Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Chapter 480 – A Grandfather and a Grandson, and Life’s Greatest Lesson [3]

It was strange.

Kaden had been close to death far more than most, and had tasted it more than anyone could ever claim.

Even gods. Even Wonders. Even Primordials.

None of them could claim — knowing Kaden’s particular speciality — to have tasted death as many times as he had and still be standing.

So there was no doubt. He knew how to recognise someone standing at the edge of the dead god of death’s gate.

Yet he had to admit...he looked more like a dead man than his own grandfather, who could no longer relieve himself without aid.

’How is that possible?’ Kaden thought, sweeping the small wooden house with a broom, a soft cloud of dust rising around him like a shapeless blanket, making him cough through his weak heart.

He cursed under his breath but kept sweeping anyway.

Hours and a night — if one could call it that in this strange place — had passed since their last talk. His grandfather was outside, sitting beside his yellow pond with carving tools, papers and ink.

Raven had invited him to join, but Kaden wanted to clean the house first.

And not only to clean. He wanted to move his body, to think, and to try to understand what Raven had said about choice.

’A choice that makes me stronger, not one that turns me to dust.’ He rehearsed the words again and again, and each time a new layer of understanding peeled itself open.

Kaden pressed his lips together and continued working. Cleaning the floor of dust, spit and dried blood. Rearranging the house so a struggling man could move through it with less difficulty. Using the small amount of blood control he could still manage to reshape a more comfortable bed.

He had noticed that sitting — even leaning — was already a task for his grandfather.

When everything was done, his whole body was damp with sweat.

For a simple housecleaning.

"I don’t think," he breathed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, "I have ever been this weak."

Yet he had been. Worse, even. But losing something after having gained it always shifted one’s perception in ways barely noticeable.

For Kaden, the memories of his helplessness were blurry; his memories of strength and ascension had taken up so much space that his current weakness felt worse than it would have if he fully remembered how laughable he once was.

But that was the thing.

Kaden no longer remembered his life on Earth.

So he breathed deeply, lungs refusing to cooperate properly, and limped outside.

He was a bit nervous, Kaden admitted inwardly. Even a bit afraid. He didn’t know why — he actually did — but he was instinctively fighting the urge to get too close to his grandfather.

’Don’t attach yourself to a dying man, Kaden.’ He reminded himself, stubborn. ’You have enough problems, enough burdens, enough worries to make any man wish for death.’

He repeated it like a broken record, trying to anchor it deep into his psyche.

Yet the moment his feet cracked over the small weeds beneath him, and his eyes found his grandfather smiling up at him as he approached...

’Blood and ashes...’

...Kaden found himself smiling back, his eyes a little brighter than yesterday.

"Come, my boy, come! Come!" Raven urged, eyes shining so much Kaden almost believed the light in them could burn away the shroud of death hooding him.

And that was when it struck him. He halted instinctively, studying his grandfather. More specifically, his eyes.

’So that was it. The eyes.’ He realised, glancing further down to watch how Raven could barely hold the carving knife without dropping it. ’His whole body is dead or near it. But his eyes are not. His eyes are still full of life.’

That was the strange sensation he’d felt since the beginning.

The eyes were the gateway to a person’s soul; Kaden had always heard it, and had always agreed. Anyone looking into someone’s eyes could find something within. A life, a desire, a passion. Something that made them human rather than hollow.

Maybe that was why people closed the eyes of the dead. Out of respect, yes. But also because it was a jarring thing, to stare at something void of everything that made us alive. Something that reflected nothing back.

Raven was the opposite of that. For a man dying in days...

"I am here, grandfather."

...his eyes were more alive than most young men’s.

"Oh, indeed, here you are, my boy." Raven smiled warmly. He took Kaden’s hand, wrapped his wrinkled one around it, then nudged the unfinished sculpture in front of him. "What do you think of it, tell me?"

He laughed, a little embarrassed. "It’s still rough and unfinished because of my state, but—!"

"It’s already wonderful." Kaden shook his head, holding Raven’s hand tighter.

The sculpture was wood, slowly taking the shape of something between a human and a strange beast, Kaden couldn’t quite tell which. But the beauty and the skill inside it were undeniable.

Raven smiled wider, happiness plain in his eyes. "So you can still see the beauty of it."

"Yes, grandfather."

"Even through the roughness and incompleteness."

"Yes." Kaden nodded. "And it’s not like it will stay incomplete. You will finish it, right?"

Raven smiled strangely. "What if I can’t, my boy?"

Kaden paused, looked at him, pressed his lips together, then turned back to the sculpture.

"Then maybe I should start learning how to carve." He tried to smile. Barely managed it. "So I can finish it if something happens."

"Why would you do that?"

The answer came fast, surprising even himself. "Because you are family. Because I love you." He blurted, eyes going wide, but he gritted his teeth and kept going. "And I don’t want to leave unfinished something you started."

Raven closed his eyes peacefully, his smile spreading so wide his wrinkled face looked like a ragged old mop. Even so, there was a beauty to that sight. A uniqueness that reached Kaden somewhere deep.

"Remember that feeling, my boy." He whispered. "Your love for me made you wish to spend your time, your effort, your energy learning a skill just to finish what I started."

Kaden held tighter. Only then noticing how weak Raven’s hand truly was. Even weaker than his own. It felt like water, and Kaden struggled to know how much strength was too much.

His stomach knotted.

"That is what you must remember." Raven pressed on. "Loving someone means exerting yourself to be a part of their life. Not an obstacle, my boy."

"But do not forget. If you must break yourself into pieces to be a part of someone’s life..."

He smiled sadly.

"...then consider that maybe — just maybe — you are not made to be with them."

He opened his eyes slightly through dropping eyelids and looked at Kaden.

"Love each other or perish." He breathed. "But only if you can love them without losing the life in your eyes."

He grinned, watching Kaden nod firmly.

"...Yes, grandfather."

He laughed softly.

"You are really nothing like Dain and Daela." He laughed harder. "Maybe I have hope then."

"Hope?"

His smile edged into something sadder. "To know you before it’s too late."

Kaden’s expression froze. Then he shook his head, lips curling upward tensely.

"Then maybe I should tell you some of my tales while you rest. To help you know me better."

"Oh! I love tales just as I love poetry and sculpture. Tell me , what kind?"

Kaden’s eyes warmed at the enthusiasm.

"How about the one where I saved your first grandson from the clutches of an evil empress?" He said with theatrical exaggeration.

"What, Dain?"

"Dain himself."

"That young bastard is as useless as his father."

Kaden cackled uncontrollably. "Yes! Fuck – I mean no! My father is not a bastard!"

It was Raven’s turn to laugh. And Kaden began his tales.

—End of Chapter 480—