By Zephyria 
***
His consciousness gradually returned. As if floating away from the abyss, a gentle ripple spread through his mind, and his mind cleared.
The room was immersed in deep silence.
It was a space where time seemed to have stopped. Even in the darkness, a familiar warmth was felt. It smelled like Kwon Rae-i.
Tae-hwon moved his little finger slightly. He felt the tactile sensation of the soft blanket touching him, and then he put strength into his hand and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist. His arm slowly regained its weight, and the muscles released tension after being freed from a long sleep.
Next, his hearing returned. He could hear the sound of trees swaying in the wind in the distance. The sounds of nature in the familiar yet long-missed silence, like the gentle breath of the night. Water flowed gently in the garden pond, and starlings chirped quietly.
Finally, when Tae-hwon opened his eyes, his eyes slowly focused in the darkness. At first, it seemed as if he was lying in a black space painted in black, but gradually the surrounding objects began to appear clearly. Every grain of wood on the ceiling, the outline of the familiar wallpapered wall, and even the pattern of the bars covering the window. It was a place in a nostalgic memory.
Tae-hwon slowly raised his body and pushed the blanket aside. Air filled with coldness brushed against his skin, but even that felt welcome. Rather, this moment was so perfect and harmonious that it was admirable. Every time he moved his body, his muscles responded smoothly, and all his senses were clearly controlled without any ambiguity.
Even his memory. The empty space that had been missing was completely filled, and he felt a complete mind.
The confusion and conflict that had always plagued him, the other self he had denied and criticized, was no longer far away. The moment Woo Tae-hwon accepted it, he became one with it and finally reached enlightenment.
Like an ignorant ascetic who has attained enlightenment.
Knowledge and the annual rings of accumulated memories led him.
Tae-hwon got up from his seat and took a step. There was no trembling. His bare feet gently stepped on the wooden floor, and he walked straight without shaking. He walked towards the door without a moment’s hesitation. This was the Separate House where he had spent time with Kwon Rae-i when he was a young master, the place where he had been with him.
Standing before the closed door, Tae-hwon lightly brushed the doorframe with his fingertips. As he moved his fingers, the smooth texture of the wood was distinctly felt. Then, he quietly opened the door. No sound could be heard from the outside; it was merely silent. However, Tae-hwon already knew the path he had to take, where he had to go. The answer was not far away.
Beyond the deep darkness, the wind swept through the pillars of the hallway.
Tae-hwon leisurely moved his steps, heading straight forward. As he left the Separate House, crossed the yard, and headed towards the main house, he saw blackened marks everywhere in the yard. There was also a pungent smell of burning. Blood was even splattered in the unkempt bushes, but such things did not stop him.
Passing through the hallway and entering the deep interior, he naturally stood before a door.
The place where Chairman Kwon Jung-il had died, and where Tae-hwon had collapsed after regaining his memories. Reaching the office, he slowly reached out his hand.
There was a reason why he had returned here, a reason why he had to.
Creak. Tae-hwon opened the door without hesitation, and his eyes met those of the occupants inside. Kwon Tae-oh, his limbs bound by chains, was tied to a chair, and beside him was a man as beautiful as a pure white haze. Seeing Kwon Rae-i, Tae-hwon let out a slow breath.
“Hoo…”
For a moment, the space seemed to freeze.
Woo Tae-hwon’s appearance seemed to have swept over the two like a tsunami.
Kwon Tae-oh, who had been yelling, shut his mouth, and Kwon Rae-i seemed very pleased that the lover he had been waiting for had awakened. However, he seemed somewhat wary, preparing for what Woo Tae-hwon would do, whether he was the Woo Tae-hwon who had regained his memories, and if so, how he would act.
But Tae-hwon, who had attracted their attention, turned to the side without saying a word.
And beyond the screen, he looked at the bookcase that filled the wall.
Books packed tightly. Within the collection of knowledge was the goal he was looking for. Striding towards the bookcase, he took a breath and carefully reached out his hand. Grabbing an old hardcover art book and feeling around, he felt a subtle vibration at his fingertips. Tae-hwon inhaled and applied force.
