# Chapter 111
The Emperor released the machine he had been holding all along. The wires attached to his calves snapped, clutching rotten flesh as they broke. Having lost all sensation, the Emperor didn’t notice what was happening to his body. Gripping a knife he had hidden in his sleeve, he grabbed Arden’s head with his other hand and bent it forward. The small blade slid between the exposed vertebrae of his neck. A scream that couldn’t become sound disappeared beyond his throat.
“Arden!”
Rite’s pitch-black hand seized the Emperor’s back. His hand, covered in hardened skin, easily penetrated the fragile flesh. Even the wires connected to the Emperor’s chest were ripped out, spitting sparks. Rite’s fingertips touched something hard. It was the Emperor’s heart.
The Emperor’s lips parted, but his final words never became sound. His last testament remained forever trapped within his body.
A thunderous noise erupted. The mechanical sounds that had been repeating steadily grew explosively louder. Countless gears crashed against each other, creating a cacophony.
The stuccos decorating the walls and ceiling collapsed. Rite felt the body impaled on his hand slipping away. Amidst the chaos, Rite opened his eyes, desperately searching for Arden. Just as he took a step, an enormous wing decoration fell onto Rite’s head. His vision went black.
The massive castle screamed as if in agony. As if its own heart had been stabbed. Though unable to open his eyes while trapped under the debris, Rite heard it clearly. After the sound of trapped steam bursting out, everything fell silent.
“…Arden.”
All became quiet. Even the sounds of turning machinery subsided. The castle hadn’t collapsed. In his returning vision, Rite saw two entangled figures. He shook off the debris pressing down on him and hastily got up.
Crawling, he dragged himself to Arden. He pushed aside the Emperor’s body and pulled Arden out, but Arden’s drooping head wouldn’t lift.
“Arden… Arden…”
Arden’s pupils looked abnormally large. His pitch-black, empty eyes stared into space. Frightened by this, Rite covered Arden’s eyes with his palm. With trembling fingertips, he felt Arden’s skin.
Rite’s hand fumbled around Arden’s neck. He felt the knife handle but couldn’t recklessly pull it out. His frozen fingertips hovered around helplessly.
“Someone… someone’s hurt.”
There was no answer. Despite the commotion, outside was deathly silent. Rite had forgotten that he had entered after tying up the knights.
“Is nobody there? I know you’re outside! Someone’s hurt!”
After those words, no more came from Rite’s mouth. Between his parted lips, only unintelligible groans kept bursting out. He couldn’t comprehend what had happened, yet tears fell from his eyes. His ears became muffled. Everything around him grew quiet, and his senses floated away. It was too cruel to be reality.
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, which was so strained that veins popped out. His chest heaved repeatedly. Though he screamed at the top of his lungs, Rite couldn’t hear himself. The monster remained alone, howling silently.
Behind his back, something black began to wriggle out, tearing through his flesh. His right arm grew abnormally large. Sharp claws scratched Arden’s cheek without Rite even realizing as he wailed uncontrollably.
The blotchy eyes, now resembling those of a beast, caught sight of the scenery outside the window. The sun was rising. Noah’s Gate, dyed in the crimson sunlight, came into view. The luxurious gold leaf glittered painfully bright. The grandeur he had felt when first seeing it was gone.
“Artalis!”
Rite’s rationality, pushed to its limits, gradually eroded. His voice, squeezed out with difficulty, urgently called out to someone. The low, rumbling voice was close to a monster’s roar.
Purple eyes sensing his presence rolled back. Artalis clicked her tongue, looking down at the fallen Emperor.
“He’s not dead yet. But he will be soon.”
“…”
“…You struggled. How disgusting.”
Rite couldn’t accept any of this situation. He was angry. He couldn’t understand why Artalis had sent him here. Just to kill a human who was already precariously close to death.
“Save him.”
“…”
“Save Arden.”
When he removed his blood-stained left hand, Rite’s and Arden’s eyes met. Rite gritted his teeth. The sobbing that leaked through his clenched teeth gradually grew louder.
“I said save him. You can do it!”
“But then you would die?”
“I don’t care. Save him now.”
