# Chapter 104
But it was impossible to move Heyon with his strength alone. Even speaking was barely possible for Heyon.
‘Sorry… I can’t move.’
But he didn’t give up. He couldn’t give up. He gritted his teeth and put more strength into his hands that were holding Heyon. A warm hand settled on him as he did so.
‘I’m fine.’
Heyon shook his head at him as he tried desperately to save him, tears streaming down his face. There was a clear sense of resignation, as if he knew there was no hope for him. Seeing Heyon like this, he cried out.
‘You can live! I’ll save you!’
There must be some way. Some way to save Heyon. His mind began racing. How could he save Heyon?
‘…The ability.’
At that moment, a clear method came to mind, making him wonder why he hadn’t thought of it sooner.
His ability, which he was familiar with but had never considered using. He could use Revive. If he did that, he could save Heyon.
He stared at his hands, soaked in blood. With enough will, the supernatural ability would respond to his desire. But despite this thought, he couldn’t easily make the decision.
It wasn’t a matter of whether to save him or not. The supernatural ability could only be used once. That meant he would have to give up on saving someone else.
It would have been good if Heyon still had his Revive, but he had already used his ability. The same was true for his parents and Heyon’s family.
So if he used Revive on Heyon, he wouldn’t be able to save his parents and Heyon’s family. He had to choose. Who to save.
He felt like crying like a child who knew nothing. It was too overwhelming a choice for him. Just a few hours ago, he had been happily waiting for Heyon’s family to arrive, and now he was weighing the lives of his loved ones.
Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, he tried to clear his mind. His foggy thoughts became a little clearer.
He wished it was a dream, but this was something only he could do. He had to face reality. He exhaled slowly and released the tension in his body.
‘Soon, I’ll make it so you won’t hurt anymore…’
After struggling with the conflict, he finally chose to save Heyon. He couldn’t just watch this happen. He opened his mouth gently, giving a precarious smile to the pale Heyon.
But Heyon seemed to understand him completely, shaking his head as he looked at him.
‘That’s… not allowed.’
‘But this is exactly when it should be used.’
Frowning in incomprehension at Heyon’s unexpected response, he couldn’t understand. If he didn’t use his ability, Heyon would die. So he must know this was the only way for him to survive. But Heyon rejected Revive without any lingering attachment.
‘I’m going to save you.’
Having this ability and not being able to protect even one precious person—he hated that. He ignored Heyon’s words and raised his hand to use his ability.
‘Just wait… Just wait a little bit. I’ll definitely save you.’
The sight of his parents lying cold flashed before his eyes, but he deliberately turned away. He had already made his decision, and there would be time for regret later.
He would suffer enough pain to die for the rest of his life anyway. So saving Heyon came first now. If his ability could resurrect the dead, it should be possible to completely heal Heyon’s current state.
He closed his eyes as he placed his hand on Heyon’s stomach. When he filled his hand with the will to save him, a soft light began to surround them after a while. Revive was starting to respond.
‘I told you, it’s not allowed…’
Heyon met his eyes with a helpless smile at the warm light. He thought Heyon was allowing him to use his ability. But as soon as Heyon’s words ended, the light that had been slowly rising disappeared in an instant.
‘Hyung…!’
After a moment of confusion, he soon found the reason. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Heyon’s ability was brainwashing. He was using brainwashing on him right now. The fact that he couldn’t move a finger in this situation was proof of that.
‘I can, I can save you!’
‘Someday… you’ll truly need, ugh… to use it.’
‘That day is now!’
This was no time to think about the future. Saving him was more important than anything else to him. He wished Heyon would release the brainwashing. Thick tears rolled down his cheeks.
‘Please, don’t leave me alone…’
‘It’s okay. I’m sure you’ll… do well.’
That couldn’t be. How could he possibly live well on his own? When everything he had was gone. He would be in agony, despair, and eventually go mad. He would surely wither away, blaming himself for not saving anyone.
‘There’s… no time.’
‘Please, release this…!’
Naturally, the more brainwashing Heyon used, the worse his condition became. He could feel Heyon’s breathing gradually fading. He was terrified of Heyon’s state as he grew colder. Now Heyon was all he had left, and even he was about to disappear.
