Inside the room, Mara, Torisa, and Vashuki stood in silence.
Torisa looked at Vashuki with a grave expression.
"Your Snake Soul is thirsty for blood."
Mara and Vashuki froze the moment they heard those words.
"If you fail to control it," Torisa continued calmly, "there will come a day when... you will no longer be yourself, Vashuki."
For an instant, Vashuki's eyes transformed into those of a serpent, their cold gaze filled with fury.
"This world has never meant anything to me," Vashuki said through clenched teeth. "All I have ever found here... is failure."
A moment later, his eyes returned to normal.
Torisa let out a faint sigh before speaking in a sarcastic tone.
"Brother, stop letting your emotions speak for you. Feelings are rarely of any use."
Torisa turned and began walking toward the door.
"Remember this," he said without looking back. "No one knows who you are here."
At that moment, blood began dripping from Vashuki's hand.
The crimson blood slowly turned green before taking the shape of a gun.
Torisa suddenly stopped.
Without a word, Vashuki raised the weapon and pointed it directly at Torisa.
Mara's eyes widened.
"Vashuki!" he shouted as he lunged forward, trying to snatch the gun away.
But in the very next instant, the weapon dissolved into green liquid and flowed back into Vashuki's palm, as if it had never existed.
Torisa resumed walking toward the door.
"I don't care about that," Vashuki said quietly. "Because I know who I am. I don't like hearing my own name from other people."
Torisa came to another stop.
Without turning around, he spoke in a low voice.
"It seems your condition is getting worse... It feels as if you're standing against the entire world."
Mara was stunned by what he was witnessing.
He looked at Vashuki and said softly,
"Take care of yourself."
Without waiting for a reply, Mara turned around, broke into a run, and disappeared through the doorway.
Vashuki stared at his back and said,
"Do I really look that weak to you?"
Vashuki slowly turned toward the balcony, his expression returning to normal.
He walked over to a book lying near the balcony and picked it up.
Meanwhile, outside, Torisa was speaking with one of the soldiers.
"It seems the people who attacked us were after Ajina," he said with a serious expression. "I need to act before it's too late."
As he looked up, his eyes met a young girl standing on the balcony.
It was Hiruma.
She stood there silently, watching him without saying a single word.
Torisa held her gaze for a brief moment before continuing on his way.
From the balcony, Hiruma noticed that Vashuki was reading a book.
I have to get that book back, she thought.
Without wasting another second, she headed toward his room.
Vashuki glanced at the cover of the book.
Written across it in bold letters were the words:
The Death of the Kazimes
A knock echoed through the room.
Vashuki opened the door.
Standing outside was Hiruma.
"That book belongs to me," she said. "It slipped from my hands earlier."
How did she know I had it? Vashuki wondered.
Before he could say another word, Hiruma gently took the book from his hands.
"May I read it?" Vashuki asked.
Hiruma hesitated for a moment before replying,
"...Only for today."
A faint smile appeared on Vashuki's face.
"Then I'll take it somewhere quiet. I prefer reading in a peaceful place."
Hiruma's eyes widened for a brief moment.
That book is forbidden here...
She quickly hid her reaction.
"I should get going," she said softly before turning around and walking away.