Chapter-1 [Prologue]

I boarded the plane to Germany.

After all these years, the final trial was going to be held. My family was finally going to get justice after being brutally murdered by the people they trusted the most.

A hollow ache settled in my heart.

And then I saw her after months. She sat in the aisle seat, still and delicate like a porcelain doll.

We used to be childhood friends, yet the only time we ever saw each other was in the courtroom. So many words I wanted to say, perhaps she did too, but could never voice them.

"..Hey Zei"

She turned slowly, her golden hazel eyes meeting mine.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" I asked, a faint smile painted on my face.

"..It has," She replied quietly.

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Make yourself comfortable."

I took the seat beside her. Silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken regrets, sharper than any blade.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice solemn. 

I looked at her, unsure of what to say— unsure if I even had the right to say anything.

"...I'm tired, Zei." The words spilled out, torn somewhere deep.

"Every day feels like hell, reliving the same nightmare over and over again".

"If only things could go back to how they used to be."

"But it just seems like a distant dream now doesn't it" she said softly

"Yeah" My smile turned bitter "It does'

"...Rayne," She uttered, her hand reaching out for mine. After a long pause of silence she asked, her voice fragile "...Do you still despise me?"

I could feel her hands trembling slightly, it was true that I resented her in the past. I distanced myself from her after Seiren, my little brother, died, and when I found out the truth about my parent's deaths.

After all, it was her family who had orchestrated the murder of my parents in return for money from them. As if that was not enough they killed Seiren too.

They took everything from me. However, none of that was Zei's fault, to them she was nothing but a nuisance born from an affair her father had.

Just like me she also lost everything after Lena, her older sister died trying to protect Seiren. The only person who loved her, showed her affection and acknowledged her for everything she did. She was left truly alone just like me.

I had stopped resenting her a long time ago, however, the fear and guilt held me back from trying to make things right. Maybe she wanted the same or maybe not, I have no way of knowing.

"I stopped hating you a long time ago, Zei," I managed to say at last, words that had been buried for a long time. "What happened was never your fault, you didn't deserve any of it," I continued. "So don't blame yourself for the past."

She offered a bitter, trembling smile.

"You've carried the burden long enough," I whispered

BEEEEPPPPP

Suddenly, the alarms went off, followed by a voice crackling over the intercom.

My heart dropped.

"What is happening?" She asked, panicking.

Then—

BOOM!!

The engines of the plane exploded, tearing through the silence with a thunderous roar. A violent tremor ran through the entire plane.

My breath caught in my throat as the lights flickered.

That was the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness.

I awoke to flames.

Scorching flames roared on all sides. The air burned with the stench of death and smoke.

Distant cries of people, pleading for help, echoed through the air.

My right leg was gone. Zei's right hand was mangled beyond recognition.

"So.. this was their plan," I rasped, blood bubbling in my throat. "They wanted to get rid of me from the very beginning."

I turned my head slightly, catching a glimpse of her face. Raven black hair tangled in ash and blood, her face was covered in bruises. Yet when her eyes met mine, she smiled. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"So this is how it ends," I murmured, coughing as blood surged up my throat.

Her fingers tightened around mine. Neither of us spoke for a while, just held on as screams of pain, fear, and death surrounded us.

"Rayne.." Her voice was fragile "...I'm sorry. For everything"

Tears streamed down her face, and warm droplets fell onto my face. I managed a faint smile.

"It's okay," I whispered, "I don't resent you, I couldn't bring myself to hate you."

"...I know," she replied softly.

I lay there silently, holding her hand. The only person I ever truly cared for.

She used to ask me what I would desire if I were reborn again.

I never had an answer

But somehow lying here beside her on my last breath, I couldn't help but reflect on it.

If given a chance….

I'd wish for a quiet life. A peaceful one.

Together with her, perhaps.

As the blazing flames engulfed our bodies, I closed my eyes and embraced death

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their bodies lay beside each other amidst the blazing inferno. The scorching flames were closing in— but then something strange happened.

A sea of crimson flames erupted from the ground, scarlet lilies bloomed from the scorched earth.

A figure walked through the flames—Ethereal, inhumane.

A being with pristine white wings, its hair long and white like snow. Countless Symbols etched onto its skin as it stared down at them with its multiple eyes, each one gleaming in a divine blue radiance.

It walked through the pile of dead bodies, blood staining its feet.

Its eyes glanced at Zei's lifeless body. It brought its hand forward, the symbols on its skin shimmered in crimson radiance as her memories started flooding into its mind.

"...A pitiful soul," It murmured, its voice ancient and hollow. Crimson flames erupted beneath her, consuming her body completely.

"May you find solace beyond the veil."

It turned towards Rayne.

He still clung to the edge of life. He was breathless, his pulse faint.

A vial of blood materialized in its palm, shimmering with an eerie light. It opened the vial and gently poured the liquid into his mouth, letting it slide down his throat.

Ancient symbols ignited across his body, gleaming in a silver radiance. His missing limb began to regenerate, and his heart started beating again.

A smile crept onto the being's face.

It lifted Rayne in its arms, walking through the pile of corpses and burning ruins. Soon, it arrived at a ruined temple, silent and forgotten, where a girl lay in a deep, unbroken slumber. 

The being gently laid him next to her.

"It's done," It muttered, its voice weak. "I have done everything I could."

"...Zeilona Kaelwyn, that is the name you shall bear from this moment on," it muttered, caressing the slumbering girl's face.

"This is the only way I can shield you from them…my child." The being uttered, its voice trembling.

It turned its head towards Rayne's unconscious body.

"She chose you," It spoke softly, "And I trust her judgment." 

"Please…protect her," It whispered, almost pleading, "I entrust her to you." With those final words, his body started to crumble into ash.

With its blood, it carved something onto the temple's wall. When it finished, only a single message remained, carved deep into the stone.

"Amaryllis awaits"