Chapter 131 — The Home That Remained

Kael walked for three days.

The mountains slowly disappeared behind him.

The forest became thinner.

The road became clearer.

And with every kilometer—

his memories became stronger.

He knew this region.

He remembered these hills.

These rivers.

These old stone paths.

He had traveled them when he was a child.

Back then—

he had been protected by servants and guards.

Now—

he walked alone.

At least physically.

The three ancient Legendary Beasts remained with him.

The Shadow Lion rested across his back as a massive conscious machine gun.

The Verdant Serpent formed his living armor.

The Bone Sovereign hung around his neck.

Their presence was constant.

But Kael barely spoke.

He was getting closer.

Closer to the place where his old life had ended.

The Time Difference

Kael finally stopped near the top of a hill.

He looked at the System.

A notification he had ignored earlier appeared again.

[Temporal conversion complete.]

[Pocket World time ratio: 1 : 3.]

[For every 1 year experienced inside the Pocket World, approximately 3 years passed in the outside world.]

Kael stared.

The System continued.

[Time spent inside the Pocket World: approximately 1 year and 4 months.]

[External time elapsed: approximately 4 years.]

[Age at Pocket World entry: 11.]

[Current external age: 15.]

Kael remained silent.

Four years.

He had known the number.

But seeing it written so clearly was different.

He slowly looked at his hands.

They were larger.

His body had changed.

His face had changed.

His voice had changed.

He had spent so long inside the pocket world that he hadn't noticed the difference.

The Shadow Lion spoke quietly.

“Four years is a long time.”

Kael nodded.

“Yeah.”

The Bone Sovereign added:

“The world may have changed significantly.”

The Verdant Serpent's armor tightened around his shoulders.

“Your former home may no longer exist.”

Kael looked toward the horizon.

“I know.”

He resumed walking.

The Valley

By evening—

Kael reached the ridge overlooking the valley.

He stopped.

His breath caught.

There.

The Darven estate.

Or what remained of it.

The entire valley looked different.

Trees had grown over parts of the old road.

Stone walls had collapsed.

The outer watchtower was gone.

But the shape of the land remained.

Kael knew exactly where the estate had stood.

His feet carried him downward.

He didn't speak.

The three ancient Beasts didn't speak either.

Even the Shadow Lion remained completely silent.

Kael walked through the broken entrance.

The gates were gone.

The courtyard was covered in grass.

Old stone fragments lay scattered everywhere.

The remains of the main hall stood in the distance.

Burned.

Broken.

Empty.

Kael stopped.

He stared.

Four years ago—

this place had been his world.

His mother had walked these halls.

His father had trained in this courtyard.

Relatives had gathered here.

Servants had worked here.

Kael had laughed here.

He had cried here.

He had grown up here.

Now—

there was nothing.

No voices.

No movement.

No warmth.

Only ruins.

Kael took another step.

A piece of broken stone crumbled beneath his boot.

The sound echoed through the empty courtyard.

His chest tightened.

He lowered his head.

For several seconds—

he couldn't move.

The Burned House

Kael walked toward the remains of the family residence.

The roof had collapsed.

The wooden beams were blackened.

One wall had fallen completely.

A section of the garden remained.

Barely.

Kael stood at its edge.

He remembered his mother planting flowers there.

He remembered pretending the garden belonged to him.

He remembered hiding there when he didn't want to attend training.

He remembered his father finding him.

“Training.”

Kael had hated that word when he was younger.

Now—

he would give anything to hear his father say it again.

Kael sat on a broken stone.

His eyes remained fixed on the ruins.

The Shadow Lion spoke softly from his back.

“You can cry.”

Kael didn't answer.

The Verdant Serpent remained still.

The Bone Sovereign was silent.

Kael slowly lowered his head.

“I came back.”

His voice was quiet.

“No one is here.”

He stared at the ashes beneath the collapsed house.

“My mother isn't here.”

A pause.

“My father isn't here.”

Another.

“No one is here.”

His fingers tightened.

For years—

Kael had focused on survival.

Strength.

Levels.

Weapons.

Revenge.

The prison.

The Beasts.

The ancient entity.

He had survived things that should have been impossible.

But standing here—

none of that mattered.

