I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

An awful silence stretched between them as Ling lay before Raiden, his chest torn open, blood seeping from his mouth and nose as tears flowed freely down his cheeks.

Raiden dropped to his knees, staring at the ground in disbelief as his body went cold. His mind felt hollow, unable to form coherent thoughts, every heartbeat bringing waves of crushing pain he had no idea how to bear.

"I… I knew it was you, Jack," Ling muttered as he choked on the crimson, while his trembling hand found Raiden's cheek.

Raiden couldn't even look in his direction. This… this was his twin brother, Jobe, the very person he had lived his entire life trying to avenge. And now, he was dying by Raiden's very hands.

"When I came here twelve years ago… I did everything I could to get back to you." Ling's tears began uncontrollably as his voice cracked. "I never knew… that you also died and ended up here."

Ling was doing the right thing, and Raiden knew that much. They were twins who had lived their entire lives separated by different realms, believing they were lost to each other forever.

But his words still hurt, cutting deeper than any blade ever could. Raiden simply couldn't bear to hear them.

"It's my fault… you probably died because of me." Ling's cold palm rested on Raiden's cheek. "You were always so gentle… so caring."

Raiden's fists clenched and trembled, his head finally jerking up to face Ling as tears spilled down his cheeks. He opened his mouth, desperately trying to speak, but it felt as though the words had been stolen from his very throat.

"I'm so glad to see you again…" Ling wore a big grin as fluid covered his face. "I had a good, gentle moment with you too."

There was such tenderness in those brown eyes as Raiden gazed into them. In their past lives, despite being identical twins, Jobe had possessed an unmatched charm. Raiden had tried countless times to emulate him, but he simply wasn't made the same way.

But now the perfect best friend and family member had finally taken his last breath because of Raiden's cowardice, and seeing Ling at peace like this made Raiden question everything he knew.

"Tel—

His words finally began to find him.

"Tell me the truth, do you hate me?"

Ling's expression darkened briefly before blood erupted from his lips, his wound visibly deteriorating. Even so, he let a moment of silence stretch between them.

In the moments before Ling finally spoke, Raiden's pulse quickened unsteadily as he hung on every breath, waiting for whatever his brother would say.

"Mother and Father were nothing but cruel," his eyes darted into the night sky as a faint smile played on his lips. "It was always the same… never-ending training and their heartless torture."

He finally turned to Raiden. "But… do you remember? You always cried, and always threatened to kill them if they kept torturing us."

His smile widened as his eyes grew tighter. "I could never hate you, brother… not in both lives, nor the next."

The words were too gentle, too forgiving—nothing like what Raiden wanted to hear. His blood boiled with rage at such kindness, unable to accept the mercy in them.

"I killed you…" he blurted, his frustration unmistakable.

"It was me… I held you back. I stopped you, and that's why you died." His voice was cracking heavily, making his words hard to hear.

But Ling kept that soft smile on his lips, obviously remembering that day just as clearly as Raiden did.

They were both six when Jobe was assigned to a mission. It involved a solitary and harmless man who lived alone on an empty street. No details were given; their parents had issued the mission and wanted it done.

However, Jack, who was barely trusted with any missions because of his leniency and lack of the cruelty that ran in the Grim family, insisted on coming along.

Seeing those determined eyes and that stubborn heart, Jobe knew it was useless to refuse him. So they went together. At their destination, Jobe pulled the trigger without hesitation, the bullet striking the man in the chest.

They had both killed before and witnessed death, but with Jack present, Jobe wanted to attempt his brother's ritual.

It was something he loved and admired about Jack—staying with the dying until they drew their final breath. A practice Jack maintained even now.

But the man dragged himself across the floor, clutching his bleeding chest, stubbornly clinging to life. Jobe knew they were running short on time to return home—being late wasn't an option for either of them. The consequences were too terrible to risk.

Their moment of shared tenderness suddenly erupted into confusion and a heated argument—one brother insisting they finish him off, the other wanting to let him die naturally.

In the end, Jobe couldn't overcome Jack's persistence and surrendered to his brother's wishes. But as they prepared to leave the man's estate, two men ambushed them from behind, catching Jack completely off guard, and fired without hesitation.

The bullet intended for Jack extinguished Jobe's life instead, and only their mother Jane's sudden intervention saved Jack that day. He couldn't move a muscle.

This should have stirred some hatred in Ling, and should have triggered at least an angry outburst. But he saw things differently.

"Yes, I think I hate you…" Ling pressed the words past his crimson lips. Raiden's heart sank like a stone; finally, the accusation he'd been dreading was coming.

"Why did you build your whole life around me? All I ever wanted was for you to be happy… so why?"

A flood of emotions overwhelmed Raiden all at once, his vision blurring as he watched Ling's eyelids flutter shut. He couldn't make sense of any of them.

Had he been wrong to seek vengeance for Jobe? What else could he have done?

"Even for a primordial dragon, your flames are beyond healing." Ling muttered quietly, his movements slowly turning sluggish. "On this Tragical Isle, Luci was bound to claim one of us… I'm just glad it was me."

"Tell Snow… that at long last, I found you."

Raiden's lips parted slightly as he stared at Ling, tears streaming down his face even as he smiled. Yet somehow, it felt inhuman—he couldn't bring himself to show his love.

"Please… please, I beg you… live a happy life." The moment the words left his mouth, his head dropped, and Raiden's heart sank.

The recent weeks had been hellish enough, but having his brother, the person for whom he'd sacrificed everything, die by his own doing was the ultimate torment. Whatever dark design had been woven around him was now complete.

[ALE—

The familiar inhuman voice tried to pierce his thoughts, but before it could break through, Raiden spoke from his bottomless anguish.

"Shut up, Sulli."

Numbness had claimed his senses entirely, his flesh feeling leaden and corrupt, inner chaos eating him alive. Still, a strange stillness settled over him as he gazed at Ling through hollow eyes.

But faster than thought itself, Luci, who had been lounging beneath his gazebo, was suddenly standing beside Deathsight.

Raiden could only watch through his fog of confusion as Luci bent down beside Ling and scooped him up.

That was his brother, and he deserved at least a proper burial. Yet even watching a threatening figure like Luci take hold of him, Raiden remained paralyzed—unable to speak, unable to even summon the rage needed to tear those filthy hands away from his precious brother.

Yet for the first time in his life, that desperate urgency was completely absent. Raiden's head sagged downward in total defeat.

The moment he did, before he could process the dark ground beneath him, Luci snapped.

Instantly, he was kneeling in beach sand, the blue ocean before him with waves splashing at his legs while the sun shone overhead. Luci had expelled him from his absolute domain.

His companions materialized beside him on the sand, but Raiden was too deep in his personal darkness to acknowledge they were there.

"Raid?!"