Chapter 213: The Last Hope of the Everdawn Salvatore

The Last Hope of the Everdawn Salvatore

The Sovereign Salvatore Family

A man had crossed an entire domain with his nephew because of nothing more than a single rumor.

One rumor.

That was all he had.

He had nearly died more times than he could remember.

Still, he kept going.

Every step had cost him blood. Every mile had left another wound across his battered body. His clothes had long since stopped looking like clothes. They were little more than torn pieces of fabric, stiff with dried blood and dirt.

Exhaustion had settled so deeply into his bones that Jacob could no longer tell where pain ended and stubbornness began.

He had been walking for so long that the journey itself had started to feel endless.

Days had blurred together.

Then weeks.

Perhaps even longer.

There had been moments when Jacob was certain his legs would finally give out.

There had been moments when he almost welcomed it.

But whenever his strength began to disappear, he would look down at the little boy in his arms.

And somehow, he would keep moving.

One more step.

Then another.

That was how he had survived.

That was how he had brought Lucas this far.

Now, after everything they had endured, Jacob had finally reached the place he had believed would become their salvation.

But there was nothing.

Jacob stood silently.

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

His tired eyes slowly traveled across the mountain before him.

Nothing.

No grand estate stood at its peak.

There were no ancient formations glowing beneath the ground.

No towering gates.

No magnificent halls.

No cultivators moving through the mountain.

Not even a single figure could be seen in the distance.

There was no sign of the family he had spent so long searching for.

Only a desolate mountain stood beneath the silent sky.

The wind swept across the barren land.

It passed through the dead grass.

It stirred the dust.

Then it disappeared into the distance.

There were no voices.

No footsteps.

No signs of life.

Nothing.

Jacob simply stared.

His expression was empty.

His body had already been pushed far beyond its limits, yet somehow he was still standing.

Perhaps it was nothing more than habit now.

Perhaps he had simply forgotten how to fall.

His fingers slowly tightened around the child in his arms.

Then the hope he had clung to for so long finally began to crack.

At first, it was only a tiny fracture.

Then another.

And another.

Until the fragile thing holding him together finally shattered.

Everything he had forced down for countless days came rushing back.

Helplessness.

Fear.

Despair.

Regret.

He had buried all of it beneath determination.

He had refused to think about what would happen if the rumor was false.

He had refused to consider the possibility that this journey would lead nowhere.

He had simply kept walking.

Because he had to.

Because Lucas had been depending on him.

But now there was nowhere left to go.

Jacob’s breathing became uneven.

His chest rose and fell heavily.

His arms trembled.

He looked down.

"Lucas..."

His voice was barely audible.

The little boy was still pressed against his uncle’s chest.

Jacob’s blood-soaked clothes wrapped around his tiny body.

Lucas looked terribly fragile.

His face was pale.

Far too pale.

His lips had lost almost all of their color.

Even the faint breeze seemed capable of carrying him away.

Yet somehow, Lucas was smiling.

It was a weak smile.

A small one.

An innocent one.

And somehow, that smile hurt Jacob more than anything else.

"Good..."

Lucas’s voice was so faint that Jacob almost didn’t hear it.

Jacob immediately lowered his head.

"What did you say?"

Lucas’s eyelids trembled.

He struggled to open them.

It took him several seconds.

When they finally parted, his eyes were dull with exhaustion.

But there was still a little light inside them.

"Lucas has family..."

Jacob froze.

His throat tightened.

Lucas’s tiny fingers moved weakly against Jacob’s chest.

He smiled again.

"So many family members..."

Jacob stared at him.

For a moment, he couldn’t speak.

The words struck somewhere deep inside his chest.

All this time, Jacob had been thinking about survival.

About finding the family.

About getting Lucas somewhere safe.

About making sure the boy would have someone after he was gone.

But Lucas had never wanted much.

He hadn’t asked for wealth.

He hadn’t asked for power.

He hadn’t asked for some magnificent home.

He had only wanted to know that he belonged somewhere.

That he wasn’t alone.

That there were people in this world who would call him family.

Jacob’s eyes began to burn.

His lips trembled.

Lucas’s smile became slightly wider.

"Lucas is not an orphan..."

The words were simple.

There was no bitterness in them.

No anger.

No complaint about the suffering he had endured.

No resentment toward the cruel world that had forced such a small child to experience things he never should have known.

There was only relief.

Pure and innocent relief.

He had family.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

Perhaps, to Lucas, that was enough.

Perhaps those few words alone made every mile worthwhile.

Every wound.

Every night spent sleeping beneath the open sky.

Every time Jacob had wondered whether they would survive until morning.

Every drop of blood.

Every moment of pain.

All of it.

Jacob’s lips trembled harder.

He forced himself to smile.

It was a terrible smile.

Broken.

Exhausted.

But he tried.

"Yes..."

His voice cracked.

"You have family."

Lucas looked at him.

For a brief moment, the boy seemed completely at peace.

His tiny shoulders relaxed. ℯⅇ𝙡.

The faint smile remained on his lips.

Then his eyelids slowly fell.

"Lucas?"

Jacob’s voice changed.

There was something frightened in it.

He adjusted the boy in his arms.

"Lucas?"

There was no answer.

Jacob stared at him.

His breathing stopped for a moment.

The tiny body against his chest had become strangely still.

Too still.

"Lucas?"

He shook him gently.

Nothing.

Jacob’s eyes widened.

"No..."

His voice came out as a whisper.

He shook the boy again.

"Lucas."

Still nothing.

The silence suddenly felt unbearable.

Jacob’s heart began pounding against his ribs.

"Lucas!"

He pulled the boy closer.

"Open your eyes."

Nothing.

"Please..."

His voice broke.

"Lucas, open your eyes."

The wind continued to blow across the mountain.

The barren land remained silent.

There was no answer.

Jacob’s face twisted.

All the strength he had forced himself to maintain for so long finally disappeared.

He clutched the little boy against his chest.

His body shook violently.

And then—

"NO!!"

Jacob’s roar tore through the wilderness.

The sound echoed across the empty mountain.

His arms shook violently as he pulled Lucas closer.

"Lucas!"

His voice cracked.