Radit only shrugged, feigning innocence.
Tension hovered, heavy and brittle, as two of Julian's men stepped forward, iron rods gleaming beneath the neon glow. Their faces were blank, their stance lethal.
Radit spun his own rod lightly, the metal humming against the stillness. "Kaivan," he said steadily, "these two are mine. You deal with the Fugly one."
Kaivan gave a short nod, then moved ahead, eyes locked on Julian, who lounged in his chair like a cheap monarch. Julian met his gaze with a thin smile; their eyes tangled in a silence only vengeance could pierce.
Each of Kaivan's steps felt weighty, as though treading on shards of glass. The air tightened, cold and sharp. At the room's end, Julian rose slowly, spinning a small folding knife between his fingers, a symbol of arrogance and menace.
"Rematch?" Julian sneered, standing tall, the blade catching the muted neon. "This time, I'll make sure you don't get up."
Kaivan halted just a few paces away. His eyes narrowed, a thin, cutting smile on his lips. "Another rematch?" he said, his voice low, steady. "You mean when I kick your head again?"
Julian's grin faltered. A memory of bitter defeat flickered in his eyes, fanning his fury. He lunged without warning, knee arcing toward Kaivan's face.
Kaivan slipped aside, the kick slicing through empty air. Julian spun, slashing with the knife. The blade skimmed close, but Kaivan ducked, leaving only the emptiness torn.
"You think I'm still the same Julian?" Julian snarled, springing back, the blade dancing between his fingers.
Kaivan stayed still, chest rising in a calm rhythm, eyes reading every twitch of his foe.
Across the room, Radit faced the two with rods. Their attacks came sharp and merciless. Radit weaved through them, a dancer amidst chaos. One swung from the right.
"Right strike!" one shouted.
Radit raised his rod, deflecting, then jabbed at a knee. A cry split the air as the man collapsed. The second lunged, but Radit ducked; the strike cracked against the wall. Radit spun, landing a blow to the man's gut, sending him crumpling.
Meanwhile, Julian charged again. Kaivan stayed calm. As the knife darted toward his chest, he sidestepped, twisting smoothly, and drove an elbow into Julian's face. A dry thud rang out. Julian staggered back, blood dripping from his nose.
But he wasn't finished. With a sharp motion, Julian swung the Knife toward Kaivan's side. Kaivan blocked with his wrist, steering the knife away, unharmed.
"You're slow," Kaivan taunted, his smile thin and cutting.
Julian growled, but before he could strike again, Radit's warning rang out. "Kaivan! Watch out!"
Kaivan wiped the bruise on his cheek, then sprang aside, evading the deadly thrust. His movements were swift, precise, the blade met only empty air. He landed with practiced ease, stance firm, eyes scanning every shadow.
Julian lunged forward, gaze flicking toward Felicia across the room. "Darling! After him! Don't let him escape!"
Felicia, who had stood frozen, finally moved. Her steps were sharp, deliberate. Her long hair trailed behind her, her face unreadable, eyes set with unwavering resolve.
Kaivan dashed into the narrow corridor, breath quickening, fingers locked around the Tome Omnicent. Felicia's footsteps echoed closer, a rhythm of threat pressing in.
"Kaivan!" she called, her voice calm yet blade-sharp. She leapt, reaching for him, moving like a silent hunter.
Kaivan spun. To fight Felicia at close range would be suicide. He raised the Tome. The moment her fingertips grazed its cover, an unseen force flared.
Felicia froze midair, held fast by an invisible surge. Her eyes widened as tremors ran through her body.
"Ugh… the same headache again?" she gasped. Her knees struck the floor, hands clutching her head as the world spun.
Kaivan seized the opening, slipping past, weaving through the shadows of the hall. When he finally stopped, he leaned against a wall, chest heaving but mind steady. He opened the Tome, its pages pulsing faintly, waiting.
