The soft crackling of the lamps accompanied Kaizer's irregular breathing.
No one spoke immediately.
Cassian kept his eyes on him for a few seconds.
His skin looked paler than when he entered the tent.
The healthy color was slowly disappearing.
At last, he turned his attention to Roven.
"And his eyes?"
Roven remained still.
He exhaled slowly.
"I tried."
The answer came simply.
"Three times."
Cassian frowned.
Roven stepped closer to the bed.
His fingers lightly touched the wood of the improvised frame.
"But the Cordis reacted like a cornered beast."
A trace of irritation slipped into his voice.
His eyes followed the skin along Kaizer's neck.
Small grayish stains were beginning to appear near the jaw.
"My eye can interfere with flows."
"Interrupt."
"Compress."
"Divert."
His hand moved subtly.
As if tracing invisible paths before him.
"But what exists inside him now isn't a flow."
"It's a war."
Cassian kept watching the motionless body.
His eyes narrowed.
"Any interference…"
Roven nodded once.
"Only makes the situation worse."
"The more I tried…"
"The more violent the reaction became."
His gaze hardened.
"On the third attempt, his heart almost stopped."
Garrick looked away for a moment.
His jaw tightened subtly.
Cassian watched Kaizer's breathing.
It seemed slower now.
Long seconds separated one breath from the next.
"We're out of options."
Roven remained silent and pulled his hand away from the bed.
The flame of one of the lamps flickered beneath the passing wind.
Garrick spoke for the first time.
"Kaizer faced monsters."
His deep voice broke the silence of the tent.
No one answered.
"Generals."
"Bearers of royal blood."
He watched as though he still struggled to understand what he was seeing.
The grayish tone was already spreading across the side of Kaizer's face.
Slow.
Relentless.
"And it never ended like this."
His fingers slowly curled shut.
"All of this is that damned prince's fault…"
Cassian turned immediately.
It was the first time his expression had truly changed.
"Prince?"
Roven remained silent for a few seconds.
Thoughtful.
Then he nodded.
"Before losing consciousness…"
"Kaizer said something about thanking Prince Éreon."
Cassian froze.
For an instant.
"That…"
The word escaped almost like a thought.
Garrick frowned.
"What is it?"
Cassian didn't answer immediately.
He seemed to search through his own memories.
"Years ago during the banquet…"
His voice came out lower.
"Alaric's eldest son died minutes after Éreon came into contact with him."
Garrick frowned even harder.
"Came into contact?"
"No one understood what happened."
Cassian answered.
"There was no wound."
"Only a slow and agonizing death."
Cassian watched Kaizer for a moment.
"And Alaric never accepted the explanations he was given."
Roven remained silent.
Watching.
"You're saying Alaric…"
Garrick began.
Cassian nodded slowly.
"I'm saying that maybe…"
"Alaric spent years trying to discover what happened that day."
A brief pause.
"And finally found what he was looking for."
The silence became even heavier.
Garrick looked at Kaizer.
Then at Cassian.
"Is there a way to reverse this?"
Cassian remained still.
For several seconds.
"If anyone knows the answer…"
Kaizer's lips had lost almost all color.
"That person is Éreon."
Cassian exhaled slowly.
"The problem is that no one has seen him for years."
"Even if he has the answer…"
His voice became lower.
"He's currently beyond our reach."
Roven watched Kaizer's skin, which had already lost every trace of natural tone.
The gray spread across his face.
His neck.
The hands resting over his chest.
Like a statue carved by death itself.
Only then did Roven speak.
"We should prepare for the worst."
His voice remained calm.
Cold.
Practical.
"And start thinking about what we'll do when Selvaria finds out."
Garrick raised his eyes.
Cassian did not seem surprised.
Roven continued.
"The last time she lost control…"
"His Majesty had to intervene personally."
No one answered.
There was no need.
Everyone in that tent knew that story.
Roven's eyes became even colder.
"And I fear that, to stop her this time, we'll have to ki—"
"Hey!"
The voice came from outside the tent.
"Stop right there!"
"Identify yourself!"
Everyone inside the tent turned toward the entrance.
The silence was broken only by the guards' voices outside.
"I'm talking to you!"
"State your name!"
For an instant, no one answered.
Sching.
The sound of a sword partially leaving its sheath cut through the night.
The guards tensed immediately.
"Last warning!"
"Identify yourself!"
A female voice answered.
Calm.
Serene.
As though she saw no reason for concern.
