On his deathbed, Liam remembered.

  Only to the Kaiser!

  You must follow the Kaiser! You must live for the Kaiser!

  The Kaiser worships and serves God, and you serve the Kaiser!

  You must lower your head and kneel only to the Kaiser!

  "Kaiser!" the soldiers shouted, an endless crowd surrounding the carriage of Kaiser Egon IV, emperor of Egon, as it paraded through the military camp.

  Battalions roared in unison, smiling with pride at their emperor.

  "Kaiser!"

  On the highest platform of the enormous imperial carriage, Kaiser Egon IV waved coldly, accompanied by Marshal Vens. Surrounded by gold and a red mantle dyed with fragments of diamonds, he swept his eyes across his own soldiers in critical assessment.

  'Fragile as glass,' the Kaiser thought, not even bothering to fake a smile.

  "So many injuries…" Idna, the Kaiser's youngest sister, commented.

  Below the upper platform, the emperor's two younger sisters whispered, mocked, and criticized the condition of the soldiers who served them.

  Among them, Liam was the only one not shouting the Kaiser's name, yet the first to stand out. He stepped ahead of the others, his posture denser and more imposing than the crowd around him. With sharp eyes, he stared directly at the emperor.

  "Look at that one…" Idna said, pointing toward Liam.

  By instinct, the Kaiser's gaze followed his sister's indication.

  "So mutilated… That cut on his throat looks like the worst. Poor thing," she commented, pouting.

  "The scar on the edge of his lip is agonizing. But he's still kind of cute, isn't he?" Kayna, the second sister, replied.

  "He is! Brother, I want him!" Idna shouted.

  "No! He's going to be mine!" Kayna protested, grabbing her sister's shoulder.

  "What? You said his scar was agonizing! Keep that other blond one with his eyes half-closed!"

  Staring directly at the Kaiser, Liam massaged his throat and cleared it in discomfort.

  "The emperor's sisters seem to be arguing. How dramatic…" James said beside him, his blond hair covering his ears, his eyes half-lidded.

  "Who cares about them?" Liam replied, grimacing from the pain in his throat.

  "Yikes. You need water, huh?"

  Consumed by the cheers of the other agents praising the Kaiser with passion, Liam chose to save his words. His throat ached from the deep, healed cut, and he fixed the emperor with a bitter expression.

  The Kaiser, however, felt threatened.

  "Der Kaiser…" Marshal Vens called, hands clasped behind his back. "That is the twenty-sixth unit, commanded by Oberst Hans Mason. I would like to highlight the two individuals who—"

  "Who is that one with blue eyes, covered in scars?" the Kaiser asked, interrupting Vens.

  Clearing his throat, Vens resumed.

  "Precisely. That is Liam Mason Le Fay, the unit's lieutenant. He is known for never being wounded on a mission, even after spending a year on the front lines against Mikoto."

  "Never wounded in battle? And all those scars?"

  Frowning, the Kaiser waited for an explanation.

  "His own father. Apparently, Liam was part of a mental rehabilitation program… There are several reports that Oberst Hans Mason educated his own son with… a glass bottle."

  "Oh…" the Kaiser muttered.

  "Liam became a lieutenant one month after entering the battlefield. At eighteen."

  "Wow. A lieutenant at eighteen…" he whispered, intrigued.

  The Kaiser's eyes gleamed—not with joy, but with pure magic. The emperor of Egon did not possess absolute power, but eyes that saw everything.

  He could perceive the metaphysical manifestation of individuals—the spirit—appearing as a dense mantra of energy, the symbol that defined all peculiarities. A color, a meaning…

  The clearer an individual's aura, the more loving, naive, gentle, and positive they were—and thus, the weaker. The strongest, however, were the opposite…

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  Cruel, abominable, monsters. Neutral colors, sometimes extremely dark.

  Yet when he looked at Liam, the emperor's posture faltered.

  "There's a phrase that spread over the past year…" Vens said, watching the Kaiser's expression. "Spoken by the units that saw Lieutenant Le Fay fight…"

  The emperor's eyes widened in perfect ecstasy.

  "Science defines human laws, and magic is how theory reveals itself to the world. But Liam Mason… stands above all of it; he stands above the world."

  Liam's mantra bore no unknown color. It was an almost diabolical mixture of neutral hues—destroyed, like open wounds. A unique sensation the Kaiser's heart impulsively named: Void.

  Without warning, the Kaiser leapt down, landing on the thick mud field. His red mantle revealed a royal-blue interior as the diamonds shimmered in the wind.

  Walking straight toward Liam, he wore a genuine smile.

  "You. Introduce yourself. Ethnicity and age," the Kaiser said, stopping before the lieutenant.

  "Lieutenant of the twenty-sixth unit, Liam Mason, nineteen years old. Egorian and Le Fay…" he began, only to be interrupted by Vens.

  'Only nineteen?' Idna thought, adjusting herself in her seat.

