Kishiar's eyes were clear, as if he had considered the idea long before today. Upon hearing his words, Yuder's mind reflexively flashed back to the day in a past life when he had killed Kishiar.

"Do you remember the inexplicable bond I inflicted upon you?"

"Perhaps what was connected that day was something deeper than our physical selves... something akin to a soul. After much searching for a way to sever this unseen link, I concluded that my powers could bring about the most optimal outcome."

"...This will end soon. Pushing until all bonds are forcibly severed... and then..."

Words that had been hard to fully understand when Yuder had dreamt them.

However, if Kishiar could intentionally draw their connection closer with his power, couldn't the opposite also be true?

If two objects that were stuck together were pushed in opposite directions indefinitely, then whatever they were...

"They would certainly sever."

A chill crawled down his spine, and he felt as if every hair on his body stood on end.

A sense of certainty flooded in, confirming what Kishiar in his past life had intended to do. His mind grew icy.

"Did Kishiar succeed back then? What happened next?"

Kishiar in his past life had intended to use his abilities to sever his connection with Yuder as he faced his own end. Assuming that he succeeded, why was it that even after turning back time, a 'thread' between him and Yuder still remained?

Had the connection severed as he wished, or had it failed? Had Yuder remained unscathed despite the severance?

"No... I thought so, but that wasn't the case."

Yuder recalled the gaps in his memory he had lived unaware of, the countless holes still lurking somewhere within him.

The majority of the memories he had recovered and the gaps he had filled were related to Kishiar. Was this the price he had paid for Kishiar's attempt to sever their bond?

His head throbbed and ached. The more he tried to think, the more painful it became.

"Yuder?"

Kishiar called out cautiously, observing the icy pallor that had come over Yuder's face. Yuder finally snapped out of his reverie and looked at Kishiar. The headache vanished as quickly as it had arrived.

"Is there something troubling you in what I've said?"

"...No, there isn't."

Avoiding Kishiar's gaze, Yuder hesitated briefly before speaking.

"I see... I'm not certain if the plan you've suggested is actually possible, as I hadn't fully considered it, but it doesn't seem entirely impossible."

What Kishiar was attempting now was fundamentally different from what he had tried in his past life. Instead of meddling with the connection itself, he merely intended to 'draw in' an already existing but rarely activated connection, making it easier to trigger and utilizing the resulting sensations.

First, let's see if it's really possible or not, Yuder thought.

"Would it be difficult to try it out now?"

"Now? Wouldn't it be better to rest a bit first?"

Knowing that this concern was directed at him, Yuder shook his head gently. He responded that he didn't want to delay even a little if there was a way. Kishiar looked into his face for a moment before nodding.

Knowing he lacked the power, Yuder tried to keep a neutral expression on his face, like someone hesitating to reveal a secret.

"Let's try something simple, then."

Kishiar took Yuder's hand.

"Use any ability. Just enough to open your Eye of Magic."

Immediately, Yuder conjured a breeze. As the warm wind brushed against the strands of hair on his forehead, a golden light streamed from his eye, signaling that his Eye of Magic had opened.

'I don't see any other powers right now, but...'

Despite the dim lighting, the clarity with which he could see Kishiar's facial expression and even the number of his eyelashes confirmed the activation of his Eye of Magic. While contemplating this, Kishiar, who had been gazing into his golden eye, gently tightened his grip on Yuder's hand.

In that instant, the air around them seemed to ripple, and a tingling sensation spread from behind Yuder's eyes. His hand twitched involuntarily.

"When I channel my magic power, there's indeed a reaction."

The light intensified. Though Kishiar whispered it, Yuder couldn't see it, making it hard to believe.

"Now... try using your ability."

A subtle, mist-like energy began to emanate from Kishiar's entire body. Yuder caught every distorted, misty fluctuation, difficult as they were to see. The moment that lingering energy seemed to know where to go, it surged through their clasped hands into Yuder. Yuder inhaled deeply and clenched his teeth.

'...Ah.'

Something had 'touched.'

Somewhere deep within Yuder, something dormant quivered at this sudden contact. Something else followed smoothly, 'pulling' at it. Yuder felt as if his entire being was being sucked towards Kishiar and swayed, feeling momentarily dizzy.

"You're fine."

A soft voice reassured him as the hand gripping his tightened, as if to deny the sensations as unreal.

Yuder took a deep breath and blinked reflexively. Then, in that brief moment, he saw a world turned utterly upside down.

Between him and Kishiar wavered a single familiar thread. That faint, fragile thread, seemingly made of light, looked nearly identical to the one that had once helped Yuder locate Kishiar in Tainu.

He followed the trajectory of that weightless thread fluttering around them. Reaching its end, he realized it was connected to both their clasped hands and Kishiar's red eyes. He was overwhelmed, unable to speak.

At the same time, the world gradually faded to white.

All he could see was the presence before him. The scent he had surely memorized felt more vivid than ever. Yuder breathed in the comforting fragrance of Kishiar, imbibing unfamiliar yet familiar emotions within that scent.

It was as if from the beginning, everything within Yuder had longed to continue being drawn towards him. The delicate thread encircling his body yearned for a deeper, stronger connection, once lost and now hoped for again.

In a powerful interweaving and entanglement, the fragmented pieces loudly cried out for something.

It was the name of the one who had once been like a part of him. Or perhaps a memory, or maybe regret, or even resentment.

And in response to those intense emotions, he sensed similar yet unfamiliar sensations coming from somewhere invisible that were connected to him. Yuder felt entrapped by these sensations, as if they were violently shaking his soul. He tried to suppress them with force but failed.

When Yuder opened his eyes again, he became aware that he was still in the unchanged gallery. He had been sitting upright, holding Kishiar's hand while attempting the ritual, but now found himself almost embraced in the man's arms.

Kishiar's energy had long since waned, and the wind summoned by Yuder had also dissipated. Finally taking a long breath, the pair of red eyes that had been staring into Yuder's blinked.

"Commander?"

"We successfully activated the connection. Did you feel it?"

"Ah... yes, I felt it."

"Any pain or discomfort?"

"None."

"Good, that's fortunate."

Kishiar brushed his hand across Yuder's forehead. Yuder sat up as if waking from a dream. The lingering fragments of emotion swirling in his head faded quickly, causing him to forget what he had just felt.

"Are you alright, Commander?"

Kishiar explained that the moment the connection was activated, as expected, he had been able to somewhat feel what Yuder's Eye of Magic was seeing by using his own magic energy.

"I sensed the flow of the Awakener energy and magic energy from me. However, the connection kept unexpectedly strengthening. I couldn't disconnect it as easily as I had hoped to..."

After saying this much, Kishiar briefly shook his head. Now that Yuder looked, he noticed Kishiar's gaze was also inexplicably dull and deep.

"...I thought I sensed something immediately after that, but I can't be sure."

'Something...'

Yuder felt similarly. He thought he had sensed something, but the feeling quickly faded as he regained his senses, making it difficult to put into words.

'But I have gained one answer.'

It was now certain that with Kishiar's power, activating the connection was possible. And through that, he could also reach Yuder's Eye of Magic. It was a significant step forward in the path to healing the Emperor.

Instead of being mired in the unknown, it was better to organize the answers they had found. Yuder lay down in the bedroom, filled with aromatic pouches that the Empress had sent for them, and after pondering for a long while, closed his eyes.