I charged. Mana thundered through my legs, each step cracking the earth beneath me as force collided with soil. The air screamed in protest as I tore forward.

  The Dranox surged to meet me.

  They came like a living tide—snarling, eyes burning with feral hunger, claws carving trenches through dirt. Some bounded from rocks and roots, bodies twisting midair with predatory grace. Others sprinted low on all fours, jaws stretched wide enough to crush bone.

  The heat spheres hovering above my palms pulsed violently. My last reserves.

  Left.

  A Dranox lunged low, claws slicing for my ribs. I twisted, sliding beneath its arc, and slammed a sphere into its gut. The explosion tore it apart mid-leap. Its body was hurled backward, crashing into another Dranox and knocking both into the dirt in a mess of limbs and blood.

  Right.

  Two dropped from above. I crouched and snapped my arm upward, driving a sphere like a fire-laced uppercut. Light detonated beneath the canopy, scorching leaves into ash. One Dranox vanished in the blast.

  The second raked across my shoulder.

  Pain flared—hot and sharp—but I clenched my teeth and kept moving.

  “Tch… not yet. Not now.”

  Another charged straight at me. I didn’t slow. I ran faster.

  At the last instant, I leapt, planting my foot against its spine and flipping over its body. While airborne, I twisted and hurled a sphere downward.

  BOOM.

  White light swallowed the ground. The Dranox scattered, shrieking as the shockwave ripped through them.

  Silence followed—broken only by burning embers and distant snarls.

  Behind me, my family stood frozen.

  Father knelt in the dirt, blood soaking his sleeve, staring as if the boy he’d raised had vanished and been replaced by something unfamiliar.

  “Was he always…” Mother whispered, her voice trembling. “Like this?”

  Father shook his head slowly. “I didn’t even know he studied magic…”

  Mirielle said nothing. She simply stared.

  The sister who once mocked me, who called me lazy and talentless, now looked at me as if she were witnessing the birth of something rare. Something dangerous. Something real.

  I landed near them, boots skidding across scorched earth. My knees buckled as I caught myself.

  Breath tore from my lungs. My chest burned. Mana screamed through my veins, unstable and fraying. “Tch… this is getting out of hand…”

  Father couldn’t stand. Mirielle was still bleeding. My hands shook from backlash, heat crawling beneath my skin like fire trapped in bone.

  Come on, Shang. Think.

  Mother stepped forward, her voice barely holding together. “A-Aries…?”

  I turned slowly. Heat warped the air around me, bending light at the edges. My expression didn’t change.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “All of you. But this isn’t the time.”

  I turned fully—

  And then it clicked.

  Mirielle was on her feet again, sword in hand, stubborn and defiant despite the blood staining her clothes.

  “Sister,” I said, meeting her eyes. “I have a plan.”

  ......

  The smoke from my earlier blast thinned, revealing the forest beyond.

  Dozens of Dranox were regrouping.

  Growls rolled through the trees, low and unified, like a chant calling for blood.

  “They’re gathering,” Mirielle said, tension sharp in her voice.

  “Exactly.” I grinned. “Now.”

  Mirielle and Father moved.

  Barely standing, they ran—shouting, throwing stones, unleashing weak spells meant more to provoke than harm. The Dranox took the bait instantly, their bloodlust overriding caution as they gave chase like rabid beasts.

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  I sprinted the other way, through trees Over shattered logs. Past torn earth and broken stone. Until I reached it. A widened cliff. And beyond it is Nothing. Only jagged void waiting below.

  Perfect.

  Mirielle and Father raced along the cliff path, curving around the jagged terrain, luring the Dranox forward. I appeared behind the mob, palms crackling with unstable mana, each pulse humming with raw force. My heartbeat thrummed in my ears.

  “EAT THIS!!” I shouted, hurling the spheres not to destroy, but to channel and funnel the beasts. The blasts detonated just behind them, sending splintered trees tumbling, branches snapping, trunks shattering in showers of bark. The path behind the Dranox vanished, and the monsters surged forward, momentum carrying them straight toward the cliff edge.

  Loose rocks betrayed the last few, sliding under clawed feet. One skidded—crack. The earth gave way beneath them. A chorus of snarls twisted into shrieks as the monsters tumbled, claws scrabbling at empty air, into the yawning abyss. Dust and echoes rose, carrying the scent of fear and blood. For a heartbeat, silence claimed the clearing.

  Mirielle sank to her knees, gasping for breath, sword clattering to the earth. Drelan leaned back, dazed, but grinning despite the exhaustion. “We… we did it…” he whispered, collapsing onto the dirt. Relief rippled through me, shoulders loosening. We were safe. Or so I thought.

  A sudden, icy grip seized my ankle. My eyes shot wide. One Dranox, barely alive, had clung to a root jutting from the cliff’s edge, claws digging into my boot, dragging itself upward with murderous intent.

  “ARIES!!” Mirielle’s scream tore through the air.

  My footing slipped—stones crumbled beneath me. The world tilted. “No—!” I gasped.

