On a chilly winter night, a room was illuminated by candlelight.
The candlelight on table flickered from time to time, just like the fragile life of the boy lying on the bed.
The boy's eyes were sunken with dark circles, like an ancient abandoned well. His cheekbones and the rest of his body had lost their luster, with shriveled, dried-up flesh that made him look like a severely ill patient.
"Cough! Forgive me, Reva. I don't think I can hold on much longer," the boy uttered painfully, gritting his teeth. "Please, tell my parents that I want to see them one last time."
The young woman, Reva, sat beside the bed, looking at him with deep worry. She was a beautiful girl, seeming as if she had just stepped into adulthood, with long, flowing snow-white hair that cascaded down to her waist.
At his painful words, her beautiful eyes filled with tears that streamed down her cheeks.
"Kian, why are you doing this to me? Don't leave me alone, just like my mother did," Reva cried silently, looking at his bony figure with sorrow and despair.
"My beautiful Reva! Cough! Please!" Kian pleaded desperately, eager to see his parents one last time.
He extended his hand, struggling to touch her face, but his eyes full of love and guilt.
"No, no, don't make me do this, Kian. You're not going anywhere. You'll be fine." She shook her head, her voice trembling.
"You don't need to see those people. They don't care about you. They're heartless demons. Why don't you understand?"
Kian looked at her with the same pleading expression as his breathing grew more labored, a stinging pain spreading through his heart and lungs.
Understanding his silent request, Reva wiped her tears, finally giving in to his demand.
"Alright, Kian. Don't go anywhere until I'm back, promise me!" Her eyes searched his for confirmation.
Kian moved his eyelids up and down, making a silent promise.
She cast a lingering look at the door before leaving Kian alone in the room.
Kian gazed at the wooden ceiling of the old, dust-filled room, feeling a sudden calm wash over him. He knew the hope of seeing his mother and father was slim, but he didn't want to give up completely, even on death's doorstep.
He wanted to share his last moments in their arms. This was only lingering wish so that he could pass away peacefully.
Since birth, he'd been deemed useless when they discovered he was incapable of wielding magic like others. They'd said his soul was black, incompatible with Nature's Mana, and unable to learn even the simplest spell.
As the Family Head's first son, his disability had brought his parents shame.
But he didn't blame them—instead, he blamed himself for bringing dishonor upon them by being born without worth in a chaotic world full of schemes and power struggles.
Still, he hadn't given up. He'd worked hard to improve his body, hoping to one day become a Holy Knight and make his parents proud.
Yet his progress was minimal due to his weak constitution, and his parents continued to ignore him like a lost child in the grand Nova House.
They hadn't even given him a proper identity in public.
He felt sad about the fact and yearned for their love all the time, just like any other child. But that hope seemed as distant as plucking stars from the sky.
At the age of 16, he was cursed by an unknown dark magic that left him bedridden for two years, bringing him to this near-death state.
"Cough, cough!"
He coughed violently, spitting out black blood on the bed that emanated an ominous aura. It was this dark magic that slowly sapped away his life, making every day a living hell.
In these last moments of his life, his thoughts turned to Reva, who had loved him since childhood, even at his lowest.
He felt regret, sorrowful that he couldn't fulfill the promise of eternal love they had once made.
"Sorry...Reva.."
---
Bang!
Reva, with a stormy expression, strode into a grand, luxuriously decorated hall, set festively with lavish foods spread all around.
Many aristocratic-looking guests and hosts filled the space.
"Reva, where are you going again?" her strict father demanded, stopping her abruptly.
Her expression turned icy. "Leave me alone!" she replied, her voice mixed with annoyance and anger.
"Paah!"
Her father slapped her hard, making her stumble backward.
"What did you say? Is that the right way to talk to your father?" he glared at her, angered by her unruly behavior.
Everyone went silent, the harsh slap echoing in the hall.
Holding her red cheek, she suppressed the pain, glaring at everyone present, who were looking at her strangely.
"Animals! All of you are animals!" she shouted, looking at everyone with hate and disgust.
This included a high-nobility couple in fancy dresses, who looked at her with furrowed brows. They were Kian's so-called parents.
"Is this how mighty the Grand Nova family behaves? Beneath your grand faces, you hide the ugliest truth from everyone!" she cried out in frustration, her tears falling to the floor.
"What's the matter, Reva dear?" Kian's mother, Selina Nova, a beautiful woman in her late 30s, asked gently, ignoring the obvious intent in Reva's words.
"Child, let's discuss this privately," Kian's father, Kahn Nova, a handsome man with striking red hair, said coldly.
Reva rejected their proposal with a glare, frost spreading from her.
"No, no, I have to say it. How heartless you both are. Uncle and Aunt, your eldest son Kian is dying, and he's wishing to see you one last time. Are you still not going to check on him? At least you could send him off with a smile." She reached for Selina's hand, but Selina brushed her off coldly.
Reva looked at them, finding their expressions unchanged.
"So, the rumors are true. The Nova family truly has another heir... Unbelievable!"
"Yes, they've hidden it quite well, but why?"
The surrounding guests whispered, gossiping behind their backs.
Hearing the gossip, the Nova family members' faces darkened.
Selina ignored the whispers and replied to Reva, "That vile spawn? Hmph... He's not our child, Reva. He's a devil-spawn, useless, trash. He doesn't even have the same hair colour as Kahn." Her face showed pure disgust, as if the thought repulsed her.
Reva stuttered, shocked by her heartless reply, "B-But you gave birth to him. How could you say that? Are you really his mother? When you found he was 'useless,' you abandoned him, denying him the love he yearned for his whole life. Tell me, are you a woman or a witch?"
Selina's expression remained unchanged, without a hint of remorse.
"Yes, I gave birth to him, but he's certainly not my child. My children couldn't be so worthless."
She signaled to Reva's father to take her away.
"Reva, my dear, don't worry. Forget about him. We will break your engagement with that vile spawn and arrange it with our other son. You'll soon forget him, dear," Selina said gently, watching Reva, who was being dragged away by her father by her hair.
"Over my dead body, witch!" Reva spat venomously. "I only belong to Kian, no one else. Our bond is eternal." She vowed resolutely, making her father's expression darken.
"Get your hands off... my... hair!"
Reva suddenly stopped her father in his tracks surprisingly, the floor beneath them transforming to ice under her frosty aura, like an Ice Queen.
Her father almost turned to ice statue, and he watched helplessly as Reva ran out of the hall.
The spectators were left dumbfounded by her magical prowess, and the Nova family's secret leaked out.
---
Reva ran desperately on the corridor, her white dress fluttering in the wind.
"I'm sorry, Kian. Forgive me, I couldn't keep my word. I couldn't bring them to meet you..." Reva muttered, crying silently, wiping her tears with her sleeves in the corridor.
She opened the door to Kian's old, dilapidated room and found his eyes hollow, his breath stilled. His soul had already departed.
She couldn't even be there for him at his final moments.
"Sob, Kian... you broke your promise..."
Her heart caught in her throat as she trembled, holding his hand, gently sniveling beside his sunken cheeks.
"You've suffered so much, Kian... I pray to the Gods, if they exist, that you find a peaceful place to rest and give you love you deserve..."
She kissed his forehead lovingly, making a wish as her tears, like snow pearls, fell onto his face.