"Trust is nothing more than a delayed betrayal."
Well that is always the case everywhere.
The corridor was narrow, uneven, and suffocating, rough stone walls pressed in from both sides, their surfaces cracked and damp, as if the earth itself was slowly reclaiming the structure. Dim torches flickered weakly along the passage, their flames struggling to stay alive, casting unsteady shadows that stretched and twisted across the ground.
The air smelled of iron and blood.
Old, soaked into the stone so deeply that no amount of time could remove it.
This was the lower level of the Hollow Depths.
A place where people didn't live but they endured.
Kael stood still in the middle of the corridor, his breathing steady, his expression calm. His dark clothing—simple, worn, and marked with faint cuts—blended into the shadows around him. A sleeveless outer cloak hung loosely over his shoulders, its edges frayed from constant use.
Across from him stood Riven, behind Riven stood three others.
All of them watching and all of them waiting.
Kael's eyes moved slowly, taking in their positions. The spacing between them. The way they stood—not relaxed, not tense, but ready as if they're prepared for something planned and not random at all.
A faint silence hung in the air.
Not very peaceful, plus the heavy atmosphere.
Like something inevitable was about to happen.
"You've been quiet," Riven said.
His voice was calm, almost casual, as if they were discussing something ordinary.
Kael looked at him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Kael said, "I was thinking."
Riven tilted his head slightly. "About what?"
Kael's gaze didn't shift.
"About how this ends."
A pause followed.
One of the men behind Riven let out a short breath, almost amused. Another shifted slightly, his hand resting closer to his weapon.
Riven didn't smile.But something in his eyes changed.
"You always think too much," he said.
"Thinking keeps people alive," Kael replied.
"Not here."
The answer came immediately.
Simple, cold and honest.
Kael understood.Because Riven wasn't wrong.
In the Hollow Depths, survival wasn't decided by intelligence alone.It was decided by timing and position.
And willingness to act first.Kael exhaled slowly.
"So this is it," he said.
Not a question
Riven nodded once.
"You were becoming a problem."
There was no anger in his voice.
No hatred.
Just… reason.
That was what made it real.
Kael lowered his gaze slightly, his thoughts moving without urgency.
Problem.
That word held weight.
Not because it was insulting.
But because it was accurate.
"In this place," Kael said quietly, "the moment you become difficult to control… you become unnecessary."
Riven didn't deny it.
Because he didn't need to.
The others behind him shifted again, subtly tightening their positions. The corridor felt smaller now, more confined, as if the walls themselves were closing in.
Kael noticed everything.
The angle of Riven's shoulders.
The slight movement of his right hand.
The way the others were positioned to block escape.
It was well done.
Efficient.
A clean execution.
If it had happened a few moments later—
It would have worked perfectly.
Kael almost smiled.
Almost.
"You should have acted sooner," he said.
Riven frowned slightly. "What?"
Kael lifted his eyes again.
"Before I realized."
That was the moment everything moved.
Riven stepped forward.
Fast.
His hand drew the blade in one smooth motion, the steel flashing briefly in the dim light as it cut forward with precision.
No hesitation.
No wasted movement.
A perfect strike—
Straight into Kael's chest.
The blade pierced cleanly.
The impact was sudden, controlled, final.
For a moment, there was no pain.
Only pressure.
Then warmth.
Kael looked down.
The steel had gone through him.
Clean.
Efficient.
Just like he would have done it.
"…I see," he murmured.
His legs weakened.
The strength left his body faster than expected. He dropped to one knee, the cold stone hitting him hard, grounding him in the reality of what had just happened.
Around him, no one moved.
No one spoke.
They simply watched.
Because it was already over.
Kael's breathing grew shallow.
His heartbeat slowed.
Each pulse heavier than the last.
This was death.
Not dramatic.
Not heroic.
Just… quiet.
A result.
Trust, he thought distantly, is only valuable until it becomes inconvenient.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I miscalculated," he said softly.
Not them.
Himself.
His vision began to darken at the edges.
The torchlight blurred.
The corridor stretched and twisted.
And yet—
Something felt wrong.
The darkness didn't take him.
Not completely.
Instead, a faint glow appeared.
Kael's fading gaze focused.
A small light rose from his chest, drifting upward like smoke from a dying flame. It flickered weakly, unstable—but there was something inside it.
Something real.
A fragment.
He didn't know how he knew.
But he did.
So this…
This was what everyone had been killing for.
Power.
Reduced to something so small it could be held in one hand.
How ironic.
Even now—
He felt no fear.
Only curiosity.
"If this is power…" Kael whispered, his voice barely audible, "…then I'll take it."
His arm felt heavy.
Unnaturally heavy.
As if the world itself resisted his movement.
Still—
He raised it.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
His fingers touched the light.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
It sank into him.
The sensation was immediate.
Not pain.
Not strength.
Something else.
His thoughts shifted—just slightly—as if something foreign had entered them. Memories that weren't his. Feelings that didn't belong to him.
For a brief second—
He felt… someone else.
Then—
Everything shattered.
—
Kael inhaled sharply.
Air rushed into his lungs.
Cold.
Sharp.
Real.
His eyes snapped open.
He was standing.
The corridor was the same.
The same rough stone walls.
The same dim torches.
The same people.
Riven stood in front of him.
Alive.
Unaware.
Untouched.
Kael didn't move.
His mind worked quickly, faster than before, aligning everything without confusion.
No wound.
No blood.
No death.
Time had reversed.
Completely.
Slowly, Kael raised his hand and placed it against his chest.
Nothing.
Not even a trace.
"…interesting," he said quietly.
Riven glanced at him. "You've been quiet."
Kael looked up.
Their eyes met.
And this time—
Kael already knew how it would end.
Because once you've died—
You stop fearing death.
And once fear disappears—
Only decisions remain.