His mother was on the other end of the call, bleeding and gasping for air. Her face, her hair, her neck... all of her that Ryan could see on the phone screen, was soaked in blood. Panting heavily, she pushed out a weak smile when she saw Ryan's face —even her teeth were stained with blood.

"Ryan," Min-Ju whispered. Her voice was frail and hoarse. "Oh, thank the heavens, Ryan..."

"Mom!" Ryan screamed. "What happened?"

"It's okay, Ryan, everything is okay. Mommy loves you, okay? Stay with Soo-Rin and Ren, and keep Lara safe, okay? Oh, Lara... Can I please see Lara one last time, Ryan?"

Ryan, however, remained frozen in shock. His hands were trembling, barely holding onto his phone, but every other part of his body was hardened in place, unable to move.

"Ryan? Can I please see her? Can I see Lara?"

What the hell, what the hell, what in the hell... Why was his mother bleeding like that, and why was she begging to see Lara, as if it was her last chance of seeing her ever? Ryan's mind was crumbling into pieces; as his mother continued begging and pleading with her dying breath, he could only stand there, silent, unmoving, utterly stupefied.

Something tugged on his pants. He glanced down; his neck was stiff and sweaty. It was Lara. The little girl had gotten off her bed and was staring at him cheerily. "Yan-Yan!" she exclaimed.

Min-Ju must have heard that, because she became even more deranged. "Lara!!!" She used every ounce of her energy to cry out. "Lara, my baby daughter! Ryan, please! Please, let me see Lara one last time, please? Mommy loves you and Lara very much, okay? I want to see her one last time..."

Ryan raised his shaky fingers, and tried to flip the camera over, but he couldn't press anything. No, his tears had blurred his vision so much that he couldn't even see his mother anymore. His heart was also beating so fast he could no longer hear his mother's desperate sobs, and his body had become so numb that he couldn't feel Lara pulling on his leg.

No, no... He can't be watching his mother die on his phone... That's not right... That's not how the mission should've gone... That's not how any of this should've ended...

"Hang in there, Mom!" Ryan shouted so loudly and abruptly that Lara fell backwards, startled. "I'll- I'll come get you!"

He looked around frantically. What can he do? How can he find her? What should he do? His head was simultaneously empty and filled with thoughts at the same time; like a blank piece of paper that Lara had drawn illegibly on. Mom was dying, she was in another realm, she was dying, and there was nothing he could do.

A helpless whimper escaped his throat. He wanted nothing more than to be able to teleport right next to his mother and save her. How he wished he had a Gift right now, how he wished that his father had granted him with the Gift of Hope, how he wished he could go and help them right now...

All of the sudden, the entire world swirled into dark shadows. When the blackness cleared, Ryan found himself in an unfamiliar environment. It was some kind of a building, with curved ceilings and shiny white walls.

And there she was —his mother, flat on the ground, her long hair sprawled all over. A trail of blood extended from behind her, indicating a clear path from where she was crawling from.

"Mom!" Ryan cried as he ran towards the injured woman.

Min-Ju raised her head, fear washed over her blood-drenched face. "Ryan, what are you- how are you..."

"I- I don't know!" Ryan stammered. "But I'm here now, Mom! I'm going to save you!" He tried to lift her mother up, but she groaned in pain and pushed him away.

"N- No... You're not supposed to get the Gift, it's your sister..."

"I know, but I don't know how... I don't know how but I got a Gift, Mom, I- I teleported here, somehow..." Ryan wiped his tears off; his face was now smeared with his own mother's blood. "Let me bring you home, Mom, let me save you..."

"No, no, no..." Min-Ju sobbed. "Elissa's Gift, the Gift of Hope... It's Lara, it's supposed to be Lara, not you... She's supposed to be the new Hope, she could end this, she could end Elena's reign-"

She started coughing vigorously. As Ryan reached out to her again, she held onto his arm and sobbed hysterically into his sleeve.

Ryan had cried into his mother's arms like this so many times in his life, but never would he ever imagine that he will one day see her weep like a child too. "Mom, I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry... I- I didn't mean to, I don't know what happened... I really don't..."

Then, she stopped moving.

"Mom?" Ryan whispered. His mother had slumped onto his arms, motionless and cold.

"Mom, don't scare me like this..." He shook her body. She still did not move.

