A shriek arose Kaid from his dazed, post-portal thoughts as he took the moment to collect himself. It was almost near impossible to hear over the continuous raging sound of the alerting bells, but it was a scream he'd never forget. He pushed through the slight ajarness of the throne room doors, hearing wails of grief.

Christine cried in Kassandra's arms. Kiev was leaning over the body, his posture shaky, his hands frail. When Kiev moved slightly to reach for the pale arm, Kaid felt his heart drop. He felt the entirety of the world stop around him, well beyond his Oblivion, to where he could no longer hear the cries of his friends. All he saw were ice cold blue eyes, blood stained sandy hair, and loss.

Kaid had wondered what he would feel upon seeing Jessamine again after all of this, if he'd be angry about her lies, if he'd love her all the same, if he'd kill her out of spite or anger. He didn't feel any of that.

He felt loss. True loss. Not the same loss as never knowing his parents, his purpose, or real existence in Caladin. This was real loss. This was real suffering. This was a death of his living self, the killing of his heart, the tearing of his soul. This was more than just the tethers being split apart by lies, this was obliterated by blades, this was a murder against the very fabric of love, of power, and of existence of life.

Kaid refused to believe it. He ran over, nearly slipping in the blood in the process, Kiev moving out of the way. He pulled Jessamine into his arms, feeling the damp blood begin to stain his own clothes but he didn't care. Kaid let his hand stroke her hair, moving it out of the way to feel her neck. There was no pulse, and Kaid knew that given the extent of her injuries. Yet, he refused to believe she was gone.

He reached for his Oblivion. It did not reach back out to him. He tried again, and again, and again. He felt the twitch of muscles in his arm, but there was no response. It was as if the grief had swallowed him whole like a wave of torment and there was nothing he could do but drown in it. She was gone. The questions of who, how, or why, didn't matter at that moment. All Kaid wanted to do was hold her in his arms, cry, and pray for some sort of forgiveness.

"Jess, I'm so sorry. I should've...it should've been me," Kaid cried, feeling the hot tears on his face, almost freezing against his skin due to the temperatures. She was gone. She was like the moon of Vitross itself, controlling the tides, forever dangerous unless one knew how to handle it. She brought light in a room of darkness. Her laugh and smile was rare like an eclipse but when apparent, it was the most beautiful coincidence in space and time. Kaid remembered the feeling of her lips or the softness of her fingers, tracing forever against his skin.

The greatest pain he felt now was knowing one day he'd forget that. One day, he'd forget what she looked like. He'd forget the softness of her whispers or the roar of her rage. He'd forget the comfort he took for granted. He'd forget it all, because that's what time did. Time ravaged. It took and took, but never gave back. And the one time he wished it could, where he wished to control it, it denied him.

At least, for right now.

"FUCK!" Kaid shouted with pain, slamming his fist into the puddle of blood beneath him, only adding to the artful splatter.

"What... I don't understand. How could she...how could this happen? If it was Payne, she would've put up a fight," Kassandra asked, her voice taught but she refused to cry. It wouldn't bandage the gaping wound in her lover's arms. Christine was crying enough as it was. But Kassandra had to remove her green eyes away from Kaid, knowing that would only break her composure to see him torn apart.

None of it seemed to make sense. Kassandra was right in saying Jessamine would have fought back. She would have fought with her life, used anything as a weapon, even her own fingernails to tear at flesh if needed. This wasn't a fight. This was an Empress caught by surprise. An Empress who had trusted the person who killed her.

"Bridger...tell the guards, and...if you can, please alert Mara. She needs to leave," Kiev ordered, the only man standing with slight composure. Yet, even he had tears down his face despite the sterneness in his voice. Jessamine had been a childhood friend, they had grown up together. He watched her go from a mischievous child to venomous empress...and then into the greatest leader he had ever known. She had been a woman to demand others to die by blades in her name, only to turn into one who would take a blade for just about anyone in this room.

Kiev felt the ones always murdered were the least deserving of such.

Bridger eventually nodded and began running away from the room, knowing his fate was now to be sealed by the victor. And he wouldn't know who that was until he returned. If he returned. He was just about tempted to teleport to Mara and take that ship with her. But, he had to do what was right. An Empress was slain. His Empress. An Empress who praised him, believed in him, and most of all, trusted him. He couldn't betray that trust.