"My name is Sèsinmè."
A brief pause.
"And I came to speak with Lord Cassian."
There was a moment of silence.
"What?"
"Sesi…"
"How did you say that?"
"Whoever you are, step away from the tent!"
The guard's voice hardened.
"Now!"
Inside the tent, Cassian froze.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Let her pass!"
The order cut through the tent fabric.
Outside, the guards hesitated.
"My lord?"
"Now."
Cassian's voice allowed no discussion.
Silence fell for an instant.
Only the sound of footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Firm.
Approaching the tent entrance.
The flap was pulled aside.
The night wind crossed through the interior of the tent.
Sèsinmè entered.
White garments moved softly around her body.
Red bands crossed the pale fabric in ancient patterns.
Ceremonial.
Her eyes traveled across the tent in silence.
Garrick was the first to react.
His fingers closed instinctively.
Around the black staff resting beside him.
Roven remained still.
His eyes moved through every detail of Sèsinmè.
Watching.
Calculating.
Cassian merely observed.
His expression had become unreadable.
Her gaze passed over them.
And settled on Kaizer.
Something changed in her expression.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
Cassian broke the silence.
"What is a servant of Vhaelor doing here?"
Her eyes turned toward him.
Serene.
As though nothing in that tent was capable of surprising her.
"A few days ago…"
"Reinforcements were sent from Vhaelor to assist the prince's forces."
Garrick frowned.
Cassian did not answer.
Roven tilted his head slightly.
Watching her.
"Strange."
A brief pause.
"I haven't seen any reinforcements."
"Nor any banners of Vhaelor."
Sèsinmè turned her eyes toward him.
Calm.
Serene.
"The person responsible for the reinforcements has a particular way of conducting war."
Her voice remained calm.
"And prefers not to be seen before the proper time."
Garrick let out a quiet sound through his nose.
Roven watched her for a few seconds.
"And does this person have a name?"
"Ekaterina."
The answer came simply.
Immediately.
Garrick frowned.
"And where are these reinforcements?"
Sèsinmè turned her eyes toward him.
"Where they need to be."
Garrick let out an irritated grunt.
"I hate people who answer questions without answering questions."
Sèsinmè ignored him.
Cassian remained silent.
Memorizing.
As he did with any potentially useful information.
Sèsinmè turned her eyes toward the motionless body.
"His time is running out."
The words cut through the tent.
Without emotion.
Without cruelty.
Like someone merely describing the sunrise.
Cassian's expression hardened.
"We know."
Sèsinmè did not take her eyes off Kaizer.
"No."
A brief pause.
"You don't."
Garrick's expression closed off.
"If you came here just to say he's going to die, you can leave."
Sèsinmè did not seem offended.
Nor surprised.
"There is a way to save him."
Cassian took a step forward.
"How?"
Sèsinmè took a few seconds before answering.
"What kept him alive until now…"
Her eyes remained on Kaizer.
Watching the gray marks spread across his skin.
Roven raised his eyes.
Attentive.
"It was the blood of Níðhǫggr."
Sèsinmè nodded slightly.
Cassian remained still.
"And the way to save him?"
Sèsinmè pulled her eyes away from Kaizer.
Looking at the three men.
"By destroying the Cordis."
The silence was absolute.
Garrick stared at her.
As though he had just heard something absurd.
"What the fuck did you just say?"
No one answered.
His gaze hardened.
"Do you know what happens when a Cordis is destroyed?"
"I do."
The answer came calmly.
"Better than most."
Garrick stepped forward.
"Then you know that's the same as killing him."
Sèsinmè remained calm.
"No."
A brief pause.
"Dying and becoming ordinary are not the same thing."
"Before the blood reached his veins…"
"He lived like any other man."
Her eyes moved toward Garrick.
"He breathed."
"He bled."
"He walked."
"Without any power."
Her voice remained serene.
"The Cordis does not create a life."
"It merely opens a door."
Silence dominated the tent.
"Closing it will not kill him."
"It will only return him to the man he was before all of this."
Garrick did not answer.
Sèsinmè's eyes moved toward Kaizer.
"But for someone who spent so long wielding power…"
"Perhaps the difference will seem small."
One of the lamp flames flickered softly.
"Perhaps it will seem no different from death."
Soon her gaze moved to Cassian.
Calm.
Unchanging.
Like someone watching a decision that had existed long before it was made.
"Decide."
"Because he does not have much time left."
