That night was probably the longest one Khael ever had. Time can be more drawn-out the more you want it to go past. And what Khael wanted to end was the suffering of those people with him and for himself.

The accused illicit heretics were now in a deplorable hopeless state. They could not even plead or cry, unlike earlier when the horrendous torture had only started. Khael wasn't spared as well, as he had already gone numb when all of his fingers were severely gashed—not entirely separated from his hands.

The worst nightmare had only then started when Rennar said. "We're not done yet," he said. "Francis, heal his fingers… so we can start over again." Then Francis went from where Khael was and started doing something he had never thought could be done.

Unlike the rest, Khael was restrained. The only noise he could make was the muffled voice from his stuffed mouth. Francis, the person with Rennar, now kneels right in front of him, then a flicker of soft light shines right from his hand.

But when it reached Khael's severely gashed right hand. He started muttering curses due to the excruciating pain he had undergone. What he had felt was far from what he thought it would be. He couldn't even look anymore as the intolerable pain took over him.

And it did. Khael's right hand mended in the flesh with only a slight resemblance of proliferation to his skin. The whole experience was far from being pleasant. It was intense and horrifying; he felt something strange crawling on the insides of his fingers—at the time, they were 'healing' it.

No one had ever talked or confessed anything. The shrill cries filled the entire cramped room that night. Khael was terrified hearing all of them suffer, but what made him more terrified was when he couldn't hear those cries anymore…

***

"Khael, wake up…."

A whimpering voice awakens him. "…"

"I'm glad… c-can you get up?"

"…Wha-what happened to," Khael grimaced as he steeled his arms to support his attempt to sit up.

He saw Roldan sitting as well in front of him. His severe expression made Khael feel soreness in his chest. But when he turns his glance at the others… he almost passes out at the sight of them, devoid of life, and their appearances were in a horrible state. It was dark, but they could still see some part of their body—slightly burst and blown up.

Khael's stomach had turned upside down from the sight of elder Gado and the rest of them. Despite the struggle to move his body or even maintain a stable stance, he still strives to take a closer look at them with a slight ray of hope that some of them might still be alive.

But their hope was instantly crashed as the two of them were the only ones left alive. Despite Khael and Roldan being in a poor state, they still managed to put all of the lifeless bodies in order. After that, they just sit silently while thinking about what would happen to them after this.

"W-Was it my fault?" asked Khael. He didn't want to feel guilty, but him—coming there had probably contributed to what had become to them.

"No," Roldan answered flatly. "Don't blame yourself over this or anyone's."

Khael clenched his chest to bear up at the heavy emotion he was feeling. "But still, I-"

"It's been two weeks since we were brought here. For me, it all started when I received a labor job in their settlement as a carpenter. They said it pays more than enough, so I accepted it," Roldan sniffed as his whimpering voice faded. "If only I knew this would happen… I should have just stayed at my wife and daughter's side."

And Roldan began weeping.

"Do you think… we're still able to get out of here?" Khael asked, hopefully waiting for a positive response from Roldan because he had lost all his remaining hope.

"I'm still hoping. I can't afford to die not until I saw my family again," said Roldan. His face traced with pure determination, even though his condition was worse than Khael's. "How about you? You are too young for this. To be honest, I was amazed how you could remain sane after all of that."

"Right," Khael said nonchalantly as if not struggling to stay conscious and even his balance. "I was also astounded myself."

"Are you for real?" said Roldan failing to conceal his astonishment. "You can't even remember anything from your life. That's… too much for you to handle."

"I wasn't sure myself as well. I don't think anyone would endure this far," said Khael. "But I did. So… I must keep going to see—what was about to unfold to me."

"That's amazing. You know… you remind me of my son."

"You have a son? You only mentioned your daughter and wife earlier." Khael inquired as he adjusted himself comfortably on the ground.

"He was only ten years old at that time. Ashbourne is a smart and talented child," Roldan smiled, reminiscing the memories with his son. "I would never get tired telling how proud I am as a father."

"I can see that," Khael remarked with his full attention captured.

"Back when he was four years old, he can already conjure complicated spells that should take many years to work on," Roldan said, proud-looking. "Ashbourne was brilliant. At the age of ten, he already had matured enough."

"T-That's… amazing," Khael said, more or less convinced that magic existed in this world. But pondering about it was not his prime concern right now.

"Right? To tell you the truth, I was embarrassed as a father sometimes because he was so reliable despite being so young," said Roldan. "I don't think I still have something to teach him anymore. And… that's what I regretted in my life the most."

"It's really tough being a father… so what happened to him?" Khael asked curiously.

"It was an incident when we encountered an out of control forsaken blooded on our way to our new home in Liloan. It was too much for us despite having few elite sorcerers aiding us to fight or even restrain it."

"Forsaken…"

"Yes, it's ridiculous that my son was the only one standing on par with such a monster. He was… he was the one who protected us throughout!" Roldan started sobbing as he clenched his fist. "I was so embarrassed as a father that I couldn't do anything to help him that time!"

"I-I am sorry that you have to be reminded of that. I shouldn't have asked-"

"No, it's fine," Rolan smiled solemnly. "It was better when you have someone to tell what you feel in the direness time. Thank you."

"That's nothing. But if you don't mind… may I ask what happened after that?"

"Ah, it's fine. Ashbourne did manage to stop the forsaken, but he ended up having a lot of severe wounds in his body. But to do that, he throws himself together with the forsaken on a cliff to protect us from further danger. After that, we immediately looked for him and tried for many years, but we could never see our son anymore."

Roldan now looks far more tired and devastated than before, so Khael decided not to ask any more from him. They at least needed to spare some of their remaining strength to be able to get by— if they really wanted to stay alive.

"I never had thought Ashborne was gone," said Roldan. Khael glanced back at him, having a worried expression. "My wife and I always believed in him. We know that he survived that time! That's why… I can't afford to die before we can be together again."