Eden said nothing. He only stared at Kyle as he suddenly laughed.

"You probably don’t want to listen to me. You probably hate me so much that you want me dead." He smiled while staring at Eden, his eyes sparkling their last light as he looked at him. "You must think of me as the most terrible person you’ve ever met."

He sighed. "You probably do. I don’t blame you, I guess... How can I blame you for that?" He smiled as he sighed. "But look, I’m about to fade off when I wasn’t even able to do what I got these powers for."

Kyle sighed as he said, "I’ve done everything despicable for this. I did everything to gain this shred of power... all so I could get my revenge."

Eden stared at the teardrop running down Kyle’s eyes as he spoke, smiling.

"But I couldn’t even find them. Those I wanted to get my revenge on are probably dead... they probably had an easy death... and I couldn’t even deal with them." He sighed. "Now all I have is these powers and this reputation. I wasn’t even able to use it for the means I wanted it for."

He laughed as though the world had made the cruelest joke out of him. "I guess I’m the world’s cruelest joke at the moment." He stared at Eden. "And I’m sure you also think so." He smiled.

Eden stared without saying anything.

Kyle brought his hands to Eden’s cheek again, cleaning off the blood on his face with his fingers as he said, "You probably hate me so much that you don’t even want to listen to me." He smiled. "But what can I do? There’s no time left... I still have to tell you my secret."

He smiled as he said, "Maybe if I do... I might rest in peace... maybe..."

Eden felt himself fading off, but he still knelt there staring into Kyle’s eyes. Those eyes that were now growing extremely familiar... a bit too familiar.

He knew those eyes. He pitied those eyes. And he had had countless dreams about those eyes. Those eyes pulled him.

Kyle gently patted his head with a smile as he said, "You know what...? Maybe I should have kept my promise from years ago." He stared into his eyes. "That one we made while at the mountain... I had promised to take you out to enjoy some snacks together."

Kyle scoffed. "I should have..." Blood dripped from his mouth as he struggled to speak, staring into Eden’s eyes. Eden could see a teardrop slowly falling down his eyes.

He coughed a bit and then struggled to say, "Lyeian... You know I’ve always..."

His words were cut off. It stopped there, and he knelt staring at Eden without uttering any more words.

Silence filled the atmosphere between them as Eden stared. He wanted to know what it was, but he guessed he wouldn’t now.

A purple sword had pierced through Kyle’s chest from the back, and Eden saw the edge of that sword popping out. He let out a soft gasp as he stared down at the edge of the glowing purple sword that had pierced through his chest.

He didn’t need anyone to tell him what had happened. Someone had taken the opportunity and managed to stab Kyle from the back with his sword.

His sword that could end Kyle’s existence in any realm.

At that moment, Kyle gasped as he stared down at his chest. He let out a lazy smile at the sword in his chest and then slowly stared up at Eden. With a smile on his face, he reached out his hand and slowly wiped off a teardrop that fell from Eden’s eyes.

Eden didn’t even know why he was crying. He was certain he wasn’t! He didn’t understand. It felt like his eyes had a mind of their own, producing tears.

But Kyle cleaned it off with a soft smile as he muttered his second-to-last words. "So pretty..." He said as he slowly fell backward, falling through the air with both hands spread out.

With the sword vanishing from his chest, Kyle stared into the dark sky as he fell. Slowly and aesthetically, black smoke spread around him as he fell down to the ground, his eyes still on the sky as tears slowly fell down those eyes.

He forced a smile as blood spilled from his mouth. He couldn’t say anything anymore. All he could do was stare into the sky as memories flooded his mind at that moment.

Vivid memories that would probably torture him for a lifetime.

---

Back at the Soul Mountain, little Lyeian had always wanted to go out and enjoy some snacks. It was a simple wish he wasn’t privileged to enjoy.

"I want the snacks they make at the marketplace. They look sweet," he had always said.

Kyle smiled at him one day, running his hand through his messy hair as he told little Lyeian, "Okay. Don’t worry, I promise to take you out there someday."

Little Lyeian’s expression lit up with a smile as he stared at him. "Really? You promise?"

Kyle nodded with a smile. "I promise. Just be a good boy, and I’ll take you out. Just the two of us. We’ll enjoy all the snacks in the market together."

Little Lyeian nodded with a smile. "Mmm. I will!"

Kyle had always recalled that promise. He had always wanted to keep it, but he never got the opportunity to do so, especially since fate decided to play its cruel card with them.

When the two of them were abandoned, Kyle was somewhat relieved that he still had little Lyeian by his side. He was glad he didn’t leave him all alone.

"All I had to do was kill him..." Kyle had always told himself. "Steal his heart and core and possess it. That was all I had to do, and his powers will be mine."

Kyle had discovered that that was the easiest solution to his problem. To kill Lyeian from the get-go.

But he could never bring himself to do that.