Karl waited for some time, trying to think through his next move.
Then he returned to Kael, the diary in his hand.
He was sitting there with James.
"Back, then? We were about to go looking for you," James said, stretching.
"I think I found a cure for my village," Karl said, holding up the small notebook.
Kael watched him. A deep look—one Karl couldn't understand.
"Follow me," Kael said, heading toward the path that led to Leonard's house.
Karl was surprised by the request.
As they walked the familiar road, Karl felt something strange about Kael. Something he couldn't quite place.
Minutes passed until they found themselves at the entrance of the basement beneath Leonard's house.
Karl sensed the wrongness seeping up from below.
After receiving Kael's nod, he stepped forward and descended.
His steps slowed. The smell rising from the stairs made him want to vomit.
Then came the same corridor. The same cells.
He followed Kael to the last cell.
And there it was.
Something like a beast, its skin the color of rotting black, a sword driven through its chest.
Its eyes were closed. Karl felt... it looked at peace.
Karl's eyes widened. His fingers trembled slightly.
For a moment he thought his legs would refuse to move.
"This is what your sister will become. Your mother. Everyone in your village. If you don't—" Kael said, his eyes fixed on the corpse.
Karl wanted to cry, but he didn't.
He clenched his fists. Exhaled slowly.
"I want to say goodbye to her. At least that."
In front of a simple two-story house, Karl found himself alone.
He opened the door and went inside. Only his sister was there.
He heard the crackle of wood burning in the hearth.
The room smelled of smoke and dried herbs.
For a moment Karl remembered when Maia used to sit by the same fire and laugh.
His chest tightened when he saw it—the pale black creeping up from her leg, slow and steady.
She had lost those moments of clarity since Kael last saw her.
She was breathing heavily, staring at the wall.
"I'm back, Maia," Karl choked out.
She didn't notice him. Didn't even look.
"Maia. I'm leaving now. Take care of yourself."
He moved toward her. Wanted to hold her.
He reached out and pulled her close.
Then he felt her nails sink into his back.
Pain shot through him, but he didn't move away.
And suddenly—her eyes cleared.
"Karl... I can't feel anything."
His tears fell. Not from pain. From grief.
"I feel like I'm losing myself, Karl."
Her words made his heart scream.
"Don't worry."
He pulled out the dagger—the one Kael had given him.
In that moment, he remembered what James had said to the man with the strange eyes.
He held his sister tighter. And in his mind, two terrifying eyes appeared—one yellow, one red.
The dagger trembled in his hand.
For a second he couldn't move.
His fingers shook. His breathing grew heavy.
Then he closed his eyes.
He gripped the dagger hard.
And drove it into his sister's heart.
He didn't let go of her body.
He held her as the strength left her arms, as her fingers slowly loosened from his back.
Karl stayed there, holding her, until the warmth faded.
When it was over, everything fell silent.
That silence pressed down on James and Kael—sinking into their bones, dragging something heavy out of them.
Beneath a dusk that painted the sky a bleeding red, three figures rose: two men and a young boy. James. Kael. Karl.
They were drenched in red—as if the sky had fallen onto them. But the color hadn't come from the sky.
Smoke rose slowly behind them.
The village was silent.
"I understand now."
"I understand now."
Kael's words cut through the silence.
I understand now… how to control my fire.
Emotions move it.
Flames began to rise from his body.
He ignored the pain.
He ignored the exhaustion.
There was only one will left inside him:
Burn everything.
He felt as if he wasn't burning the plague alone… but the pain of the whole world.
Then the image of his village flashed in his mind.
His body trembled.
And in that moment, he swore to fix everything.
But he didn't explain it to them.
Karl watched him.
And knew this was only the beginning.