  I fell, heart hammering, but a jagged rock caught my fingers at the rim. Suspended over the void, legs dangling, every muscle straining. The rock trembled beneath me, cracks spiderwebbing under my weight. Pain lanced through my arms and fingers.

  “ARIES—!!”

  Their voices collided in panic. Althea’s cry shredded the sky. “Hold on, Dear! Hold on—!” Drelan skidded forward, hands clawing at the edge, eyes wild. “Damn it! I can’t reach him! Mirielle—!”

  “I’m here!” Mirielle dropped to her stomach, stretching, fingertips brushing mine—but I was still too far. A meter too low. Unreachable.

  Below me, a low growl vibrated through my bones. I glanced down. The Dranox—the last one—had latched onto my leg, claws ripping into my boot, muscles coiling as it dragged itself upward. Blood dripped onto the jagged rock.

  “Argh—what a damn menace,” I hissed, teeth gritted, testing every ounce of strength. The stone beneath my hand shifted. Cracks widened, threatening to give way.

  Althea sobbed, voice shredded by terror. “Aries! Please—PLEASE—don’t let go! My boy… just hold on!” Her arms trembled, body shaking, tears spilling freely.

  I looked up at them—Mother breaking, Father trembling beside her, Drelan’s jaw tight, eyes wide with disbelief. I’d never seen my father like this. Never.

  “Mother… Father…” My voice was soft, steady in contrast to the chaos. “It’s alright.”

  They froze. Their eyes widened, horror locking them in place as my voice carried upward through the chaos.

  “You both gave me more than I ever deserved… I’m sorry for worrying you…” I swallowed, forcing the words through my tight chest. “But thank you. For everything.”

  Mirielle’s hand was still reaching for me. Desperate. Shaking. Refusing to give up.

  “Sister…”

  “Shh—shut up!” she snapped, her voice breaking apart even as she spoke. “Don’t talk—just hold out your hand, idiot! I almost have you! Just—just a little closer—!”

  She stretched beyond what her body should allow, tears spilling freely, falling onto my face like warm rain. I looked up at her—and smiled.

  “Sorry, Sister…” my voice softened. “I couldn’t live up to your expectations…”

  The stone beneath my fingers gave way. My grip slipped. My body dropped.

  The Dranox clinging to my leg snarled as it dragged me down with it, both of us swallowed by the void.

  “AAAAAARIIIEEESSS!!”

  Above me, everything shattered.

  Althea collapsed to the ground, her knees slamming into the dirt. Her mouth opened, but no sound came at first—only a silent scream before her sobs tore free. She struck the earth again and again, screaming until her voice went raw.

  “No… NO! My son—MY ARIES, NO!!”

  Drelan stood frozen at the cliff’s edge, staring at the place where I had vanished. His sword slipped from his fingers. His chest didn’t rise. He didn’t even breathe.

  Mirielle knelt, still reaching out into empty air. Her trembling hand slowly curled into a fist.

  _____________________________________________

  Flashback — Mirielle’s Memories

  She laughed back then, holding him close, ruffling his hair as he pouted.

  He was always behind her, always calling her name.

  She fed him when he cried.

  Protected him from bullies twice his size.

  Taught him how to tie his boots with clumsy fingers and patient smiles.

  She sat beside his bed when nightmares woke him, gripping his small hand until he fell asleep again.

  He was everything to her.

  But as he grew older—lazy, aimless, drifting—something inside her twisted. Her warmth faded into harsh words. Scolding. Teasing. Insults.

  Not because she hated him. Because she couldn’t stand watching the little brother she loved slowly disappear or things he can't achieve due to his laziness.

  “Hey, sister!”

  “What is it now, Aries?”

  “I love you! You’re the best sister ever!”

  _________________________________________________________

  Now — Present

  “I thought if I pushed him…” Mirielle’s voice trembled, breaking apart. “I thought he’d fight back… become stronger…”

  Her sword slipped from her hand.

  “But instead…” her knees hit the ground. “I—I pushed him away.”

  “AAAAAAARGHHHH!!”

  Her scream tore through the clearing, raw and animal.

  “IT’S ALL MY FAULT!!”

  Her fists slammed into the dirt, sending soil flying as her body shook violently.

  “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!!” she sobbed. “All I ever did was hurt you! I wanted to make you strong—but all I did was break you down!”

  Her voice cracked like shattered glass.

  “You didn’t deserve that, Aries… you didn’t deserve a sister like me…”

  Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she clutched her chest, gasping for breath.

  “All I ever did was insult you… call you useless… make you feel small…”

  Her words came out strangled, barely audible through the sobs.

  “You were my little brother… and I…” her hands trembled. “I destroyed you…”

  She pressed her fist to her heart as if it were tearing itself apart.

  “You didn’t deserve a sister like me…”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper, fragile and broken.

  “I just wanted you to be strong…”

  Her lips trembled.

  “But I never told you… not even once…”

  “…how proud I really was…”

  “…to have a little brother like you…”

  “…Aries…”