The heavens trembled… as if existence itself began to suffocate.
That colossal shadow behind Kim was no mere aura or manifestation of energy… it was something older than time itself. Something that should not exist.
And everyone could feel it.
The angels instinctively took a step back…
Even Amon, who had faced Kim at his worst, felt for the first time that what stood before him was not just his friend… but a catastrophe destined to be born.
As for Kim… he was still kneeling on the ground. Trembling. Weeping. Like a child lost in the midst of an endless storm.
> "Don't leave me…"
> "Please…"
>
But the memories were being brutally crushed inside his mind. Lives… without end. Faces… worlds… screams… and every single time… he ended up alone. Always alone.
Then… one of the angels slowly stepped forward.
But this time… she wore no armor of war. Instead, she wore a long white robe stained with dark marks, as though light itself had burned upon it. Her face was… exhausted. Sorrowful.
She drew closer… until she stopped right in front of Kim. Then, she whispered in a trembling voice:
> "He has finally grown up…"
>
Amon's eyes widened instantly.
As for Kim… he raised his head with agonizing slowness. And when his blurred eyes fell upon her… he froze.
Because that woman… carried the exact same eyes as his mother. The same gaze. The same sorrow.
He spoke in a broken voice:
"Who… are you?"
Her lips quivered slightly… then she answered:
> "I was one of the Children of Light…"
>
She paused for a moment, then closed her eyes in pain.
> "And your mother… was our sister."
>
Kim's body shook violently.
"L… Liar…"
But the woman did not grow angry. Instead, she drew even closer… until she was standing right before him. Then, she said in a shattered voice:
> "The name you knew her by was not her true name."
> "She was called… Leona."
> "The Bearer of the Final Seal."
>
Kim's breath grew erratic once more. No… he didn't want any more. He didn't want any more truths. But the words kept coming like knives.
> "When you were born… she wept."
> "Not out of fear of you…"
> "But out of fear *for* you."
>
An image manifested in the sky… a woman cradling a tiny infant in the midst of an endless darkness. She was weeping… while black chains slowly wrapped around the child's body. Then, her voice was heard:
> "Please…"
> "Let him live… if only for a little while…"
>
Kim's entire frame convulsed. While the woman continued:
> "All of us saw your future."
> "All of us saw the chaos that would swallow the worlds by your hands."
> "But your mother…"
>
Her voice faltered.
> "She refused to kill you."
> "Even after she saw your end."
>
Then she looked directly into his eyes.
> "She told us…"
> "'If the world is to hate him one day… then I shall love him in its stead.'"
>
Kim's breath hitched, as if something inside his chest had been completely torn apart.
"Why…"
"Why did she do this for me…?"
But suddenly—that dark voice inside his soul laughed.
> "Because she was a fool."
>
Kim's eyes widened, while the shadow behind him drew closer.
> "She is the one who made you weak."
> "She is the one who gave you a heart that does not suit us."
>
The black cracks began to spread across his body once more. But the woman… she was looking at him with genuine grief. Then she said:
> "Kim…"
> "You are not evil because you desire destruction."
> "But because you were born carrying something that should not exist."
>
She went silent for a moment… then completed:
> "Chaos does not choose the wicked…"
> "It chooses the souls that are in the most pain."
>
Kim's pupils quivered. As for the shadow within him… it began to laugh insanely.
> "Do you hear them?"
> "Even now… they are still afraid of you."
>
And indeed… everyone was looking at him in absolute awe and terror. Even the angels themselves. Even as they spoke to him gently… their hands trembled near their weapons.
Kim noticed it. It was always like this. Whenever he drew close to anyone… fear would manifest in their eyes. Like a disease. Like a curse passed on to whoever dared approach him.
He slowly lowered his head… then he laughed. A weak… exhausted laugh… yet one more painful than weeping.
"So…"
"Even when I try…"
"The end is the same…"
No one answered him. Because they all knew the truth.
Amon rushed toward him.
"Kim, don't listen to them—"
But Kim cut him off, speaking in a barely audible whisper:
> "I feel like a mouse…"
>
Everyone stared at him in silence. As for him… he flashed a hollow smile.
> "A cage…"
> "Then a trap…"
> "And if I survive this trap…"
>
He raised his eyes toward the black sky.
> "A bigger trap is made for me."
>
Tears began to fall once again.
"I try to live…"
"I only try…"
"But even life itself pushes me toward the end."
The woman's voice shook.
> "Kim…"
>
But he continued as though he hadn't heard her.
> "If I become good… I lose."
> "And if I become a monster… I lose."
> "And if I run away… they come back for me."
>
Then he placed his hand over his trembling chest.
> "Tell me…"
> "What path should someone walk… when they were destined since birth to be the end?"
>
Silence reigned. A long… agonizing silence. Because no one possessed the answer. Not even the Children of Light. Not even the heavens themselves.
Then, suddenly—the darkness around Kim began to calm down slightly. But that stillness… was not reassuring. It was more like the moment of silence before the collapse of something grand.
Kim raised his head slowly, his tear-filled eyes staring into the void. Then, he whispered in a voice that was barely audible:
> "Mother…"
> "I am tired…"
>
And in that very moment… for the first time in a very long time… Kim felt no anger.
Instead… he was only broken.