Outside of Fabul Castle, Kain watched the airships flying overhead, just having unleashed their small bombs. These were less sophisticated than Engineering's most recent version that had devastated Damcyan, designed only to drive all on the castle grounds indoors, so the exterior could be breached without interference.

In the glory days of the Dragoons, it was dragons that flew through the sky, dropping their riders like compact bombs. The dragoons would land inside the castle walls and fight their way to the gates, opening them for the waiting soldiers outside. A single dragoon could do what a whole troop of foot soldiers could not, no matter how high a castle's walls might be.

Kain looked around at the assembled soldiers around him and wondered how many were true men and who was a monster in disguise. Kain recognized only a few, mostly the captains who led their troops. Had they been similarly corrupted as Kain, or were they here willingly, wanting to indulge in this type of greedy warfare?

"Make no mistake," Golbez said, reminding Kain again of his omnipresence. "You are here because you want to be." He stood beside Kain, no weapon drawn but none needed, watching as the vanguard approached the castle gates. Several soldiers held a long battering ram on their shoulders, ready for use. "Why lie to yourself? You accept your place because this is where you belong. You want the glory of warfare. And you shall get it, that much I can promise."

The worst part of what Golbez said was always the truth of it; of how Golbez could reach into Kain's dark parts and recognize them for what they were, giving them a name and making Kain too aware of them. Golbez being right made it so much harder to hear, rather than easier.

Kain wanted to be here, to seize the Wind Crystal and all of its blessings.

Kain said nothing, but did not have to, knowing that Golbez would sense the acquiescence.

In silence, they watched together as the castle gates fell easily, splintering around the battering ram. Once breached, Baron soldiers began pouring in, flooding Fabul Castle. As they ran forward, Kain saw some of them give up the pretense of disguise, shedding their human illusions. Dozens of Imps, Sahagins, Gargoyles and Leshys trampled through the broken gates, mixed in evenly with the Red Wings marines.

Did Odin no longer care about the pride of Baron's military? The survivors of the siege would surely tell of the monsters working with Baron – unless, Kain reasoned, it was expected that there be no survivors.

Golbez chuckled darkly, answering Kain's thought without a word. "Go," Golbez said with a gesture. "Bring me the Wind Crystal."

Kain nodded, then strode forward to join the monsters. He tried not to dwell on it, to ponder the deeper implications of allowing himself to fight alongside these lesser creatures. What would his father think, Kain wondered, to see the Dragoons lowered to these shameful depths? Was Richard always the better Dragoon Commander, and always would be?

Inside the castle, there was little resistance. Small groups of Fabulian soldiers and monks would appear, determined to stop or at least slow the attackers, but they fell easily under the teeth and claws of the monster army.

If Kain thought himself above the slaughter, he was wrong; he struck down an attacking monk, lance piercing through the monk's unarmored chest easily. Kain yanked his lance free, ignoring the monk's gargling moans. As Kain walked away, leaving the monk behind to bleed out, he heard the monk's inarticulate pleading for help but Kain did not dare look back.

Fabul Castle's design was unlike most, housing their thriving marketplace inside the castle. Kain passed by shops, an inn, a pub, and a dozen other establishments he would have expected to find in a village square. He hoped they had evacuated all the civilians, and as soon as he had that thought, he heard a woman's cry of fear and panic.

Kain turned the corner in time to see a Gargoyle pouncing on a small group of two: a woman, holding her arm, the sleeve red with blood, and a man, who had stepped in front of the woman to meet the Gargoyle's next attack. The Gargoyle's talons sunk deep into the man's chest and arms as the Gargoyle crashed into him, both tumbling back into the woman behind them, now shouting in terror while the Gargoyle growled.

Kain sprinted forward, determined to stop this if he could. As he approached, he could only see the Gargoyle, its massive wings outstretched, talons flashing as it lunged forward, and teeth bared when it leaned back and howled in delight.

