"I don't know," Kael rasped. His voice was a dry, agonizing sound, like shale sliding over shale. "But Sara... she won't stop saying it. The Broken Soul is reaching its final stage. I'm running out of time."
The Dark Smiler let out a long, low sigh—a sound like winter wind whistling through a hollow crypt. "There is only one cure, boy. You need Azune."
A sudden spasm racked Kael's small frame, his breath hitching in a sharp sob. "Don't..." he whispered, clutching his chest. "Don't tell her. Don't make her worry about me... Drakes."
The Dark Smiler didn't just freeze; his very shadow seemed to recoil, flickering violently against the walls like a dying flame. The playful malice in his aura evaporated, replaced by a cold, sharpened stillness.
"Who told you that name?" he demanded, his voice dropping an octave into a predatory growl.
Kael offered a ghostly, pained smirk, his eyelids fluttering as he drifted toward the edge of consciousness. "Vrita told me... she remembers. She remembers everything."
"What?" The Smiler's eyes widened, the void within them pulsing with sudden agitation. "What else has she told you? Kael!"
But Kael didn't answer. A fresh wave of agony tore through him, and he let out a choked cry, his body arching off the bed. "God, it hurts—it hurts so much!"
In a flash of instinctual panic, the Smiler's form fractured. He vanished into the gloom, reappearing instantly atop a nearby roof. He gasped, the cold night air hitting his lungs as he looked down at the street below, his shadow still trembling from the shock of hearing his true name.
"Great," he muttered, his composure crumbling into the wind. "I'm right at Azune's doorstep. Or maybe... this is Void's house. Either way, this is a mess."
He looked at the door, gulped, and flickered again. He reappeared at the entrance and hammered on the bell. When the door swung open, Azune stood there, her face instantly pale with dread.
"What happened? Is Kael okay?"
The Dark Smiler didn't waste words. He stepped forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You are the only one who can save him. He's being consumed. It's the Broken Soul power."
Azune gripped the doorframe until her knuckles turned white. "I'm sorry, Drakes, but the Broken Soul... it's rarer than the Redemption Swords. It shouldn't even exist."
"Why?" he hissed.
She lowered her head, her voice a mere whisper. "Because Kael is the only person in history to survive its awakening. But... there is one way. He has to release his full aura. All of it."
The Smiler recoiled. "If he releases that much power, he won't be human anymore. He'll become a monster—or something far worse."
"Then I'm going with you," Azune said, her resolve hardening. She turned and shouted into the house, "Renjiro! I'm going with Drakes!"
Renjiro appeared from the shadows of the hallway, his expression like chipped ice. "I'm coming too."
Without a word, the Smiler caught them both in his shadow, and they teleported.
They arrived in Kael's room, but the scene they found was not what they expected. The room was bathed in an ethereal, pulsing light. A girl stood by the bed, her long green hair waving in a spectral wind from the open window. Her eyes were fixed on Kael with a terrifying, singular focus.
"Master, do not worry," she murmured, her voice sounding like a thousand overlapping echoes. "This system will help you..."
Kael lay unconscious, his skin glowing with a sickly, fractured light. The Smiler took a step forward, his hand moving toward a hidden tool. "Who are you?"
The girl didn't turn. "SARA," she whispered.
The name hit the Smiler like a physical blow. He stepped back involuntarily, his shadow shrinking. "You aren't Sara. What is your real name? The name chosen by the Gods?"
Azune watched them, paralyzed by the sudden drop in temperature, while Renjiro remained motionless, his cold eyes fixed on the girl.
"She is a system," Renjiro said, breaking the silence. "But she is more than that. She possesses the power of a world-shaper, though she chooses not to use it. In the higher realms, she is known by a different title."
"What title?" Azune asked, her voice trembling.
Renjiro looked at the unconscious boy on the bed. "The Fault of Gods."
The Smiler gripped his tools tighter, his breath hitching. "So she's been inside him this whole time? The system itself?"
"Who knows?" Renjiro replied, shielding his mouth with his hand. "This boy is a graveyard of mysteries."
Azune took a cautious step toward the bed. "Sara... what are you doing? Why are you just standing there?"
Sara finally looked at her, placing a single, pale finger over her lips. "Shh... I am merely controlling the collapse."
The coldness radiating from her was absolute—a void that made even Renjiro's icy demeanor seem warm by comparison. Azune looked back at Renjiro, her eyes wide. "How do you know so much about her?"
"Because," Renjiro said, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper, "I also have a system. It was created in her image, a mere shadow of her potential—and yet, mine is powerful enough to unmake a universe. Imagine, then, the power currently keeping Kael's heart beating."
He leaned forward, his eyes reflecting the green glow.
"And imagine what happens to us if she decides to stop."