But Lili didn't smile the way he expected. Instead, her lips curved into a strange, unreadable smirk as she tilted her head slightly and said, "Then tell me—why couldn't you save your family?"
The words struck Leo like a dagger. His breath caught. His eyes widened.
"…What?" he muttered, voice low with disbelief. He clenched his fists. His heart pounded in his chest as if trying to burst out.
He stared at her, jaw tight. "You read our memories, didn't you?" he snapped. "You know why! Why ask something like that?! I couldn't protect them because I wasn't even there! How could I save them if—"
"I want an answer, not excuses," Lili interrupted calmly, her smile never fading.
Leo's expression shifted again—shock, then hurt, then pure frustration. "Because… I wasn't there!" he shouted.
"Wrong," Lili said simply. "You weren't strong enough."
Leo took a step back. Her words echoed in his head like thunder. His breathing grew heavier.
"When you came back to the village, your mother and father could've been saved," she continued coldly. "If only you had learned high-grade magic like aura manipulation and mana transference."
Leo stood frozen, trembling.
"But you didn't," Lili pressed. "You focused only on low-level attack spells and swordsmanship. Even knowing how sharp your memory is, you never bothered with high-tier support magic. Not even the basics. All that time… all that potential… wasted."
Leo's mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
"You thought you were preparing to protect your family. But in truth?" she said, voice almost too soft. "You were just preparing to protect yourself."
The jungle grew quiet.
"And now?" Lili stepped closer, her gaze piercing. "Your 'Void Reclaim'? Your 'Echoes of Forgotten'? Both are useless if you don't change."
Leo's head dropped, his bangs casting shadows over his eyes. His jaw clenched so tightly it ached.
But then, after a long silence, he raised his face.
"Then teach me," he said, voice rough with emotion. "Teach me how to become strong—strong enough to protect the people I love. Please."
This time, Lili's smile was different—gentler, warmer.
"Good," she said. "That's what I wanted to hear."
"Now… let's begin."
The stars glitter above the jungle, their light falling gently on two figures sitting by a quiet river. Their bodies are exhausted, breathing heavy, but there's peace in their eyes.
Leo's voice begins to narrate, calm and reflective.
— Leo, younger, barely eleven, stands with a sword in hand. Lili is in front of him, hands on her hips, yelling something. He charges forward, clumsily. She dodges easily and bops his head with a stick. He falls on his back, groaning.
"She didn't go easy on me. First, it was basic magic, and swordsmanship... again and again, until my body couldn't move."
— Scene shifts to Leo casting a small fireball. It fizzles out. He grits his teeth and tries again. This time it shoots forward and explodes on a tree trunk. He blinks. Lili claps.
— Lyra in another area, struggling with water magic. Lili's clone helps her form a smooth spiral of water. Lyra smiles proudly, soaked but glowing.
"By twelve, I had mastered low-grade magic. At fourteen, she started teaching me high-tier spells."
— Leo now older, standing in a magic circle. Dark tendrils swirl around his body, then burst into blinding light. He opens his eyes—one glowing gold, the other deep violet. Power radiates from him.
"She made me fight monsters I never imagined I'd face."
— A massive dragon roars, wings slicing clouds. Leo dashes between falling rocks, dodging breath attacks. He raises his hand—Void Reclaim activates. The dragon's energy shatters. Leo slashes, and the earth splits.
"I used Void Reclaim to absorb powerful abilities. One dragon had a slash that could tear through mountains. Now, I can do that… with my own hand."
— Another battle — Leo surrounded by beasts. He closes his eyes. Echoes of Forgotten activates. Time slows. He sees a moment from three minutes ahead—a monster lunging. He moves first, dodging it perfectly.
"Echoes of Forgotten… I've mastered it too. I can see three minutes into the future, ten days into the past."
— Lili standing behind him, guiding his hand through an aura technique. Leo strains, aura exploding from his body in a vortex. Mana and aura intertwine.
"She taught me how to manipulate aura, how to transfer mana… how to balance both."
— Leo on the ground, panting. A colossal beast looms. Lili appears behind it and blasts it back, saving him. She starts yelling at him like a frustrated teacher.
"Sometimes, I couldn't win. And every time… she saved me."
Back at the riverbank—both Lili and Leo breathe heavily, resting after a long day of training. The sky glows faintly with the approach of dawn.
Leo turns his head.
"Is Lyra asleep?" he asks, barely catching his breath.
Lili smiles, voice soft, tired. "Yeah… she's doing great. She's mastered all the low-grade spells. Already halfway through the high-grade ones."
Leo closes his eyes, finally allowing himself to feel proud.
"Good…"
The night was quiet, the stars stretching endlessly above, watching like silent witnesses.
Lili glanced at Leo, her eyes softening. A gentle smile curved her lips.
"Leo… thank you."
Leo blinked. "For what?"
She looked away for a second, gathering her thoughts. "When you and Lyra came here, I honestly thought I'd just teach you two the basics—low-grade magic—and then send you off to the capital. That was the plan." She chuckled lightly. "Simple, right?"
Leo tilted his head, smiling. "Yeah?"
"But… after spending time with you two, I don't know how it happened… but I started liking having you around. Maybe… maybe it's because of you two… that I can finally change how I see humans."
Leo's grin widened at her words, warmth swelling in his chest. But as he looked at her, he noticed a flicker of something—hesitation… sorrow?
His smile faded. "Lili? What's wrong?"
She shook her head too quickly. "N-Nothing happened."
He leaned forward, frowning. "No, something's bothering you. Tell me. Don't keep it in."
Lili bit her lip, her usual playfulness gone. A long pause filled the space between them. Then, in a quieter voice, she whispered, "Maybe you'll leave me after I tell you."
Leo's brows furrowed. "Nope. Not happening. No matter what, I'm not gonna leave you behind."
Lili looked into his eyes, searching them—perhaps for doubt, perhaps for something else. Finally, she sighed.
"I saw your past, Leo. The Goddess... what do you think of her?"
Leo leaned back slightly, surprised. "Oh, the Goddess? She was kind. Gave me two powerful skills. She even said she was blessing me… so nothing bad would happen."
His voice trailed off.
He blinked.
Wait.
"...So nothing bad would happen…?" he repeated under his breath.
Images from his past surged through his mind like a crashing tide—the burning village, his mother's last smile, his father's lifeless body.
His eyes widened in horror. "But… that doesn't make sense. What happened to me… was the worst."
Lili nodded slowly, her expression shadowed.
"The same thing happened to me," she said quietly.
Leo turned to her, his voice trembling. "How?"
She hesitated—like her heart was caught between pain and the need to speak.
Lili's eyes shimmered under the moonlight, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"I don't even remember how long it's been… maybe hundreds… maybe thousands of years."
"I used to live in the capital," she continued. "Not the one you know—the older one. It was far worse than the current hellhole they call a kingdom. That place… destroyed my home. They killed my family. Burned everything."
Her voice trembled, but she didn't stop.
"I survived… somehow. I was just a child. Alone. I begged on the streets—for food, for coins, even for scraps no one else wanted. But I was so small... I couldn't even fight for trash. No one looked at me. No one helped."
Her gaze drifted upward, toward the stars.
"Then one night… I was lying under a tree, starving… cold… and when I opened my eyes—suddenly, I was standing in front of her."
Leo already knew who she meant.
"The Goddess," she said. "She stood there with that smile. She said, 'I'll give you power. I'll make you young. Do you want it?'"
She laughed bitterly.