"Come back to me, Jess. I need you. I fucking need you. I need you baby, please!" Kaid whispered soft, sobbing begs into her ear, feeling the last remnants of her warmth begin to fade. Her skin was growing cold, her blood turning lukewarm, and the last reminders of her existence were disappearing as if stolen from her, stolen from his very arms. Kaid finally opened his eyes blurred by his tears and he saw the weapon laid before him. The emerald, now crimson stained blade laid by his side. The blade that wasn't in his possession. The blade he once thought to kill her with, the blade destined to kill her, or him. It seems it chose its victim.

Slow, soft clapping was heard like an echo of thunder from the throne area. Kaid knew who it was before he could gaze his eyes upward. There was something different about his clapping though. Instead of the usual bony and small palms smacking together, this was just the opposite: large palms, strong hands, and most of all defiant. When Kaid finally focused on Payne, it wasn't Payne at all.

It was himself he stared across the hall at. It was like merely looking in a mirror, seeing his own reflection. Mirrors were opposite in nature, and just like how it was now. One Kaid was on the floor in blood, sobbing against his beloved while the other stood proudly, clapping at his own actions. It began to make sense. Jessamine didn't fight back because she never knew it wasn't Kaid that killed her. Not the real Kaid anyways. Payne had taken Jessamine's flaw and turned it fatal. He had pinpointed her weakness and thoroughly exploited it.

He knew Jessamine wouldn't resist, wouldn't put up a fight if she had believed her murderer to be her beloved. Jessamine would rather die than lay a hand on him. She would rather die than live to keep her empire afloat if it meant killing him. And perhaps, that was her greatest crime as Vitross' Empress. Usurping was not about killing an individual, it was about killing an ideal. Kaid reached for the blade and held it, gripping it tight enough for the engraved handle to dig into his palm. Usurping was not for the sins of the past, the sins of his ancestors or legacy of Kruzicka's. It was avenging the sin that was still limp in his arms.

Despite the mirrored appearance, it was clear to everyone in that room who the real Kaid was and which one was the murderous imposter. And that imposter wasn't the one drenched in blood at this moment.

Kiev drew his sword, stepping in front of Kassandra and Christine before gazing back at them, "Get out of here, now. This isn't your fight."

They weren't fighters. And while their sorrow and rage was strong enough to convince them to take this fight, both of them knew it wouldn't make a difference. The biggest thing they could do was assist in other means, means they didn't just know yet. Getting Cadize was a start. The girls left, Christine glancing back one last time at Kaid who nodded at her, letting her know it would be okay. As okay as it possibly could be. This wasn't their fight and Kaid couldn't imagine seeing them get hurt.

Kaid slowly laid Jessamine's body down gently, his mind remembering all the times he'd find her asleep amidst her work or a book and he'd carry her to bed, to safety. She'd have one last rest, hopefully comforted by his touch before reaching whatever was beyond this life. Kaid knew despite it all, wherever she was, whatever powers a spirit in the afterlife could hold, she'd always be there, always looking out for him. She had done so in the very beginning and even death couldn't stop such loving commitment.

Kaid held the emerald knife in his left hand, his dominant hand pulling at his folded blade to unsheath. It didn't intimidate Payne, who still held a shit eating grin on his face. He seemed well in control. Eventually his facade faded, both Kiev and Kaid watching the man morph into his natural state, adjusting his smaller height and body weight, back to that dark black hair and eyes that were filled with death and chaos. His longsword appeared under his cloak, holding it with one strong hand. Payne wasn't to be underestimated. The very fact he could hold that broadsword with one hand as if it were a feather was enough to know his strength. This man was an assassin. This man could kill in the shadows but also in the light. He knew how to gut people like they were animals, knew how to get them to conform and obey. He had spent his entire life killing, his entire life full of evil and rage. The only thing that could stop that today were the people in front of him.

"Well, shall we get on with it?" Payne asked, wondering if this would turn into a fight or a lovely conversation. Payne had all the time in the world. They could stall all they wished, it wouldn't change the outcome. It wouldn't change him always ending up the victor. He had awaited this moment.

