The head butler, Mr. Lousilks, approached Luke's parents just as they arrived home from their usual business. Lousilks's gaze immediately fell upon Young Rein, who was covered in rags and hidden shyly behind the parents.

  "Sir, who is this boy?" Lousilks asked, his professionalism tinged with caution.

  "We just found him lingering in a dark alley." Luke's father replied, casually rubbing Rein's hair. "We thought we'd bring him in as a new member of the family."

  "I apologize for asking this, sir, but for what purpose?" Lousilks inquired. "From his appearance, the boy doesn't seem to possess any talent."

  "That's true on the surface." the father replied with a thin smile. "But Luke here insisted that this kid has a potential."

  "Potential?"

  "Indeed. He can use a raw version of the Azure element, the Ice element."

  Rein slowly demonstrated his power, carefully creating a delicate ice flower in his small hand. The butler's surprise was evident.

  "Now, if you don't mind," the father said, gently nudging Rein forward. "Can you take care of him for me?"

  The memory vanished, leaving Rein standing alone in his dimly lit room, the silence heavy and cold. The illusion of a family had died long ago. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to move.

  A knock interrupted the stillness. "Rein, are you in there?" Revir's voice called from the door.

  "... What do you want, Revir?"

  "Please open the door."

  After a brief pause, Rein unlocked it. To his surprise, Revir instantly swung his axes. Rein brought up a desperate spear of ice to defend himself, but the fragile defense shattered instantly. The force of the blow sent Rein staggering backward, crashing through his window and out onto the ground outside.

  Despite safely landing, Revir followed, leaping out and swinging his axes again. Rein morphed his wand into a steel spear. The point of his spear clashed violently against Revir's axes.

  "What the hell are you doing, Revir?" Rein scoffed, struggling to hold back the immense force.

  "Forcing you to cry it out loud, to make you atleast open up your own feeling." Revir said, pushing back.

  Both of them jumped back, settling into their battle stances.

  "For what? My life isn't that significant to you, is it?" Rein challenged.

  Revir closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, before reopening them and leveling his axes against Rein.

  "Indeed. It's none of my business or interest to know what happens in your life. But..." he tightened his grip. "... Say that you don't have an ambition...that just means you'd rather die in the trash than find your own reason to live, isn't it?"

  "What about it? It's the only way for me to repay them. I'm not worth protecting."

  "Every life has their own meaning. No single of trauma can shake the resolve of a life as completely as you claim."

  "You would never understand what I've faced!" Rein shouted, the ice element around him swirling out of control. "Watching so many of your loved one died because of yourself. Sitting there doing nothing but watching the horror through your helpless eyes..." The air plummeted. "This cold will never go. My wing to life has already frozen in place!"

  "You really don't want to listen to me, do you?" Revir lowered his axes, readying himself. "Fine then. I'm going to ignite that desire of yours to live!"

  With that, they both charged forward, ready to clash.

  As Carol, Lily and the group walked out from the dining room, they immediately noticed the commotion outside the window. Rein and Revir locked in a fierce, unsanctioned battle.

  "What the..? We have to stop them!" Lily exclaimed, panicking at the sight of the clash.

  Carol grabbed her shoulder firmly. "Nah, it's fine. Revir just trying to beat some sense into your brother."

  "Sense? What do you mean?"

  Carol shrugged casually. "I suppose he's already figured out what's been haunting Rein for so long. In fact, Revir will never fight against someone for no reason."

  "He knows? Sounds like he's experienced the same thing my stupid brother has."

  "Maybe. Not that we know him that well, anyway. We only met over a month ago after the exam in Verlyn."

  "I see." Lily murmured, turning back to the window, her panic replaced by confused concern.

  Rein threw several Ice spears against Revir. While Revir easily broke the spears apart with his axes. However, his hand slowly began to freeze where the ice touched the metal. Though frustrated, he only offered a casual smile and slammed his axes into the ground.

  Rein felt a slight earthquake. Recognizing the spell, he quickly backed away as sharp rock terrain spiked up from the earth.

