ENTER Online

The tunnel leading away from the arena felt longer than it should have. Krad walked slowly, supporting Kira who seemed to be struggling with her own weight. The adrenaline from the match was fading, leaving behind a bone-deep exhaustion that had nothing to do with physical exertion.

"Are you okay?" Krad asked, glancing at his unexpected companion. Up close, without the mask and the murderous intent, Kira looked incredibly young and fragile.

"I don't know," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I haven't been 'okay' in so long, I'm not sure I'd recognize it if I was."

They emerged into the competitor's staging area, where the late afternoon sun streamed through high windows. Other fighters milled about, some celebrating victories, others nursing wounds and wounded pride. A few glanced their way with curiosity, but most were too focused on their own concerns to pay much attention.

"Krad!" Queen Hania's voice called out. "There you are. That was quite a---"

She stopped mid-sentence as she noticed Kira. Her expression shifted from relief to wariness in an instant.

"It's okay," Mist said quickly, positioning himself partially between Queen Hania and Kira. "She's with us."

"She just tried to kill Krad," Queen Hania pointed out, her tone carefully neutral.

"And now she's not," Krad replied simply. "People can change. You taught me that."

Before Queen Hania could respond, a sharp CRACK echoed through the staging area. Krad's head snapped sideways, his cheek stinging from the impact. He blinked in shock, his hand rising instinctively to his face.

"MASTER KRAD YOU ABSOLUTE MORON!"

Hanan stood before him, her emerald eyes blazing with a mixture of fury and relief that made her look like an avenging angel. Her silver hair whipped around her shoulders as she trembled with barely contained emotion.

"Hanan, I---" Krad started, but she cut him off.

"Don't you Hanan me!" She stepped closer, her finger jabbing at his chest. "We're supposed to be a team! We're supposed to look out for each other!"

"Now hold on just a minute---" Krad began, but another voice joined the fray.

"She's absolutely right."

Drugo emerged from behind a stone pillar, his usual composed demeanor cracked with genuine anger. His hair was slightly disheveled. "You train for days, don't send word, and the next thing we know, you're fighting for your life in an arena while we're sitting around like idiots wondering if you're even still alive."

"And another thing," Miss Vice added, stepping up beside the two women. Her face was stern with disapproval. "Did you even think about what would happen if you got yourself killed? Did you consider how we'd feel? How we'd blame ourselves for not being there?"

Krad looked around at his friends, feeling smaller with each accusation.

"I just thought---"

"You thought WRONG!" Hanan's voice cracked with emotion. "You thought you were being noble and protective, but what you were really being was selfish and stupid!"

Krad winced as if she'd slapped him again. "Selfish?"

"Yes, selfish!" Hanan's eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall. "You made the decision for all of us! You decided that we weren't strong enough to handle the truth, weren't brave enough to face the danger, weren't worthy enough to stand by your side when things got tough!"

"That's not---" Krad protested, but Miss Vice interrupted.

"Isn't it?" Her voice was quieter than Hanan's, but no less intense. "You looked at us and decided that we were liabilities instead of assets."

Queen Hania had been watching the exchange with growing understanding. She stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Hanan's shoulder. "Perhaps we should find somewhere more private to continue this conversation."

Hanan tensed at the touch, turning to look at the silver-haired woman. "Who are you, exactly?"

The question hung in the air like a sword waiting to fall. Queen Hania's eyes met Krad's, and he saw the fear there, the terror of a mother about to reveal herself to the daughter who thought she was dead.

"I..." Queen Hania began, then stopped. Her hands trembled as she reached up to touch her face, as if reassuring herself that she was real. "I'm someone who has been searching for her family for a very long time."

Hanan's expression shifted from annoyance to confusion. "What do you mean?"

Krad stepped forward, his heart pounding. "Hanan, there's something you need to know. About the curse I broke. About who Barbara really was."

"Barbara?" Hanan's eyes widened. "The Cursed Elf Fairy? What does she have to do with---"

She stopped mid-sentence as realization began to dawn. Her gaze moved from Krad to Queen Hania, taking in the elegant features, the silver hair, the familiar emerald eyes that mirrored her own.

"No," Hanan whispered, backing away. "No, that's impossible. My mother is dead. She died fifteen years ago with my father."

Queen Hania's composure finally cracked. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at the daughter she'd lost so long ago. "Hanan, my beautiful girl. You've grown so strong, so brave. I've missed you so much."

"You're lying," Hanan said, her voice breaking. "This is some kind of trick. Some kind of cruel joke."

"It's not a joke," Krad said gently. "The curse didn't just corrupt her, it stole her memories, her identity. She's been wandering for fifteen years, not knowing who she truly was."

Hanan's knees buckled, and Drugo caught her before she could fall. "But... but I felt her die. I felt the connection break. I mourned her."

"You mourned who she was," Queen Hania said, stepping closer despite Hanan's obvious distress. "And you were right to. The woman who died in those flames was gone. I became something else, something terrible. I hurt people, Hanan. I became the monster from children's nightmares."

"Stop," Hanan said, her voice barely audible. "Just stop. I can't... I can't process this."

The staging area had grown quiet around them. Even the other fighters seemed to sense the gravity of the moment, giving them space.

"I know it's overwhelming," Queen Hania continued, her voice thick with emotion. "I know you have every right to reject me. But please, just let me explain. Let me tell you about the curse, about what happened to me, about why I couldn't come back to you."

Hanan looked up at her with eyes full of pain and confusion. "If you're really my mother, then prove it. Tell me something only she would know."

Queen Hania smiled through her tears. "You used to have nightmares about a shadow that lived under your bed. Not the usual childhood fear, this was something deeper, something that made you afraid to sleep. Your father and I tried everything, night lights, protective charms, even having the royal mage bless your room. Nothing worked."

Hanan's breath caught.

"But then one night, when you were about seven, you asked me to sing you a lullaby. Not just any lullaby, you wanted me to make one up just for you. So I did. I sang about a brave little princess who wasn't afraid of shadows because she carried her own light inside her. And every night after that, when the nightmares came, you'd hum that song to yourself until you fell asleep."

"The Light Song," Hanan whispered, her hand moving unconsciously to her heart.

"The Light Song," Queen Hania confirmed. "Because you were my light, Hanan. You and Bruwa both. You were the light that kept me sane during the darkest moments of my cursed existence."

The dam broke. Hanan launched herself forward, colliding with Queen Hania in a desperate embrace. Both women sobbed, fifteen years of separation and pain pouring out in a torrent of emotion.

"I missed you so much," Hanan cried into her mother's shoulder. "I tried to be strong, tried to be the leader you taught me to be, but I was so lost without you."

"I know, my darling. I know." Queen Hania stroked her daughter's hair, her own tears falling freely. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I'm so sorry you had to grow up without me."

"I thought I'd never see you again," Hanan sobbed. "I thought I'd failed you by not being able to save you."

"You didn't fail me," Queen Hania said fiercely. "You survived. You grew into an incredible woman. You found people who care about you, who would fight for you. That's not failure, that's triumph."

Krad felt his own eyes burning with tears. Beside him, Miss Vice was openly crying, and even Drugo was wiping his eyes with his tree magic. Mist had turned away, but his shoulders were shaking.

"This is beautiful and all," Ragnar said quietly, "but we're starting to attract attention."

He was right. A crowd had begun to gather, drawn by the emotional display. Some looked curious, others moved, but all were staring.

"We should find somewhere more private," Mist agreed. "There's much more we need to discuss."