At that moment, that very instant, Patrick’s entire life with Tult?en flashed through his mind. He finally realized how senseless, foolish, and selfish he had been. He had only thought of his own feelings, never pausing to consider Tult?en’s strange behavior or the invisible distance she had placed between them. In the end, he asked himself if he had ever truly loved her, for he had never once cared about her true feelings. Instinctively, he leapt from his chair to run, but an enraged Ilfirin lifted him off the ground in a whirlwind. Like Tult?en, glowing marks spread across Ilfirin’s body.

  I still remember how I used to tease her because I loved seeing her glow like a firefly. I’d always prod her to use her powers, knowing she claimed they wouldn’t activate unless she practiced. She was so adorable, really. I could understand why Patrick had fallen for her—it was easy to love her.

  Anyway, back to the story. Where was I? Oh, right!

  "Stop!" Ilfirin shouted, his arm half-raised, holding Patrick suspended several feet above the ground. "You think you have the right to go to her now? Why should I let you?"

  "I... I have to see her..."

  "You’re the cause of her suffering! Do you think I’ll let you see her again? If you hadn’t crossed her path, her life wouldn’t be hanging by a thread right now!"

  Hearing those final words, Patrick unleashed his inner power, dissipating the whirlwind that held him aloft and falling to the ground. Ilfirin braced for an attack, but to his surprise, Patrick knelt before him, pressing his forehead to the floor.

  "I’m so sorry! Please... I beg you... let me see her!" Patrick pleaded, tears streaming down his face. "Please... I need to see her one last time..."

  Perhaps it was Patrick’s humiliating posture that softened Ilfirin’s heart.

  "You’ll find her in the Garden of Essences. Go... she doesn’t have much time left."

  It took Patrick about half an hour to reach the garden. From a distance, he saw Tult?en on the verge of collapse. He rushed toward her in an ethereal blaze, wrapping his arms around her as they both sank to the ground.

  Up close, Patrick finally understood the enormity of what he had done. Tult?en had stopped glowing—she had lost her light. The marks that once adorned her body now appeared black, with open wounds bleeding through her once-beautiful azure dress. Her lips were cracked, her body drenched in sweat and blood. There was nothing left of the vibrant, joyous Tult?en he had known. She could barely move, her voice reduced to faint whispers. And it was all his fault—his selfishness, his arrogance, his very existence.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "No, no, no, no..." he cried in anguish, tears streaming down his face as he held her fragile body.

  "Patrick..." she whispered, her eyes half-open and a strained smile on her lips. "Why is love so painful?"

  "Don’t leave me... look at me," he begged, his hands trembling as he held her. "Don’t be so selfish. You promised me you wouldn’t leave. Don’t do this."

  "Why?"

  "It’s painful but also beautiful. It makes you suffer, yet it gives you strength to keep going. You’re the one who makes me want to live each day, Tult?en."

  "Patrick..." she whispered again, her bloodstained hand caressing his face. "I’m glad the last thing my eyes see is you."

  "Please, don’t leave me..."

  With Patrick’s desperate plea, Tult?en let out her final breath. Her hand fell to the ground, her body lifeless in his arms. Everything he had loved, everything that gave him hope despite the darkness within him, was slipping away before his eyes—and it was all his fault.

  Instinctively, Patrick clutched her lifeless body tightly as Tult?en began to fade. From the depths of his being, he cried until there was nothing left—no strength, no energy, no reason to live. And so, Patrick held her until the darkness consumed him, leaving nothing but black ash.

  ━━━━━━???━━━━━━

  "This is the true story of Tult?en, the one you constantly belittle without truly knowing her," Ronnie said to Annie, who sat with tears streaming down her face, overwhelmed by all the information she had just received. "Since that day, Patrick closed off his heart and began to hate the world—but most of all, himself—for causing the death of the woman he loved," the young man of dark complexion concluded as he stood from his seat, moving closer to his friend.

  "Annie... I don’t know if you stand a chance with Patrick, but his one true love has always been, and always will be, Tult?en," he affirmed carefully, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

  Ronnie was fully aware of the pain his words would inflict on his companion, yet he felt it was necessary to put an end to her fixation on Patrick. With a deep sigh and a tender caress across the young woman's delicate face, he left her alone, lost in thought and brokenhearted.

  Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Dokovic mansion, Patrick sat by the bed, beside Nasai's unconscious body, hesitating whether or not to remove her mask. Something deep inside him urged him to act. With a racing heart but careful hands, he slowly took off the mask, finally revealing the face of the woman who had unsettled his very being.

  “Tult?en...?” he whispered, his voice catching in his throat, shaken by what his eyes were seeing.