Black feet approached Rite’s side. Artalis observed Rite, who stubbornly kept his eyes only on Arden. A smile spread across her compassionate lips.
“Very well. A deal must be kept.”
The gears that had stopped began to move again. The wheels that had been rolling in their designated places soon changed their trajectory. Now, it was impossible to tell where they were headed.
“Well done, my child.”
With those words, Rite’s body collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
On the day the Empire’s Emperor drew his last breath, rain fell from the sky. The golden droplets appeared truly like the second coming of a deity.
The droplets that began from Moran spread throughout the entire empire. They breathed life into the parched land and brought relief to withered lives.
And thus, all the crimson traces were washed away.
* * *
I hope my death doesn’t shatter you.
That was Arden’s last thought.
* * *
It was a night with barely any moonlight. A good night to hide oneself and flee far away. In the pitch-black darkness, Arden curled up his body. Hidden inside a bookshelf, where no one could see him, he buried his face between his knees. Silently, without making a sound. He didn’t want to add his emotions to the sorrow of others. So he chose to be alone.
“Mother… Mother…”
Though he repeatedly fiddled with his hearing aid at the sound of people sobbing, he couldn’t bring himself to remove it. Arden was waiting for daybreak. He hoped the deep night would stretch longer so the escapees could safely flee, but at the same time, he wanted the sun to rise quickly. He was afraid this night might never end.
“Mother…”
“Shut up!”
“Mother…”
Listening to the crying of those who remained, Arden quietly counted numbers. Like counting sheep when unable to sleep.
He didn’t particularly need to fall asleep or have a goal of counting to a specific number. He was merely distracting his mind to stop his thoughts.
“Why are you crying like that?”
At the voice right in front of him, Arden flinched. Arden wasn’t in his right mind enough to recall that there were no experimental subjects with voices he didn’t know. Arden, who hadn’t made a sound, opened his mouth.
“It’s not me crying, it’s all of you. Why didn’t you leave? Do you plan to stay here like this? If you’re so miserable, instead of staying here like this…”
“…”
“No. No… I’m sorry. I have no right to say such things.”
“You’re crying too, aren’t you?”
Only then did Arden cautiously raise his head. A woman with flowing golden hair was looking down at him. Though her face was unfamiliar, Arden wasn’t wary.
Arden’s face contorted. The woman was clean, without a single wound. She was the most intact of all the experimental subjects here, yet she had chosen not to leave. Either her mind had collapsed that much, or she was consumed by fear to the point she couldn’t leave.
It was a terrible result of learned helplessness. Arden felt despair.
“Are you scared now that you’ve caused trouble?”
“No. That’s not it.”
“Then what’s making you so sad?”
At those words, the thoughts he had deliberately stopped quickly filled his mind again. Plin is dead. I have no family left. I was too busy working to know Plin was sick. I want to escape from this terrible place. But I had to take responsibility.
“Now there’s no one left.”
Arden was just as broken. He felt as if he had lost his entire self. He felt that his very being was crumbling bit by bit, disappearing completely.
“I thought there was no one around me. Because I know there’s really no one left now. Because I know I’ll be alone until I die.”
“So? What would you like to happen?”
“I wish there was someone by my side. No matter what kind of person I am, no matter what I’ve done, just someone who’s on my side…”
“…”
“Being left alone is…”
His eyes, once always bright with intelligence, had lost their light. He was afraid and sorrowful. A child who had learned rejection from the moment of birth couldn’t find his place even as an adult. If I had parents? If I had been a child of a great family? If I at least had a sponsor?
No. Those wouldn’t have been fundamental solutions. Arden felt the ground beneath his feet sinking. There was no place for Arden to stand anymore. He could only continue to fall deeper.
“It must be hard.”
“…”
“Having someone beside you isn’t always good. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, there’s a lot you have to endure, and sometimes you can’t even speak painful truths in order to protect someone.”
Arden shook his head. No. This didn’t make any sense at all. Arden’s head drooped.
“It’s just as hard when there’s no one by your side.”
“…”
“If I’m going to suffer anyway, I’d rather have someone precious beside me.”
No answer came. After a long time had passed, when Arden raised his head again, the woman was gone.