  Revir seized the opportunity, leaping from the rising rock and instantly morphing his axes into a huge spike of rock. In response, Rein did the same, enhancing and covering his spear fully with defensive ice.

  Their weapon clashed. The temperature plummeted, and the rock on Revir's axe slowly began to freeze. The wall of the manor beside Rein was also covered in a sudden layer of frost due to the sheer force of his power.

  "Not bad for a sad boy like you." Revir said, his casual smile clearly taunting him.

  (The spell...It's breaking?) Rein thought, noticing a faint crack spreading across his weapon.

  "Didn't our Professor already mention about the Vergus spell?" Revir asked, pushing forward.

  "Vergus spell?"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Rein's eyes widened in horror as he remembered the spell's critical drawback.

  "That's right," Revir confirmed. The spear instantly broke apart, cancelling the defensive spell. "It will break if the owner cannot control their emotion."

  Revir swung his axes to the side as a clear threat, then landed and immediately drove a hard punch directly to Rein's face.

  The blow sent Rein stumbling backward, slowly sinking onto the cold ground. Blood dripped from his nose as he coughed, his frustration boiling more intensely than ever before.

  "Sorry that you had to taste that punch. I couldn't help myself." Revir said, walking forward and stopping directly in front of Rein.

  "You...bastard." Rein choked up, slowly looking up from the ground.

  "What a choice of words you have there, Rein. But yeah, I'm quite a bastard to everyone. After all, leaving everything else without even trying is literally what I would always do."

  "What do you mean by leaving everything..?" Rein asked, confused by the statement.

  Revir knelt, his expression now showing genuine empathy.

  "You think you're the only one who's experienced that kind of trauma? It's an inevitable situation, I know that. Even I also had the thought of running away from that responsibility. It was too deadly for my well being. If I just stay there..." he looked down, gripping his axes tightly. A sudden cold rain began to wash over the earth. "... If she hadn't forced me to live up to her dream, I might not be alive right now."

  Rein fell into a heavy silent. "What's the point of telling me this? Are you going to dwell and mourn over your past?"

  "No, I will never do that." Revir cancelled his spell, pulled Rein up by his collar, and instantly punched him again. Rein fell hard, his cheek stinging with pain.

  "Stand up, Rein! Stand up!" Revir roared, challenging him.

  Rein pressed his fists, rage fueling his effort to stand. "You really make me sick!" he charged forward, blindly consumed by fury.

  Revir dodged the frantic punches with ease, then drove a hard punch into Rein's stomach. Rein coughed up blood, his legs trembling as he leaned against the base of a tree, sinking back to the ground in frustration.

  "I thought you could do better than this." Revir said, his voice calm but piercing. "Throwing your power around, only to be consumed by your own rage... There's no way that fake mask of yours can fool everyone, Rein."

  "I know that, I know that! Do I have a choice?!" Rein yelled, his control finally snapping. "Everything is my fault, everything! They died because of me! I left them behind...running and running from the danger!"

  Revir listened with an unwavering expression.

  "Every day, dreaming about their death and blood. Their screams of pain and agony are haunting my mind... I can't stand it anymore, you know?!"

  "Is that so?" Revir cast his Vergus spell again, pointing the sharp metal of his axe toward Rein's neck. "If you cannot stand it, then fight. Fight until that scream is gone."

  "I can't, Revir. I can't do it..."

  "Why? Tell me, Rein."

  Rein fell silent, desperately trying to hide the truth. He knew he had to share it to be free, but the fear of abandoning his brother's secret, facing an ultimate betrayal was far too strong.

  "Hmph. I really wasted my time, didn't I?" Revir said, throwing Rein's wand to the wet grass beside him.

  "I really couldn't stand against people who only know to lament."

  Revir turned and walked away. The rain washed the dirt from his clothes as he he disappeared into the falling night. "If I couldn't ignite your wings, then you have to do it yourself, gloomy."

  Hidden behind a nearby tree, Orin's maid was eavesdropping on the fierce battle and argument. She was greatly shocked by Rein's desperate confession.

