There was silence, a gush of wind that made them close their eyes before opening it slowly and knowing that nothing she said was going to make Kai change his mind, she didn’t say anything.The both of them stood beside each other as they examined the barrier and it still looked as strong as it had been when Kai had first put it up even though it was clear that the enemy was trying to mess with it.“Just… be careful,” Catherine said, breaking the silence as she turned to look at Kai who didn’t look at her but smiled, “I’ll also get stronger, for you… for us.” She said as if she was making a promise.“I’m going to make sure that you don’t have to carry all the burden alone, I’m going to help you.” She said with a determination of steel and Kai could feel it.He could feel her sincerity and deep down, he hoped he got strong enough that she wouldn’t even need to help him. He wanted to protect her, he doesn’t want it to be the other way around.Without saying anything else because no amoun

A loud whoosh of wind blew, gushing inside and that was when Kai remembered to close the door behind him. He did that and moved towards Catherine again.Catherine’s breath hitched as she looked at him, wanting to say something about what Kai had said earlier and she didn’t hold back, she said it.“I do believe in you,” she said slowly, her voice lower than she intended for it to be, “that’s the problem.” She finished, causing Kai to blink slowly because he wasn’t expecting that kind of ending to the sentence.“What does that mean?” He asked, his brows drawing together but not in a frown as he looked at her, searching her face for something that wasn’t there.Catherine didn’t speak, she looked away instead, up at the arched ceiling, her gaze fixed on the beautiful chandelier that sort of danced above them.“If I didn’t believe in you, I would have put up more of a fight instead of this….” She paused, “if I didn’t believe in you, I could scream and beg and make it all about me but I do.

Back inside the house, Catherine sat close to the window, she had made the best decision for both of them because she knew that if she had seen him off, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from breaking down.Sighing, she closed the book she was reading— pretending to— and rested her back properly against the chair as she closed her eyes, her mind circling back to Kai no matter how hard she tried.“You better keep your promise.” She muttered and at the same time, the door opened as Teresa lingered in, it was clear that Teresa was worried but she did a great job hiding her worry.Her arms were crossed and her expression was soft but firm, “Kai left already.” She said and Catherine sighed again, looking out the window with her chin resting on the back of her hand.“And I know how you must feel but he’s going for our sake,” Teresa continued, releasing her arm as she walked closer, “now, it’s your turn to make sure he doesn’t come back and meet you where he left you because he’s not comi

It’s been a few days and Kai and Fabio had arrived at the Forbidden Terrain earlier. Training had immediately started and Kai felt like he was going to split in two.The sky above the Forbidden Terrain was a violent stretch of gray and red as wind lashed at the cracked earth, and the trees here were more bone than bark.“Can’t I just give up.” Kai grunted, his breath heavy and his hands were bloodied, his chest heaving as Fabio barked another command.“NO YOU CAN’T. AGAIN!” Kai knew that it was too late for regret now, he was already here and even though nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet, the training was more intense.It was stronger than all of the training he’d been doing everyday combined and he knew that if he was still that frail, timid Kai that lived with the Benson’s he would have died the moment he stepped foot into the Terrain.The aura was stronger, he could feel the spirit of the bodies that had perished there and their presence bore holes into every pore of his

Fabio’s body moved before his thought could catch up with his body, his mouth hung open and he couldn’t see anything other than the fact that not only had Kai won the desperate tug of power but he did it without help.Regrets began to well up inside of him. He had lost against The Forbidden Terrain a long time ago and right now, maybe it was arrogant of him to think he could win with his grandson this time.Kai had subdued Drakarion— just barely— but what’s left is the trial of the Terrain itself and the thought of losing one more time tore at his inside, shattering it.“Kai!” Fabio shouted again, his voice so loud that it coursed through the Terrain. One moment, he was rooted like the mountain he had always been and the next he was hurtling forward, boots slamming against the ground with a force that cracked earth.He tried to be strong, he tried not to falter for Kai’s sake but beneath that brute strength of that motion was a terror so primal it hollowed him out from the inside.“St