Baith sat alone that night.
The fire before him was dim.
The water behind him was still.
And the weapon across his knees… felt meaningless.
Then came the voice.
It did not come from the outside.
But from the oldest scar in his chest.
"You're tired… aren't you?"
Baith froze.
He did not move.
He did not cry out.
He said with a forced calmness, "Get out."
The voice laughed.
"If I could leave… I wouldn't have needed you."
An incomplete form appeared before him.
A shifting face.
Features that were familiar… then strange.
It said: "I am Sirath."
"Ruler of the Realm of Broken Will."
A crushing weight fell upon Baith's chest.
It wasn't physical force… it was memories.
Sirath spoke with a poisonous serenity: "I do not fight."
"I persuade."
He stepped closer. "Kim does not trust you."
"He does not see you as a brother."
He leaned in slightly. "You are just another tool… until you break."
Baith gritted his teeth. "Liar."
Sirath smiled. "Shall I tell you the truth?"
"Kim will choose you… only if he must."
Images flooded Baith's mind:
Kim's laughter…
Then Nir appeared.
Always Nir.
"You are the shadow."
"And he is the heart."
Baith raised his weapon violently: "Get out of my head!"
But the voice did not vanish.
"I am here to give you a choice."
"Choose yourself… or remain as fuel."
And in the moment Baith was about to collapse—
The fire suddenly died.
The air grew cold.
And another voice spoke…
Calm…
Heavy…
Familiar.
"Lift your head."
Kim was standing behind him.
His eyes were dark.
"Who is speaking to you?"
Baith hesitated.
Then he said, "A Ruler."
A deadly silence followed.
Kim asked in a cold tone: "Which one?"
Sirath finally revealed himself…
But this time… before both of them.
He smiled: "An honor, Sealed Chaos."
Kim looked at him.
He did not grow angry.
He did not smile.
He simply said: "You made a mistake."
Sirath laughed: "A mistake?"
Kim took a single step forward. "You didn't come to me."
"You came for my family."
Black veins pulsed… then stopped.
But the pressure in the area became suffocating.
Kim said: "Baith is not a tool."
"He chose me… and I did not buy him."
Then he whispered: "And I do not allow anyone to sow doubt in those who chose Hell with me."
Sirath screamed for the first time.
Not from pain… but from realization.
"You do not need Chaos to destroy us…"
Kim replied with lethal calmness: "And you do not need strength… to destroy me."
He raised his hand.
But instead of attacking—
The door was slammed shut.
Sirath vanished instantly, as if existence itself had spat him out.
Baith fell to his knees, gasping for air. He looked up at Kim: "Why… didn't you kill him?"
Kim looked toward the sky. "Because the war… does not begin when we kill the first Ruler."
He fell silent.
Then he said: "It begins when they realize… that Death is coming."