Kairo let out a sharp, ragged exhale, his lungs burning as if he had just run a marathon. He instinctively reached for his thighs again, expecting the soft cotton blanket of the palace bed. His fingers met only cold, damp chainmail and the hard surface of a stone floor.
"Wait... what just happened?" Kairo muttered, his voice echoing hollowly against towering rock walls.
"Woah, you finally woke up!"
The voice didn't belong to his parents. It was sharp, youthful, and carried a distinct, familiar trace of cynical amusement. Kairo snapped his head up, his eyes straining against the dim light of several magical torches flickering in iron brackets.
Standing over him was Leonhart. His friend was leaning casually against a stone pillar, adjusting the leather straps of his gauntlets, looking entirely unfazed.
Kairo blinked, his brain desperately calculating the structural differences of his surroundings. Gone were the polished white stones and large arched windows. Instead, massive stalactites hung from the ceiling like jagged teeth, and the air smelled heavily of mineral dust, damp earth, and dried blood.
"Where am I?" Kairo asked, rubbing his temples as a massive pressure headache throbbed behind his eyes. "Wait... am I in a royal cavern?"
"Yes, Kairo, you are back in the cavern," Leonhart replied, a smirk playing on his lips as he turned his head toward the deeper shadows of the cave. He raised his voice, shouting into the gloom. "King Ariston the Great! Your son has returned! He has finally opened his eyes!"
The heavy, thudding footsteps that followed were unmistakable. From the darkness of the inner chamber, the towering figure of King Ariston emerged. He wasn't wearing the soft, casual robes of a grieving father in a peaceful palace; he was clad in full, battle-scarred plate armor, a massive greatsword strapped to his back, stained with the dark ichor of whatever monstrosities they had been fighting.
The king stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at Kairo in pure awe.
"No way... you finally woke up, son," Ariston said, his deep voice bouncing off the cavern walls. A massive, relieved grin broke through his rugged beard. "We finished the unfinished battle and were returning home. Don't worry, our land is not far away from this land, so don't worry, son."
Kairo pushed himself up into a sitting position, his boots gripping the uneven cavern floor. The temporal whiplash was severe, but he forced himself to process the reality of the present timeline. The entire year in the hospital had been an illusion—or perhaps a future that had now been rewritten.
"Yeah, I guess so," Kairo said slowly, his voice laced with his usual pragmatism. He looked around the massive subterranean network. "Even that arrogant people's land was near to our land, but still, we somehow fast-traveled this much distance from here to there."
He paused, looking directly at his father's battle-worn face. "How much time were we apart from each other, Father?"
King Ariston exhaled, scratching the back of his neck as he calculated their march. "Around seven to eight nights."
Leonhart let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "Uhh, time goes so fast, didn't even notice it at all."
"Yeah," Kairo replied dryly, staring at his uninjured hands. "We didn't notice it at all."
Ariston clapped a heavy, armored hand against his chest piece, the metal clanging loudly. "Well, son, talk about timing. We have finally been to our land again!"
The relief of escaping the subterranean death trap, combined with the sudden release of the intense psychological pressure, caught Kairo off guard. He looked up at the jagged opening in the cavern ceiling, where a sliver of the real sky was visible, and let out a sudden, involuntary shout.
"Yeah! We are back again!"
Leonhart jumped slightly, startled by the sudden outburst from his usually stoic friend. He quickly held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Hey, hey, calm down, calm down! We are back, but take care of your health."
King Ariston merely laughed, the deep rumble vibrating through the stone beneath them as he turned to lead the vanguard out toward the surface.
"Don't worry, Leonhart," the King called back over his shoulder, his tone filled with absolute pride. "His wounds are already healed. Three days were enough for him, after all."
Ten minutes slipped by in a blur of clashing realities. Kairo stood rooted to the damp stone floor of the central cavern, his fingers lightly brushing the cold iron rivets of his leather jerkin. The transition had left his cognitive processing fragmented. He stared at the jagged rock walls, watching the orange torchlight dance over green moss and wet limestone.
Wait, he thought, his chest tightening as cold sweat beaded along his hairline. Where even am I? What is happening? Is this world real, or is this just another nightmare designed to break my sanity before the harvest?
The phantom sensation of his flesh tearing in the lower levels still hummed beneath his skin, yet here he stood, uninjured.
A sudden shadow fell over him. King Ariston stepped forward, the heavy steel plates of his armor clanking with metallic finality. He placed his broad, masculine, giant hands on Kairo's shoulders. The weight was immense, a physical anchor that forced Kairo's focus back to the present. Kairo looked up, his pupils dilating as a small, instinctual fear flared in his heart. Even this familiar father figure felt dangerous in the shifting layers of this reality.
King Ariston slowly knelt, lowering his massive, armored frame until his intense, weather-beaten eyes were level with Kairo's. The stone groaned slightly under his weight.
"Son, just guide me," Ariston said, his voice dropping to a low, resonant rumble that vibrated within the cavern walls. "Who was that monster? I will make sure that there are no monsters left in this world."
Kairo's mind reeled. Internally, a dark, cynical laugh bubbled up. Are you kinda dumb? he thought, his pragmatic nature viewing his father's bravado with grim detachment. There are literally giants out there capable of destroying our entire land in a single second. Against them, you are just a pathetic human being like the rest of us.
But Kairo did not laugh. He looked at his father with a dead, serious tone, his voice dropping into a grim, hollow rasp.