Finally, Ryan pushed her body over. His mother's eyes and mouth remained wide opened. Her dark brown eyes still had a beautiful sheen from the leftover tears, but the usual spark of joy was completely gone. Red river streamed down from the top of her head; the mixture of blood, sweat and tears swirled around her lifeless face.

She was dead.

The dread that Ryan had been holding inside of him burst. He buried his head into Min-Ju's hair, and let out a wail. The hair tickled his face, muffling his uncontrollable cries; it was still so soft and so warm, reminding him of her bear hug, her kind smile, her gentle voice. Underneath the repugnant smell of iron, the distinct lavender shampoo still permeated. The more he breathed in, the more he wanted to scream out in anguish. The more his body buckled into his mother's corpse, the more he wanted to turn back time, to stop his parents from going on this mission, to bring his mother back alive...

Please... I just want Mom back...

After what seemed like forever, Ryan lifted his head. Despite his blurred vision, he noticed a dagger a few feet away from them. A thought struck him. Slowly, he walked over to the knife and picked it up. It was soaked in blood, but at this point, what wasn't?

He followed the trail of blood, trudging along the corridor; the glossy, metallic walls made the entire building seem paper white. For some reason, he got the coveted Gift of Untrodden Hope. Not Lara, the person destined to get it, but him. And for some reason, with this all-powerful First Gift that allows the bearer to develop any Gift they want, he developed a Gift of teleportation. Not super strength like his father, no, and not clairvoyance like his grandmother either —it was teleportation. Fucking teleportation.

But that was okay. He was going to use this Gift to help his parents end this war. He was going to kill Elena. He was going to avenge his mother.

The blood trail made a turn. He carefully peeked around the corner, and had to cover his mouth to stop a gasp.

In the middle of a spacious hall hung a metal chain. A man's legs were shackled to the chain, while the rest of his body dangled upside-down. His ripped clothes, broken limbs, and auburn hair were splattered with blood; as he swayed a little in the air, trickles of blood dripped down on the floor, as though they were painting an abstract, pointillism art on a pure, white canvas.

Ryan felt his stomach churn —the man was his father! No, no, focus, Ryan! Using all of his willpower, he forced himself to swallow back his vomit and concentrated on the other two people in the room.

Standing in front of his father was a tall woman in a green, elegant gown. Her long platinum blonde hair was embellished with a shiny tiara; a hefty emerald glittered under the light, its beauty was a stark contrast to the twisted, cruel smile she was wearing.

And next to that strange woman, to Ryan's surprise, was Arianna. Miniature gusts of air and dirt spun around her cupped hands; her long auburn hair fluttered about from the wind. Wait, did she get a Gift as well? And a really cool one at that, too. How? Why was everyone who was not supposed to have a Gift getting one today?

But that didn't matter at all. Right now, his focus was on the green dress lady. She must be Elena, the First Lady of Earth, the cursed traitor, the reign of terror. The person who was responsible for all of this.

He was going to kill Elena. He was going to avenge his parents.

He tightened his grip on the dagger and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he was right next to Elena. Immediately, he raised his hand and got ready to stab her. Before the knife could even reach her, however, an icy voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"Stop."

An invisible force crushed down on Ryan on all sides; his body froze, his lungs squeezed and deflated, his grip loosened. He watched helplessly as the dagger slipped out of his hand and dropped onto the floor, while Elena turned around calmly.

"Oh hello, little one, who are you?" she said, her sickly sweet voice was both pleasant and horrifying.

Oh shit.

Ryan's heart leapt up to his throat, as he knew that he made a terrible, terrible mistake. He had forgotten about Elena's Gift, the Gift of Faith, the most frightening Gift of them all. Of all things to forget, how could he ever forget about that?

He needed to get out of here, now.

And so, he did what he thought was the next best thing: he closed his eyes and willed himself to teleport.

The disgusting, gory scene around him engulfed in darkness, and soon, he was back in the familiar homely tent. Lara was playing with her doll, an empty milk bottle was rolling around the kitchen floor, a plate of chopped vegetables sat on the countertop. He sighed in relief.

But that relief was short-lived.

"My oh my, what is this place?"

Ryan felt as though he was punched in the gut. He was still unable to move, but he didn't need to turn his head to know who it was. It appeared that Elena's hand was on his shoulder all this time, and he never even realized.

And he had brought Elena home. To Lara.