All that remained was to act upon it, to give form to the emptiness.

A smile crept across his lips, slow and cold.

Because he knew even his Domain would not save Aurora, because the woman wanted to die, or perhaps needed to die, to feel that she had fulfilled her duty to the one who had saved her when she was young.

Her death would not be merely physical, but mental and emotional as well.

It would be her own salvation.

How ironic, to grasp a Domain born of emptiness at the very moment he was meant to use it to save a woman who was anything but empty.

Then, with chilling clarity, Kaden finally realized the true meaning of his quest.

His quest had never been to save Aurora, as he had once believed.

The Will had said it clearly, yet he had ignored that part, instinctively dismissing it as unimportant.

The Will had told him to preserve her light.

And now Kaden understood… something didn't have to be alive to be preserved.

That realization struck him like a blow to the chest, so heavy he thought he might suffocate beneath it.

How cruel it was, to make him grow attached to someone, only to force him to watch that person die, so he could understand the essence of his Domain.

This quest was never one that would let him succeed through his Domain. It was one designed to enlighten him about a Domain he would never use.

He clenched his jaw, his Will flaring unconsciously, seeping outward into reality like a silent pressure.

Unaware, Kaden looked down at Aurora, her eyes filled with resolve.

It was almost absurd, almost comical, to see another being, aside from himself, so determined to die.

Kaden, as the heir of Death, was supposed to respect her choice, to honor her will, and to let her go.

He was supposed to…

…but he was still human. A fifteen-year-old boy. And he could not bear to watch someone he had come to care for fade away before his eyes.

Yes, he knew…

"I am a selfish man too, my lady," he said, voice tight as he tried to hide the strain.

Aurora's eyes widened slightly.

"You are selfish enough to make someone an emperor, even knowing it would kill you in the process. Then I'll be selfish enough to refuse your death."

The Will's instructions could go to fucking hell.

"Your wish will be respected, we'll make Solaris the Emperor you want him to be."

He paused, then spoke again, slower this time.

"But promise me, my lady… you won't use your power anymore. You don't need to. Let me take over that burden."

He forced a grin.

"Let me be the kingmaker, or rather, the Emperor-maker, if that suits you better. Okay?"

Aurora's face went blank, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

Kaden watched her, a strained smile pulling at his lips, his entire being blazing with Will.

He wasn't going to accept Aurora's death. He rejected it entirely.

But in refusing to accept her fate…

DING!

{Your Will has been acknowledged.}

{Your Evolution Quest has been modified.}

—End of Chapter 374—

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