Then he went back down.
Kael descended the stairs slowly, a towel still wrapped around his neck, his hair dripping, jaw clenched.
He felt fatigue sinking into his bones like a slow poison.But at least he had regained some semblance of control.Or at least an illusion strong enough to keep standing.
Thana was there, sitting on the armrest of the sofa, arms crossed, her gaze lost in the void.
"Better?" she asked without looking away.
"Better, yes. Well… as better as one can be in this kind of situation," he replied with a sigh.
She nodded, still not looking at him.A silence.Not heavy this time. Just… present.
"You're not planning to sleep, are you?" she threw after a moment.
Kael settled into the armchair near the crystalline stasis where Lyana rested.He rested his elbows on his knees, fingers intertwined.
"To sleep now would be to admit I deserve rest.And I don't think I've earned it."
Thana finally turned her head towards him.Her gaze wasn't soft. But it wasn't harsh either.Just… clear-eyed.
"You'll collapse if you keep this up."
"Maybe. But not yet. Not while she's like this."
He raised his eyes to the crystalline shell, observing the faint pulses of black Magia still coursing along the surface.A kind of artificial breathing.A suspended life.
Thana continued softly:
"You know this is just the beginning. This world won't stay like this.The Magia spreads. It will do so everywhere. And others will fall."
Kael nodded without a word.
"You won't be able to protect her… if you don't harden yourself."
"I know."
Another silence, shorter this time.Then Kael, as if waiting for this moment to admit it, breathed out:
"And I also know I don't have the luxury of staying here."
He stood.
"So I prepare."
Kael didn't move right away.He stood facing the crystalline stasis, arms crossed, eyes lost in the dark reflections of the coffin.The filtered light from outside cast moving shadows on the surface, as if the Magia itself was softly breathing.
"Thana…"
She turned her head slightly, attentive.
"What happens if she doesn't wake up?"
She was silent for a moment.
"You mean… never?"
Kael nodded slowly.
"Or not like before. Not really her.Not the one I knew.Not the one I protected all my life."
He inhaled deeply, but the air felt too heavy.
"What if I'm doing all this… for nothing?If I fight, if I climb those damn floors, if I sacrifice what I have left…And she never really comes back?"
Thana approached slowly.Still silent.He continued:
"I think I held on until now because I had a goal. A direction.But if that direction… disappears?What do I have left?"
"You," she whispered.
He turned his eyes toward her, surprised by the brevity of the answer.
"You," she repeated. "That's what you'd have left."
"You mean… I fight for myself?"
"No. I mean: you are also an end.Not just a means."
She knelt beside the armchair where he had collapsed, his arms limp at his sides.
"You don't yet know who you are without her.And you don't want to know.But I think that's exactly why you must move forward."
Kael fixed his gaze on an invisible point before him.
"You think there's a 'me'… who isn't defined by her?"
Thana shrugged.
"It's not for me to believe that.It's for you to discover.And I swear it's worth it.Even if it hurts.Even if the answer isn't pretty."
A silence stretched.Then she added, more softly:
"But if you want an honest answer… yes.There is a you without her.It's incomplete.Fractured.But real."
Kael lowered his head, his still damp hair falling over his forehead.
"And if I don't like what I find?"
"Then we burn it.And start again."
He smiled.Bitter, but sincere.
"You're not a very comforting deity."
"I'm not here to wrap you in silk.I'm here to keep you standing."
A gentle silence fell between them.Not heavy.Not painful.Just… honest.
Kael slowly stood up, shook his shoulders.
"So I have to prepare myself, huh?"
"Yes.And quickly."
He turned away.Then turned back to her once more.
"Thank you."
Thana tilted her head slightly, as if to say she heard him, but without smiling.
And at that moment… heat burst in his palm.
But he didn't take another step.
"Now… you should prepare yourself."
"Prepare for what?"
But she didn't have time to answer.
Suddenly, Kael felt a brutal heat erupt in his palm.A searing pain.
He grimaced, looking down.
His skin… was marking.
A black symbol was being etched raw into his flesh, right over his veins.He tried to pull back, but the pain anchored him to the ground.
"T... Thana?!"
She turned immediately.Her gaze changed completely.
"No... no, it's too soon…"
She leapt toward him.
"Kael, get ready."
The symbol now shone like a glowing tattoo, pulsing on his skin.
"It's the Mark of the Conquerors."
A low humming rose around them,As if the very air itself was splitting apart.
Then a rift opened in reality, right before him.A sharp crack.A black line.A shattered mirror in the void.
"You will soon pass the trial...Come back, and take care."
Kael wanted to answer—Too late.
A silk-gloved hand emerged from the rift.
The glove was black, perfectly fitted.The arm, clad in a dark suit, tailored with supernatural precision.
He had no time to react.
"You, you're coming with me, no questions asked," said a calm voice.
The hand grabbed his wrist violently.And Kael vanished.Torn from the world.Sucked into the rift.
Just before the rift closed,The Guide's face appeared for a moment,His gaze fixed on Thana.
"And you, you stay here.He will come back safe and sound later...At least, I hope for him."
Then the rift closed,In silence.