The world didn't shatter.
It simply… stopped existing.
One moment, Cain stood in his room, sword trembling in his hand, breath uneven.
The next, everything around him was gone.
No walls. No ceiling. No ground.
Just an empty, endless expanse that felt neither dark nor bright—only hollow.
Cain's grip tightened as he looked around.
His chest rose and fell in uneven breaths.
"…What is this…?"
A presence formed ahead of him.
Not suddenly, but like something that had always been there.
A man was sitting on a chair a few steps away.
Unfamiliar. Completely.
His clothes were strange.
Not armor. Not robes. Something else.
Even his posture was unfamiliar.
Too relaxed. Too normal.
Cain's eyes narrowed.
"…You."
The man exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah. Me."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Cain did.
His body reacted before his thoughts caught up.
The blade cut forward in a clean, practiced motion.
It passed through.
No resistance.
No impact.
Just empty space.
Cain stumbled forward slightly.
His eyes widened before snapping back.
"…What—"
His grip tightened again.
"What are you?!"
The man didn't move.
"…I'm the one keeping you alive."
"Liar."
The word came instantly.
Cain stepped forward again.
His breathing grew heavier.
"You think I don't see it?"
"The blackouts."
"My body moving on its own."
"That voice."
His eyes burned.
"…You're a demon."
The accusation lingered.
The man clicked his tongue.
"…Yeah. That tracks."
...
"I know that you find me suspicious, but I'm a human, just like yourself."
"…No."
His response comes instantly.
Flat.
Cold.
Cain's grip tightens around the sword, knuckles paling as his gaze hardens.
"Humans don't crawl inside other people's bodies."
A step forward.
Slowly.
"They don't take control."
"They don't make you watch while—"
His voice catches.
Just for a second.
Then drops lower.
"…while they kill someone."
His eyes lock onto yours again.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Kill someone"? You think I killed her?
"You don't think her stabbing the hero of the empire then surrendering could have had something to do with it?"
Cain's expression tightens.
His eyes don't leave you.
"…Then explain it."
His voice is lower now.
Less certain.
But still resisting.
"She stabbed me."
A pause.
"She surrendered."
His grip trembles slightly.
"…And she said sorry."
His breathing grows uneven again.
"People don't do that for no reason."
Another step forward.
Not aggressive.
Desperate.
"…So explain it.
His eyes narrow.
Clinging to something—anything—that makes sense.
"Because if you're lying…
His voice drops.
Cold again.
"…then you really did kill her."
"I won't lie to you."
"She did say sorry."
"But-"
"Do you really think believing someone who stabbed you in the back is your best decision?"
"Do you actually think that?"
"Tell me your plan of action."
"What were you gonna do at that arena?"
"Reveal your identity?"
"Then what?"
"The church doesn't give two fucks about you anymore."
"You're Cain."
"You're not the Knight of Light anymore."
"He died at that battlefield."
"Even if you somehow stopped that execution with that extremely rash decision, you know what? You and I would have been dead before we left the capital."
Cain flinched.
"You're wrong."
"The church raised me. It fed me. Gave me shelter."
"Lord Unus... Wouldn't turn his back on me."
"We would have lived. And so could have she. Only if you didn't stop me..."
A pause.
"Look..."
"You remember that broken artifact the duke showed, the one belonging to the assassin? I was the one who faced him."
"I also recognized that artifact."
"It was House Ravenwing's."
Cain doesn't respond immediately.
His eyes shift back to Elias.
Sharper now.
"…Ravenwing?"
The name lands differently.
Not emotional.
Instinctive.
His posture straightens slightly.
"They don't move without purpose."
A pause.
His grip tightens again, but this time—not from desperation.
From thought.
"…You're saying that wasn't random."
His brows furrow.
"…Then why would they—"
He stops.
The pieces don't fully connect.
Not yet.
But something is there.
"…If I revealed myself…"
His voice lowers.
"…they would've known."
A slow breath.
"…and we wouldn't have left alive."
Silence.
He doesn't argue it.
Not this time.
But his expression—
Still conflicted.
Still resisting something deeper.
"…That still doesn't change what I should have done."
"No. It does."
"You had an obvious choice there."
"One option was to live and grow strong enough to protect yourself and people you care about."
"The other was to kill yourself over some woman who played you like a fickle your whole life, and counted on you to save her even after having betrayed you."
Cain goes still.
Not frozen.
But… quiet.
Your words don't bounce off this time.
They sink.
Slowly.
"…She didn't—"
He stops.
Because he doesn't know how to finish that sentence anymore.
His grip loosens further.
The sword dips.
"…played me…?"
It sounds wrong to him.