Silence was an answer Payne took immediately. He reached at his side, immediately pulling out a Lungor firearm from his waist. Kaid's Oblivion kicked in, but not before seeing the ice wall forming in front of him. Kiev shielded the bullet aimed for Kaid with a quick reflex, soon letting it turn to water upon the bullet's velocity stopping completely. Kaid lunged into the water, letting it soak his hair and the blood as he thrust blade towards Payne's side. One good parry was enough to stop the motion. And it was a very strong, hard parry, enough to almost knock Kaid off balance. Compared to Kaid's ingenious foldable blade, that of the Royal Investigator's was strong and sturdy. It would take more than luck to beat Payne.

Their best approach was using the advantage of numbers against him, attacking at flanks and angles. But that meant Kiev had to be careful where he placed or shot ice, knowing if Payne dodged, Kaid was right behind him. Kiev focused on fast, quick strikes with his thin blade which nicked Payne a few times, but they were mere cuts and pokes to Payne, nothing damaging to slow his menace.

Kaid, however, wasn't slowing time. Even though it called to him, there was a slight bitter taste in his mouth to ignore it. A part of him wanted to do this without it, to trust in his own ability and skill. He wanted to know who he was without it. He wanted to know what life could be like being normal. Would he have been sent to Caladin if his powers weren't known? Would he have even lasted there long without it? Why use a power that denied him when he needed it most? Kaid's thoughts immediately broke upon seeing Payne slice away at an incoming missile of ice, the icicle blasting upon impact and blinding Kaid who attacked at his side. It wasn't just the cold that seemed to weigh everyone down. It was the blood and water covering Kaid, staining his eyes, and the sweat that froze against his neck.

Kiev took the ice as a distraction and used his blade to uppercut across Payne's chest. At the same time, Payne slammed his blade down firmly into the rapier, cutting harshly into the thinness of the steel blade and shattering it into two. Kiev was left without a weapon, and that only enraged him. He felt an ice storm swirling, wanting to take the outside storm beyond the color stained glass and force it inside. But just as he was about to unleash that, he glanced up and saw his father.

The former Captain Eden, a man of legends, the leader Kiev had followed and obeyed most of his life. His father was imperfect, like any father, but he was the one man Kiev had respected all his life. He was the man that taught him the most lessons, both direct and indirect. He raised Kiev all by himself, despite the loss of his mother in childbirth. Eden fought wars to protect Kiev when he was just a child, and still came home to become a father despite the horrors he witnessed. His age had grown with bitterness, as it did for most people. Things could've been different if only his father had trusted Jessamine.

"Look at you, my boy, my son. You were always weak. You could never ever stand in the same shoes I fill, possess the power and prowess I once did. You're too soft. I knew that the moment you were born. You are runt in a litter of one. The only reason you're where you are is because of me, because of my nepotism and my wealth. Without it, you'd be nothing but a beggar in the streets feeding on your own ice to survive," Eden, or rather, Payne spoke. All of it was with Eden's voice, his mannerisms, all that was missing was a stupid cigar in his mouth.

Payne was using his Oblivion as distraction. He was turning into their most respected, or perhaps most feared. Sometimes a person could be both. And in this case, Eden both tormented and enraptured Kiev. Kaid took the moment of opportunity to strike. Closing distance wouldn't work, so he had to try a different technique. Kaid twirled the emerald blade, holding its edge rather than handle before throwing it. And it worked, surprisingly, digging straight into the back of Payne's shoulder. The action caused Payne/Eden to growl, reaching behind him to yank the already bloodied blade out. Payne's Oblivion flickered, as if losing concentration between being himself or Eden, eventually reverting back to his Eden.

"I don't understand, you should be fighting him, Kiev. I didn't take anything away from you. But, he did. All you ever wanted was to be a Guardian, to an Empress you adored, but most of all prove me wrong. All you wanted was to prove your father wrong that you could do this on your own and you failed! You failed me, Kiev! Kaid took everything from you. He got me fired, he took a role that was rightfully yours by all the laws that hold this empire together. He cheated the same as you, but only you got caught. That's not fair, is it?"