Kain thrust his lance gracelessly at the Gargoyle's back, more to draw its attention than to injure it. Hissing in outrage, the gargoyle lifted its head, then turned to face Kain, claws swiping.

Kain narrowly missed its razor talons, dancing backwards as the Gargoyle lunged for him. "Get back!" Kain commanded, drawing his lance up to protect himself. "Rejoin the battle!"

The Gargoyle did not answer him with words – Kain suspected it could not speak in a common tongue in its natural form – but with another swipe of its claws. This time, the blow caught Kain by the middle, the force of it sending him sprawling to the ground. Kain heard the high-pitched whine of something sharp on metal and was glad of his heavy armor.

As Kain rolled to his back, a new weight was suddenly on his chest, pinning him down. The Gargoyle landed on him, claws scraping against his armor, searching for weak points. Kain struggled to draw in full breath, the lack of oxygen making him dizzy.

The Gargoyle shook Kain, rattling his skull inside his helmet, making his dizziness worse. So, with his head swimming, Kain watched as the Gargoyle suddenly froze, as if struck, and its grip on Kain loosened. Able to breathe again, Kain sucked in air in grateful gasps, unaware that the stunned Gargoyle had begun bleeding from its mouth and nose. It wasn't until blood splattered down on Kain's helmet that he became aware of it; some of it hitting his exposed chin, filling his mouth with a metallic taste.

Before Kain could try pushing the Gargoyle away, something knocked the Gargoyle off. Kain heard one last howl that cut abruptly short. Kain sat up, unsure if his savior was a Baron soldier, a Fabulian monk, or another monster – he wasn't even sure which he hoped it would be.

Instead, it was the dark knight from that terrible night at Highwind Manor, holding a dripping sword, the Gargoyle dead at their feet. At least, it was someone dressed in the same armor – his mother's armor, Kain reminded himself bitterly. He scrambled to his feet, and pointed in accusation. "Who are you?!" he demanded.

"No time," the dark knight rasped, their voice too quiet to determine gender. "Fetch the Wind Crystal," it told him, echoing Golbez's command of earlier.

"But…" Kain turned around, reorienting himself. "Those people need to hide."

"Too late," advised the dark knight, just as Kain saw them, where the Gargoyle had left them. Instead of two cowering people, Kain now saw the gory mess of their torn bodies, limbs ripped from sockets, heads from necks, bodies strewn in pieces on the floor.

Kain leaned down, his hands braced on his knees, and promptly vomited.

"Go," urged the dark knight. "Please," they added, the plea softening their guttural voice. "And stay safe."

Kain looked up from his puddle of vomit, to ask again who this dark knight was, but they had disappeared, melting away somewhere into the shadows of the castle halls. The smell of musty soil filled the air.

It was a mystery Kain would have to ponder later. The command, Fetch the Wind Crystal, pressed at all the corners of his mind, giving room for no other thoughts.

With his throat burning and nose stinging, Kain ran, away from the massacre, toward the inner castle. If he could get successfully take the Wind Crystal and bring it to Golbez, Kain desperately reasoned, maybe it would bring a quick end to this assault, and more lives might be spared. Baron's might seemed suddenly less impressive.

Further in, Kain spotted more signs of resistance, evidenced by the slain monsters left behind. Someone strong was leading the final line of defense, Kain guessed, and followed the macabre trail. He saw one body, a Red Wings marine, mouth and nose bloody, eyes still open in his last moments of panic. Kain hurried past the sight, trying to deny its familiarity, but the image followed him, pressed in the backs of his eyelids when he tried closing his eyes.

Kain hurried along, nearly sprinting. The trail of death led him deeper into the castle, where no one stopped him, the fighting already over before Kain could get there. As he came up a set of grand stairs, Kain could hear the distant sounds of battle. Before he could reach the top, he heard several cries of pain, before the sound was abruptly cut off.

