Kael reopened his eyes.His breathing was steady.His body intact.
He frowned.— … Nothing's changed.Just… a strange feeling.
Silence.Then Morpheas's chains chimed.
The lieutenant's aura vibrated.A dull rumble.Kael barely had time to look up.
The impact hit him.Sharp.Violent.
Not his body.His soul.
A frontal blow.Pure animic force.
Kael stiffened.His whole mind shuddered.Then… nothing.
He remained standing.Eyes wide.
Unscathed.
Morpheas dipped his head.— There's your proof.Your soul has changed.You have now… an animic heart.
Kael stayed frozen.Breath short.Unharmed.
But before he could even grasp it,Thana's voice detonated.
— ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, OR WHAT?!
She stepped forward.Her eyes blazed.Her hands shook with anger.
— What possessed you to do that?!You want me to kill you, is that it?!
Her aura cracked the air.A shiver rippled down the corridor.
Morpheas, imperturbable,held his tongue a moment.Then his gaze settled on Kael.
— He is unharmed.It was the only proof that mattered.
Kael inhaled.His legs still trembled.But he stood.Unscathed.
He looked to Thana,now squared off against Morpheas.
His voice snapped—cold, implacable.
— Yes, he's unharmed…but tell me, Morpheas.
She took a step.Her eyes gleamed like blades.
— And if he hadn't been?What would you have done?
A beat.Then her voice turned even icier.
— Would you have offered your life?Do you truly think it would be equivalent…to Kael's,in my eyes?
The air throbbed, tight with tension.Kael, still reeling,clenched his jaw.He understood.She was ready to kill—even a lieutenant of Hypnos—if the slightest misstep cost her.
Kael raised a hand.His breath still short,but his voice firm.
— That's enough, Thana.
She turned toward him,anger still burning in her eyes.
— I'm fine.So let it go, please.
He drew a deeper breath.His shoulders squared.
— Clumsy as it was,it wasn't ill-intentioned.We leave it there.
A taut silence.Then his gaze fixed on Morpheas.
— I need to know.Everything.About those specters.
His fists tightened.— If I have to face them…I want to do it in the best conditions.
Morpheas lowered his head.His chains chimed.His aura thinned by a breath,as if the question alone reopened an old wound.
He held silent for a few seconds.Then his pale-lit eyes rose to Kael.
— You want to know…Very well.Then listen.
His voice deepened, resonant.
— Those specters…are not simple wandering souls.They were not born here, in these cells.They aren't accidents of the Tower.
He drew a slow breath.Fingers tightening on iron links.
— They are… my men.
Silence fell.Even the stone seemed to still.
— Before I was reduced to what you see,I was free.I served directly under Hypnos,and under my command…those two were my most faithful captains.
His eyes darkened.
— High-rank animic warriors.Their souls were forged in the steel of dreams.Their loyalty, absolute.They fought at my sidewhen we crossed territoriesthat even other emissaries dared not approach.
His chains vibrated harder.A bitter breath slipped his lips.
— But the Tower…spares nothing.Not even them.
He looked away for an instant,as if unable to bear Kael's gaze.
— In our fall,they were torn from their bodies.Their souls ground down,then reforged…in this prison.
His tone hitched.
— What you see noware no longer my brothers-in-arms.They are their specters.Their shadows.Twisted afterimages,swollen with hate and hunger.
He jerked his chin up.His stare locked to Kael's.
— That is why their power is mad.It isn't an anomaly.It is… their legacy.
A heavy hush.Morpheas closed his eyes.
— If you face them…you won't be fighting mere monsters.You'll face what remainsof two exceptional warriors.Two men who should have beenlegends.
He clenched his shackled fists.
— And perhaps that is…the cruelest weight to bear.
Morpheas fell silent for a long moment.Eyes fixed on the floor.Chains humming with muted pain.
Then he raised his head.His voice thickened—almost pleading, despite his stature.
— But… I have a request.If it can be.
He breathed in.Each word seemed to cost him.
— I know I ask too much.But if… Lord Umbra…is akin to our lord Hypnos's Umbra…
His eyes slid to the shadow at your side.
— Would you… ask him…to swallow their spectersonce they fall?
His voice broke.
— Not to destroy them.But to cast them once moreinto the cycle of reincarnation.
His fists trembled.His aura frayed with contained grief.
— They have suffered enough.They have given enough.What is left of them deserves rest…not oblivion.
A heavy silence settled.His eyes clouded.
— It would be… their deliverance.
Kael nodded slowly.— I'll do it.They deserve at least that.
His gaze hardened.— No one deserves to exist… like that, for eternity.
He inhaled.Then turned his eyes to Thana.
— But… what's this about a second Umbra?Under Hypnos?
His brows drew tight.— I thought Umbra was unique.
A weighty silence.His eyes burned into Thana.
— Thana…Did I misunderstand…or did you lie to me?
Thana held his stare.Her eyes stayed cold.Impassive.
— I did not lie to you.
A beat.Then her voice cracked like a whip.
— But there are things…I have not told you. Yet.
She stepped toward him.Her aura thrummed, heavy.
— You weren't strong enough.Not ready…to hear them.
Her tone sharpened.
— If you can surpass these specters…I'll reconsider.And I'll tell you.
An icy glint cut through her gaze.
— But if you fail…we won't be here to talk about it anyway.
Kael didn't answer.His gaze lingered on Thana for a heartbeat.
Then he turned sharply.Eyes locking with Morpheas's.
— Then…how do I deal with these specters?
Morpheas drew a deep breath.His chains scraped as if heavier with every word.
— You cannot face them head-on… not both at once.Even sealed, their power exceeds yours.
His eyes narrowed.
— The first, Varos… was a master of the spectral blade.His strikes pass through flesh and hit the soul directly.He is fast, elusive—but leans too hard on raw aggression.
A beat.His voice grew weightier.
— The second, Aren, was a defender.A living wall.His chains can block, drain, imprison.He is not as fast as Varos…but his endurance is monstrous.
Morpheas dipped his head a moment.
— Together, they complemented each other.Blade and shield.That's why they were my captains.
His gaze hardened as it returned to Kael.
— You must separate their strength.Force them to fight alone.Otherwise… you will be crushed.
He lifted a hand slightly, indicating the shadow at your side.
— Umbra can do it.I feel hunger in him—predation.He can match Varos.Shadow against blade.
His chains chimed.His aura thrummed.
— You—focus on Aren.The chain-breaker.Only you can face his weight.Your kusarigama is your only chance…to shatter him before he strangles you.
A heavy silence fell.Morpheas inhaled, then added in a low voice:
— I will weaken them.My Magia can reduce their force, pull them down.But I cannot hold them long.The rest will be up to you.
Morpheas raised his shackled arms.His aura burst forth—dark, oppressive.The stone vibrated.Runes carved in the walls cracked one after another.
Then, in the corridor's dark,two silhouettes emerged.Two gazes.Two specters.
The blade.The shield.
And their chains snapped in perfect unison.