The silence remained motionless for a few seconds.
Roven broke it.
"How do we do it?"
Garrick immediately turned his head.
"What?"
Roven did not look at him.
"I already tried interfering directly."
"I tried altering the flows."
"I tried forcing a separation."
His voice remained calm.
"All I managed to do was bring him closer to death."
"If there's a chance… we'll use it."
Garrick stepped forward.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Roven finally turned his eyes toward him.
"No."
"She just gave us a solution."
"And I intend to hear her out."
Garrick's jaw hardened.
"Solution?"
He pointed at Kaizer.
"Her solution is to rip away everything he achieved."
"Did you even hear what she said?"
"I did."
The answer came immediately.
Calm.
Cold.
"And she's right."
Garrick stared at him for a second.
As though he could not believe what he had just heard.
"Right?"
"Before the blood of Níðhǫggr."
Roven spoke.
"Before the Cordis awakened."
"Before any of us obtained power."
"We were ordinary men."
His voice remained firm.
"I know better than anyone what it means to live like that."
His fingers slowly curled shut.
"I know what it means to be weak in a world built by the strong."
A brief pause.
"But I also know how many died without ever receiving the opportunity we received."
His eyes moved toward Kaizer.
"He can still live."
"He can still breathe."
"He can still continue existing."
His voice became lower.
"Many didn't even get that chance."
Garrick remained still.
His breathing heavy.
Restrained.
"That's it?"
"You just decide for him?"
Roven held his gaze.
"No."
"I'm choosing the only option that still leaves him the chance to choose."
The words hit the tent like a stone.
Garrick advanced.
His hand closed around Roven's armor.
Pulling him forward.
"You don't have that right."
His voice came out hoarse.
"None of us do."
Roven did not react.
Did not try to push him away.
"And what would you prefer?"
For the first time, there was hardness in his voice.
"To wait for him to die?"
Silence answered Garrick.
Roven continued.
"Because that's the other choice."
"There isn't a third."
For an instant it seemed Garrick was going to strike him.
The tension crossed the entire tent.
Then—
"Do it."
Cassian's voice cut through the room.
Everyone looked at him.
Cassian remained still before the bed.
His eyes on Kaizer.
"I will take responsibility."
"All of it."
Garrick slowly released Roven's armor.
His fingers trembled.
He turned and began walking.
Passed by Sèsinmè.
And left the tent.
The fabric flap swung violently behind him.
Sèsinmè watched the tent entrance for a few seconds.
As though following Garrick disappearing into the night.
Then she walked to the bed.
Stopping beside Kaizer.
Roven stepped closer.
"How will we do this?"
Sèsinmè kept her eyes on Kaizer.
"There are two forces fighting inside him."
A brief pause.
"Chaos."
"And the divine."
Cassian remained silent.
She continued.
"As long as the Cordis exists, both will continue seeking the same place."
Her hand rested over the right side of his chest.
The place where the Cordis rested.
Like a second heart.
"When it is destroyed…"
"There will be nowhere left to return to."
Roven frowned slightly.
"And then?"
"I will create a new path."
Her eyes lifted.
"The energies will not disappear immediately."
"They will still remain within the body."
"Bound to the blood."
"To the flesh."
"To the channels through which they circulated for years."
Her voice remained calm.
Serene.
"That is why I will guide them out."
"Slowly."
Roven watched her.
"How?"
For the first time, something resembling the shadow of a smile appeared on her lips.
"Fire."
One of the nearby lamps flickered.
Its flame tilted.
As though it had heard her call.
"Fire opens paths where none exist."
Sèsinmè turned her eyes toward Cassian.
"During the purification…"
"We must not be interrupted."
Cassian held her gaze for a few seconds.
Then nodded.
"Understood."
Without saying anything else, he began walking toward the exit.
His footsteps were slow.
Heavy.
When he reached the tent entrance, Sèsinmè's voice echoed behind him once more.
Calm.
Serene.
But for the first time that night, there was something disturbing within it.
"Lord Cassian."
He stopped.
Without turning around.
"Yes?"
Her silver-gray eyes remained on Kaizer.
"No matter what you hear."
"Do not enter."
Cassian frowned.
Sèsinmè continued.
"Screams."
"Voices."
"Or anything else."
The lamp flames flickered once more.
"Do not enter."
Cassian nodded.
Only once.
And crossed through the tent exit.
The fabric flap fell behind him.
Outside, the night remained silent.
Inside, the flames began to move.