Chapter 922

The intertwined hand suddenly pulled Yuder toward him. His lips were abruptly covered by another’s.

“......”

Hot.

That was the first impression that floated up in Yuder’s mind, in his momentarily frozen thoughts.

Yuder had shared quite a few kisses up until now. Always with the same person—and not once had he ever felt indifferent. An act he couldn’t even imagine doing with someone else always felt like the most natural and desired thing in the world when it was with him.

Despite always feeling new thrills and emotions, this kind of heat was undoubtedly a first.

It wasn’t the usual heat one would associate with flames. Fire blazes upward—but the heat now pulling Yuder downwards was heavy and viscous, flowing in the opposite direction.

Faintly, Yuder recalled the sight of molten lava he had once seen. When the ground and rocks, unable to withstand tremendous heat, melted, they lost their shape and turned into something like liquid. But that liquid was a dangerous existence that didn’t cool anything down—it evaporated and devoured everything.

Unlike the loud crackling of flames carried by the wind, it was silent—and precisely because of that, it became all the more impossible to guess where it would end.

The hottest liquid in the world, smoothly flowing downward.

The sensation Yuder felt was much closer to swallowing and accepting that dangerous, molten lava through the touch of his lips. The heat slid down his throat and melted all the frozen emotions that had been tightly locked inside him until just moments ago.

His eyes grew hot. His body shivered reflexively without him realizing it. Yuder even had the absurd feeling that he might completely melt away from the invading heat.

Why did he kiss him like this? Was it to calm him down after seeing him furious enough to bite his own lips? Or perhaps because he noticed Yuder hesitating over whether to speak about the past and wanted to offer comfort?

If it were Kishiar, either could be true. But even so, this kiss was far too intense to be explained merely by calm or comfort. It felt far removed from either word.

Why? What was different?

Just as a faint question bloomed in Yuder’s mind, a thread-thin sensation of emotion seeped into him.

Unlike the heat of the kiss, it was cold and sharp—unmistakably another’s emotion. It was brief, but he couldn’t mistake it. It was something Kishiar was feeling right now.

Until now, whenever he received emotions from Kishiar, they were usually too complex for Yuder to grasp with a single word. It was like looking at a painting where countless colors had been messily overlapped—the boundaries between them blurred beyond recognition. Trying to distinguish and name each original color was no easy task, especially when Yuder Aile himself didn’t even know how many colors existed in the world.

If the range of colors Yuder recognized was like a mere dozen paint pots, Kishiar’s palette surely had hundreds.

But this time was different. Yuder could quite clearly tell the name of the emotion that had just flowed into him.

Sorrow. And...

‘...Fear?’

Fear? That Kishiar?

What could he possibly fear in this situation?

Finally, their lips parted. As Yuder gasped for the breath he hadn't properly exhaled, Kishiar pressed another small kiss to the side of his lips, as if unwilling to waste even that fleeting moment.

Yuder wanted to ask about the emotion he had just sensed. But at the same time, he also didn’t want to ask.

It felt similar to the moment earlier when he knew there was no reason not to talk about the past but still couldn’t open his mouth out of sheer frustration.

‘...Ah.’

Yuder’s eyes widened slightly, then blinked slowly. At last, he understood something.

Fear wasn’t an emotion felt only when faced with an enemy or situation beyond one’s control. Even the cold confusion and anger Yuder had just experienced were, in a sense, very close to fear.

So why should the man before him be any different? He might be adept at hiding and controlling emotions, but that didn’t mean he could completely suppress negative feelings. In fact, Kishiar was someone who could feel and understand a far greater range and depth of emotions than the barren Yuder ever could.

Kishiar wanted to hear about the past, to discover the unknown phenomenon that had changed them, and find answers. No matter what Yuder said, he would listen and think together with him.

But that rational, caring side wasn’t all there was to him.

He could desire to hear—and simultaneously want to avoid it. The emotions one longed to understand were closely connected to the emotions one wished to ignore.

Kissing Yuder to calm him down might have also been an attempt to calm himself. Yuder realized, with a pang of belated guilt, that he had been too slow and dull to see that.

Kishiar, who could endure anything with astonishing patience, sometimes committed impulsive acts that would shock anyone—when it concerned Yuder.

And the only one in the world who could notice and respond to those hidden aspects of him—

Was Yudrain Aile. Himself.

“......”

When Yuder realized that, he felt all the rage and cold fear that had been boiling inside him completely vanish in an instant. Unconsciously, he stood up and moved closer to Kishiar. He reached out, gently cupping the man's cheek, and then suddenly pulled him into a fierce embrace.

It was a sudden, almost rude action with no warning—but Kishiar silently accepted it, letting himself be embraced.

Two hearts beat in frantic, separate rhythms. Suppressing his boiling emotions, Yuder thought: he wanted to protect the one in his arms, no matter what.

Yes. That was why he had entered the Cavalry. Why he was here now.

Whatever had happened in the past, it wasn’t more important than the Kishiar in front of him. Yuder organized his thoughts quickly.

“...The thing I hesitated to say is related to what happened the last time I faced you in my previous life.”

“......”

“And it’s deeply connected to an incident that occurred right after I underwent Second Awakening. Perhaps you’ve already guessed as much.”

He couldn't see Kishiar’s face, as it was buried against his chest. But just looking down at the messily tousled golden hair pressing against his clothes was enough.

“I hesitated to speak of it just now. But I’ve made up my mind.”

“......”

“If I said I wouldn't tell you, you would surely accept that. But... I want to tell you.”

But before that, Yuder clearly murmured,

“I want to first check more definitively whether similar changes have occurred in your scent—and whether there are other similar cases. Preparation is necessary for anything.”

Still breathing heavily, the man buried against Yuder’s chest finally responded.

“...Alright.”

Every matter required sufficient preparation. It was something Kishiar of the previous life had taught Yuder.

Yuder lifted the head that had been resting against him. Golden hair fell messily over Kishiar’s eyes, but those eyes quietly looked up at Yuder.

Yuder pressed his lips firmly together for a moment—then kissed Kishiar’s forehead.

“I think it would be best if we didn’t do any more work today. Would you rest with me?”

It was an openly suggestive invitation.

Yuder waited for an answer, without any thought of refusal. After a moment, Kishiar reached out and pulled Yuder closer by the waist. Whether he was smiling as usual or not, Yuder couldn’t tell.

“But of course.”

Only, the voice that answered sounded slightly damp, without the burning heat from earlier—and for some reason, it filled Yuder with a quiet sense of relief.