"Kiev, don't listen to him. I hold no ill will against you," Kaid insisted, "He's getting into your head."

"I only speak the truth, Kiev. A father would never lie to his son. Not an honorable father, that is," Eden smirked. He was waiting for another strike, and that's exactly what happened. Given the wound on his shoulder, Kaid had to target it as a weak spot, which meant attacking that left flank. So so obvious. Kaid never learned. With a quick leap forward, Kaid overextended, and Payne immediately sliced at Kaid's thigh, wounding just underneath where his hamstring was. Kaid let out a scream of pain, limping slightly before embracing the agony, moving back for more distance. Blood dripped on the tile, Kaid feeling the muscles in his left leg grow weak but he couldn't undo it. Not yet.

No, he had to save it all for the right moment. Just like Cadize had said.

The cocking of that Lungor firearm was heard again, Kaid knowing even with the stopping of time it might not do much if aimed at Kiev. Not with the wound on his leg, it would exert more energy than needed. Just as Payne raised it to Kiev who looked defenseless standing there, a portal opened and a roar of fire was heard. A large ball of fire was sent to Payne's chest with high velocity and temperature. Kaid watched as the flames engulf Payne and his black robes, fully breaking the concentration of his Oblivion. Kaid moved his grateful eyes up to Mara, who stood there with merely her own small sword and a rising flame in her palms. The raven haired woman stood in front of Kiev, as if defending him. Ice and fire together. It was such an opposite combination, but maybe together, they'd make it work.

Payne patted the flames off his scorched clothing, feeling the residual burn against that scar on his face. He didn't scream in pain from the heat scorching his skin. No. He almost felt immune to the malady. The flames that had once scarred his face was enough fire to swallow him whole into an immunity to such an affliction. Mara's soft eyes glanced at Kaid, seeing the blood dripping from his leg, glancing with concern. Kaid gave an assuring nod, that it wasn't enough to stop him from this fight. Nothing was. Nothing could stop him. This wasn't just a fight for his own vengeance, but for the sanctity of Jessamine's legacy, of her throne, to ensure her newly enacted policies would remain for the better of the people.

"This is lovely, isn't it?" Payne asked, "Here I was thinking that I would have to hunt you down once this was all over. Mara...you gullible woman. You truly believed the man who chained you could also free you. But, why would I? You fulfilled every promise, except one. And now, I don't need to ask, I'll just take. Everyone I could want to kill is in this room together. This makes it all the more easier."

"Say you're capable of killing us all, that doesn't mean you'll escape this alive-" Mara quipped, before being interrupted.

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"Oh, but I will. It won't take much effort nor evidence to keep me alive. Kaid comes to kill his Empress, who dies without fighting back. Mara, who so badly wanted the Empress dead for years, assists her old friend and Caladin inmate in doing so. Kiev does his very best to stop you two, but can't. It is only I that remains. And I finish you two off cleanly, giving you an honorable death. The letters you two sent to each other will only bolster my claim. A necromancer could revive Jessamine and asked who killed her, and her answer would be Kaid," Payne explained, taking the moment of respite for everyone to catch their breaths, "you act as if I hadn't planned this from the very beginning. You think I raped you for fun? Because I think you were pretty? Or was it because you were not only a powerful Oblivion-filled woman, but also the cell mate of someone very, very special?"

"You named our son after him. And what did Kaid do? Did he avenge you? Did he fight for you even after believing you to be dead? No. Even though he knew what I had done to you, I didn't have to confirm it, he still didn't fight me. In fact, he saved my life by a poison you and your fellow conspirators created. Mistake after mistake brought all three of you here. Mistakes all created by Kaid Al-Yami, the Uhkhtarian prophet. And now, Mara, you do me another favor by bringing my son to me. Afterall, someone will have to raise him once I kill you all. He'll need a father to look up to."

That only enraged Mara. Perhaps she too felt she had fallen for this trap. All Kaid had to do was follow the plan laid out to him, to leave with her and escape all of this. Yet, he made his choice to disobey those orders. He made his choice to come here and face his demise. And she was stupid enough to join him, bringing her son here, letting Christine and Kassandra take care of him before this fight was over. But was that really the fault of Kaid? Or just planning from a man who knew people better than they knew themselves?

