The campfire crackled weakly, its orange glow barely keeping the cold at bay. Kael sat apart from Alyss, his gaze fixed on the flames but his thoughts far away. The memory of the Sentinel's illusion lingered, vivid and raw, replaying in his mind like a cruel jest.
Darian's face, his voice, the accusations...
Kael clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He hated how easily the illusion had unraveled him. How real it had felt.
"You're quiet," Alyss said from across the fire. She was sharpening her dagger again, the rhythmic scrape of stone against steel cutting through the silence.
Kael didn't respond.
Alyss stopped her work and leaned forward, studying him. "You can't let it fester, you know. That's how they win."
Kael's jaw tightened. "I don't need advice."
"I'm not giving advice," Alyss said evenly. "I'm telling you how it is. You think the Sentinels are the worst of it? They're nothing compared to what's coming."
Kael glared at her, his voice low and sharp. "I don't need a lecture, either."
Alyss shrugged and went back to her dagger. "Suit yourself. But if you keep brooding like that, the next illusion will break you before you can draw your sword."
Kael opened his mouth to snap back, but the words caught in his throat. She wasn't wrong, and he knew it.
---
When Alyss finally retreated to her bedroll, Kael remained by the fire. He stared at his reflection in the blade of his sword, the wavering light distorting his features. He hardly recognized the man staring back.
His thoughts drifted to Darian. His younger brother had been the only family Kael had left after their parents died. They'd survived together, scraping by in the ruins of Archeon. Darian had been the hopeful one, always dreaming of a better life.
But then the raiders had come.
Kael closed his eyes, the memories hitting him like a storm. The sounds of shouting, the smell of smoke, the sight of Darian being dragged away as Kael fled into the shadows.
He had always told himself there had been no choice. That he couldn't have saved Darian, even if he'd tried. But deep down, he knew the truth. He had been a coward. He had run.
"You're letting it consume you."
The voice startled him. Kael looked up to see Alyss standing behind him, her arms crossed.
"You should be asleep," he said gruffly.
"So should you," Alyss countered. She sat down across from him, her expression unreadable. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Kael shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about."
Alyss raised an eyebrow. "You're a terrible liar."
Kael sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's... my brother," he admitted. "The Sentinel used him against me. Showed me something I thought I'd buried a long time ago."
"What happened to him?"
Kael hesitated, the words catching in his throat. "I left him," he said finally. "Raiders attacked us, and I ran. I was too afraid to fight, so I left him to die."
Alyss didn't speak immediately. When she did, her voice was softer than he expected. "You don't know that he died."
Kael laughed bitterly. "Does it matter? I abandoned him. I might as well have killed him myself."
Alyss leaned back, her eyes fixed on the fire. "We all have ghosts, Kael. Things we regret. Things we wish we could change. But carrying them like this? It won't bring him back. And it won't help you survive what's ahead."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "That's easy for you to say. You don't know what it's like."
Alyss's expression darkened. "You think I don't?"
Kael opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he saw the pain flicker across her face. For the first time, she looked vulnerable, her usual confidence stripped away.
"I've lost people too," Alyss said quietly. "People I cared about. People I should have saved. The difference is, I don't let it own me anymore."
Kael studied her, unsure of what to say. He had assumed Alyss was as unshakable as the stones beneath their feet, but now he saw cracks in her armor.
"How?" he asked finally. "How do you let it go?"
Alyss smiled faintly, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You don't let it go. Not completely. But you learn to live with it. To carry it without letting it crush you."
Kael stared at the fire, her words sinking in. Could he really live with it? Could he face the memories without breaking?
"I don't know if I can do that," he admitted.
Alyss reached across the fire and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to know. You just have to keep moving. One step at a time."
---
Kael didn't sleep that night. When dawn broke, he felt no closer to answers than he had the night before. But something Alyss had said lingered in his mind:
One step at a time.
As they packed up their camp and prepared to move on, Kael found himself looking at the journal differently. The words on the page no longer felt like ominous warnings but challenges to be faced.
The path to the Absolute was unforgiving. It demanded strength, resilience, and a willingness to confront the darkest corners of one's soul.
Kael still didn't know if he could make it. But for the first time, he felt the faint stirrings of something he hadn't felt in years.
Hope.