Unfamiliar.
Unwanted.
His brows knit together, like he's trying to force the idea out.
"She wouldn't…"
But there's no certainty behind it now.
A pause.
Longer this time.
"…She knew I'd come."
Quieter.
Almost to himself.
"…She didn't even hesitate."
His breathing grows uneven again.
But this time—it's not panic.
It's realization trying to claw its way in.
"…Why didn't she run?"
The question slips out before he can stop it.
His eyes flicker, something breaking underneath.
"…Why didn't she fight…?"
Silence.
Then—
"…Why did she just stand there…?"
His hand trembles.
Not from anger.
From something worse.
"…and look at me?"
"...I don't know."
"What I do know, is that she couldn't have escaped capital punishment by fighting back."
"Her most plausible chance to live was if her victim took her side."
Cain's head snaps up.
For a second—
anger flashes.
"…Shut up."
His shoulders dropped
Like something inside him just… gave way.
"She didn't run."
"…didn't fight."
His eyes grow distant.
Unfocused.
"…she just waited."
A pause.
Then—
quieter than before—
"…for me."
Silence stretches.
Heavy.
Then his hand loosens completely.
The sword slips from his fingers.
It doesn't make a sound when it hits the ground.
"…I was never…"
He exhales.
Shaky.
"…going to save her."
Another pause.
Longer.
More painful.
"…was I?"
Haaaaaaah.
Elias lets out a sigh.
"I'm... From somewhere really far. Much farther than this place. I don't know how I got here. I don't know why either."
"But."
"I've seen you struggle countless times. More than what the current you has even experienced yet"
Cain doesn't respond immediately.
Not out of defiance this time—
but because he's… tired.
His gaze drifts past you.
Unfocused.
"…A human…"
The words come out hollow.
Like he's testing them.
"…from another land."
A faint, humorless breath escapes him.
"…Convenient."
But there's no real accusation behind it anymore.
Just… exhaustion.
"…You've seen me?"
His brows tighten slightly.
"…Before all this?"
A flicker of unease passes through his expression.
"…Then you already know how this ends."
Not a question.
A quiet statement.
His shoulders sag a little.
"…So why bother?"
His gaze lifts again, meeting yours.
Less hostility.
More… emptiness.
"…Why help me at all?"
You know...
I've always hated you.
Absolutely disgusted by you.
In all of the possible futures where you have failed, you never gave up once.
I hated that.
Why?
Because I had given up in mine.
"I don't want to see you become me."
"Also, the difference between all those futures and this one, is that I'm here."
"I can help you mold the future into a better one, only if you let me help."
"Ofcourse, I'm not doing this as a charity. You will also help me in my endeavours in the future, since you're stuck with me for god knows how long."
"Now, choose."
"Do you wish to go back, pick that sword back up and try to kill yourself again?"
"Or will you pick it up and train yourself again?"
A blue screen appears in front of Cain.
|Soul Link(Complete) has been offered to recipient- "Cain"|
|ACCEPT| |REJECT|
Cain stared at the screen.
The words didn't feel real. Nothing here did. There was no weight to his body, no ground beneath his feet—only that hollow expanse and the man standing before him.
Only a choice.
"…You want me to trust you."
His voice was flat. Tired.
His eyes didn't leave the screen.
"You insult me. You mock everything I believed in… and now you ask me to rely on you?"
Silence lingered between them.
"…I don't trust you."
The answer came easily. Too easily.
A pause followed, longer this time.
"But… I don't trust myself either."
That was quieter. Stripped of resistance.
His fingers twitched faintly at his side.
"If I go back…" His voice lowered, gaze unfocused. "…I'll pick that sword up again."
No hesitation. No uncertainty.
"And next time… you might not be able to stop me."
The words hung there, heavy with certainty.
Cain exhaled slowly, his shoulders lowering just slightly.
"…So I'll watch you."
His gaze finally shifted from the screen to Elias.
Empty.
"If you're lying… I'll kill you."
There was no anger behind it. No emotion at all.
Just a statement.
His hand rose.
It hovered for a moment, trembling ever so slightly—before pressing forward.
|Soul Link (Complete) — Accepted|
A faint hum spread through the empty space.
Not loud. Not overwhelming. Just enough to be felt.
Something changed.
Not the world. Not the distance between them.
But the silence.
It wasn't hollow anymore.
Cain let out a long breath, his eyes drifting away.
"…Don't misunderstand."
His voice had softened, but not in warmth—only in exhaustion.
"I'm not doing this because I believe you."
A pause.
"…I just don't have anything left to believe in."
Silence followed.
But this time—
It didn't suffocate him.
It just… stayed.