Chapter 284
“…You said earlier there might be a way. What made you think that?”
This was the desperate plea of someone trying to atone for the guilt weighing on her shoulders. Lena studied Ysaris, who was grasping at straws with her question, then pointed at her with her chin.
“Your existence—the very anomaly that likely caused this impossible phenomenon in the first place. You might be the variable. But given that nothing’s changed despite you being by his side all this time… maybe not?”
“……”
As shadows darkened Ysaris’s face at the unhelpful answer, Lena continued.
“Well, fine. I was planning to take the Emperor’s blood right away, but I’ll give you some time. Just know this—I’ll be back in a few weeks, exactly three years from the day you left Uzephia, and I will take his blood by force if necessary.”
“Must you? If it’s Tennilath blood you need, I can give you far larger quantities from others—”
Even as she spoke, Ysaris’s expression darkened with preemptive defeat. Lena’s grin only widened.
“Yep. I’m no philanthropist, and this was the deal from the start.”
* * *
Left alone in the wake of Lena’s abrupt departure—arriving like a storm, vanishing just as swiftly—Ysaris stared down at Kazhan. The fact that he wasn’t truly dead was a relief, but it also stirred complicated emotions.
His face was so peaceful in eternal slumber that it still didn’t feel real to imagine—let alone prepare for—his revival.
He just… looked like he’d stay that way forever. Who’s to say that wouldn’t be better for him?
Without a way to wake him, he might as well be dead. And Lena’s earlier speculation about Absolute Hibernation loomed ominously.
If it was the former, there was no hope. Kazhan, unaware of this ability, had given his heart expecting death. If he’d subconsciously set a duration, it’d likely be forever.
Even if it was the latter, the outlook wasn’t promising. His wounds were physical, and with those already healed, there was little left to “recover.”
“Or maybe it’s because of me…”
A self-deprecating murmur escaped her. Who’s to say his mind hadn’t been so wounded by her that it forced this rest upon him?
Either way, there was no guarantee he’d wake. It felt like being handed a sliver of hope alongside despair.
“Kazhan.”
She called his name softly. Kazhan. Kazhan Tennilath. She rolled the now-familiar syllables over her tongue, repeating them like a mantra.
Once with resentment. Then longing. Then guilt. Each iteration drew out a different shade of the too-complicated emotions she harbored for one man.
It was less about addressing him and more about gnawing on his name. And it always ended the same way—with a sigh, heavy and hollow.
“What can I even do for you?”
She had no hints, no leads. The sheer helplessness of it left her mind blank.
Staring vacantly at Kazhan, she was startled back to reality by a voice outside.
“Your Imperial Majesty? Is Her Majesty the Empress here?”
“What is it?”
She replied, answering in the Emperor’s stead.
“Their Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess have arrived at the Empress’s palace with Duke Blake. What shall I tell them?”
A pause.
Ysaris finally tore her gaze from Kazhan to check the clock. Unnoticed, noon had approached.
“Tell them I’ll be there shortly.”
“At once, Your Majesty.”
As the servant’s presence faded, Ysaris exhaled. Forgetting her promise to the children? She was failing as a parent.
Rising from the bed, she cast one last lingering look at Kazhan and whispered.
“I’ll return tonight. Rest well.”
Even if his senses were sealed shut, saying it was better than silence. Even if it was just to ease her own conscience.
And so began Ysaris’s efforts to wake Kazhan.
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