The torch sputtered weakly in the corner, throwing broken light across the cell. Kairo moved slowly, each breath rattling in his chest, each step dragging his wounds through fire. The Judgement Dance demanded rhythm, precision — but his body was broken, and his chains were heavy.
He forced himself to continue.
Step.
Pivot.
Strike.
Breath.
The sound of iron clinking against stone echoed like a drumbeat.
And then the laughter came.
"A dance?" one voice sneered, cold and regal.
"This body was made for more than steps." another hissed.
"Zahrathos — why do you let the boy mock us with this struggle?"
The name struck through the dark like a blade. Zahrathos.
Kairo froze mid-motion, his crimson eyes narrowing. The voices were no longer speaking only to him.
They were speaking to someone else inside him.
"You were given the vessel," one god whispered, smooth and coaxing. "Release it. Give us the flesh, and we will show him what true power looks like."
Another voice thundered, guttural and furious. "He resists too long. Hand him to us, and we will end this trial in blood and fire."
The air thickened. For the first time, Kairo felt it — a pulse not his own, deep in his chest, an ancient rhythm thrumming beneath his heartbeat. Zahrathos. Silent until now, but present. Watching. Guarding.
Kairo clenched his fists, sweat dripping into the cracks of the stone floor. His lips curled back, teeth grit.
"You will not have me."
The gods laughed.
"Fool. You think endurance is enough?"
"Even Zahrathos grows weary of protecting you."
"When the ninety-nine demons tear you apart, he will have no choice but to give us your flesh."
Kairo resumed the Dance, forcing his body through the rhythm. Each step became defiance, each strike a rejection.
Step.
Pivot.
Strike.
Breath.
The chains rattled, the stone cracked beneath his fists. His body burned, but the rhythm held.
For a moment, the gods went silent — their whispers curling into a single, dreadful chorus.
"Break soon, little vessel. When you do… we will not ask Zahrathos again. We will take you."
The torch flickered out.
Kairo stood alone in the dark, his chest heaving, blood dripping from his knuckles, the faint echo of another heartbeat still pulsing beneath his own.