Kaid was about to make a move before feeling the ache in his head. It felt like someone was pressing the edge of Kiev's icicle's into his skull, trying to penetrate it but there was nothing there. The sensation was so familiar, one he experienced on the battlefield, and one he experienced again. Yet, it faded as quickly as it started. Kaid watched Payne's face contort with slight confusion. Face stealing. It was an extension of...possession. Who else could have taught Jessamine to embrace her powers, who could push her to the very limits of her Oblivion? Someone who had something similar. Payne had tried entering Kaid's mind, except he wasn't strong enough. Jessamine had made that so, her promise coming to a fulfillment, another determination she hadn't lied to him.

Kaid and Mara attacked together, blades clashing together, Payne using the angles in his favor. His sword was long and big enough to block both in a coordinated attack, but also he was strong enough to move that blade in quick parries if they attacked one after the other. Mara's blade was infused with fire, hot enough just to add a bit of sting to her thrusts, but not hot enough to make her steel malleable. Strike after strike, they didn't make much of a dent of progress into tiring Payne out. If anything, he seemed invigorated with each weak strike. Neither Kaid or Mara were exactly fighters, despite what their passion for violence might say. Mara was a candlemaker before entering Caladin. It was nothing to be proud of but it made a decent living before she pissed off a Lungorian tax agent just enough to be sent into Caladin. And Kaid...well, without his Oblivion, his skill was still on a very intermediate level.

Payne was unstoppable. And not because of his mere skill, but every cut or bruise he gave to his opponents only fed his strength. He could steal their minds, steal their souls, but most of all, hijack their energy. Mara was eventually able to hold one of his parries before grabbing his arm to engulf with heat. Kiev attacked from the right, using a blade of ice to wield as it was better than no weapon at all. And he had the open opportunity to plunge that ice right into Payne's side, wounding his hip. The scowl that came from Payne was not just mere anger, but perhaps the fear he was losing.

Losing was something he could not do. Payne grabbed the ice at his side, yanking it out before using it as two blades now to hold. It clashed with the heat of Mara's blade, the cold meshing with the heat of her steel and damaging it, dulling the edges with each strike. Kaid noticed that the second blade was swinging towards her. At that moment, he did slow time, feeling it waver due to his weakening strength. He could attempt to block the strike, or knock her out of the way. He didn't have much time to ponder on it.

Kaid used his body weight and adrenaline to just about bash her to the ground with force. When Mara glanced up out of shock and anger, she watched as Payne's blade sliced across Kaid's chest, causing him to stumble back. Mara's eyes widened, watching her friend collapse to the floor, sacrificing himself just to save her in that moment. That could've been her. No, knowing Kaid, that would've been her. Kaid felt burning across his chest, closing his eyes out of pain as he hit the floor hard. Despite the pain, he knew he had to.

Just like Kaid had fought with Kiev, he had to use the same technique now, even if it killed him.

"K-Kaid," Mara rose to her feet, clutching her blade as she glanced at him. He didn't look well. With both the cut on his leg and chest, he'd bleed out if he wasn't tended to. Mara was distracted with the wounding of her friend and Payne took full advantage. After all, their weaknesses alone were the fact they cared for each other. And that is why Payne would always win, because he didn't care. He didn't love. He had loved just once and that was enough to want to burn this world into the chaos he was creating.

Payne had one last bullet in that firearm and he used it wisely, once again targeting Kiev who was still recovering from the loss of his ice blade and energy. As soon as the trigger was pulled, Kaid opened his clenched eyes to witness. Kiev was quick to lift a wave of water to block, but not quick enough. It didn't solidify fast enough to stop the bullet, merely altering it's direction and speed slightly before penetrating Kiev's heart. The small hole burned into his white uniform before staining it with blood. Kiev could only look down with a gasp, before collapsing to the same graveyard of his Empress, and died.

His last thoughts were of his father, hoping he'd be proud of his honor, of his sacrifice for this empire.

Mara closed her eyes briefly out of shock, taking a deep breath before glancing at Kaid. She knew the reality of the situation and maybe Kaid did too. With the best fighter killed, their chances were now slim, especially given Kaid's injuries. Mara ran to Kaid, placing one hand on the wound to his chest and his leg.

