The argument did not end.
If anything, it only became quieter.
And somehow that made it worse.
Shouting could be answered.
Anger could be challenged.
Frustration could be confronted.
But silence?
Silence stayed.
Silence followed people from room to room.
Silence sat beside them during meals.
Silence lingered in every glance and every unfinished sentence.
For nearly a week, that silence existed inside their home.
Not because they stopped speaking.
The three still talked.
They still ate together.
They still discussed daily matters.
Yet beneath every conversation remained the same unresolved truth.
Kaien intended to leave.
And Nyra and Lyss did not want him to go.
Neither side moved.
Neither side yielded.
Because all three understood exactly what was at stake.
That was the problem.
If one side had been wrong, the matter would have been simple.
But nobody was wrong.
Kaien's duty was real.
Their fear was real.
The danger was real.
And because all of it was real, no solution seemed good enough.
Several nights after their first argument, the discussion finally returned.
The three sat together in the living room.
Outside, the lights of Novaris illuminated the darkness.
Inside, only a few lamps lit the room.
The atmosphere felt calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that appeared before painful conversations.
Kaien knew it.
Nyra knew it.
Lyss knew it.
Nobody avoided it this time.
Eventually Nyra broke the silence.
"When are you planning to leave?"
Kaien looked up from the report he wasn't actually reading.
The question had finally been asked.
"Soon."
Neither woman looked surprised.
The answer had been expected.
"How soon?"
"A few weeks."
The room became quiet again.
Lyss stared at him for several moments.
"You're serious."
"I am."
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without uncertainty.
And that somehow hurt more than anything else.
Nyra looked away briefly.
Toward the window.
Toward the city.
Toward anything except him.
"You've already made up your mind."
It wasn't a question.
Kaien didn't insult her intelligence by pretending otherwise.
"Yes."
The honesty struck harder than any lie could have.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Lyss laughed softly.
A sad laugh.
The kind that carried no amusement.
"Of course you have."
Kaien remained silent.
Because there was nothing to defend.
Nothing to explain.
They already understood.
That was what made this difficult.
If they didn't understand him, this would have been easier.
But they did.
Better than anyone.
Better than he sometimes understood himself.
And that meant they knew exactly why he wouldn't back down.
Nyra leaned forward.
Her eyes remained fixed on him.
"Why?"
The question sounded simple.
It wasn't.
Kaien knew that.
So did she.
Still, he answered.
"Because somebody has to find out what this thing is."
"Why you?"
The response came instantly.
"Why does it always have to be you?"
Kaien sighed.
A long, tired sigh.
Not because he didn't have an answer.
Because he hated the answer.
"I don't know."
"That's not true."
Nyra's voice remained calm.
Painfully calm.
"You know exactly why."
Kaien looked down briefly.
Then nodded.
"Maybe."
The room became silent.
Then Kaien finally spoke the truth.
The complete truth.
The one he rarely admitted out loud.
"When I see something that could hurt people..."
His voice was quiet.
Steady.
"...I can't ignore it."
Nobody interrupted.
Nobody moved.
The words continued.
"If I know there is a threat..."
A pause.
"...I have to face it."
Another pause.
"If I know something dangerous exists..."
His gaze drifted toward the city beyond the window.
"...I have to find it."
The room felt smaller.
Heavier.
More honest.
"I've tried to be different."
His voice softened.
"I really have."
That part surprised them.
Because it was true.
Across multiple lives, Kaien had occasionally wished for something simpler.
A quiet existence.
A normal existence.
An ordinary existence.
Fate simply never seemed interested in granting those wishes.
"I've tried walking away before."
His expression became distant.
As though looking through memories nobody else could see.
"It never works."
The room remained quiet.
Then he said the thing both women already knew.
The thing they feared hearing.
"The moment I know somebody could get hurt..."
A pause.
"...I stop having a choice."
Nyra closed her eyes.
Because she understood.
Of course she understood.
That was the tragedy.
The problem was never convincing Kaien.
The problem was that Kaien genuinely believed what he was saying.
Not because he was arrogant.
Not because he wanted to be a hero.
Because that was who he was.
Karna.
Aditya.
Arin.
Kaien.
Different names.
Different lives.
The same person.
Always moving toward danger if it meant protecting someone else.
Always.
Eventually Lyss spoke.
Her voice sounded smaller than usual.
"What about us?"
The question hung in the air.
Kaien didn't answer immediately.
Not because he lacked an answer.
Because no answer felt good enough.
"What about us, Kaien?"
Her eyes began shining slightly.
The first signs of tears.
"We spent lifetimes finding each other."
A pause.
"We finally have peace."
Another pause.
"We finally have a home."
Her voice cracked.
