Chapter Text
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!” everyone exclaimed.
It had already been months since White Star and the Sealed God had been defeated and now, peace was starting to return to the Western and Eastern Continents.
And on this very special day, in a vast greenery space somewhere in the Forest of Darkness, just close to the invisible black castle, various beings from different places all gathered in one place. Rulers from different kingdoms and dragons from both continents were, of course, present without most of the guests knowing it. And some of the elves, dark elves, the different beast tribes, mercenaries, knights, assassins, and the famous heroes all came together to celebrate the New Year’s eve. Some who were not able to attend were just connected to the communication device, just like a certain uninvited vampire.
The atmosphere there really was cheerful. Some were holding wine bottles and laughing. The children were also holding firecrackers while chasing each other. Some were eating snacks while others were talking with each other. Some were singing hymns, dancing with its rhythm, and playing traditional games.
And for an unknown reason, there was a grand piano in the center of the crowd. No one was minding it as if it had never been there in the first place. No one was asking why it was there or why no one was playing it either.
***
Cale, who was already full, sat down on the chair just beside the piano as he reminisced about his past. He leaned on the side of the piano and looked at the stars on the sky.
Back in Korea, Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo urged him to play the piano for them. That’s why he knew how to play one a bit, but… right now was not the time for him to think about it. He does want to play the piano but not when there are too many people though he might actually play the piano if his family urges him to.
Cale then started humming as he slowly closed his eyes. From everyone’s perspective, he looked really tired but is more relaxed now than he was during the war that happened a few months ago. With his fiery long hair fluttering softly in the wind, his eyelashes so long and relaxed, and with his elegant sitting position, it took everyone’s attention towards him.
Everyone, who saw the beautiful and holy-looking Cale, quickly kept quiet and looked at him with admiration and gratitude. Some were also silently squealing as they looked at Cale with burning gaze.
Then silently, they distanced themselves from the piano and went back to their seats as Cale’s group slowly approached him. And well, Cale, who had no idea what was happening, just continued humming.
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Then suddenly, the piano started playing 🎶 🎶
Cale stopped humming as he heard the piano finally being played and decided to listen to the performance while closing his eyes… yep, that was supposed to be his plan if it wasn’t for the familiar melody being played. The melody sounds so oddly familiar, just like that one song he and his hyungs used to play in the past--
There's a hero
Cale opened his eyes and saw Eruhaben playing the piano while singing.
Eruhaben’s delicate-looking fingers swiftly and gracefully played the piano with his golden long hair fluttering in the wind. There’s also a gentle smile plastered in his face that every being present there could not help but think that he’s the most beautiful creature there is.
Cale also looked at his surroundings and found the children and the others smiling at him.
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid of what you are
Eruhaben continued. Cale knew this song, he used to sing this with them .
‘Eruhaben-nim sure has a nice and pleasing voice… but how does he know about this song?’ Cale, with a blank expression, looked at the only person who could have taught him the song.
Choi Han, who noticed Cale’s gaze, looked at him with an innocent smile. ‘Haa… of course. But for what reason?’
And while Cale was thinking about that, Eruhaben smiled while reminiscing about his past. He has never been afraid in his whole life. But when Cale forced him to drink the jar that day, he felt his desire to actually live and see his children live happily too. He was not afraid to die, more or less, he was actually waiting for his time to finally come. But now, it's a bit different, he thought.
There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know, will melt away
Sherrit continued singing the next lyrics while patting Raon’s head who was on her arms. Her voice was so soft and peaceful that it charm many. And despite being transparent, the others actually didn’t mind it as they were marvelled by her fluttering long white hair and blue bright eyes.
Cale, who also saw the sorrow in her eyes, thought that the line really matches her life. When she continued waiting for her children, wondering how they were, while being imprisoned in the black castle. Until one day, one of her children finally returned while the other revealed to be already dead. And as time passed by, her sorrow soon melted away after seeing Raon and now, the dragon half-blood, who had her other child's heart, living happily.
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And now it’s the children’s turn to sing. Raon left Sherrit’s side and went to his siblings who were on the top of the piano. Their voices were all in harmony as they looked at Cale with sparkling eyes.
Cale suppressed his smile and laughter as he thought that his children really looked so cute as they sang it. Despite looking stoic, his family who were beside him saw a small and relaxed smile on his face, making them feel relieved that he was finally and slowly opening his heart these days.
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
On, Hong, and Raon continued to sing with all their hearts.