"What are you doing?" he whispered in a rush, soon feeling the burn, screaming at the sensation. She was cauterizing his wounds, for whatever reason. It could be she feared she couldn't do this without him, or perhaps she believed too that this could only be done in one way and one way alone: cheat.

You'll know when to use it.

And that moment was only growing closer.

"If anything happens, take care of little Kaid, will you?" she asked.

"Mara, don't say that," Kaid gritted through his teeth, glancing up at her.

"Promise me," she demanded, reaching for his foldable blade, standing from him to protect him from Payne. Payne didn't strike, of course. He merely observed with those cold eyes, waiting for Mara to strike. He had this confidence about him that he couldn't be caught off guard, that whether he striked first or last, it didn't matter. He'd win no matter what. All Kaid could do was ensure his strikes never existed in the first place.

"I promise," Kaid nodded, slowly moving to lean on his side to try and stand. The pain of the fire was near unbearable, but it had done the trick in stopping the bleeding. His entire body was in pain, either on fire or feeling the sharp pain of repeated daggers stabbing into his wounds. He was tired, as if it felt so easy to succumb to sleep if he closed his eyes just for a bit too long. His eyes gazed at Jessamine's corpse, feeling the dread and weight of guilt on his shoulders. Maybe he should have just escaped. Maybe he should have just stopped before it got this far, before Kiev got killed.

Payne's neck was visibly scorched but he almost relished in the sensation of the scar. It only disappeared when he shapeshifted into his favorite persona: The Warden. It was the one persona that he was able to use against everyone: Kaid, Mara, Emperor Bashir, even Jessamine. It was the form he took when he hurt Mara, made her feel like nothing more than an object to be used. And she wasn't even used for pure satisfaction like most guards abused. It was far worse than that, it was just pure evil. He committed atrocities to get a reaction out of people, experimenting how they'd counter his crimes, how'd they'd perform. All of this was a performance to him.

He acted like a fucking god. He made people think they had a sense of control, but the second someone like Jessamine felt autonomy, chaos would stir. He had gone through every single example of what could happen and prepared for them all. There was a reason why Payne was afraid of Kaid. And there was an even more significant reason why he had killed Jessamine so unsuspecting. He didn't have to hide in the shadows to kill her and yet he still did.

Kaid slowly rose to his feet, having to rest against one of the pillars holding up that glorious vaulted ceiling to catch his breath as Mara attacked. Kaid watched her delicate footwork act like a dance but it didn't phase Payne who knew exactly where to step, where to strike, and most of all, where to kill. Kaid knew now what Mara had meant with that promise. Mara knew she couldn't defeat him. Even with Payne looking the slightest winded, there was nothing Kaid could do.

With one last thrust, Payne dodged before disarming her completely, the blade flying to Kaid's feet. And that opened the opportunity for Payne to impale Mara with his blade, Kaid screaming as he could do nothing but watch. The second he moved away from the pillar, he lost his balance, rising back to his feet to run over to her.

"Fuck, Mara!" Kaid felt another punch of grief absorb him, consume him like an animal eating its prey when still alive.

"Go ahead Mara, pull it out," Payne grinned. Doing so would make her death quicker, the wound far too wide and deep with both an entrance and exit. Mara felt her life begin to drain quickly, shaking her head at his command. Kaid's fists clenched at his side, slowly moving towards Payne with a limp.

"Pull it out...that's what you demanded of me, right?" he scowled lowly, his grin still remaining. Mara didn't. So Payne did it for her, entering the last fragment of her mind and commanding her to do so. Mara couldn't stop it. All she could was watch herself pull the blade out with a cry, tears of pain and death streaming on her face before the blood began to pour. Kaid felt his own tears match hers, his anger surging. He felt so angry, so betrayed...yet it didn't feed him the energy he needed.

"You know what you have to do, Kaid," she said her final words as her body trembled, falling to her knees before eventually giving out. She collapsed to her side and the blood continued to smother the floor. The entire floor was covered in blood, either from the three dead around Kaid or their fighting footprints having smeared the puddles even more amidst the battle.