He was still the boy who had watched his family disappear.

Kael closed his eyes.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

Then another.

He didn't try to hide them.

He remained there for a long time.

No battle.

No System notification.

No enemy.

Only silence.

Finally—

Kael whispered:

“I survived like you told me to.”

His voice broke slightly.

“I became strong.”

He looked at the ruins.

“But I wish you could have seen it.”

The Shadow Lion didn't speak.

The Verdant Serpent remained still.

The Bone Sovereign allowed the silence to remain.

Kael stayed until the sun disappeared.

One Last Memory

That night—

Kael entered the remains of the old study.

Most of the room had collapsed.

But one wall remained.

A familiar section.

Kael brushed the dust away.

A small scratch appeared.

He recognized it.

His father had marked his height there when Kael was younger.

One mark.

Then another.

Then another.

Kael stared.

His final mark was from age ten.

There was no mark for eleven.

Kael touched it.

His eyes became wet again.

He smiled faintly.

“You didn't even get to mark eleven.”

The room remained silent.

Then—

the Bone Sovereign spoke.

“You can make a new mark.”

Kael looked at the wall.

He placed his hand against it.

The armor around his body loosened.

The Shadow Lion remained silent.

The Serpent's green scales shifted.

The Bone Sovereign's necklace glowed faintly.

Kael traced a new line.

Higher than the others.

Then another.

He didn't know how tall he would become.

Didn't know what his future looked like.

But he added one final mark.

15.

Kael stepped back.

He looked at it.

“That's enough.”

The Three Eggs

The following morning—

Kael left the ruins.

He didn't stay.

The place had been important.

But it was no longer his home.

Not anymore.

He traveled into a deep forest several kilometers away.

No human signs existed anywhere nearby.

Perfect.

Kael found a large clearing beside a river.

He scanned the area.

No human presence.

No settlements.

Only monsters far in the distance.

He placed his equipment down.

Then opened the Space Ring.

Three eggs appeared.

The first was black and crimson.

The second was green.

The third was black and blue.

Kael stared at them.

The Shadow Lion spoke.

“It's time.”

Kael nodded.

“Yeah.”

He looked at the eggs.

“These aren't you.”

The three ancient Beasts became silent.

Kael continued:

“They won't inherit your memories.”

The Verdant Serpent answered:

“They shouldn't.”

“They won't remember this place.”

The Bone Sovereign:

“No.”

“They won't remember me.”

The Shadow Lion:

“Not until they meet you themselves.”

Kael smiled.

“Good.”

The First Egg

Kael placed the black-and-crimson egg gently onto the grass.

The shell began glowing.

Crack.

Kael leaned forward.

Another crack.

Crack.

The shell opened.

A tiny creature emerged.

A newborn lion.

Its fur was completely black.

Tiny crimson markings covered its forehead.

Its eyes opened.

Red.

Bright.

Curious.

It looked around.

Then—

it looked at Kael.

The baby tilted its head.

Kael smiled.

“Hello.”

The baby lion sniffed him.

Then—

it sneezed.

Kael laughed.

The Shadow Lion's machine-gun form spoke behind him.

“That one is mine.”

Kael glanced at it.

“No.”

The ancient Lion responded:

“Biologically, yes.”

Kael shook his head.

“It's its own individual.”

The baby lion suddenly crawled toward Kael.

It climbed onto his leg.

Kael picked it up.

The little creature immediately pressed against his chest.

Kael froze.

He had expected hostility.

Instead—

it simply wanted warmth.

His expression softened.

“Cute.”

The Shadow Lion remained silent.

For once—

it sounded almost emotional.

The Second Egg

The green egg began glowing.

Crack.

The shell opened.

A tiny serpent emerged.

Its scales were deep green with faint black patterns.

Its eyes opened.

Bright gold.

Unlike the infant lion—

it didn't approach Kael.

It immediately explored.

It crawled across the grass.

Touched a leaf.

Smelled the water.

Raised its head toward the wind.

The ancient Verdant Serpent spoke.

“Curious.”

Kael smiled.

“Very.”

The baby serpent suddenly climbed onto a nearby stone.

Then—

fell off.

Kael laughed.

The ancient Serpent became silent.

The baby looked offended.

Kael picked it up.

