Silence filled the hall…
A heavy, stifling silence… as if the very walls were afraid to speak.
Kim stood there, gazing at Amon with dark, hollow eyes, while the latter's words still echoed inside his head.
"I told you she was fine…"
But…
Why was his voice so devoid of hope?
Kim's eyes narrowed gradually, then he spoke in a low, chilling tone:
"Amon… what are you hiding from me?"
Amon turned his face away for a moment… as if trying to escape that piercing gaze.
But before he could utter a word—
The entire place shuddered.
BOOM!
The sky above the palace cracked open, and massive circles of holy light appeared. Even the servants and guards fell to the ground, paralyzed with terror.
A terrifying aura ascended…
And then…
Dozens of white wings descended from the heavens.
Angels.
But… they were not as they had been before.
Their faces did not carry arrogance or wrath…
Instead, it was something closer to… Awe.
A man wearing a long white robe stepped forward, his eyes fixed solely on Kim.
Then, he spoke in a calm, steady voice:
"The time has finally come…"
Kim's features hardened.
"You again…"
But the strange thing was…
The man did not raise his weapon.
He bowed.
He bowed before Kim.
Everyone's eyes widened. Even Amon froze in his place.
One of the guards stammered, trembling:
"An… An Exalted of the Children of Light… bowing?!"
But the man ignored them all.
He raised his eyes toward Kim and said:
"We are not here to fight you."
He paused for a heartbeat…
"We are here to tell you the truth."
…
Silence reigned.
But something deep within Kim's heart began to tremble for no reason.
He said coldly:
"What truth?"
The man looked at him for a long time…
Then, he spoke the words that made the world seem to stop:
"You are not the Child of Prophecy."
Kim's eyes widened.
"…What?"
The man spoke with a heavier tone:
"The prophecy itself… was a lie."
The air vibrated as he continued:
"You were never a vessel for Chaos…"
Then, his eyes filled with genuine fear.
"You are… The Last Seal."
…
Silence fell again.
But Kim's mind ceased to comprehend.
The Last Seal?
The man said:
"Chaos was not within you alone. It was sealed in countless corners of the realms… since the dawn of existence."
"In every era… there was a seal."
"But… you are no ordinary seal."
He took a step closer…
Then said in a trembling voice:
"You are the Final Seal that prevents absolute Chaos from returning."
Kim felt his breath catching in his throat.
"No…"
But the man pressed on:
"And that is why… you had to die."
Kim's body shuddered as memories of his mother flashed through his mind with terrifying speed.
Her smile…
Her weeping…
The way she held him…
Then, her final words.
"Run…"
His pupils dilated violently.
He whispered in a broken voice:
"M… Mother…"
The man lowered his head slightly.
"Your mother knew."
…
Everything stopped. Even his heartbeat.
"She knew… that if you died… Chaos would be unleashed."
"And that is why she protected you."
"Not because you were innocent…"
"But because she knew what you would become."
Kim's breathing became erratic.
No… No…
"She knew you would destroy the world."
"And yet… she chose you."
Kim's eyes widened slowly… as if his soul was being torn apart.
"Even after knowing…"
His voice shook.
"…She loved me?"
Silence.
But those words… were enough to shatter something deep inside his heart.
Then…
Suddenly—
He gripped his head violently.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He collapsed to his knees.
The black cracks began to spread across his body once more.
Amon screamed:
"Kim!"
But Kim couldn't hear him.
Because something else began to break free.
Voices. Laughter. Screams. Memories.
Millions of memories.
Then…
A voice. A voice that sounded exactly like his own.
"Do you understand now?"
Kim's eyes snapped open.
"…You."
The voice laughed.
"I am not a voice inside you."
"I am… You."
Kim's body froze.
Then he began to see… lives. An infinite number of lives.
Kim standing amidst the blood.
Kim weeping.
Kim laughing insanely.
Kim dying.
Then being born again.
Dying. Born.
World after world. Age after age.
And every single time… the same end.
Betrayal. Fear. Hatred.
Then… Chaos.
His lips trembled.
"No…"
But the memories continued.
He saw himself as a child. A king. A criminal. A hero. A monster.
But in the end… he always turned into the same thing.
Oblivion.
Then the voice returned:
"All roads lead to the written end."
"Because you never had a choice to begin with."
Kim's eyes stared blankly… as tears fell without ceasing.
"You are not a human who became a monster."
"You are the monster… who tried to become human."
His entire frame shook.
Then, the image of his mother appeared within his memories…
Holding him. Crying. Smiling at him.
Then he heard her voice.
"Even if you destroy everything… I will still love you."
Kim's features broke completely.
"Mother…"
But the dark voice laughed again.
"She was only the one who gave you the illusion of humanity."
"But we… were always this."
Then—
The seals within his soul began to shatter.
One… after another.
BOOM!
The worlds trembled.
The black sky above the palace exploded.
A colossal shadow emerged behind Kim… resembling him, but with eyes that were utterly hollow.
Then, it slowly opened its mouth…
And said:
"Oblivion has finally returned."
As for Kim…
He heard nothing.
He was only crying… like a small child…
Desperately trying to cling to the image of his mother in his memories before it vanished.
"No…"
"Please…"
"Don't leave me alone again…"