Two eyes.Still there.Blue.Unblinking.
But not human eyes.
Fine gleams leaked from them—bluish curls of Magiatwisting in the dark air.
They throbbed,like smothered lightning,as if the darkness refused to hold them.
Kael did not move.Fingers clenched on the chain.
Silence weighed.Thick.Oppressive.
A glacial breath passed through the corridor,as if the stone itself were breathing.
He narrowed his eyes.The Eye of Nyx thrummed—still blind,yet ready to pierce the veil.
Kael stayed rigid.His eyes burned red.
Then… it began.
A shiver cut through him.Sharp.Like an icy blade to the nape.
A thirst.Alien.Not his.
It crashed against him—then vanished.
His breath hitched.His hands shook on the chain.
Again.Another strike.Harder.Hungrier.
A thirst for blood.Aimed straight at him.Just enough to graze—enough to crush.
Kael grit his teeth.He understood.Even chained, sealed on every side,this being was more powerful than the howling specters.They were free.He was not.
And still…the gap was colossal.
Kael bent his knees a fraction,survival instinct flaring.His eyes shifted.Deep crimson.Raw instinct.
One heartbeat.Then another.
Kael growled, barely aware of the sound—a rough, feral breath.
That was when the pressure returned.An invisible blow.An alien thirst.
It slammed into him—brutal—then drew back.
He locked his jaw.Muscles coiled.
Again.A new assault.More ravenous.More crushing.
He hunched, back bowing by reflex.Crimson eyes glowed in the dark.
And before him—
HAHAHAHAHA!
Laughter detonated.Grave.Cavernous.Shaking the gaol like a funeral bell.
The entity slapped its thigh with a shackled hand—a sharp crack—shuddering with amusement.
— Interesting… very interesting.It has been centuries since I saw a being so… fascinating.
Kael clenched his teeth—then gave way.
An animal roar tore from his throat.His crimson eyes flared,veins throbbed,skin shivered under the demonic impulse.
He stepped.Then another.His shadow-chains snapped, ready to strike.
And then—
Umbra surged.Black coils whipped out,winding around Kael,holding him by force.
Kael thrashed.His arms lashed the air, furious.
Umbra trembled—but held.At the same time, a dark pulse split the corridor.
A call.A voiceless cry.
Moments later—
Thana appeared.Her halo wavered, unstable.Her eyes flew wide.
— Kael… stop.This isn't you.
She raised her hand.A glacial breath wrapped her aura.She tried to break the red frenzy.
Thana turned.Her cold eyes fixed the entity.
One look.Razor-edged.Implacable.
— You.
Her voice cracked—dry.Icy.
— I'll deal with you.— I cannot wait to see what Hypnos does to you…— Insect.
Silence fell.The entity no longer laughed.
He froze.Thrown.
What?She knew his name.Knew Hypnos.
And she had called him…the way one addresses a subordinate.
His eyes trembled.Who was she?
Then he saw—in the bottom of her gaze—the end of all things.
It was Death.Pure.Implacable.
A shiver cut through him.His chains quivered.
— I… I… what have I done?
His breathing turned hoarse,broken.
— If this goddess is here…then he can only be… be…
He covered his face with his shackled hands.A strangled murmur slipped out.
— Ohh no… what have I done…
He froze again.Shaken.
What?She knew his name.Knew Hypnos.
And she had called him…like a superior calling a retainer.
His eyes shook.Who was she?
Then he saw—in the depths of her gaze—the end of everything.
Death.Pure.Implacable.
A shiver raked him.His chains rang.
— I… I… what have I done?
His breath grew ragged,broken.
— If the goddess is here…then he can only be… be…
He hid his face in chained hands.A strangled whisper:
— Ohh no… what have I done…
Morpheas was still trembling.His eyes fell.
Slowly, he opened his hand.Chains chimed.
A drop slid from his palm.Thick.Blackish.
It fell into a broken skull at his feet.The sound tolled like a muffled bell.
Vapor rose at once—dense,oneiric.
The air grew heavy,like a veil.Like a sleep ready to swallow the world.
He lifted his gaze to Thana.His voice shook.
— If… if you wish…I will offer you my blood.Let it lull my fault…as it lulls the living.
Thana sighed.Her ice-pale eyes cut to Umbra.
— You.Release him.
The shadow hesitated, shivering.But the order was absolute.Chains hummed.Runes cracked one by one,devoured by Umbra.
Morpheas drew a deep breath.His shoulders quivered.Free… at last.
But he did not raise his head.No arrogance.
He bowed to Thana.Then turned away.
One by one, fragments rose from the cells—black curls, blue sparks—trembling like dream-coals.
Morpheas guided them.Gathered them.Fused them.
Soon he traced an invisible architecture,placing each shard like a ritual pieceso that, upon waking,Kael would receive the greatest share of their power.
Chains fell.Runes shattered in silence.Umbra withdrew, shadow quivering.
Morpheas stood still for a moment.His shoulders shook.Free.
He lifted a hand—slowly.Black and blue shards rose,torn from neighboring cells.
One by one, they began to orbit him.Unstable.Raw.
Then his body pulsed.A deep, dark aurapoured into the fragments.
They twisted.Screamed.Then stilled.
Refined.Purified.
Morpheas closed his eyes.His breath grew heavy.Every fragment he touched vibrated,becoming a docile source—a shard ready for absorption.
He turned to Kael,still asleep.
— He'll be able to assimilate them like this…even asleep.And his yield will double.
— If you do not object, goddess of Death… Thanatos…may I tend these lost souls—and gather them?
Thana watched him.Her gaze quivered—cold.
— Yes.Go.
A beat.Then her voice snapped again:
— But don't call me that anymore.I am Thana, now.
Her aura flickered—softer for a heartbeat.She cast a brief glance at sleeping Kael.
— My host… likes it.
Morpheas froze.Shocked.
The Emissary of Death—Hypnos himself—had never described… this.
Such nuance.A blend of cutting coldand almost human tenderness.
Inconceivable.Enough to chill his spine.
He drew breath.Slowly.
Then filed it away in a corner of his mind.Not what mattered.Not now.
He had a task.A duty.
Tend the lost souls.
He linked each piece.Step by step.Warned every soul still present.
Most recognized him.Murmurs of astonishment.Hushed salutes.
Even the translucent little girl.She nearly ran to him.Her voice shook, but she told it—summarized all that had happened.
Morpheas nodded slowly.His gaze grew grave.
Climbing the stair, he saw them—the two specters.Motionless.Misshapen silhouettesstill crouched in the dark.
A shiver went through him.Not yet.Not now.
He went back down at once.Steps ringing the stone.And returned to where Kael and Thana waited.
Morpheas came back, souls in procession behind him.Thana watched. Kael still slept.
Then Morpheas stopped.His eyes turned toward the stair—heavy, almost pained.
— But those... are my men.
Silence fell.Thana lifted her head.A glacial tension filled the air.
Morpheas clenched his fists, chains still humming.
— To close this floor…we will have to face them.