"Do you, Kaid? Do you know what to do? You can't fucking fight, even with your ability to control time, you're unable to stop me. I know your every trick. You can predict my movements all you want, but you don't know the true future. That is the burden of your gift. Time is unrelenting, it's cruel. It's something you bend but you can't fully control. You've never been in control, Kaid, I have," Payne spat at the floor, blood leaving his lips. Yet he loved the taste of it.

Kaid said nothing, taking a deep breath before raising his fists. One last fight. Payne didn't have his sword in reach and Kaid knew if he bent down to grab his, Payne would take advantage. This had to be fought like this, the days of old. No Oblivion. No swords or weapons of war. Fists - how people solved their problems before the world knew the cruelty of ingenuity.

Payne scoffed slightly, still smiling, "Alright, I always knew you wanted to spar that day you visited me in the training grounds. And I warned you what would happen if you ever did. Fine, I'll entertain you."

This time Payne threw the first punch, Kaid blocking with his left wrist, feeling the bones almost break at the block. Instead of focusing on that, Kaid swept his right fist up, cutting behind the parry and slamming his fist right into Payne's jaw. The action surprised him so much, that Kaid was able to swing with his left, slamming it into his side. That only seemed to hurt his wrist even more, but he didn't care. That same rage he felt when slamming his fists into Mattias, or even Persephone's guard on that boat. It was back. But it was a rage he couldn't, or rather shouldn't succumb to. Would that feeling make him any better than Payne? Was it something Payne wanted him to feel?

Kaid felt a kick slam into his ribs, sending him back to the floor. His diaphragm felt squished, air not going to his lungs as he heaved for oxygen. His hands eventually moved back, feeling the handle of his sword. Payne didn't wait for him to grasp it entirely, slamming another angry fist into Kaid's head. The action alone almost made him black out, feeling the punch in the front with the back of his skull slamming into the tile. Payne punched over and over again, making a bleeding mess all over Kaid before eventually stopping. Kaid tried to throw a weak punch but missed completely, Payne laughing in disgust.

"Look at you, still trying to fight. Give up, Kaid. It's what you should've done from the very beginning. Don't you know when you've lost a fight?"

"Don't you?" Kaid asked, his voice barely beyond a whisper as he laid there. To anyone else, it would look like utter defeat. Not yet. It was close, but not yet. His hand slid down to the pocket alongside his thigh, feeling the small cap of a vial. Cadize's Oblivion rejuvenation, for Kaid and Kaid alone to use. Despite still being in a slight experimentation phase...it called for that risk.

"I don't see this as losing. No matter how the results came about today, I wouldn't lose. Vitross would fall, one way or another. I would watch this entire empire erupt into chaos, either at war with Lungor, or crumble from within," Payne slowly rose to his feet, glancing down at Kaid with almost pity, "You had so much potential. I almost thought if someone would end Jessamine, it would be you. It would be the most she deserves: death by the person she loved. She was delusional to think anyone could truly love her. She was so close to becoming my perfect pupil...and then you came around. I didn't realize how weak she really was when she fell so deeply for someone like you.

"So, instead of targeting her, I chose you. You think it's a coincidence I told you to leave her alone, that I told you to not even think about being her Guardian? I know you, Kaid. I knew you would do the exact opposite of whatever I asked of you, especially if it regarded Jessamine. Now, the entire world and history books will believe you to have killed her. When I'm done with you, I'll have fun playing with your friends Christine and Kassandra. Bridger...I don't like traitors. I'll make sure he suffers. And Cadize, I'll break every bone in his body, destroy every organ in his system before he dies. And all of this, I will do while you sit here and bleed out."

"Why?" Kaid wheezed, coughing out a spurt of blood.

