"Why?!" Mako shouted at the top of his lungs from the podium, where his head awaited the guillotine's fall.
His brother, with a serious expression and crimson eyes full of contempt, started walking towards him.
But instead of answering Mako's question, he spoke to the crowd.
"People of Galandria!" His voice silenced the whispers of the crowd. "We have gathered today, before the eyes of both commoners and nobles, to condemn Mako of the House of the Sun for attempting to kill the king."
With his ankles and wrists sore from the chains, Mako stared at the man he had once trusted most, his eyes filled with hate and helplessness.
He tried to kick, to fight in any way, but…
It was useless.
"How low has the House of the Sun fallen," one of the guards standing by the guillotine said.
"Shut up! They might hear you," his companion replied.
"The noise of the crowd never reaches this far back. Lord Erick Sol is too busy delivering the sentence."
The guard paused, no longer looking at Erick's broad back, imposing and draped in a red cape, but instead focusing on Mako, who was about to be decapitated.
"Look at him," the guard continued. "Generations of being the most important, wealthy, and loyal house in the kingdom. Not only did he not awaken his system, but he fell so low as to try to kill the king."
Mako wanted to scream, to release all the pain he felt in his chest, but the long weeks in the dungeon only gave him the strength to direct that rage at one person:
Erick.
After the prince's words, both nobles and commoners raised their fists to the sky, shouting in unison:
"Kill him!"
Mako's furrowed brow faded as he saw that sea of people yelling in fury against him, wishing for his death.
"They're going to kill me…" Mako muttered with trembling lips as he looked at the planks beneath him.
Is this really the end?
But as Mako stared at the ground, defeated, Erick felt an emptiness in his stomach as he turned his back on the crowd to look at him.
Suddenly, the guillotine released prematurely.
"Damn it!" Erick shouted as he rushed to warn the guards, but the distance between them was too great. "I haven't given the order yet…"
The guillotine fell like lightning, severing Mako's head. But as his world spun, everything gradually turned black.
◇◆◇
"Mako!" he began to hear a familiar voice, one of the few friendly voices in his life. "Get up!"
'How?' Mako thought, laughing inwardly, feeling it was some kind of bad joke. 'Shouldn't I be dead?'
At that moment, he realized not only that his head was still attached to his neck but that he could taste the dust and dirt on his lips.
Mako was on the ground, wearing his winter training suit with a high collar, black boots, and gloves.
He opened his eyes as if waking from a bad dream. He got up and looked at Ana, a woman capable of waving her long black hair like an elegant cloak that reached her thighs while wearing bright silver armor.
"Come on, Mako," Ana continued. "Take this seriously. You didn't even pick up your sword."
Mako looked down and saw his training sword lying next to him.
'I remember. This was last winter, before… Erick betrayed me.'
"Ana," a sharp, deep voice spoke this time, "this is no longer even fun. It's clear I'm on a whole different level compared to my little brother."
It was Erick, who hadn't broken a sweat.
Mako's face showed surprise and terror.
"Come on, Erick. You owe respect to the heir of the House of the Sun," Ana responded.
Mako started feeling nauseous at the sensation of waking from a bad dream. Confused, he looked at Erick's face, which showed a frown when Ana spoke.
'No, this isn't a dream…' Mako thought.
Filled with rage, unable to control his emotions, Mako grabbed the practice sword, which had once felt heavy and hard to handle.
"What?" Erick assumed a combat stance. "Got something to say about it, little brother?"
Remembering the hell he had been through, Mako seized his second chance and charged with all his might at Erick, slashing in a move that was easily dodged.
"Too slow!" Ana scolded.
Mako let out a scream full of fury.
Erick began to laugh.
"Come on, you should be used to losing to me by now. Why are you so mad now?"
Mako didn't hear the taunts. Blinded by rage, he continued swinging his weapon, never landing a blow.
Erick wiped the smirk off his face, and with a more serious look, planted his foot firmly on the ground and swiftly struck Mako in the chest with the hilt of his sword, knocking all the air out of his lungs.
"Don't ever try something so stupid again," Erick said as Mako fell to his knees. "The last of the most important house in the kingdom can't act like rabid animals."
Mako's fists trembled with impotence.
'Why…?' Mako thought as he lifted his gaze, and to Erick's surprise, those pale blue eyes that had always been dull now shone with an unusual brightness that left him perplexed.
That was when he realized that this glow wasn't just his imagination.
It was literally a neon-like glow coming from his pupils, filled with intense emotions.
Rage, hatred, the purest form of anger.
Before Erick could move away or use his powers, his eardrums were only greeted with the ear-piercing scream of his brother lunging at him once again.
"Impossible!" Ana shouted as she watched the scene unfold.
From the ground, Mako threw a hook that landed directly on Erick's chin, sending him flying several meters into the air.
"Well, well..." A bearded figure in the shadows smiled as he watched from a nearby balcony. "Little Mako has finally awakened his system."