  "This is Kaiser Egon IV, your emperor, Lieutenant Le Fay. I suggest lowering your head slightly," Vens said, stepping in front of the emperor.

  "Sir, forgive him!" a voice cut through the tumult.

  Hans Mason, Liam's father, appeared, shoving the lieutenant back. The medals pinned to his chest drew the Kaiser's attention—an Oberst taking responsibility for his son's irreverence.

  "I am Oberst Hans Mason, responsible for the twenty-sixth unit."

  Pulling Liam by the shoulders, James dragged him away from royalty and back into the crowd.

  "You idiot… You know that's the emperor, right? The man who commands all our lives. If he wants, he can have everyone here kill you and—" James said, gripping Liam's uniform.

  "As if they could," Liam retorted, looking away.

  Sighing at his stubbornness, James straightened Liam's uniform.

  "Look around. These guys would love for the Kaiser to look them in the eye for a second… Am I wrong?" he asked a random soldier.

  "No!" the soldier replied, baffled by Liam's indifference.

  "See? Do you even know what that means?"

  Liam turned his face slightly, listening.

  "Brother… We grew up under the same circumstances. A sorcerer always inherits a gene from one of the ancient sorcerers. Unfortunately, we inherited Morgana's."

  "I know, idiot."

  "Listen to me, damn it!" James snapped, restraining himself.

  With the shift in tone, Liam looked at him again, sharp-eyed.

  "They say the Egon family genes are always tied to the eyes. The former emperor could detect gene affinity—that's how he chose his Marshals and Generals. But the Kaiser…"

  Glancing sideways at the emperor, Liam felt irritated by the gentle smile directed at him.

  "He can see the flow of energy within each sorcerer. Something beyond what the physical world offers. He sees our Weltna… And to him, the brighter it shines, the weaker you are. The darkness in our souls is shaped by mentality and strength…"

  "And what is that supposed to mean for me?" Liam asked, his hoarse voice fading.

  "Man… Look at your life! The Shogun Killer… The Death Duelist… The One Who Caused Two Hundred Deaths… Your life's been a disaster since your first breath. What do you think your Weltna looks like to the emperor?"

  Destroyed. Empty.

  "Lieutenant, present yourself again," the Kaiser called, chest puffed. "Have you been to the capital?"

  Walking between soldiers, Liam met his emperor's gaze as he answered, "Only when I received my rank."

  With a gentle smile, the Kaiser stepped back. Accompanied by Vens, he walked toward the carriage in inviting strides.

  "Come. You and your sub-lieutenant."

  With a hard shove from James, Liam was forced to follow, walking firmly and confidently, showing no sign of respect.

  The attitude irritated Vens, who questioned him with a glance over his shoulder. It was despicable—even for someone of high rank—to reject his own emperor.

  After all…

  You must follow the Kaiser! You must live for the Kaiser!

  The Kaiser worships and serves God, and you serve the Kaiser!

  "You should lower that nose a little, young lieutenant…" Vens suggested, almost fatherly.

  But that was not how Liam felt.

  You must lower your head and kneel only to the Kaiser!

  Feeling Hans's watchful gaze upon him, Liam lifted his chin even higher.

  "We must lower our heads only to the Kaiser… Isn't that right?" he asked, halting their walk.

  Silence overtook the camp. Those closest to him expected something controversial.

  If the Kaiser could see a person's essence, Liam could see strength… Filled with a neutral, almost hollow feeling, his hoarse voice slipped past his lips.

  "But I refuse the idea of bowing to someone far weaker than me."

  But at some point in life…

  'And I bowed…'

  It was not resentment or regret, yet bowing to someone inferior was what led Liam Mason to this state.

  Left upon a stone in the middle of a clearing, the glow of a crimson moon bathed his body. An ethereal, divine touch—a festival of departure… for someone who did not deserve it.

  Weakness consumed him. He tried to touch where he had been struck last: his stomach. Feeling nothing below his chest, he pressed his perforated abdomen, soaked in his own blood.

  Lifting his fingers, he watched the viscous blood drip onto his face.

  The universe's legitimate son—one of the titles given to Liam. A name equivalent to the strength he bore, yet…

  Where was that strength?

  If you do not attack, you die. That was Liam's creed…

  "I hesitated…" he whispered, coughing blood soon after.

  A horse's neigh echoed in his ears—the final chant.

  His entrails were exposed; cold wind ran through his body; his organs shut down one by one.

  'Liam Mason Le Fay…' a voice called, like a whistle in the wind.

  'Would this be the moment to regret my choices?'

  'Do you regret them?'

  'Not for a single minute… The envy I felt in life brought me here. I do not regret who I am, who I was… I only hope there is no hell after this, for I have already tasted it…'

  'Then I shall treat this as a signed contract… I will say you accepted your death.'

  As it vanished into the forest, the gallop of a horse cut through the wind.

  Liam's body grew heavy, his eyes falling shut. And yet, for a moment, he felt crushed.

  Seconds later, however, his body felt light. Almost floating…

  The sensation of death was ethereal.