As Kain entered the next floor, he saw it was the throne room, half a dozen Red Wings marines' bodies strewn across the room; several shredded through the throat, spinal columns exposed through the ripped apart skin and muscles, while others had blood streaming down their mouth and nose, looking pale and bloated, like they had drowned – but all were dead, despite their still twitching bodies. Whoever defended Fabul meant to fight with everything they had.

Kain side-stepped the gruesome scene, heading up the next set of stairs. There seemed to be a sense of purpose in the air now, something beckoning him closer, urging him forward. As he climbed higher, his breath came harder, echoing in his ears, a mix of Barbariccia's seductive whispers of freedom and Golbez's taunting offers of power.

Deep down, Kain knew he would find Cecil in the Crystal Shrine, despite how he denied recognizing Darkness's mark upon the bodies. Still, the sight of Cecil within, his black armor glinting dark in the reflective shine of the Crystal behind him, made Kain's heart skip a beat.

No, Kain told himself, shoving aside any thoughts of affection, brotherly or otherwise. This moment was fated, he knew now, that the only way for Kain to ever move forward was to eliminate Cecil and finally be better. He would have the Wind Crystal and with it, both Barbariccia's and Golbez's approval – perhaps even his father's, as they used the Crystals to refashion the world as it should be. He would have Rosa, with Cecil no longer distracting both of them. Kain might finally have Odin's favor, too, achieving as a dragoon what Cecil couldn't as a dark knight, finally proving Odin wrong.

He hated Cecil, Kain realized, the intensity of the emotion nearly overwhelming him. But something was softly assuring him in the back of his mind, telling him to grasp this feeling, to use it, that it would make him more powerful than anything else. Everyone in his life would finally choose him first, Kain reasoned, once Cecil was finally gone.

"It's been some time, Cecil," Kain said, striding confidently into the Crystal Shrine.

"Kain!" Cecil said, lifting his helm's visor, his face shining with joy and relief. "You're alive!" Cecil cried out as he ran toward Kain.

"I am," Kain said, his tone even and neutral, unmoved by Cecil's emotion.

"You'll fight, then?" Cecil asked, breathless with hope.

"Of course. That's the very reason I've come," Kain answered. "But, Cecil..." Kain pulled his lance free, metal clicking as it left the sheath, and pointed it at Cecil. "The one I'll fight is you!"

"Kain!?" Cecil stepped back, nearly stumbling, eyes wide with disbelief.

"A duel, Cecil!" Kain said, as he bent his knees slightly, sinking into a battle-ready stance.

"What do you mean?" Cecil asked the question in earnest, not yet comprehending that they now stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, proving a younger, naïve Cecil wrong.

"Draw your blade!" Kain shouted, now angry at Cecil's persisting unwillingness to understand. It had been so easy for Kain to discard his love for hate, why wouldn't Cecil do the same and make this easier for both of them?

"Why, Kain!?" Cecil yelled back, his shield now up, his hand clasping the hilt of his sword, still sheathed at his shoulder, but prepared to draw it.

Why? It was too hard of a question for Kain to answer even to himself. Why are you doing this? a small part of himself asked, distant and buried, buried deep beneath the newly exposed layers of pride, envy, and hate. Is this how you really want to win?

"I will not answer your questions!" Kain said tersely to both Cecil and his mind, then flexed his legs and Jumped. It was not high, given the ceiling of the room, but it was enough to gain momentum on the way back down. Kain crashed into Cecil, lance striking at his legs, sending Cecil sprawling to the ground as Kain easily rolled to his feet.

"What's come over you?" Cecil croaked out as he pushed himself up off the floor, armor rattling as he moved.

What's come over you? Kain's mind repeated the question, its echo bouncing infinitely around in his skull, desperately seeking an answer.

"Be silent!" Kain demanded, trying to drive away the question and its implications for his broken mind. This is me, he told himself. I want to do this. I need to do this.

With his lance drawn, Kain attacked, trying to drown out all the doubts that the whispered questions brought forward. Cecil, still dazed, managed to counter, meeting Kain's swinging lance with his shield. The force of the blow sent Cecil staggering back.

