Reyand turned to the doctor, his voice trembling with desperation. "Sir, when will our son regain consciousness?"
The doctor's expression darkened, a shadow of sorrow crossing his face. "It is hard to tell. He has lost a staggering amount of blood. It may be a long time; I cannot give you a definitive window."
A cold fear settled over the room. At the doctor's words, Alice collapsed into tears. Reyand and Erik rushed to her side, trying to offer comfort and courage, though their own hearts were heavy with the same gnawing grief. As evening approached and hope for Rudra's immediate awakening flickered out, the family decided to move him back to the house. Ribi and Vivian refused to leave his side, their constant presence a silent prayer for his recovery.
Shortly after they returned home, a knight arrived at the doorstep. In his arms, he carried Rudra's belongings found at the site: a travel bag, a dagger, and a katana stained dark with dried blood.
Erik stared at the items, a sudden realisation hitting him. and he said, "Father, why did my brother need to go into the forest at night?"
As he spoke, Reyand reached for the bag. When he pulled out a specific book, his breath hitched.
"Alice!" Reyand shouted.
Alice emerged from Rudra's room, her face pale and drawn. Reyand held the book up before her. Upon seeing it, Alice froze. She looked as though she had seen a ghost, her body shaking violently.
"Where... where did you find this?" she whispered, her voice fractured.
"It was in Rudra's bag," Reyand replied, his face turning cold and stern.
"How is this possible?" Alice cried out in desperation. "I remember throwing that book away a very long time ago! How could he have found it?"
Reyand's eyes narrowed. "That is the question. How did he get it, and more importantly, what was he doing with it?"
"Father, open it," Erik urged. "Maybe we'll find a clue about what happened."
Reyand placed the book on the table and flipped it open. The family gasped in unison. Every single page was meticulously annotated. Lines were underlined, and the margins were cramped with handwritten notes explaining the meaning of every complex word and obscure passage.
"What was he trying to achieve?" Reyand wondered aloud, his face clouded with doubt.
Unable to bear the tension, they eventually left the book on the table to console Alice once more. As her sobs filled the room, Erik quietly seized the opportunity. He took the book and slipped away into Rudra's room.
Sitting by his brother's bedside, Erik began to search for details. If I know my nerd brother, Erik thought to himself, he would have broken down this entire concept. In his previous life, Erik remembered the rise of a terrifying cult of devil worshippers. A chilling thought crossed his mind: if my brother was a member of that cult in one of my past lives, it explains his terrible end.
He began searching the room for a secondary notebook, convinced there was more. He checked the shelves and the drawers, finding nothing. Just as he was about to give up in frustration, he noticed something at the bottom of the desk—a notebook held in place with gum.
"So, you hid it here," Erik whispered. "You've been outsmarting us for a long time, brother."
When he opened the journal, the contents were mind-blowing. Erik looked at the unconscious Rudra. "Brother... are you a regressor like me? If not, then you are a frightening genius. How could someone your age form such a complex art style and calculate mana with this level of precision?"
He looked at Rudra's still form, his heart aching. "Wake up, brother. It's lonely without you. I don't know why you were researching this cult, but I need you to tell me yourself."
Later, Erik went downstairs. His parents were sitting in the dim light, exhaustion etched into their features. "Is your brother awake?" Alice asked, her eyes searching Erik's face.
Erik sadly shook his head. They sat together in deep, heavy silence until the night grew old and they retired to bed.
Alone in his room under the glow of a small lamp, Erik began to devour his brother's journal. As he read, his amazement turned into horror. He started with the entries regarding Rudra's first battle with their father. After two hours of nonstop reading, Erik realised a truth no one else had seen: Rudra had been losing his power.
For the last two years, Rudra had struggled to amplify his mana. No one suspected a thing because he never lost a duel; even against kids two or three years older, he won through pure swordplay. Erik found the records of his brother's secret: Rudra had analysed every single person he fought. He had detailed notes on their father and even on Erik himself, creating specific codes and tricks to beat them despite his failing mana.
But the further Erik read, the more he saw the raw desperation. Rudra knew he was losing something, but he didn't understand why. He felt his happiness slipping away. Even his relationship with Ribi felt distant in his writings.
Erik remembered how Rudra had slowly become silent and annoying to others. Now he saw why. Rudra hadn't been researching the book because he believed in it; he was researching its efficiency to see if it was a lie.
Then, Erik found a line that broke his heart: "It hurts so much to be ignored by the people I thought cared for me. I am losing them, just as I am losing my mana formation."
"Oh, brother," Erik choked out, tears blurring his vision. "How much sorrow were you hiding? I was right here, and I didn't even know. This time... I am failing to protect my family again."
He wiped his eyes and kept reading. The journal began to describe a hidden cave in the deep forest and the brutal training Rudra had undergone to harden his mind and body, preparing himself for a power efficiency that his body was never meant to hold.
just one linear:A hidden journal reveals that behind the facade of a genius, a dying brother was desperately fighting a losing battle against his own vanishing power.