Kael swept the status window aside, his golden eyes running down every line.He wanted to make sure he hadn't missed anything.A detail.A fragment.Something that might have slipped past him in the chaos.
And there it was.
A strange line wedged between his recent skills.Shroud of Death.Rank C.Effect: access to the Otherworld.
He narrowed his eyes.No… he'd never noticed that before.Maybe because of the string of fights.Maybe because of the specters.
A short breath.He lifted his head.
— "Thana, come here a second.I want you to look at a skill I got… from the specters on the third floor.I only noticed it just now.The name means nothing to me… but you, maybe?"
She came at once, her halo faintly vibrating.— "Wait… show me."
Her tiny eyes froze.Silence.Then an incredulous breath.— "Mmmh… yes, I know it.But how… how did you get this so early?"
— "No idea.I've only just seen it.With everything that happened… it must have slipped under my radar.From what I can tell, it's tied to those two specters on floor three."
He watched her, his golden eyes glowing in the half-light.— "Well? Do you know what it is?Because it only says 'grants access to the Otherworld.'"
A heavy silence.Thana glanced away for a heartbeat.Then she nodded slowly.— "Yes.That sums up its use well enough."
She paused.Her halo shivered.— "When you activate this Shroud, your being slips out of phase.You're no longer exactly here.You cross into… the Otherworld."
She raised her eyes to him, graver.— "Even though we'll still see your body, no one will be able to touch you.No blade.No breath.No magic."
Kael frowned.— "The Otherworld, then… what is it?"
She sighed.A cold breath.— "You… I know you.So I'll simplify.The Otherworld… is the realm of the dead."
Kael stood silent for a moment.His golden eyes thinned.— "And there are risks, I assume…?"
A cold twist of his mouth.— "Because let's be honest, total immunity without a downside… stinks of a trap."
Thana clicked her tongue.Her gaze sharpened.— "You're right. It isn't free. Not at all."
She stepped forward, her halo flaring with icy intensity.— "When you raise this Shroud, you set one foot on their ground.The realm of the dead.And trust me… those lands never forget an intruder."
Her breath turned clipped.— "Stay too long… and the dead will take you for one of their own.And they'll have no reason to let you go."
A weighted hush fell.Kael tensed in spite of himself.Not from fear.He understood.
The Otherworld wasn't a refuge.It was a gamble.
Thana held his gaze, unblinking.Her halo dimmed a shade darker.
— "Listen well.One day, you'll be able to embody my Authority.Not a loan.Not a favor.The Authority of Death—truly yours."
Her voice fell, crisp, inexorable.— "But not today.You're not yet strong enough."
She paused.The air itself seemed to cool around them.
— "As long as you only have the Shroud, you're bargaining.You slip out of phase, put one foot in the Otherworld, and you pray to get back before the dead recognize you.It's a toll.A favor bought at the price of your presence there."
Her eyes climbed back to his, hard as a sentence.— "When you embody the Authority of Death, it won't be a favor.It will be a law.You'll walk the Otherworld like home.The dead will fall silent.The gates will open.And nothing there will be able to hold you."
A breath.Cold.Dry.
— "So be patient, Kael.Make yourself stronger.Step by step.In your rhythm.When the day comes, you won't just brush their borders.You'll dictate the rules."
Kael didn't answer.His fingers tightened, then eased.The promise weighed heavy.But it rang true.
He only nodded.— "Understood."
He drew a long breath, then locked his golden gaze into Thana's.His words fell without detour:
— "Promise me one thing.Help me grow stronger. Faster."
He clenched his fists.— "Because, let's be honest, I feel like you hide ninety percent of what you know from me.Always.Every floor.Always that filter, always that veil."
He turned his head, a bitter curl at his lips.— "Maybe it's for my own good.Maybe you think you're protecting me.But in the end… nothing good will come of it if you keep smothering me like this."
He paused.His eyes narrowed, harder still.— "Don't forget. We're partners.You are not my mother."
The words cracked the air like a verdict.
Silence.
Thana's halo trembled faintly.Her tiny shape quivered—barely.As if an invisible fracture had just run through her.
Because as brutal as the phrase was… it was true.
And yet it hurt.Right through the heart.
A shiver crossed her features.She looked away, unable to hold his gaze.Why did those words hurt so much?
Since when?Since when had she started reacting like this?
The answer surged up, sharp.Had she, despite herself, taken on that role since the death of his own?Was it that ancient vow, that whisper from her mother during the "car accident" of his parents?"Protect him. Whatever it takes."
Her tiny fingers curled in against herself.She remembered.The promise.The weight.And maybe, without noticing, she had crossed a line.
She'd wanted to be more than a guide.More than a partner.A shield. A guardian.Perhaps… a surrogate mother.
The realization turned her stomach.
Thana lowered her head.Her halo shook, torn between two contrary pulls.The wounded pride of an Absolute.And the private pain of a shade who, despite herself, had grown too attached.
She said nothing.Not a word.But the silence she let speak for her weighed more than any retort.
Kael didn't move.He'd thought the weight would lighten once he said it.That shattering the frame would bring the satisfaction of reclaiming space.His freedom to advance alone.
But none of that came.
Instead… a bite.A dull pinch in his chest.Guilt.
His gaze dropped, despite himself.He saw again how Thana had looked away.The tremble of her halo.The fissure he himself had made.
He'd thought he was claiming what was his.He had only hurt her.
His breath hitched.His fists clenched, pulled between two urges:the urge to defend his words…and the urge to swallow them back.
Silence pressed down.Heavy.Unbearable.
Deep down, Kael already knew.He hadn't won his freedom.He had only added another scar.
And that victory… tasted bitter as a fault.
Kael bowed his head.His rough breath snagged in his throat.
For a moment, he'd believed it would help.That he'd gain air, space.That he'd finally breathe without that invisible cage.
But instead… the void.And the sting.
Pathetic.
The word turned in his mind, acid.He spat it at himself, without restraint.
Scum.Selfish.Heartless.
He clenched harder.His nails bit his palm.
Thana had sacrificed.She had given everything she could.No exception.Nothing kept for herself.
And him?He had thrown her devotion back in her face like an insult.
She carried it all. She took every blow. She saved you every time.And you… you dare say that to her?
His breath shortened.His nape burned; his chest tightened.
Granted—yes—she had gone too far at times.Smothered him.Wrapped him in cotton.But never to harm.Never for herself.Always for their good.
So why…Why had he needed to crush her with those words?
Shame knifed through him—cold.His inner voice cracked like a whip:
Saying that… was pathetic.
A dull sound rang out.Not outside.Inside.
Kael froze.His chest clenched as if an invisible hand crushed it from within.Then came the crack.Dry.Sharp.Unbearable.
Not bone.Not flesh.Deeper.
His mind had just split.
Shame, anger, guilt… all compacted in that fracture.And in that hollow, something waited.
A cold breath climbed the back of his neck.Not his.Another's.
A whisper slid in, seeping through the crack like black water through broken stone.— You're hurting.— Let me carry it.— You… rest.
His pupils flared; his breath cut short.He tried to protest.Nothing came.
The fracture widened.And the shadow poured in.