"But Father, do you know what you are talking about?" Kairo asked, his gaze locked onto the King's eyes. "If you step into that forest, if you have survived it, it means you are not a human being anymore. And Father... from the day you adopted me, you adopted a monster who is hidden behind an innocent child."
He leaned closer, the ambient heat of the torches casting sharp angles across his pale face.
"Promise me, Father—if this innocent child becomes a monster, no matter what happens, kill this child and this monster."
A few paces away, Leonhart stood frozen. He turned his head toward his own father, Duke Lionhart, who stood shrouded in the gloom of the cave's architecture.
"Wait, Father," Leonhart muttered, his fingers twitching over the hilt of his practice blade. "What is Kairo even talking about? What do you mean he is a monster?"
Duke Lionhart did not flinch. His eyes remained fixed on Kairo's small frame. "He is a monster. If he was not, you would have died the moment you entered there."
King Ariston didn't show anger. Instead, a slow, solemn smile broke through his thick beard. He squeezed Kairo's shoulders gently. "Don't worry. My sword only kills monsters. Even if I wanted to, it won't kill any innocent life."
Before the weight of the King's vow could settle, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the cavern entrance. Queen Ayame emerged from the gloom, her royal robes trailing on the dirt floor. She was holding baby Aria closely, but upon seeing Kairo standing upright, her composure cracked. She quickly handed the infant to one of her personal servants, turned, and started running toward Kairo.
She threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight, frantic embrace that smelled of expensive oils and clean linen.
Kairo stiffened slightly before relaxing into the hug. "Hey there, Mother. Sorry to make you sad about my arrival."
Ayame pulled back just enough to look at his lovely child, her hands gripping his face as she scanned for injuries. "What do you mean? I missed you so much. These months felt like a hundred years without you. I was just so worried about you. Are you alright? I heard you conquered two lands within a month... you absolute genius."
Kairo shifted his gaze over his mother's shoulder, catching Leonhart's eye. A rare, genuine crack of a smile broke through his stoic expression.
"Yeah," Kairo said, his voice lightening slightly. "I conquered another land with Father, and with my friend."
The scene shifted as the company moved outside the oppressive dampness of the cavern, setting up camp on the grassy plateau overlooking the valley. Night had fallen completely, a crisp wind rustling through the leaves of the nearby treeline. A massive firecamp crackled in the center of the clearing, casting a warm, flickering orange glow over the faces of the young companions gathered around it—a fire they had been tending diligently since the very moment Kairo had first entered the world.
Kairo sat on a smooth log, his elbows resting on his knees as he traced the lines of the crackling embers. "Yeah, it was a very tough match against those kings," he explained, his tone measured and deliberate as he broke down the strategic logistics of the campaign.
Sitting across from him was Daichi. He leaned back against a supply crate, his dark hair falling lazily into his eyes. Despite his slouching, relaxed posture, his high observation skills were apparent; his sharp eyes scanned Kairo's micro-expressions, picking up on the lingering tension.
"No way you have a brain like that," Daichi muttered, a lazy genius smirk playing on his lips as he parsed the tactical maneuvers Kairo described.
"Yeah! I was teaching him tricks!" Akio chimed in, leaning forward energetically. He was a goofy, mysterious type of person, short in size—his head leveling evenly with most of the girls in the group. His striking white hair caught the firelight, and his distinct red eyes gleamed with mischief. "And didn't my parkour help you save your life?"
Leonhart sat next to them, listening. He let out a massive, dramatic exhale. His cheeks puffed up like a balloon with the gathered air, and as he slowly released it, his mouth turned back to normal, his golden eyes glittering majestically in the dark.
"Yeah," Leonhart grumbled playfully, his blonde hair catching the light. "Your tricks... they definitely helped."
Beside him sat Liana, the noble's daughter. She wore an elegant, high-collared travel dress that looked far too pristine for a campfire, her posture perfectly upright as dictated by her aristocratic upbringing. She stared at Kairo, entirely lost in his beauty, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts.
I need to focus on my mission to make him mine before anyone else, she thought, a small, subtle giggle escaping her lips as she adjusted her silk sleeves.
Sitting on the outer ring of the fire was Ayame, the maid's daughter who had been close to Kairo for a very long time, working for him for way too much time to count. She glanced over at Aria, who was sleeping nearby, and then sharply noticed Liana's lingering gaze on the prince.
Yeah, right, Ayame thought bitterly, her fingers tightening around the hem of her apron. So will this hoe be able to take away my prince? No chance. Thanks, bro.
Mika blinked, leaning over her knees to look at Kairo. As the daughter of a powerful general, she carried herself with a rigid, disciplined frame, her eyes bright with ambition to match her father's legacy. "Wait a second... it's been a month already, and uhh, you were able to conquer two lands?"
"Yeah," Hina added softly, nodding her head. She was a gentle soul who resembled white flowers, her simple dress smelling faintly of the blossoms she sold in the market. "Even the nobles who didn't have a single penny of faith in you are starting to admire you. You are so cool, Kairo."
Renji sat at the edge of the log, sharpening a small hunting knife with methodical, rhythmic strokes. He was a workaholic, a thoroughly disciplined guy who valued merit above all else. He paused his whetstone, looking up at Kairo with absolute respect.
"Hmm, yeah. You really are great to conquer two lands," Renji said, bowing his head slightly toward the prince. "But don't worry, I won't let you down, Prince. I will work hard to keep up."
Kairo looked around the circle of his friends, the crackling of the logs the only sound in the cool night air. For a brief second, the shadows of the forbidden forest seemed very far away.