Raon remembered how he was tortured everyday for 4 years straight ever since he opened his eyes in that dark cave. He knew no one was going to save him because he thought that all humans were evil. He had lost all his hope already. But then a hero in black suddenly came into his life, his human, came and saved him. He freed him from that cave and protected him many times. He gave him his name and had also wished for his happiness. Because of him, he gained siblings, met new people, and also met his mother.
On and Hong also remembered the time when they ran away just to survive from their tribe who were chasing them. They wandered everywhere until they reached the Western Continent. Acted as pitiful normal cats a countless of times just to get fed by the strangers passing them, even only a pinch of bread. They continued living in hiding and starving. But then a so-called trashy noble, their hero, suddenly appeared. He fed them, healed them and saved them from that hellish experience. He also showed them love that they didn’t receive from their tribe after their parents died and he gave them a new family.
And that hero was now in front of them. Always sacrificed himself for the world yet still saying it’s for his slacker life. They love him very much and swore to protect him this time especially after that Calebab incident.
They went closer to Cale and received gentle pats in their heads.
It's a long road
When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand for you to hold
Choi han continued the song with a shy expression as he approached the piano in the opposite direction from Cale. A voice so smooth and calming can be heard while his unique black hair was also fluttering lightly. But despite having a shy expression, there was also a sign of sadness and maybe grief from the past too.
Just like the others, he was also reminiscing about his own past. His past when he was wandering all alone in the Forest of Darkness, when none could reach their hands for him since he’s the only human being there. He then found a new family, only to return and see everyone in the village being massacred. Choi han lightly shook his head as he smiled. Right now, he had already found a new, and hopefully his last family.
You can find love
If you search within yourself
And that emptiness you felt will disappear
Then Alberu came behind Cale, smiling brightly with his well-known blond hair and light blue eyes appearance. His voice that’s not so deep is filled with many emotions. He looked at the sky as he remembered his mother, the only parent who cared for him when he was young.
When his mother died, he felt empty and alone. And he would probably continue feeling that way if it wasn’t for his aunt, grandpa, and the other dark elves who continued to remain by his side until now. Everytime he felt discouraged and tired, they were the ones he always thought of. And now that he had become a part of a bigger family, nothing could make him feel empty again except losing them of course.
And then a hero comes along
This time, everyone sang the chorus all together (of course, except the audience since they are busy recording the performance and fangirling/fanboying).
Different voices and different emotions can be heard and seen in each one of them, however they were all in unity. And all of their gaze was on the speechless red-haired man. They all hoped that with this song, the hero, their hero, will know how thankful they are to him. (But we all know that Cale is Cale, he probably won’t… hehehe)
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
Lock and the blue wolf tribe children sang all together happily.
Ron and his son, Beacrox, also sang as they looked at each other.
The Holy Twins, Hannah and Jack were also singing as they held their hands.
Tasha also sang as she patted Mary on her back, who was also singing.
The whales, Witira, Paseton, and Archie also sang along.
The Henituse household, Deruth, Violan, Basen, Lily, together with Hans and Hilsman, were also singing along with them.
And of course, Rosalyn, Cage and Taylor were also there singing together with the rest of them.
Cale slightly grinned after seeing that everyone knew this song and that it actually had been translated in the Western Continent’s language too. He could also see how hard they practiced for them to sing this… perfectly!
Oh how he wants to sing along with them too...
That a hero lies in you…
Oh, oh
Everyone could only look at Cale with wonder as they noticed his smile got bigger while he sat up from his seat and placed his hand on the piano. One could see that he was planning to do something again… but somewhat different from the previous ones.
Then the piano had a short pause before continuing with a loud comeback.
Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away, hey yeah
Unexpectedly, Cale started to sing the next lyrics as the others looked at him with shock. Their stoic young master was singing out loud and even sang the last lyrics higher than what was taught to them.
His beautiful, charming and attractive voice filled the area. No one could utter a word upon hearing his silvery and charming voice. They all could also see that he’s enjoying himself, though they were still speechless of this unexpected situation.
Eruhaben haven’t stop playing piano but played it in a way that fits with Cale’s singing style. And despite it not being what they had practiced, each one of them decided to sing along with their young master in the next part.
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time you'll find the way~
Cale closed his eyes as he sang the next part, focusing on singing the song. He tried to sing the song moderately with the thought of lessening the feeling that he's been bottling up for a very long time, especially how these lyrics are similar to his life as both Kim Rok Soo and now as Cale Henintuse. Unknown to everyone who was listening to him, his ‘record’ ability started playing again.
