It had been too long.
The Kaiser's heavy steps echo in the forest, his heels clicking against the hard ground. He approaches a weathered structure, something quickly made, perhaps by a child. He stands at a distance, staring at it, his lips pressed in a tight line.
Something about this place felt familiar. It's almost welcoming, but not in the way he was used to. The Kaiser was always greeted with awe and admiration amongst the people of Pantheon, children staring up at him with wide eyes and glowing smiles. He was always glad to see them happy and carefree, their minds untouched and pure from evil.
He remembers a young child running to him, a gleeful grin on her face. "Mister, Mister!" she cried, running towards him in a flurry of excitement. She could barely speak, stumbling over her words. "I wanna be like you when I grow up! Big and powerful! But all the boys at school said that I can't be like you, they say it's only for boys!"
The Kaiser had kneeled down and smiled. "You can be whatever you want to be if you put your mind to it. Don't let those boys bring you down." He patted her on the shoulder before saying, "Now go along, your parents must be looking for you." The child nodded and hugged him tightly, a huge grin on her face before bidding him farewell.
But that was a different time. He felt a deeper sorrow here, but he didn't know why. He walks over to an apparent entrance, stooping down beneath the overgrowth of the trees. Inside, he sees papers scattered about, along with a small stone replica of a sword stuck firmly into the ground. A busted light bulb hangs overhead. The Kaiser picks up a stray piece near his feet.
It's brittle and worn, but the ink is bright enough. He reads it, trying to understand the hastily written words. His eyes widen and he drops the paper. Velderoth?
It couldn't be, he convinces himself, but slowly makes his way to gather more papers. Every single one of them was about Heliseum: the monsters, the locations... everything. The Kaiser tries to tell himself otherwise, that it was a simple misunderstanding, but the books lying on the wooden table said different.
He takes one of them and opens it up. It was the history of Pantheon and Heliseum, with large circles around some parts. He turns the pages, finding the occasional handwritten note until he finds a small piece of paper tucked neatly in between two pages.
He takes it out and carefully unfolds it to see a picture of three Novas. Below the weathered photo, it reads: Me, Kyle, and Velderoth, ready to save Heliseum!
The Kaiser considers ripping the paper to shreds, a deep scowl on his face. They were so happy once. They aren't friends anymore, not since the betrayal. How dare he? How dare that traitor leave them? To turn against him during the war?
The words feel like poison to him, filling him with unbridled rage. He wants to scream, to curse, only because he's angry, bitter, confused, and...
And heartbroken.
He didn't understand— he never could. The Kaiser wished that he did, that he knew the real reason why Velderoth left them. He knew that he was jealous of his power, of his strength, but after all those years of encouragement, why did he do it? He was his greatest motivator at the time, telling the both of them that he believed in them, that they could do anything.
Velderoth was their leader, and he knew his job. He understood them and their issues with power, not only because they were best friends, but because he often felt useless too.
The Kaiser realizes something that he never considered before, his heart sinking. Velderoth didn't betray them just because he was power-hungry and sought revenge. It was because he felt misplaced and alone.
He tightens his grip, the photo crinkling in his hand. Maybe that was the reason he left so long ago, when he and Tear didn't understand at the time. Not fully.
He exhales shakily and takes another look around the hideout, his chest tightening. He sees photos, every single one of them with he and his friends smiling without a care in the world. He felt like he was about to cry, his emotions suffocating him.
The Kaiser turns away quickly, trying to push them to the side. He walks outside before he hears something crack beneath his boots, startling him a bit. He looks down and steps back to see fragments of bone in front of it. Pieces of wood lie on top of it. Bewildered, he brushes them to the side and finds another photo, faded from the sun. He kneels down and takes hold of it before standing back up.
It was the group after they had caught the sleepy grobbler. Something about this photo filled him with an unbelievable sadness, but he can't figure out why.
He freezes, tears filling his eyes. They caught it together, he remembers. They worked as a team. The thought alone makes the warrior choke up. He recalls their pride that day, so proud of themselves after working so hard to catch one of them.
The Kaiser begins to cry, a quiet sob escaping his lips. He shudders and bites his lip, struggling to keep himself from crying more. He takes off his helmet, it clattering onto the ground in front of him. He falls to his knees and sobs, clutching both of the photos in his hands.
He misses Velderoth and Tear and their adventures together, something he could never have back. He misses the old days where they didn't care about what the future was, what the consequences for their actions were.
Kyle's voice breaks as he whispers:
"I— I miss you guys s-so m-much..."