The night nurse screamed first, then the orderly. Kael's mother was thrashing on the bed, soaked in sweat, her hair tangled across her face like a storm had passed through her.
Her voice cracked the silence like a whip.
"Kael! Kael, my son! Let me see my boy!"
She reached out to nothing , to memory, to shadows — clawing the air like she could pull him back if only she tried hard enough.
"Please," she begged hoarsely, "he doesn't know yet… he needs to know!"
Two nurses struggled to hold her shoulders down gently as the doctor called for a sedative.
"Easy now, Ma'am," one said softly, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead. But the woman who once turned heads at charity galas didn't seem to hear. Her gaze was fixed beyond the ceiling, on something no one else could see.
Meanwhile, miles away, Kael was drowning in sleep.
Or rather, something that mimicked it.
---
His bedsheets clung to his skin like wet vines, in the grip of a dream, or a warning , he ran through a field where voices whispered his name in broken echoes. He couldn't see where he was going, only that something chased him, something ancient, something familiar.
"Kael…"
The whisper grew louder. Too loud.
Then, the shrill cry of his phone shattered the night.
He gasped awake, flinging the sheet off his chest, heart pounding like it had kept running even after the dream ende, his hand fumbled for the phone, the screen glowed NURSE Golden Will Care Home.
He answered immediately, still half-blind with sleep.
"Hello…?"
"Mr. Kael, your mother she's not doing well," said the nurse, her voice tight with worry. "She's screaming for you. She's been... disturbed all night. Something's not right." Kael didn't hesitate. He threw on a shirt, grabbed his master key, and burst out of his small servant room like a man fleeing fire.
---
Down the marble hallway of the Asoluka mansion, Sai stood at the kitchen sink, sipping cold water straight from the glass bottle, when she saw him.
Kael wild-eyed, half-dressed, keys in hand storming toward the front door.
"Kael?" she called, startled. "Where are you going?"
But Kael barely glanced at her.
"My mom—something's wrong. I have to go. Now."
Without a second thought, Sai dropped her bottle on the counter and ran after him.
"Wait!"
He yanked the car door open and jumped into the driver's seat. She opened the passenger side and slid in beside him. It wasn't until the car was pulling out of the gate that Sai realized, she was still in her nightgown.
---
"Hey… slow down, please."
Her voice was gentle, breathy from the rush, she reached out and placed her hand on Kael's. Her touch was warm, gounding.
He blinked, realizing how tight his grip was on the wheel.
"Breathe," she whispered. "Just breathe."
Kael inhaled deeply, chest rising and falling with effort. For a moment, the road faded. The panic softened.
He looked at her her loose curls, her soft expression lit by the passing street lamps, the quiet strength in her voice.
"Thanks," he murmured, eyes flicking to her hand before returning to the road.
They drove the rest of the way in silence. But it was the kind of silence that holds something, trust, unspoken understanding, a question neither of them knew how to ask.
---
At the Nursing Home…
When they arrived, a nurse was waiting by the entrance, clipboard in hand and face pale with fatigue. She led them through the quiet corridors to Room 14.
Kael's heart tightened as he stepped in.
His mother looked smaller somehow, paler, her once-sharp gaze was hazy now, drifting between waking up and dream, but when she heard his voice, "Mom, I am here" she turned sharply.
"Kael?" she whispered, sitting up suddenly. "Is it really you?" He knelt by the bed and held her hand. "Yes, Mom, I am here for you "
She blinked rapidly, tears welled in her eyes.
"They're watching you," she said, barely a breath. "The shadows. The ones that don't blink."
Kael stilled. Sai looked up from where she stood quietly at the door, "What are you talking about?"
But her lips just moved in fragments now. "You have to know… it's not… he didn't tell you… the pendant, it's not" the nurse injected a mild sedative before she could say more.
Kael leaned forward, brushing her hair back gently.
"I'm here. I'll come more often mom. I promise."
---
Back at the Asoluka Mansion…
Mr. Asoluka stood on the balcony, arms folded behind his back, staring into the distance.
His wife appeared beside him, adjusting her robe.
"She's not in her room," he said.
"I saw her run out with the driver," she replied coolly. "I believe she was barefoot."
His jaw tightened. "This boy. This… disturbance. I don't like the influence he's having."
"She's young and curious." "She's emotional. And emotions get in the way of legacy."
He turned sharply. "I want him gone before the month ends."
---
In the Servant's Quarters… alone in the dark, Kael's pillow lifted slightly, the pendant glowed, pulsing like a heartbeat. Then a soft click.
The drawer opened.
Inside, the pendant shifted on its own.
Its glow twisted, flickered, then brightened in a long, steady shimmer.
And from within its glassy center, an image flickered.
Sai. The cloaked one. Her face stained with tears. Her lips moved: "He must awaken… before it's too late."