His eyes flared for a moment, as if a hidden spark had ignited within him. "But I don't just want what you have… I will become you. Everything will belong to me… alone."
He approached the small candle. Took out banknotes from his pocket and stood firmly in front of it. Then… he lit them on fire.
He watched the flames devour the money and muttered with heavy sarcasm, "And I burn money for you… rest in peace, Kayden."
He sat quietly and closed his eyes.
He breathed slowly, trying to enter meditation again… not knowing whether it was tears or sweat running down his face.
But his eyes suddenly opened , He saw blood… seeping from beneath the rock blocking the cave entrance.
Blood… moving as if alive. Slowly creeping, as if the rock itself were bleeding.
Kayden looked at the blood forming a circle around him on the ground a broken but distinct circle… pulsing with something invisible.
He narrowed his eyes and studied the shape.
He didn't understand its meaning, nor did he know whether what he saw was real or an illusion. But he finally understood his real problem.
He had almost forgotten who he was… now that he remembered, he felt something settle inside him. He was not Kayden Bryce. He was Ren Yuan, in Kayden's body.
And for the first time, he accepted it without resistance.
He slowly closed his eyes… and did not open them again.
His body entered a deep meditation, like an eternal stillness.
He didn't know how much time had passed. He felt neither hunger nor thirst—only existence within himself.
The blood in his veins flowed differently… as if carrying hidden messages.
He felt energy moving, touching his arteries, flowing with his heartbeat.
His spiritual core… was no longer a dormant object in his chest , It had become alive.
Outside, Adam sat beside the black cat, feeding it quietly.
"My lord has never answered…" he muttered, as if speaking to himself. Then he smiled while watching the moon. ' How can I become special? ' he asked himself, but the thought never fully formed.
When the cat approached and gently nudged his hand, he stopped thinking.
He reached out and stroked its head gently. "You're cute… would you abandon your master for me?"
Colton moved away, ignoring the question, and sat at a distance.
Adam laughed and pulled it back onto the stone. "It's fine… I'll buy a cat when I return."
' Buy? Weren't you stingy? It'd be easier to steal one from the street…' Colton thought sarcastically, but remained silent.
Three days passed.
Kayden did not leave the cave. No sound was heard from him.
Rita came out of concern, but found Adam sitting beside the cat, silently watching the cave.
She saw the blood markings on the rock and froze.
"What is this?" she asked anxiously.
Adam shrugged. "I don't know. It appeared suddenly. Maybe the Great Master reacted to it?"
Rita didn't believe it but she wanted to. She needed something, anything, to hold onto in this isolation.
As for Adam, he hid his injured hand under Kayden's coat and kept thinking of every possible way to escape this place.
"I brought a full set of clothes… when he comes out, he won't be able to handle it," Rita placed the clothes beside Adam.
Adam quickly replied in disgust, "Oh god… I forgot about that."
"I hope he can handle it," Rita said before quickly leaving.
Adam watched her disappear. "She's good at running away… was she a target before?" he muttered.
Colton thought, ' This confirms what she said about Emdeniel's followers… they're definitely savage. Who is the real demon here?' He wanted to shout it but he was just a cat.
On the fifth day… Kayden finally opened his eyes.
He stood firmly before the rock, his expression changed. "…..?"
Then he called out hoarsely, "Adam… move the rock."
But Adam ignored him, as usual, pretending not to hear.
After a full hour, he finally moved it not out of concern, but boredom.
He looked at Kayden with slight disgust. "You look… disgusting."
Kayden stepped out into the sunlight and stretched his arms like someone emerging from a grave.
"The sun… finally…"
Adam turned his face away. "You smell terrible… take a bath, or burn your clothes completely."
Adam quickly walked away, but Kayden smiled faintly… like someone returning from ashes.
Beside the cave was a small still lake, reflecting sunlight weakly as if hiding something in its depths.
Adam didn't wait for permission. A primal instinct told him that Kayden in this state required purification… or elimination.
For a moment he considered kicking him into the lake, but felt disgust just getting close.
He raised his hand, and a massive water arm rose from the lake transparent and cold grabbing Kayden and pulling him in forcefully.
Kayden didn't even have time to scream.
"YOU BASTARD!!" he shouted while struggling, but the water was faster than him.
"You still have energy to curse in that condition? Look at yourself. We must burn everything that touched you… no trace should remain."
Adam began gathering dry branches and lit a fire beside the lake.
He watched the flames with continued disgust. ' He was filled with corrupted energy' , he thought, throwing Kayden's clothes into the fire one by one.
"Did the blood reach inside the cave?" Adam asked calmly.
"Yes? It touched my back… look."
Adam approached slowly and examined Kayden's back, seeing blood patterns clinging to his skin, the circular formation spreading toward his spine.
"Clean yourself properly. Remove everything."
Adam returned to holding the black cat, gently stroking it.
"Didn't I tell you? The master didn't respond. But… my blood delivered the message, even if he didn't answer."
He sighed, then whispered to no one, "My father once told me never to interfere in what doesn't concern me… to stay away from things that aren't mine."
He turned his eyes to the cat, not feeling insane for speaking to it. "But what do I do… if that thing wants me? Wants me badly? It keeps pulling me in…"
Colton, despite his silence, was surprised by this depth. He hadn't expected Adam to carry this kind of thinking.
He had stayed with him for days… he thought he was silent, cold, like a living statue.
But now he saw the truth. This statue… was cracked.
Colton wanted to respond, but he was nothing more than a demon an elevated one, but still without the right to give human answers.
' Maybe you are the one who needs help, strange human…' he thought sarcastically, and continued watching.
When Kayden finished cleaning himself, Adam handed him fresh clothes. Adam cast a quick glance at Kayden, who was wearing his new shirt obtained through Rita's charity.