“Don't worry.”

The baby serpent wrapped itself loosely around his wrist.

Not because it remembered the old Serpent.

Because it simply felt safe.

The old Verdant Serpent spoke quietly:

“It is different.”

Kael nodded.

“That is good.”

The Third Egg

The black-and-blue egg was last.

For several seconds—

nothing happened.

Kael waited.

The bone-shaped runes across its surface began glowing.

Crack.

A tiny blue flame appeared.

Kael's eyes widened.

Another crack.

The shell opened.

A tiny skeletal creature climbed out.

It was no larger than Kael's hand.

Small bones.

Tiny skull.

Two faint blue flames inside its eye sockets.

It looked around.

Then—

it reached toward Kael.

Kael slowly offered his finger.

The tiny skeleton grabbed it.

The Bone Sovereign's consciousness became completely silent.

Kael looked toward the necklace.

“You okay?”

The old Sovereign answered:

“Yes.”

Its voice was quieter than usual.

“That is not me.”

Kael nodded.

“I know.”

The infant skeleton tilted its little skull.

Then—

it climbed onto Kael's palm.

Kael stared.

It was strangely adorable.

“You're going to be trouble.”

A tiny blue flame flickered.

The Bone Sovereign said:

“Almost certainly.”

Kael laughed.

Three New Lives

Kael sat beneath a tree.

The three infants were nearby.

The lion slept against his leg.

The serpent rested around a branch.

The tiny skeleton sat on a stone, staring at the night sky.

The three ancient Beasts watched them.

But there was no connection.

No shared memory.

No inherited personality.

No mental bond.

The babies were completely new.

Kael looked at them.

“You'll grow up differently.”

The Shadow Lion answered:

“Good.”

The Verdant Serpent:

“They should.”

The Bone Sovereign:

“Their future belongs to them.”

Kael smiled.

“I'll protect them.”

The First Hunt

The next morning—

Kael began training them.

He didn't rush.

The babies were newborns.

They needed to learn to move first.

Then hunt.

Then use their abilities.

Then fight.

The lion learned fastest.

It could already produce small bursts of shadow energy.

The serpent was more defensive.

Its scales hardened when threatened.

The skeleton—

was strange.

It couldn't cast spells yet.

But tiny blue flames appeared whenever Kael's life was threatened.

Kael noticed.

“You're protective.”

The baby skeleton tilted its skull.

Kael laughed.

“Interesting.”

They traveled deeper into the forest.

No humans.

No roads.

No settlements.

Only monsters.

Kael deliberately kept them away from anything too powerful.

The goal wasn't immediate strength.

It was growth.

And unlike the old Legendary Beasts—

these three would grow naturally.

Kael would teach them.

They would make mistakes.

They would develop personalities.

They would become individuals.

A New Journey

Days passed.

Then weeks.

Kael trained while the babies grew.

He hunted monsters.

The infants watched.

Then participated.

The lion learned to track.

The serpent learned to hide.

The Bone Sovereign's infant learned to sense Soul energy.

Their levels began increasing.

[Shadow Lion Infant — Level 3.]

[Verdant Serpent Infant — Level 2.]

[Bone Sovereign Infant — Level 2.]

Kael smiled.

“So it begins.”

The three conscious weapons watched their young counterparts from a distance.

The ancient Shadow Lion spoke quietly:

“Do not compare them to us.”

Kael nodded.

“I won't.”

The Verdant Serpent:

“Do not force them toward our paths.”

“I won't.”

The Bone Sovereign:

“Let them become what they choose.”

Kael smiled.

“That is exactly what I'll do.”

The forest stretched ahead.

No humans.

No cities.

No old enemies.

Only Kael—

three newborn Legendary Beasts—

and an unknown world waiting beyond the trees.

The System displayed:

[Infant Legendary Beast Development Path unlocked.]

[Leveling requirements established.]

[Current target: Level 20.]

Kael looked at the three little creatures.

“Then we'll grow together.”

The baby lion growled.

The baby serpent flicked its tongue.

The tiny skeletal creature raised one hand.

Kael laughed.

For the first time since the destruction of the Darven family—

he felt something he hadn't felt in years.

Not grief.

Not revenge.

Not fear.

A beginning.