11
Rhys lay in my arms, his life rapidly fading.
The Godslayer venom had spread throughout his body.
Even his formidable healing abilities couldn’t resist it.
“This time… I didn’t let you get hurt…”
He looked at me, his voice as faint as a whisper.
“I finally… did something right…”
Jasper clung to him, his cries ripping through the air.
““Father! Don’t die! Don’t leave me!”
His royal bloodline, fueled by extreme emotional turmoil, fully awakened.
Terrifying power erupted from within him, shaking the entire fortress, turning all remaining rebels instantly to ash.
But none of it could save Rhys’s life.
“Jasper… my son…”
Rhys used his last strength, reaching out to touch Jasper’s face.
“You must… protect your mother…”
“Become… a true King…”
I looked at the man who had died protecting us.
A surge of complex emotions welled within me.
Five years of hatred began to waver in that moment.
He proved his change with his life, washing away his past sins with his blood.
“Let me… see him again…”
Rhys said with his last breath, his eyes filled with reluctance and longing.
Jasper cried, leaning closer.
“Father… Father…”
It was the first time he had willingly called him by that name.
His voice trembled, filled with agony.
Hearing it, Rhys’s face showed a contented smile. The light in his eyes slowly faded, and he utterly lost his breath.
“No!”
Jasper’s cries echoed to the heavens.
He clung tightly to Rhys’s lifeless body, refusing to believe his father was truly gone.
I held his cold body, gazing at his serene face.
A decision formed in my heart–one that surprised even myself.
“Jasper, let go.”
I said softly.
“Let Mommy try.”
Jasper looked at me, puzzled.
But he obediently let go.
I placed my hand on Rhys’s heart, beginning to cast the ancient Life–Sharing spell.
It was a forbidden art I’d learned from ancient texts: the ability to share one’s life with another, but at the cost of one’s own immortality.
“Mommy, what are you doing?”
Jasper asked, worried.
“Saving him.”
I replied calmly.
“For you, and for myself.”
Golden light streamed from my body, enveloping Rhys.
I felt my own life force rapidly draining, but Rhys’s heart began to beat again, and color slowly returned to his pale face.
The process lasted an entire night.
As the sun rose, Rhys slowly opened his eyes.
