A sharp crack rang out in the dark.Then another.Then a third.
Clap.Clap.Clap.
The Guide's silhouette appeared in the cleft of the shadows, his slow steps echoing through the ravaged hall.His applause died into a leaden hush, as if even the walls were waiting to learn what verdict would fall.
Thana stepped forward without thinking.Her shoulders tightened; her aura spilled through the room like an icy tide.Her eyes pinned the silhouette with feral intensity.
She looked like a she-wolf—or rather a wildcat—back arched, ready to spring,fangs bared to guard her cub.Kael still lay unconscious behind her,and nothing, not even a Guide of the Cosmic Axis, would cross the invisible line she had just drawn.
At her side, Morpheas cinched his chains.They snapped with dry cracks, thrumming with a low vibration,like an unseen army readying the charge.His gaze locked on the Guide without blinking,his features clenched in fierce distrust.
They didn't know.No one could know.
Was he an ally?An enemy?Or worse: merely an observer—whose very unpredictability made him more dangerous than all the specters combined.
The Guide stopped a few paces away.A thin smile stretched his lips,but his eyes remained unfathomable,opaque mirrors reflecting nothing.
A chill breath swept the hall.
The Guide burst into clear, crystalline laughter that rang like an unreal echo through the hush.— "But what are you two doing, standing there? Come now, come now… you wound me! Hahaha!"
He raised both hands, palms open, as if to show he meant no harm.But his smile stayed too broad, too cold, to inspire any trust.
— "Look… I bear no ill intent. Quite the opposite.Let's say I have for him—what shall we call it… a certain affinity?"
He tilted his head, feigning thought.His gaze glinted with disconcerting irony.— "No… that's not the right word. Affinity… too weak."
His smile widened, brushing mockery.— "Fine. Let's speak plainly: he is my favorite here.My little jewel… on this planet of inferior insects."
A heavy silence fell after his words.Then he added, in a tone almost caressing, yet glacial:— "And his potential… ah, his potential!It already surpasses that of certain so-called 'supremes.'A delight.A promise of pleasures to come…"
The Guide bowed with a near-caricatured elegance, one arm folded to his chest, the other extended in theatrical reverence.His smile shone with insolent gleam.
— "And do not forget… our promise, Lady Thanatos.Granted, it is no longer quite the same. I can't protect him as I once did, on this miserable planet.But I gave my word. And a pledge is a pledge."
His tone dropped, almost silken.— "I will never do anything harmful to him. Not directly."
Thana stood rigid, her aura barely flickering.Her thoughts whirled.His words… his posture… all rang true. Too true.And yet, deep within, something rang false—a glacial dissonance she could not ignore.
She drew a breath.Her eyes kindled with a molten-gold glare.Her voice, sharp as a blade, split the silence:
— "Guide.Answer me."
The silhouette paused its smile for an instant, intrigued.
Thana took one step forward, spirit-fangs bared.— "Why would a Guide of the highest rank…masquerade as a lesser Guide?Here, on some lost world at the far edge of the cosmos…among an under-evolved, insignificant species?"
Marble silence followed.Each word still hummed in the walls, hanging like a threat.Morpheas's chains shivered of their own accord.Even Umbra drew back a step, his shadow folding in on instinct.
Thana locked her stare into the Guide's, unblinking.— "What is your true rank, and why do you hide it?"
The Guide let out a small laugh, almost fond.— "You are truly… impressive, Lady Thanatos.As terrifying as you are impressive, if your own legends are to be believed."
His gaze sharpened, as if probing her soul.— "And yet… you haven't even recovered one percent of your power.And even 'one percent'… would be generous."
He paused.His smile thinned, less mocking—almost sincere.
— "Very well. I'll answer your question.Yes. I am indeed a Guide of the highest rank."
A shiver ran through the room; Morpheas's chains went taut by themselves.
But at once the Guide shrugged, almost offhand:— "I've no grand plan. No shadowy scheme.The truth is simpler… and likely more unsettling."
He let out a sigh—falsely weary.— "I was bored."
His eyes crinkled, amused.— "A close friend whispered a tip: 'Go have some fun on that planet. It will awaken soon.'So I listened."
He spread his arms as if presenting the gutted hall, the blood, the ash.— "And behold: he was right."
His smile broadened, once more unnerving.— "Though to be honest, this planet still disappoints me.Most of it is a swarm of flavorless insects.But… a handful of specimens, I admit…"
His gaze slid to Kael, still unconscious behind Thana.— "…entertain me enough to keep me here."
The Guide clapped once, a crack so loud it boomed like a blast through the shattered hall.— "That will do!"
His grin widened, almost boyish.— "No more confidences, no more nostalgic reminiscence. We have official business to settle."
He raised a finger, pointing at Kael's limp body.— "And just look at our hero… our main character is in a pitiful state.Hahaha… I suppose I should put him back on his feet, shouldn't I?"
A wry spark crossed his eyes.— "How fortunate… that this always comes bundled with the special reward."
He snapped his fingers.A translucent dome sprang up around Kael, identical to the one on the first floor.Cold, pure light spilled out, enveloping his battered body.
Before their eyes, his wounds knit shut.His breathing steadied.The pallor of his skin warmed back to its natural hue.
Was it healing?Accelerated regeneration?Or… a rewriting of time itself, dragging his flesh back to the instant before the wound?
No one could say.Not even Thana, watching, jaw tight.
All they knew was that in a matter of seconds… Kael looked whole.
The Guide clapped again, pleased, like a presenter finishing a magic trick.— "There! Almost good as new."
He squinted, an amused glint in his gaze.— "Ooooh… what's this?"
Hands folded behind his back, his voice turned almost caressing.— "Splendid news.Our dear Conqueror will soon be… ready to evolve."
He paused—deliberate, theatrical.— "I will, of course, say no more. Duty of impartiality and all that."
His smile honed to a blade.— "But let's just say… aside from his Avatar, the rest is already at the ceiling of possible values."
Silence fell.Thana frowned.Morpheas lowered his head, mulling over the words.
Then a small sound nicked the tension.A breath.A stifled chuckle.
Kael.
Lying in the dome's glow, he started to stir.His eyes fluttered, still heavy; his breathing hitched.He pushed himself halfway up, dazed.
— "...What's…?"
He shook his head, confused, a nervous smile slipping out without knowing why.
Arms crossed, Thana tilted her head.Her golden gaze turned mocking.— "Well, princess? Sleep well?"
Kael blinked, still fogged.A sigh escaped him.— "...I've got the strangest sense of déjà vu."
He jerked upright, breath catching.— "Umbra?! Is he okay?! Is he still alive?!"
A sharp thwack cracked the air: Thana's tiny fist smacked his skull.— "Calm down, you idiot princess! Umbra's perfectly fine."
She folded her arms, blasé.— "In fact, you're the one who shredded those two specters. All by yourself.But we'll come back to that later…"
An ironic smile tugged her lips.— "Because for now, one of your groupies has been waiting a good long while."
Kael blinked, puzzled.— "…A what?"
He turned, slowly.
And barely eight inches from his face,two unfathomable eyes stared into his.A smile too wide.A breath too close.
— "It's me," the Guide purred in a sugary voice."The Guide… or rather, the groupie in question. Hahaha!"