‘I’m sorry.’
If anyone should apologize, it should be him. If he hadn’t asked Heyon to come, neither Heyon nor his family would have suffered this fate. He felt as if his parents’ deaths and the deaths of Heyon’s family were all his fault. He felt guilty for being the only one unharmed in this situation.
Tears of guilt fell onto Heyon. Seeing them, Heyon smiled bitterly and slowly raised his hand to brush his face.
‘Take care of Alice for me.’
Alice was Heyon’s younger sister. The child he had been looking forward to meeting. He hurriedly looked around. But the child who should have come with them was nowhere to be seen. Could they have kidnapped her?
‘It’s okay. Both hyung and Alice will be safe…’
At his words, Heyon forced a contorted smile, trying hard not to let his face stiffen. He didn’t want to hear words that sounded like they would be the last. Heyon and he would safely leave this place. This was a future that could be achieved if only Heyon would release the brainwashing.
‘Escape from here quickly.’
He had been thinking that even if Heyon died, he could bring him back to life. But now his legs began to move on their own.
‘Hyung…?’
He could see the shining brown eyes. Due to the excessive use of supernatural abilities, blood was seeping from Heyon’s mouth with a gurgling sound.
‘Hyung, please…’
He shook his head vigorously, hoping Heyon would withdraw the brainwashing, but his feet wouldn’t move as he wished. He screamed as he watched his body begin to walk toward the door as Heyon had said.
‘Why are you doing this…?!’
Even if Heyon really died, he could be revived with Revive. But he was afraid to face Heyon’s death. As Heyon’s death approached, ominous thoughts began to fill his mind.
He imagined Heyon not coming back to life even after using Revive. If Heyon couldn’t live, he would rather die too. He couldn’t bear to live this life without his precious person.
‘Because I want you to live.’
‘I want you to live too! So, please!’
With his unending tears, Heyon’s face was hard to see. Meanwhile, his feet were slowly heading outside. He felt his heel touch the threshold.
‘You’ll forget everything and start anew.’
Heyon’s mouth, which had been speaking with faint breaths, soon closed completely. The corners of his mouth, which had been faintly smiling, fell, and his eyes gently closed.
And at the same time, his body slipped out of the door. Heyon’s final words remained unforgotten, like a last will.
‘No!’
All he could do for the motionless Heyon was to shout. He wanted to run back immediately, but he simply couldn’t move.
His body was released when he was about ten steps away from the house. As soon as he regained his freedom, he ran straight toward the house. He needed to go and save him as quickly as possible.
But at that moment, with a deafening sound, the house began to collapse into pieces.
‘What… is this.’
He was dumbstruck at the house crumbling and burning right before him. He just blankly stared at the tragedy unfolding before his eyes. Everything he had was gone in an instant. There was still so much he needed to protect inside, but it was all turning to ashes.
When he clutched the pure white snow, bright red blood seeped through. The blood, which he didn’t even know whose it was, couldn’t have looked more disgusting.
Unable to accept any more, he finally chose to let go of his consciousness.
His body fell limply onto the ice-cold snow. He hoped that when he opened his eyes, everything would return to normal.
To that time when everything was peaceful and happy.
But nothing changed even when he opened his eyes again. All that remained before him were the ruins of what had been his house, and no one existed except for him.
‘Why…’
But something had changed. Though the moment he faced his parents’ deaths and Heyon’s words remained vivid in his mind, he felt nothing, as if his emotions had disappeared.
When he wiped his cheek slightly, he could feel the tears that were still flowing. But he didn’t know the reason for those tears.
Why had he been crying?
His parents died. His relatives died. Was there a reason to cry about that?
Rather than crying, it was time to think about how to survive. With his guardians gone, he had nothing left. Crying in such a situation was foolish.
But a fundamental question arose: why should he live?
Living had no meaning. Even if he died now, no one would know of his death. Then why should he continue living this arduous life?
‘…’
However, for some reason, Heyon’s words wouldn’t leave his mind. The words that Heyon wanted him to live had become shackles binding him.
There was no need to listen to those unhelpful words, but he couldn’t refuse.
‘Alice…’
So he decided to create a reason to live.
And that reason became protecting Alice, Heyon’s sister.