Cecil looked up at Kain, wide-eyed, mouth hanging open in shock – this was no boyhood brawl, pulling blows back at the last second, minimizing potential damage. Kain had struck to hurt, perhaps even kill. The realization darkened Cecil's eyes as he lowered his helmet's visor, shielding his face and expression now. He unsheathed his sword, metal hissing in the deathly silence of the Crystal Shrine, ready to meet Kain now.

Kain charged forward, lance pointed; this time, Cecil's sword caught it, turning the blow harmlessly aside. Kain and Cecil parted, then connected again, weapons colliding, and fought on. Kain knew Cecil's armor well, and his lance found the weak spots easily, drawing blood from Cecil's exposed joints - his shoulder, then knee, then elbow.

Cecil could fight Kain effectively and had a good chance of winning, but Cecil's reluctance to strike back made the fight one-sided. There was no real effort in Cecil's attacks, no power behind his swings, and Kain deflected them without effort. He Jumped clear from Cecil's reach more than once, then came back down, striking with a blow Cecil couldn't easily counter.

On Kain's last Jump, Cecil crashed to the ground. He tried to rise, but the weight of his effort sent him sprawling back down, face down. He managed to push up to his elbows, holding himself up off the ground, as Kain approached.

"This is the end, Cecil." Kain said, now towering over Cecil. Would it be? he wondered, unsure if even Cecil's death would end his envy. Would he ever stop wanting the things that Cecil had, even if he finally had them?

"Kain... Even you now?" Cecil asked, somehow still sounding incredulous, despite how he bled.

How could Cecil believe in him so much, Kain wondered, a fresh wave of guilt rolling over him. Why hadn't Cecil expected this? How could he dismiss their rivalry as boyhood bravado gone too far instead of the deadly competition it had become? Hadn't all their fighting always been leading to this very moment?

Be better than him, urged the darkness in his mind, offering Kain what he had wanted since first meeting Cecil, when Rosa couldn't stop staring at the strange new boy intruding on their lives. Wouldn't it be better if they could go back to that time, when it was just Rosa and Kain?

"Let me ease your suffering!" Kain drew his lance up, aiming it for Cecil's head. It was easy, to give in to the dark fantasy of what life would look like without Cecil. It would end the endless conflict of feelings, finally sparing Kain the torment of what if? Loving Cecil required courage Kain could not admit he lacked; it was remarkably easier to hate Cecil.

"You'll do nothing!" the monk shouted from somewhere behind them. Kain turned in time to deflect an incoming Kick that would have otherwise sent him crashing to the ground. The monk tumbled back and landed neatly on his feet, then readied himself for another charge. Behind him, the bard pulled out his harp, getting ready to play.

Kain turned back to Cecil, lance raised again, knowing he could strike before the other two could reach him. Kain had to do it quickly, before something happened and he changed his mind, afraid of what Golbez might do if Kain failed.

"Stop!" spoke a too familiar voice. He hoped he had imagined the voice, like so many others that filled his head now, but he turned to see Rosa, standing in the dazzling green light of the Wind Crystal. Behind her was the summoner girl, her eyes wide with horror – Kain would later wonder if it was the sight of him that frightened her so.

"Rosa!" Kain exclaimed, both relieved and mortified to see her here.

"Kain!" Rosa cried, looking around at the scene before her, with Cecil wounded, the others preparing to fight. "Tell me you've not turned traitor?" she asked, more melancholy than accusative, and that somehow made her judgment worse.

Kain lowered his lance, letting its tip hit the floor with a clatter. He felt paralyzed by the depth of her look, knowing she recognized the wrongness in him. A hidden part of himself wondered if Rosa could save him where Albert could not. Rosa knew him better than anyone else, surely she would know what needed to be mended?

