The heavy carriage wheels crushed the dirt road as they rumbled along the winding path toward the Horizon border.
Inside the first carriage, Reyon lay unconscious, wrapped in layered mana seals and thick enchanted cloths to suppress any sudden surge of power. His chest rose and fell steadily, but his face was unnervingly pale.
Beside the carriage, mana knights rode in tight formation, their faces grim, their grips firm on their weapons.
[Behind the First Carriage]
The second carriage followed closely. Inside sat Evelyn and Ray. Evelyn sat upright, gaze locked forward, her fingers clenched tightly on her knees. Ray, normally calm, stole glances at his aunt, sensing the strain she tried to hide.
"I never thought… things would come to this," Ray muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Evelyn didn't answer. She simply closed her eyes, recalling Reyon's broken, mangled body lying in her arms just a week ago.
Ray looked out of the window at the passing scenery, his fists tightening. "Hang in there, brother…"
[Behind the Second Carriage]
In the last carriage, Alice sat beside Edward Phoenix himself—the man known as the pinnacle of the continent.
Alice's hands rested on her lap, fidgeting slightly. Her heart raced, fear and anticipation twisting inside her chest.
('Will he be alright...? And... to meet her... the only 9th Circle magician alive...') she thought, lips pressed into a thin line.
Edward sat with his arms folded across his broad chest, his usual authoritative demeanor wrapped in silence. His golden eyes flickered with complex emotions as he gazed ahead.
He had come personally to ensure Reyon's safe arrival.
('Elder…') Alice dared a glance at him, ('Even you… you're worried...')
[At Horizon Border]
The convoy rolled to a halt before an enormous palace that seemed to touch the clouds. Guard towers lined the distant mountains, and strange mana currents flickered like northern lights across the skies.
Edward stepped out of the carriage first, his boots striking the white stone ground with a resounding thud.
Without hesitation, he moved to the first carriage and reached inside.
Everyone watched with wide eyes as Edward carefully lifted Reyon into his arms. The unconscious boy's limp form hung in his father's embrace, his missing limbs leaving a horrifying, hollow feeling among the spectators.
Ray's heart skipped a beat.
('Father…? Carrying him...?')
It didn't make sense. Edward Phoenix—the man who rarely showed affection even to his own blood—cradling Reyon like the most precious thing in the world?
Ray swallowed hard, feeling his throat tighten.
('We were never… adored by him. Not me, not Reyon... but…') Ray stared harder, (' so father do love us.')
Alice, stepping down carefully, glanced at Edward's back.
Even she could feel the emotions swirling around the patriarch's towering figure.
And her heart, filled with anxiety for Reyon, quickened even more.
('Please... please let him be saved...')
[Inside Horizon Palace]
Edward carried Reyon through the grand halls without slowing. Massive murals of stars and flames decorated the ceilings, depicting forgotten legends.
Alice followed behind, her breath shallow. Ray walked next to her, similarly stunned by the sheer oppressive atmosphere of the place.
As they reached the grand hall, a deep, commanding voice rolled over them like thunder.
"To think... my son, who never even sent a letter, would come to meet me."
The voice seemed to crush the very air.
Alice instinctively stumbled back. Ray's legs buckled slightly. Sweat broke out on their foreheads despite the cool air.
Sitting at the far end of the hall on an obsidian throne was a woman radiating an overwhelming presence.
Min Hee.
Her long silver hair flowed down like waterfalls, her eyes sharp enough to pierce steel. Around her, a tangible aura of dominance shimmered, twisting space itself.
('S-So this is... the 9th Circle magician…') Alice gasped internally, her knees trembling.
Ray bit down, trying to endure the pressure, veins bulging on his arms.
Edward, unaffected, approached with Reyon in his arms and knelt respectfully.
"Mother," he said solemnly. "Please forgive me for my rudeness... but Reyon's life is in danger."
Min Hee leaned forward, her expression unreadable.
"It's not his life that's in danger," she said, her voice low and emotionless, "it's his sanity."
Alice shivered at the way she said it—so certain, so final.
"And if he has truly lost that," Min Hee continued, "then everyone else's lives are in danger, too. Even you… won't be able to subdue him without killing him."
Her voice cracked faintly at the end. Sadness.
"Why," she whispered bitterly, "why must he resemble Leywin so much...?"
She closed her eyes briefly, her shoulders sagging under unseen weight.
"He's the same as his grandfather. Always… always thinking only about gaining strength. Never the consequences…"
Edward lowered his head further. His voice shook slightly.
"Please, Mother... he defeated Cerberus. I beg you—compress the core. Embed it into the Ring of Ferica. If there's a chance… he might regain his sanity."
Min Hee exhaled slowly, lifting a single finger.
Reyon's unconscious body floated gently from Edward's arms, wrapped in a cocoon of soft silver mana.
[Scene shift — Preparation for Compression]
Min Hee extended her palm toward Edward. Without hesitation, Edward produced the massive Cerberus core from a secured box and handed it to her.
The core, a swirling orb of dark red and black energy, pulsed violently as if still alive.
Min Hee held it aloft, her eyes narrowing.
She began.
Gravity magic condensed around the core first, collapsing it inward. Powerful pressure waves emanated from it, shaking the walls and making the chandeliers above rattle violently.
Then came flames.
Pure white flames erupted from her hands, purifying the chaotic energy within the core, taming its volatile mana.
The entire palace shook. Cracks appeared in the marble floors. Portraits fell from the walls.
Ray and Alice watched with their mouths open, unable to even speak.
('This... this is the true might of a 9th Circle magician...!') Alice thought, frozen in awe.
Minutes later, Min Hee clenched her hand into a fist.
The core, now the size of a small gemstone, hovered at her fingertip, glowing faintly.
She pressed it toward the Ring of Ferica, still clamped onto Reyon's finger.
As the core touched the Ring, a violent clash burst forth—pure white mana from the compressed core clashed against the black, corrupt mana tangled around Reyon's body.
The two forces collided in an explosion of energy.
BOOM!
Waves of mana expanded outward like shockwaves, knocking back the furniture and forcing everyone to shield their faces.
Evelyn was the first to recover, rushing toward Min Hee.
"Mom!" she cried, catching her just before Min Hee collapsed onto the ground, coughing violently into her sleeve.
"Are you alright?! What happened!?"
Min Hee, pale and gasping for breath, wiped the blood from her lips and managed a weak smile.
"It's... fortunate you arrived early..." she rasped. "My time... is almost up."
Everyone froze.
Min Hee chuckled weakly. "I used... the last of my remaining power... on him."
Alice covered her mouth in shock. Ray stood stiffly, fists trembling.
"But listen carefully…" Min Hee said, voice steadying slightly despite her labored breathing. "Even though the corrupt mana has left his body... a small fragment remains."
She placed a trembling hand on Reyon's forehead, reinforcing a thin web of mana restraints.
"In this condition… I can't eliminate it," she said grimly. "It will take time. Time for Reyon... to regain his own sanity."
Evelyn bit her lip, fighting tears. "Is there anyone who can… eliminate it? From his mind?"
Min Hee shook her head slowly.
"No…" she whispered. "Other than me... only your father, Leywin, could have. But... he isn't alive."
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the grand hall.
The final words echoed in everyone's hearts, sealing the weight of the burden they now carried.
And in the center of it all, Reyon remained silent—motionless, awaiting the battle within his mind that only he could fight.