51. Troubling Thoughts
52. Stirring of the Wind
53. Future
54. Health and Healing
55. Separation

Content warning: blood

Since boyhood, Kain had troubling thoughts but usually shrugged them aside. He fought them in the training yard, where he exhausted himself and had no thoughts at all. He sparred most often with Cecil, and somehow hitting Cecil or being hit by Cecil seemed to alleviate the disturbing thoughts and images; Kain pretended he didn't know why.

Then Kain met Golbez.

Kain didn't know what Golbez did to him, only that every troubling (inspiring) thought about Cecil surfaced, and Kain was unable to ignore them or pretend they weren't there anymore.

Kain wondered if the only cure was Cecil's death.

Conflicted by his kinship with Cecil and Rosa, and the (not so) new feelings of bitter jealousy, Kain was unsure what to do. Should he stay here in Baron with the new Lord Captain, Golbez, or escape with Rosa to find Cecil somewhere on the other side of the new mountain range?

These dual desires warred within, vying for control.

Kain sat on the castle's roof, brooding. "I'm going after Cecil," he announced to no one. Wrong decision or not, at least it was a decision.

The wind began to stir around him; a woman's seductive laugh filled the air.

"It's time to think about your future beyond Baron," King Odin said, his voice strangely raspy and wet.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Kain asked, looking around uncertainly. Golbez stood silently, while Barbariccia smirked.

"Conquest, Kain," King Odin continued. "We could rule so much more than this kingdom and planet."

Confused, Kain took a step back. "What could be beyond our world?"

Odin chuckled as his face contorted and turned blue, fangs emerging from his mouth; the air smelled moist and fetid.

Golbez put a hand on Kain's shoulder to stop his retreat. "There's so much you don't know."

The Damcyan soldier nearly made it to the Healing Pot before collapsing. He lay sprawled on the floor, almost within reach. As Kain approached, the soldier groaned. Blood spilled from his lips. "Have mercy."

"Mercy?" Kain echoed, dark and sarcastic. He thought of Rosa, with her goodness and how she'd offer help. But why should he care about a foreign soldier's health?

"There's only one kind of mercy," Kain said as he knelt beside the soldier, slipping a knife into his bloody hand. "Take it yourself."

"Wait!" the soldier cried out in dismay.

Kain ignored him as he walked away.

At the Tower of Zot, Rosa struggled in her binds, apparently determined not to be passive. Golbez, tired of her antics, waved a hand, casting a spell. Binds of magic circled around Rosa, securing her tightly in place.

"You're wondering why I took the girl," Golbez said in the face of Kain's brooding silence. "Separating your enemy from their allies weakens them even before the fight begins, both in spirit and resources."

"Is that why you took me?" Kain asked, ignoring Rosa's accusing eyes.

"You joined me because you wanted to," Golbez corrected him.

Shamefully, Kain knew Golbez was right.