Ashes of the Elite

It's been a week since that night with Cecilia, a week of restless sleep and endless mental noise.

Her words echo in my head every damn day. You could become a living God, Ayato.

I keep replaying it, wondering if the world has gone mad or if it's just me slowly losing my mind. The Inquisitors are talking about me like I'm their savior... It's too big, too insane to even process. I've thought about telling Cain. I've come so close. But I don't my mind always flashes back to that conversation he had with Awakened Manahar, telling him that I'm not a threat, so dragging him into this feels wrong. He has enough to deal with, so it's my problem, and I keep it to myself.

Now I stand in the castle courtyard, sweat already beading down my neck. The sun's warm but not oppressive, the breeze carrying the faint smell of blooming nightshade from the garden walls. Howard lounges on a bench nearby, watching with lazy interest as Cain faces me.

"Focus," Cain says, sword hanging casually at his side. His expression is calm but stern, his tone carrying that tone of command that demands obedience. "We have made great progress, but you can't let it control you ever. Call on it now—direct it. Make it yours."

I nod, swallowing hard.

I close my eyes and let the memories come. My parents hanging, the laughing, jeering crowd.

Hate bubbles up in me, dark and hot, and the whispers answer, eager and delighted.

Finally.

Their cackling fills my head like static. But this time, I don't let them drown me. I force my will into them. I don't care about Cain's sins, I tell them in my mind; I don't need to know. I just want you to do whatI say.

The clash starts simple, blade against blade, Cain and I circling each other in the courtyard. His blade flashes fast, sharp as always, but I've gotten faster myself, so I keep up. I parry, the force of it rattling up my arm, but I don't falter. His sword whistles through the air. I duck and slide behind him, and that's when I go all out. The whispers stir, laughing low and gleeful in the corners of my mind.