Kain's mind lurched, mired in confusion at his own thoughts. Dizzied, he doubled over, head in his hands. "Urgh...Don't...look at me!" he choked out. He was suddenly ten years old again, Rosa scolding him for picking a fight with the new kid and feeling the same wave of dread and shame at her disappointment. Kain would never meet Rosa's lofty expectations, only Cecil could, damn him—

"Kain!" A deep voice boomed, interrupting Kain's wild stream of conflicting thoughts. Golbez seized his mind, clamping down tight, chasing off any thoughts of asking Rosa for help.

A figure in black and gold armor slowly emerged from the shadows around the door, armor rattling ominously with each step. "Why do you now hesitate?" Golbez asked, already knowing the answer to the question but asking it anyway, confirming the depth of Kain's betrayal to all who watched.

"Golbez!" Cecil named Golbez, suddenly recognizing him. "You're him - the usurper!"

Golbez continued his slow, deliberate approach. Only Kain noticed Golbez's hands by his sides, curled into tight fists with magic wreathed through his fingers, casting without the need to speak arcane words, only think them.

"So, you are Cecil," Golbez said as he stopped, horned helmet turned to the side to look at Cecil. "Allow me to give you something - a gift to remember our meeting by." Golbez said, raising his hands; purple lightning crackled in his palms, then jumped to Cecil, who had started to stand in defiance. The force of it threw Cecil to the ground again. At first, he didn't move, but then Kain heard Cecil's gasping breaths and knew Cecil still lived.

"Cecil!" the bard cried out.

"Let me through," the monk demanded, pushing past Kain, who was too dumbfounded to react, stunned into inaction.

Golbez pivoted on his foot, meeting Yang with the same open palms. A purple bolt of branching lightning struck first the monk, then leapt to the bard behind him, flinging them both carelessly aside. Like Cecil, they did not immediately stir, though Kain could hear their labored breathing.

"I did not come to treat with worms," Golbez said, looking aside from them, satisfied. "Enough of this foolishness." Golbez's gaze was empty and black, yet Kain knew Golbez looked at him. "Bring me the Crystal," Golbez said, both out loud and into Kain's mind, sinking deep barbs into Kain's thoughts.

"M'lord," Kain replied automatically, desperate to prove his obedience, hoping Golbez would relax his hold. Kain's body moved in a slow, deliberate walk past Cecil and Rosa, like Kain did not care. It was easier not to think, to allow the command in his mind to take over, to not be present as his best friends witnessed his betrayal.

Kain started up the steps of the Crystal dais, then heard light footsteps behind him.

"Don't do it, Kain!" Rosa called out from behind him.

The sound of Rosa's pleading voice was like a punch to Kain's stomach; it stole the breath from his lungs, making him audibly gasp. He turned halfway to her, longing to ask her for help but the words were trapped in his throat. Kain thought them anyway: Please, help me.

"Rosa, let it be!" Cecil called out to her, trying to get up from the floor but lacking the strength to lift himself in his heavy armor.

"Oh, you care for this one, do you?" Golbez asked as he strode toward Rosa, looming over her, assessing her with his helmet's empty eyes. He swung his arm wide over Rosa's head, his cape sweeping over her, obscuring her from view. "Then let me take her along as well, to hold in trust until we are graced with the chance to meet again," Golbez continued, tonelessly; when his arm dropped, Rosa was gone. Golbez looked up to Kain. "Come, Kain." Golbez commanded, then turned to leave.

Kain looked back at the Wind Crystal, its brilliant light shining brightly in the reflective panels of the walls. He grabbed it, and the rightness of it all thrummed through him, the Crystal's power buzzing pleasantly under his arm.

"It would seem your life is spared... for now," Kain remarked as he passed Cecil, who was still unable to rise, despite all that had happened. Kain felt a pang of guilt – how badly had he hurt Cecil?

"Kain, wait!" Cecil called out.

Golbez's control was a fishhook in Kain's mind. It tugged, piercing deeper, an abrupt reminder of its existence. You are mine, Golbez had told him; it was still true.

Kain kept walking.