, [Cliffhanger cut here] ,
Loyalty Written in Wounds
"So… who is Felicia, really? Why is she like this?" Kaivan murmured, urgency woven into his tone.
The Tome quivered in his hands, then its pages began to turn, pausing before words etched themselves across the surface:
Felicia is a human shaped by intricate tides of emotion. She descends from an ancient line touched by a Tome, beings who survive by tethering meaning through connection. She seeks an anchor to endure, drawn to serve the one she chooses.
Kaivan stood silent, eyes downcast, shoulders sinking. The Felicia he thought he knew, strong, untouchable, had been carved by a fate fragile and deep. Yet one question lingered, sharp in his chest.
"Why does she get those headaches whenever she touches you?" he whispered, tension threading his words.
Ink bled across the parchment:
Felicia is bound to a core of pure power. When she touches what does not belong to her soul, energies collide. The pain is the body's echo of that conflict.
Kaivan read slowly, letting the truth settle. "But why… why only because she isn't the rightful bearer?" His gaze hardened, unwilling to leave any crack unlit.
Tom es of this kind only reject the unchosen. Those of pure spirit who are not selected find their energy repelled. Felicia suffers because of her bond to her bloodline.
Kaivan drew in a heavy breath. Each answer pressed heavier on his heart, but one question remained.
"Then… why did she choose Julian?"
The pages turned once more, words forming with deliberate weight:
Felicia is the eldest. She raised her siblings after betrayal shattered their home. Abandonment is the wound carved deepest. To forsake her first choice is, to her, betrayal itself. Loyalty, even to a mistake, is the last trust she clings to.
Kaivan closed his eyes. A slow ache pressed through his chest. He recalled the way Felicia looked at Julian, cold, unwavering. Not love, but a principle born from scars, not hope.
His hand clenched, not in rage, but in hollow grief. Now he understood: Felicia's loyalty was not chosen by her heart, but written in wounds. And wounds cannot always be mended, even by affection.
Yet the Tome had not finished. Lines surfaced, relentless in exposing buried truths:
Julian, cunning, saw that wound and exploited it. He promised Felicia certainty, a bond she craved. But he warned: "Stay, or I will find another to replace you."
A storm kindled inside Kaivan. His fist tightened, body taut, eyes blazing with restrained fury. All along, Felicia's strength had been a facade, shielding a wound Julian kept tearing open.
"I won't let this continue," Kaivan vowed under his breath. His gaze burned into the Tome Omnicent. This wasn't just a mission. It was about saving someone, even if it meant carrying the pain himself.
Suddenly, in a dim room lit only by a swaying ceiling lamp, the silence shattered with a voice sharp as a blade.
"KAIVAN! COME OUT NOW! DO YOU REALLY NOT CARE ABOUT THIS GIRL?!"
Julian's shout cracked through the air, full of threat and pressure. Shadows cast by the trembling light danced across the cracked walls, turning the room into a chamber of punishment.
From the darkness, Kaivan stepped forward. His movements were stiff yet firm, every muscle drawn tight like a bowstring ready to snap. His gaze landed on a sight that struck his chest cruelly: Julian clutching Thivi's hair, the girl bound with rough rope. Her face was bruised, tears tracing pale lines down her cheeks.
"Let her go!" Kaivan roared, his voice low and thunderous. Within its tremor lived anger, resolve, and the raw fear of losing someone precious.
Julian only laughed, harsh and cold, then yanked Thivi's hair harder. She winced, her body lurching in pain. "If you want her in one piece, hand over that old book right now!"
Kaivan closed his eyes briefly, fighting to steady the storm inside. The Tome Omnicent lay in his grasp, more than an artifact: it had been his witness, his guide, the one thing that had led him out of emptiness. Now, he faced the cruelest choice, surrender its power or lose someone irreplaceable.
Julian dragged Thivi toward the center of the room. His grip tightened, his voice turning to ice. "You think you have a choice? You're just a coward hiding behind your friends, Kaivan."