There was an empty space behind the bookcase.
As the book was pushed deep inside, a small mechanical sound rang out, breaking the taut tension.
Click.
The bookcase rotated in a semicircle, and the safe hidden behind it revealed itself to the world.
Tae-hwon, with a faint smile, stood upright before it and began to enter the password. Sixteen randomly arranged digits. 9571098045684352. The number was correct in one go, and when he turned the dial three times to the right, twice to the left, and then five times to the right again, the safe door opened easily.
Inside was a thin document.
Chairman Kwon Jung-il’s will. The original.
The will presented to Kwon Tae-oh and Woo Tae-hwon that night was a copied version. Since two copies were made and given to two people, it was only natural.
Tae-hwon, taking out the original that had been sleeping in the safe, passed by Kwon Tae-oh, who was bound so he could not move, and approached Kwon Rae-i. The expressions of the two half-brothers with the same father were polar opposites. Tae-hwon handed the will in his hand to Kwon Rae-i without hesitation.
“Take it.”
“Tae-hwon, your memories…”
“Yes. They’ve all returned.”
Kwon Rae-i received the will and unfolded it. He stopped breathing as he confirmed the contents written in Chairman Kwon’s handwriting, the seal, and the notarization. The pupils in his cold, blue-gray eyes widened slightly.
“Gyeongjeong is yours.”
As Tae-hwon declared, it was as if a ray of light shone through the darkness. A complete ending. There was no need to continue the fight. It was time for the bloodshed to end and the blood to be washed away. A thrill ran through him as he thought of the newly rising sun. His crown tingled, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
At the end of his slow breath and gaze, Kwon Rae-i nodded in response. It was a response with considerable weight.
And finally, Kwon Tae-oh, he was just staring blankly at the air.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that everything was over. At that moment, he didn’t even have fear left. Rather, his mind seemed to be empty. He had no emotions to yell or blame, and no strength left to resist. With calculations and strategies, with impulsive impulses and passions, he could not surpass Kwon Rae-i.
He would just be swept away.
Like Kwon Sang-oh, Kwon Hyeon-oh, and the countless other lives that had died.
In the end, Byun Jun-seok, who had died tragically at his hands, came to mind. Then, strangely, laughter burst from his parched lips. The laughter contained no emotion. Not anger. Not fear. Just a futile laugh.
“…Is this the end?”
The noose that he had been tightening around himself for so long was finally strangling Kwon Tae-oh himself.
The things in front of him seemed to be getting farther and farther away. No, perhaps he himself was saying goodbye to life. He remembered the times he had struggled. How fiercely Kwon Tae-oh himself had tried to survive. He didn’t want to give up anything. He didn’t want to be deprived of anything. But in the end, he had collapsed.
Because Woo Tae-hwon was there that day.
Because he couldn’t kill him.
Woo Tae-hwon, who had been a small crack, eventually returned as a great disaster.
The original copy of his father’s will, which he had searched for day and night in the office, would end up seeing the light of day in that hand. Kwon Tae-oh muttered in vain and dropped his head. His black, dead eyes no longer reflected any light. It was an empty gaze.
‘Father.’
Swallowing his last words, he bit his tongue.
***
Last night, the mansion engulfed in flames quietly held its breath. The struggles and chaos that had taken place in the darkness seemed to have been buried in the deep night, leaving only acrid traces. The tall walls were scorched, and gray dust floated faintly in the air. The trees licked by the flames had also turned gray.
The sun began to rise over the earth that had been soaked in blood all night, the land that held the remnants of the battle.
Dawn was breaking.
Beyond the eastern sky, the dark blue curtain was lifted, and a whitish light spread. Red began to rise from beyond the horizon, parting the gently undulating clouds. Clear light permeated each place where darkness retreated, illuminating the world.
Then, the garden, thick with the stench of blood, was covered in golden light.
The newly risen light was pushing back the darkness.