Night, Mehan Mountain Camp
Night had completely fallen. Hundreds of campfires burned throughout the camp. Their flames rose into the darkness, tearing through the night sky. Guards stood alert at their assigned posts. Beyond the towering peaks of Mehan Mountain, dark clouds slowly gathered. From time to time, lightning flashed across the heavens, followed a few moments later by the low rumble of thunder echoing through the mountains.
This peace... Was only a guest for a single night.
Near a tall rocky cliff, Master Jins and Lily stood together. In quiet voices, they discussed the competition that would take place the following day, along with every possible outcome of the war that might follow. Experience was written across their faces... while the shadow of the coming destruction was clearly reflected within their eyes.
Meanwhile... In a quiet corner of the camp, Snehwal sat in deep meditation. His breathing remained perfectly steady. Gentle waves of spiritual energy circled around him, while a nearby torch flickered softly in the night.
Then... The faint sound of footsteps upon the dry grass reached his ears.
Snehwal slowly opened his eyes. Standing before him... was Liora.
The light of the torch fell upon her face. The determination she normally carried in her eyes was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an unspoken fear rested within them.
She slowly walked toward him.
For several moments, she simply looked at him without saying a single word.
Then, in a quiet voice, she asked, "Are... you ready?"
Snehwal looked at her with a faint smile.
"Yes... I'm ready."
Even after hearing his answer, Liora's heart refused to calm down.
She clenched her fists. As though she were trying to suppress the storm raging within herself.
Slowly, she sat down beside Snehwal. For several moments, silence existed between them.
Then, in an almost inaudible voice, she said, "Do you know... I always want to keep you within my sight."
Her voice trembled. Snehwal smiled.
In a calm voice, he replied, "Nothing will happen to me."
But this time... Liora did not even try to believe those words.
In the very next moment, she suddenly leaned forward and wrapped him tightly in her embrace.
Snehwal was stunned for a few moments. Liora's grip continued to tighten. As though she never wanted to let him leave her side again. Her trembling voice echoed beside his ear.
"Just... stay alive..."
"If something happens to you..."
Her voice broke.
She closed her eyes. "Then perhaps... I'll never be able to endure that pain."
The smile gradually disappeared from Snehwal's face. For the very first time, he truly felt the fear hidden within Liora's heartbeat.
After a few moments... Liora slowly stepped away from him.
Her eyes were already filled with tears. In a trembling voice, she said,
"You don't understand Yakshinis, Snehwal..."
"You should stay away from Lily."
She took another step closer.
"Come... Come away with me."
"Leave this war... this competition... this entire Land of Consciousness behind."
"The two of us can begin a new life anywhere."
For the very first time, there was no courage of a warrior within her eyes... Only the desperate plea of a woman in love.
Snehwal slowly stood up. He took a deep breath. There were emotions within his eyes as well... But there was something even stronger than those emotions. Resolve. In a calm voice, he said,
"I can't do that."
Then he spoke, "Lily pulled me back from the jaws of death and gave me a second life."
"Back on Earth... I was about to die."
"If she hadn't reached out her hand to me that day..."
"Then I wouldn't even be standing here today."
He slowly clenched his fist.
"I made her a promise."
"That I would give her the opportunity to rule this land."
"I can never turn my back on that promise."
His voice grew even firmer.
"That's why..."
"I have to win this competition."
"And..."
A sharp light flashed within his eyes.
"No matter what happens..."
"I have to kill Humbha's host... Mascar."
Liora simply stood there, looking at him. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks. She slowly turned her face away.
For some reason... Her heart kept warning her that the coming day would not bring only war...
It would take away something far more precious from her.
And perhaps... It was that unknown fear that had finally shattered every restraint around her heart.
Liora slowly turned without saying a single word and walked out of the camp. Every step she took felt unbearably heavy, as though each one placed a new burden upon her heart. Snehwal stood there, watching her until she disappeared from sight. Now, only one thing remained to be awaited~the dawn. The dawn that would bring every hidden truth into the open... and reveal them all beneath the bloodstained light of a new day.