Just slightly.
Yet enough.
"And now you're talking about leaving again."
Kaien looked away.
Not because he wanted to avoid her gaze.
Because he couldn't bear seeing the pain there.
Nyra spoke next.
And unlike before, her voice trembled.
Barely.
But enough.
"You always talk about protecting everyone."
The words came slowly.
Carefully.
As though speaking too loudly might break something.
"But who protects you?"
Kaien froze.
The question hit harder than expected.
Because he didn't have an answer.
He never had.
Not in this life.
Not in the previous ones.
The silence stretched.
Long.
Painful.
Real.
Then Kaien finally stood.
Walking toward the large window overlooking Novaris.
The city lights illuminated the darkness below.
Thousands of people living peaceful lives.
People who trusted him.
People who depended on him.
For several moments he simply watched.
Then he spoke.
Without turning around.
"If there is a threat out there..."
His voice remained calm.
"...and I ignore it..."
The city reflected faintly within the glass.
"...what happens if I'm right?"
Neither woman answered.
The question didn't need one.
"If that thing grows stronger..."
A pause.
"If it reaches Dominion..."
Another pause.
"If people die because I stayed here..."
His hand rested against the window.
"...how am I supposed to live with that?"
The room became silent again.
Neither Nyra nor Lyss had an answer.
Because that was the problem.
They understood him.
They understood exactly why he couldn't walk away.
The same reason he understood why they wanted him to stay.
Everyone understood.
Nobody won.
Eventually Kaien turned around.
His expression looked calmer now.
Not because he had changed his mind.
Because he had accepted something.
"There's a point both of you are missing."
Nyra looked up.
So did Lyss.
Kaien continued.
His tone neutral.
Matter-of-fact.
Almost casual.
As though discussing the weather.
"I'm not easy to kill."
The statement wasn't arrogance.
It was simply true.
The reality of his existence.
The reality of everything he had become.
"I have Kavach Kundala."
The words carried no pride.
No boasting.
Only fact.
The divine armor and earrings had returned to him during the Final War.
A blessing restored.
A protection reclaimed.
One more piece of Karna returned across the endless cycle.
"They protect me."
A pause.
"Against most things."
Another pause.
"I'm not saying I'm invincible."
His voice remained steady.
"I'm saying my chances of surviving are better than almost anyone else's."
As he spoke, the red mark upon his forehead began glowing softly.
The mark he had received after meeting Krishna within that strange dream.
Or memory.
Or vision.
Whatever it truly had been.
The crimson symbol shimmered faintly.
Warm light spread through the room.
Not blinding.
Not overwhelming.
Gentle.
Almost comforting.
The sight immediately drew both women's attention.
The glow reflected within Kaien's eyes.
Ancient.
Familiar.
Like something older than the world itself.
Yet his expression remained calm.
Neutral.
The way Karna had always been when speaking about his own life.
As though his survival mattered less than the reason behind it.
Then Kaien smiled.
A small smile.
Soft.
Human.
"And even if I die..."
The room became completely silent.
The red mark continued glowing.
Warm crimson light filled the darkness around them.
Kaien's voice softened.
"...we're going to end up together in the next life anyway."
The words broke something.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
Like a thread stretched too far.
Nyra's eyes filled first.
Then Lyss's.
Neither tried hiding it.
Neither looked away.
Because they knew he meant it.
Not as reassurance.
Not as comfort.
As truth.
Four lives had already proven it.
No matter the world.
No matter the names.
No matter the circumstances.
They always found one another.
Always.
Yet somehow that only made it hurt more.
Because they didn't want another life.
They wanted this one.
Nyra stood first.
Crossing the room in only a few steps.
Then she wrapped her arms around him.
Tightly.
As though letting go would allow fate to steal him away.
Lyss joined moments later.
The three stood together in silence.
The tears finally came.
Not from fear alone.
Not from sadness alone.
But from helplessness.
Because sometimes loving someone meant understanding exactly why they had to leave.
And hating it anyway.
Kaien slowly placed an arm around each of them.
For several minutes nobody spoke.
The city lights continued shining outside.
The crimson mark gradually dimmed.
The room grew quiet once more.
Yet this silence felt different.
Sadder.
Warmer.
More honest.
Because no decision had changed.
Kaien still intended to leave.
Nyra and Lyss still wanted him to stay.
But for the first time, the argument wasn't about winning.
It wasn't about convincing.
It wasn't even about being right.
It was simply about three people trying to hold onto a moment they all knew was slipping away.
And deep within his heart, Kaien realized something he would never say aloud.
For all the wars he had fought.
For all the enemies he had defeated.
For all the impossible battles he had survived.
Nothing had ever hurt quite as much as making the people he loved cry.