He muttered, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Your tattoo looks great… I thought your family was the type that forbids things like this."
Kayden continued putting on his clothes, then ran a hand through his hair and sniffed his shirt to check the smell before replying with a dangerous smile.
"It's just a hobby. My father knows, and he doesn't mind. And if you're jealous, you should get one too."
Adam didn't care. He then extinguished the fire and erased every trace that indicated life had been here.
He entered the cave and made sure it was completely empty. When he returned outside, Kayden suddenly appeared and pulled Adam. "Let's leave."
He didn't want him to see the word carved on the wall… "SOS."
While walking, Kayden suddenly asked, "Aren't you going to run a check?"
Adam shook his head indifferently. "It succeeded."
After thanking Rita briefly, Kayden asked her about the way back. She told them it was the same path as their arrival. The two of them left together, heading toward the place where they had first fallen.
"How do we get out?" Adam asked, looking upward.
"Don't you know?" Kayden replied, surprised.
Adam looked at him blankly. "I'm not all-knowing, as you think."
Adam took position and prepared to jump.
Kayden watched his movements with curiosity. 'He looks like a monkey… damn '. he thought as Adam pushed his body upward with precise force, reaching a higher level than before.
When he landed back down, Adam said, "Actually, no significant change."
Kayden stayed silent for a moment, then said, "I have a theory… maybe we should repeat the number of loops we did before we fell."
Adam thought for a moment, then said, "I ran around first to locate the turn… then both of us walked it three times, before the snake appeared and suddenly died."
"You killed it," Kayden said calmly.
Adam didn't respond. He disappeared for a moment, then returned to the same spot.
"The first cycle is complete," he said, pointing at Kayden's feet. "Try to control your power. Imagine water flowing slowly… and your core moving with your blood."
Kayden tried twice but failed.
Adam looked at him without any sympathy, picked up the black cat, and was about to leave.
But suddenly he returned and punched Kayden beside his face. Kayden felt danger instantly and reacted instinctively.
"You only respond to violence. How ironic," Adam muttered mockingly.
"Now… direct the energy into your feet and start running. Don't rush though… you might fall on your face. That could be entertaining."
Kayden did as instructed. While running, ' This feels like school… morning running days.'
Soon he mastered it. "I've got it! And by the way, Adam… your memory is excellent."
"Then let's finish this," Adam said while running.
They completed the three loops and slowly returned to the starting point.
There… Kayden saw the snake again. "Didn't this snake die?"
Adam stared at it for a long moment, then said coldly, "It died."
Then he turned to Kayden with a serious look. "Kay… tell me everything that woman said to you."
Kayden took a deep breath and looked ahead. Then in a deep voice, he narrated everything.
"The Great lord sealed this city after the Shadow War… to prevent demons, disasters, and humans like you from entering."
"Like me?" Adam asked.
Kayden shrugged. "You're very sensitive. Let's get back to the issue."
"When was the city sealed?" Adam asked.
"She doesn't remember… didn't you speak to her?"
"Only about the Master."
"Was there a war recently?" Kayden asked.
Adam said coldly, "Kay, how disappointing… didn't your father tell you anything? Tell Roger when we return to explain it to you. Ignorance is dangerous for you people."
"It wasn't really a war. Everyone lost something… even we lost our last hope for our master. She must have been referring to that."
Kayden tensed. "How old were you then?"
"Twelve."
"Did you fight?"
Adam nodded. "My entire family fought."
Kayden fell silent and looked at Colton in surprise. He hadn't approached him since he took the form of a cat. 'It's like switching your country's team… like betraying your homeland and supporting the enemy'
"My father wasn't as merciful as yours," Adam said simply.
"But Rita didn't seem to clearly remember the duration… or maybe she was pretending," Kayden replied thoughtfully. "As if her memory was deliberately distorted."
Adam looked at the surrounding trees swaying in the evening breeze, scanning the area carefully.
"My father told me a war broke out a hundred years ago… but not between nations or groups, rather between the followers themselves… and even the immortals. I'll tell you something I've never shared before. Aerton knows everything, but I feel this is connected to Lord Emdeniel, so I'll tell you."
Kayden leaned closer, clearly interested. "I'm listening."
Adam lowered his voice further.
"The revered Lord Emdeniel… supported all his followers in exterminating the followers of Saint Eleanor and Lord Ron Feng. He didn't just provide moral support—he gave them power, techniques, everything. It was a massacre."
Kayden raised his eyebrows. "But now he's in a truce with them, right?"
Adam nodded, eyes distant. "Yes. After years of blood and ash, the three reached reconciliation… or rather a silent agreement. But no one knows when it will break. I think it already ended with Emdeniel's disappearance."
After a pause, Kayden asked, "Does Emdeniel support violence? Is he… evil?"
Adam thought for a moment.
"I don't really know. Emdeniel is not evil in the traditional sense. But he believes anyone who follows him must live their own way, even if it is wrong. The most extreme among them was the Great Master himself… the one who follows him… those deviants."
Kayden's expression changed. "What do you mean by deviants?"
Adam sat down against a tree, looking tired. Kayden sat beside him.
Adam continued in a low voice:
"What I'm about to say isn't rumor… but accounts from people who lived long ago. Some of them witnessed the wars. It is said the Great Master is truly deviant. He likes wandering with women, or approaching only those with attractive appearances… then psychologically breaking them. He doesn't discriminate. He has a terrifying sadistic side. He uses people as human shields without hesitation, and manipulates minds as if it were a game."
Kayden froze for a moment, as if the words had pierced something inside him.
"He's harmful…" Kayden muttered. "That might give me another trauma."