Memories from his childhood when he kept on struggling just to live played in his mind. He lived a very tragic life as everyone he loved kept on dying, only leaving him to survive the hellish world all alone. He kept on persisting and never showed his feelings and thoughts to just anyone for it will surely be used as his weakness. He continued to struggle and survive just to fulfill his dream too, tho it would not be the same without them.
He kept on holding on without expecting something good to happen to his life anymore. But then he woke up as Cale Henintuse. He found this as an opportunity to finally achieve his long awaited dream. But things started to go wrong than what he had expected but he didn’t regret it. Because of this… he found another family where he can return to. He doesn’t believe that he’s sacrificial nor a hero at all, unlike what everyone calls him. He was just trying his best not to lose another family again…
And then a hero comes along
Cale lowered his tone as opened his eyes while the others sang the next part with him. They approached him with a bright and teasing expression. That’s when he realized that he actually sang the song too much more than he had thought and looked away from their gaze. His ears turned slightly red as Raon, Hong, and On approached him.
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
Eruhaben played the piano a bit softly as he peeked at the others. Choi Han looked at Eruhaben and nodded. As he nodded his head, the others started to sing softly while some were humming to its melody. Cale, who started patting the kids, had no idea what the others were planning and just went with the flow of the song.
That a hero lies in you
Cale kept quiet as he noticed how the song was being sung more gently as if they were just whispering. He looked at his environment as it slowly began to darken.
Mmm, that a hero lies in you
And as the song reached its ending, fireworks shot up in the sky as the crowd began to cheer at the end of their performance. Cale's group also approached him with those burning eyes as if wanting to embrace him.
"Human! I didn't know you could sing so well!"
"M-me too! You should sing more often, young master-nim."
Raon and Mary said as they looked at Cale with sparkling eyes.
"Young master-nim! That was so amazing!"
"How did you know this song, young master-nim?"
"Your voice sounds really good, young master Cale! It literally gave me chills when you started singing!"
Praises and questions soon followed as Cale had his 'I don't know what you're talking about' and 'you're just exaggerating things' expression again.
Laughs and cheers filled the area. Some were throwing flowers at Cale's group while some were whistling loudly. Cale only looked at them with a stoic expression while feeling relieved, seeing that everyone was enjoying themselves especially after the war that happened a few months ago.
"As expected of the legend~! Cale-nim’s mesmerizing voice stunned everyone here just as soon as he started singing! Ahhhh~ I could die peacefully now~" A certain white-haired crazy follower interrupted his moment.
"Then how about you actually die right now?" Cale looked coldly at him while sparks began to form in his hands as if ready to strike Clopeh dead.
"Hehe, it would be an honor to be killed by Cale-nim~ However, I still want to capture more of the legend's achievements so that the world will not forget you, Cale-nim~!" Clopeh excitedly said as he hid his recording device in his pouch.
"You--"
"Well then I shall go and enjoy myself, Cale-nim~!" Said Clopeh as he quickly ran to the crowd.
'Tsk. Don’t tell me that bastard just recorded the performance. Haaaaa, I'll tell Ron and the others later to get rid of it before it spreads to the public... again.' Cale sighed with a frown on his face before looking up to the sky, not knowing that Clopeh had already proceeded at spreading the record of their performance.
Fireworks still continued to shine in the sky with images of some events that happened during the war. There’s also the images of the heroes that defended them from the crazy bastard who wants to become a god. There’s also an image of Cale looking mighty and bloody that made the real Cale who noticed it frown even more. Cale’s group snickered at his reaction knowing that he’ll actually do that.
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‘How peaceful… Now I just have to look for the team leader and deal with the hunters. My slacker life is finally coming near!’ Cale unconsciously smiled thinking about the future.
“H-human! You should always smile like that!” Raon said as he hugged Cale while looking at him.
“Our dongsaeng is right! You look handsome with that smile nya~!” Hong, who was now on Cale's shoulder, also agreed.
“Nya~!” And On, who was on the other side of his shoulder, nodded in agreement.
The siblings expected Cale to frown like he always did but--
“Hmm~ If you really want it, then maybe I'll do it then?” Cale slightly smiled and he patted the three even how numb his shoulders and hands are now.
‘I guess it’s time that I tell them who I really am too.’ Cale thought while looking at his now new family as the siblings giggled at what Cale said to them.
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.
“Yeah I should tell them before it’s too late.” Cale muttered in grimance while the others who were beside him looked at him with curiosity.