"The things we do for love. Emperor Kristoff and I...well, I thought we had something. We were almost practically like brothers, him and I. We grew up together. Perhaps I loved too deeply. I loved too...strongly for him. And then this bitch came in and swooned him away with a mere song. Alexandria Monnier came in like a siren with her Oblivion to seduce an Emperor, and it worked. When he died...I thought I'd be angry. But I had grown so strong when alone, when I was at my so-called weakest point. I had to come to terms that I'd always be alone. That's where I could truly make a difference. So yes, I took the little brat under my wing, became her mentor. And it wasn't to make her succeed. I wanted her to follow her father's legacy. I wanted her to rip this empire out from beneath her own people. I wanted her to go to war. And then I wanted Lungor to suffer. I wanted to poison them and the rest of this Continent. And there's no other reason than for the pure joy of it. Only the strongest would survive. Chaos is a jump into madness. I wanted everyone to succumb to it, to live in a world where there is no right or wrong, there is only do or die. I want everyone to suffer as I have, so maybe they'd achieve the same greatness. That's why Kaid. Caladin was a mere beta test for life. And once again, you've been my star pupil."

You're the only thing he can't control and he knows that.

Payne wasn't afraid of Kaid using his time to predict the future. There were only two instances when Kaid felt Payne lose control, where he slipped: the shockstick in Caladin, and the going back in time with the necromancer. He was afraid of the undoing of all his work. This entire time, he thought Kaid had been using his Oblivion, and he hadn't used it hardly at all. Meanwhile, Payne was about to use the last of his.

"Jessamine died believing you killed her. And now, the last thing you'll see before I kill you is her," Payne rolled his neck slightly before taking her form. Everything about her was the same as her corpse several feet behind. The same dress, the same blood. Her eyes were the same, hell, even her voice. "Like what you see, Kaid?"

Kaid swallowed more blood, closing his eyes briefly due to the torment. It wasn't until he heard movement beside him that the moment only got worse. The corpses of both Kiev and Mara slowly walked over to Payne, now Jessamine, moving sluggish and almost on the verge of death. They were dead after all.

"You couldn't save us, couldn't save me..." Jessamine whispered, moving towards that usurper blade, "and now, I'll fulfill your nightmare once and for all."

As frightening as Payne was in this moment, as much torment and terror he could bring, Kaid was comforted. Payne was wasting his Oblivion, he was wasting his last moments of energy he might need. And that was the sign: it was the right time. Kaid pulled the vial out, swallowing it entirely, every last drop before coughing. He could feel his strength not only returning but growing. He could feel the invisible thread of time wrapping around his palm like cloth, allowing him to change the tapestry of life.

"Nothing will save you now, Kaid. Time's not on your side," Jessamine laughed, bending down before plunging that emerald blade into his spleen, digging upward towards his heart.

Kaid merely smiled, feeling it already unravel as he closed his eyes to embrace the pain, "It always has been."

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Jessamine could smell the aroma of the sea. It provided her a comfort as everlasting as the invisible arms around her felt. She could feel his heartbeat, hear the softness of waves crashing, and most of all enjoy the swell of the waves carrying the ship she resided in. When her eyes opened, she noticed the ship was nothing more than a minor sloop, carrying her across greenish-blue waters into an unknown sunrise. The waves moved forward, rocking the ship forward as if it were a cradle delivering life. Instead, it was the end.

Tears fell when she knew where she was, or rather what this was. A bridge, a traveling port to the edge of oblivion, the death of all things, a void of time. Some called it heaven, maybe hell. Wherever this ship took her, it signified her end. She couldn't exactly remember how it all happened, but she knew she had died in the arms of her love. She knew that it wasn't over. There was a lingering hope in her heart, where the terror of this unknown afterlife didn't seem as fearful.

The waves stopped. There was no wind carrying the ship. The ripples turned into small, almost invisible currents as it felt like her travel was stopped. The tears left, and she glanced back at her, back at the shadows she was leaving. It wasn't over. Far from it. Time wasn't linear. It wasn't parallel or perpendicular. It was a circle, with no start or stopping point. It contained but also cycled. Even when death had taken her mother, time didn't stop Jessamine from feeling her embrace from time to time, or the whispers of wisdom into her mind to follow her instincts.

She then felt it. The frown that had been once on her face turned into a smile.

"Kaid Al-Yami, you wonderful, wonderful man..." she exhaled with all the love she could, glancing at the sea.

When thrown into his cell, Kaid feared her to be dragged into a storm of the unknown. Now, they both knew she was the storm, and he was the collision of opposite pressures fueling that storm. The waves were moving backward against the ship instead of moving forward.

Life was about second-chances, and this was one Jessamine knew she couldn't waste.