"The war is over. The king has fallen."
He found him lying on the riverbank. He was quick to catch him in his arms, washing his wounds with the cold water. It was a gruesome sight, he has lost an eye.
"What happened to Witherhall?" Sunoo asked, flinching as the huntsman spat the blood off his mouth.
"Y-you're alive." He said, shivering upon touching his open wounds. Hoon flinched. Then smiled. Then breathily, saying, "I... I told you... I always come back."
"Where are the others?" Sunoo asked, helping the huntsman to get up. It took a while, as his leg was wounded, too. "Where are the others?" He repeated.
"Dead." He plainly said, wrapping his arms around the scribe's neck. "All of them?"
"All of them." He groaned.
"What of Jaeyun? What of your king?"
Hoon, gritting his teeth in such an immense pain, managed to reply. "Call the sawbones to stitch my eyes. Then tell the others... Tell them they are free... King Jaeyun... King Jaeyun has been slain by Riki of Witherhall."
Sunoo was left astounded. The battle was finally over. He settled Hoon in the garden near their tents and quickly ran to grant the others their freedom.
---
The day after the sack, soldiers strolled around the premises of Witherhall meadow, disposing the bodies of their enemies, forcing their swords in the corpses' flesh in a way no one in their clan would survive.
In the same land, Riki finally met with his brother after a long day of hunting each other through the battlefield bathed in blood. Jaeyun caught him with his sword first, grazing his arm. He was always stronger, he knew that. Even after losing most of their armies, their fight didn't end there. Jaeyun was able to knock Riki on the ground, trying to pierce his brother's skin but failed as he was quick to evade his attacks. Their swords continued to clink until Riki finally caught him in the mews.
Jaeyun was next to fall on the ground as Riki held him down, settling himself on his chest as he kept on bashing, bashing his face with his hand gloved with metal.
"You were never a brother to me." He remembered Jaeyun's last words before he finally ran out of time; before he finally decided to end it all with just a single strike of the sword right on his forehead. The war ended there.
Riki marched back to the palace, with his brother's head in his hand, a sword on the other. He could hear the crowds cheering by then, and he knew something was going to change in Witherhall right at that moment. His hands were calloused, full of blood, even reaching his face and hair. He remembered the Isles of Val once again. He remembered the doom and he found himself so numb he couldn't fear the memory of it anymore. He took a deep breath.
The King reminded himself to head to the cells. He wanted to tell himself that all this was just an illusion, a part of him seeing shadows again. But no, he could see her clearly. He understood now.
Eru looked at him and rose, holding onto the bars. "Riki." Tears welled from her eyes upon seeing him covered in blood. Reaching for him, she said. "Riki, please forgive me." But there was only silence. A bitter one.
"Please, if you can no longer forgive me, at least let me have this only moment with you."
"Stay, I beg of you."
"Riki!"
But he wasn't there just to hear her apology over and over again, like all the other seasons. So, he figured he only wasted his time. But, before he could flee...
"I lived in the whorehouse."
He stopped as if stunned, not daring to turn back.
"Ji-e is my mother. At least that's what I know of. My name is Adi. Just Adi. I grew up with whores who took good care of me. Jungwon was mine. He was, Riki. I would never deny the letters I've sent to him. Eru, his sister, was dead a very long time ago. She was found in the Littleroots."
Riki could only clench his fists. She lied. She made me believe a lie.
"Lady Yang chose me to act as her daughter to claim the Mountain of Gold, Riki. But I am no noble. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to Evenfall. But I, Adi, had to do this for Ji-e to live a better life."
Riki found himself leaning helplessly on the wall as Adi continued to speak with a trembling voice.
"So, kill me, my love. I lied to you. I lied to Witherhall. But please, spare Won. I beg of you. He never asked for this. He was controlled, just as I was. Spare him. That is all I ask."
"But don't ever think I never loved you. We happened and it wasn't a lie anymore. I could take myself back to all the times I loved you as I face that wooden block one day. "
This time, the king couldn't resist turning back. He went towards her and knew it was the last time he could ever hear her words again. He loved her. And now, he was finally done.
"I hope you're happy meeting me all over again. Not as Eru, but as Adi. Just Adi."
For the last time, he reached for her and there, planted his last kiss on her forehead.