  (He's not the one who killed Mr. Orin's father? So the truth of that incident is actually... No, I have to tell this to Sir Orin.) The maid's hands trembled with sudden hope. (He might finally forgive Mr. Rein, and this whole mess might be resolve... I hope so.)

  With her mind set, the maid quickly turned and walked deeper into the forest.

  In the freezing core of the forest, Orin gently brushed the head of the Azure Ice Dragon with his hand. Several ice-covered minions he had summoned stood nearby as a brutal guard.

  The maid, just arrived, was instantly shocked and terrified by how much her master had changed in one day. He was no longer Orin she knew and served, he was a man consumed by an obsession, like an ice of demon lord.

  "Ah, you're arrived. What's the progress?" Orin asked, turning to the maid with a dangerously calm tone.

  She froze. A deadly pressure emanated from his voice, a sign that if she answered incorrectly, she would suffer a fate worse than death.

  "Answer my question," Orin insisted.

  "Uhm... Good so far," she stammered, offering a false smile. "Rein hasn't moved a muscle since he returned to his room."

  "Oh, really?" Orin pointed his wand directly at her. "I hope you're not lying to me. You know I don't like that, right?"

  Desperate crushed within her heart. The maid knew Orin saw through her lie. Despite her fear, she summoned her courage. "I don't think this is entirely Mr. Rein's fault, Sir Orin! In fact, I just overheard something from him!"

  Orin felt a flicker of irritation, his brow twitching. "Go on."

  "He said he's responsible for running away, not killing them. My guess for what actually happened in that incident was a monster ambush, or some kind of deadly creature ruling this forest."

  "So you're saying everything is not Rein's fault?" Orin asked, his voice deceptively soft.

  "Y-yes! That's right! He never killed anyone! He might have been too scared or couldn't use his power at that time! What do you think about this, Sir Orin?" she pleaded, a desperate silver of hope in her voice.

  "I see. Your point does make sense."

  Ice suddenly erupted and exploded around the maid's right arm, tearing it apart from her body. She didn't process the sudden, blinding pain until her arm was gone. Blood poured out, staining the snow like a hideous river. To Orin, it was the happiest sight he had ever witnessed, a scene he longed to recreate with Rein.

  The maid touched the stump of her arm, then sank to the ground, screaming in agonizing pain and confusion.

  "However, that's not the answer I seek." Orin said, stepping closer.

  "Why...why did you do this, Sir Orin..? Don't you believe me?" The maid cried out, devastated by her master's cruelty.

  "Of course I don't believe you. There's no way Rein would run away and do nothing at all. He's powerful enough to fight this creature, isn't he?" Orin said, casually stroking the Azure Dragon.

  The ice minions prepared their weapons, walking toward the screaming maid to finish the job. She lay in misery, eyes wide in horror, realizing she would die by her own master's hand.

  Suddenly, a flurry of throwing knives struck the minions, shattering them into ice shards.

  "Who's there?!" Orin roared, shocked by the attack.

  The figure landed, positioning herself defensively over the wounded maid. That figure is Mira.

  "Mira? What are you doing here?" Orin demanded.

  "Sorry, Orin. But that's enough."

  "What the hell do you mean by 'enough'? That stupid maid committed an unforgivable sin against me, her own master! She has to be punished from it!"

  "Tell me what sin she made, then." Mira challenged.

  "Why should I told you if you're already know that? You were appointed by that Zarikh man to come here! To watch over me!"

  "I'm not anyone's servant. And I never listen to someone I deem uninteresting. Even though I'm just a walking corpse, I still have my own priority."

  "You..." Orin showed his palm, ordering the dragon to breathe an ice magic toward Mira and the maid. But they vanished just in time. Frustrated, he decided to let it be as Orin laughed maniacally. The sound of his laugh echoing through the cold trees. "Fine. I don't need everyone else anyway."

  The dragon soared into the sky, its cry rumbling across the forest like a war horn.

  "Now, let us remake those past, Rein." Orin said, leading his forces like a general commanding a battle.