The smile wouldn't go away.
Kael felt it stretching his face… wider… unnatural.
But he wasn't the one smiling.
"I… can't stop…" he whispered internally.
No one answered him.
Because his mouth… was already speaking.
"You look disappointed, Lira."
The voice was calm. Smooth.
Not Kael's.
Lira didn't move.
Her eyes locked onto him—no, onto it.
"I was hoping you'd stay buried longer," she said quietly.
The thing inside Kael chuckled.
A low, hollow sound.
"Buried?" it repeated.
"Oh… you really don't remember, do you?"
Kael screamed inside his own mind.
STOP! STOP TALKING!
But it was like shouting underwater.
Distant.
Useless.
"Give him back his body!" Kael shouted—inside.
The thing paused.
Then—
For a split second—
Kael felt it notice him.
"…So you're still here," it whispered.
Not out loud.
Inside.
Right next to him.
Kael froze.
You… you can hear me?
A smile.
Closer now.
Too close.
"I've always been here."
Suddenly—
Kael's vision shifted.
The room twisted.
Darkened.
Cracked like broken glass.
And then—
He was somewhere else.
A void.
Endless.
Black.
And standing in front of him…
Was himself.
Same face.
Same body.
But the eyes—
Empty.
Dead.
And smiling.
"Welcome back," the other Kael said.
Real Kael stepped back.
"No… you're not real…"
The other tilted his head.
"Funny," he said.
"That's exactly what you told them… before you killed them."
Images exploded around them—
People screaming.
Blood on white floors.
Hands reaching for help—
Then silence.
Kael fell to his knees.
"STOP… PLEASE…"
The other Kael walked closer.
Slow.
Confident.
Like a predator that already won.
"You wanted to forget," he said softly.
"So I helped you."
Kael looked up, shaking.
"Why… would I ever… do that?"
The other Kael crouched in front of him.
Their faces inches apart.
"Because," he whispered,
"you couldn't live with what we really are."
Outside—
In the real world—
Kael's body was still standing.
Still smiling.
Still not his.
Lira took a step back.
"You're getting stronger…" she muttered.
The thing inside Kael looked at her.
Eyes sharp now.
Awake.
"You locked me away," it said.
"You erased him."
A pause.
Then a small smile.
"But you made one mistake."
The lights flickered again.
The air grew heavy.
"You left me… memories."
Lira's expression changed.
For the first time—
She looked worried.
"That wasn't supposed to happen…" she whispered.
The thing laughed.
"Nothing went the way you planned, Lira."
Suddenly—
Kael's body twitched violently.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
He grabbed his own head.
Hard.
Inside the void—
Real Kael screamed.
"I'M NOT YOU!"
The other Kael stopped.
Slowly.
Then smiled wider.
"No," he said.
"…I'm what's left when you're gone."
Everything shattered.
Back to reality—
Kael dropped to the ground.
Breathing heavily.
Control… returning.
"…Lira…" he gasped.
"…what… is happening to me…?"
She didn't answer immediately.
She just stared at him.
Like she was seeing something impossible.
"…You're not supposed to come back," she said.
Kael's heart skipped.
"Come back…?"
Lira stepped closer.
Slow.
Careful.
Then she said the words that broke everything:
"…Kael Veyron died three years ago."
Silence.
Total.
Absolute.
Kael's eyes widened.
"…what?"
Lira didn't look away.
"So tell me," she whispered,
"…if you're alive right now—"
She leaned closer.
"—then whose body are you in?"
—End of Chapter 3