Tiflos awoke to a searing pain cutting through his body like a molten blade.
The faint cave light reflected off damp walls, casting shifting shadows like dancing phantoms.
Every breath cost him effort.
Every movement reminded him of the battle that had almost ended his life.
Beside him, Noor lay on a neighboring bed. Her chest rose and fell in reassuring rhythm, yet the paleness of her face spoke of the heavy price she had paid to save him.
"You're finally awake," said a calm voice from the corner.
Elias sat on a simple wooden chair, studying an old map spread across his knees.
"You slept for three full days. We had almost lost hope in your return."
Tiflos attempted to sit up, but the sharp pain in his chest and side forced him back down.
"Orion… I have to save him. I can't leave him there with Cain."
Liam entered, carrying a tray of medicines and bandages.
Exhaustion and worry were etched deeply across his face.
"Your injuries are worse than you think. Broken ribs, a punctured lung, fractured shoulder bones. You won't even be able to stand, let alone storm the most heavily guarded branch of the Organization."
"It doesn't matter!" Tiflos rasped, his voice hoarse from pain and fatigue.
"I can't leave him there. Cain… he isn't just a harsh trainer. He's planning something far more sinister."
Noor stirred at the sound of argument, eyes shining with concern.
"Tiflos, please… wait until you recover. We can't help Orion if we all die in a suicidal attempt."
Yet Tiflos's eyes burned with despair deeper than any physical pain.
"Every day he stays there… he drifts further from me. Cain is poisoning him slowly… just like he did to me."
In that moment, Tiflos's memory began to sharpen.
Puzzle pieces clicked together in his mind.
"Wait… something doesn't add up."
Elias leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
Tiflos closed his eyes, focusing despite the fog in his thoughts.
"Cain… he's been pushing me toward Noor all along.
Creating circumstances that brought us together… then forcing us apart.
It's as if… he wanted this exact outcome."
Noor sat up slowly, a mixture of shock and curiosity on her face.
"What are you saying?"
Tiflos opened his eyes, realization lighting them.
"It's as if we've been puppets in a play, and he is the director."
---
Elsewhere, in Cain's inner office, walls carved with dark wood adorned with wavelike patterns resembling dead heartbeats, he stood before a one-way window.
Behind the glass, Orion trained in the grand hall, mastering his blue fire, coloring the air with sparks alien to the world.
Cain's smile was not joy—it was the recognition of a long-term victory.
He whispered, almost to himself:
"Finally… the power I've waited for all these years."
He closed his eyes as a stream of memories flowed in—not nostalgia, but proof of his genius.
Each memory a pulse in the rhythm of his plan, each step a string in the symphony of control.
---
In a secret meeting, Mirage, Liam's sister, stood beside Cain.
Her ability allowed her to see into the windows of potential powers.
When her gaze fell on infant Orion in Agabius's arms, she trembled, whispering:
"This child… his power is extraordinary. He's rare."
From that moment, Cain no longer saw Orion as a child, but as a project.
He killed Mirage to prevent the revelation of Orion's abilities to envious leaders.
---
Cain signed forged orders implicating Agabius in palace document fraud.
The goal was not to destroy the man, but his name, his legacy, and all he represented.
"When the symbol dies, the void is born… and I will fill the void."
Thus, Tiflos's family was expelled from the royal palace, beginning their spiral of ruin.
---
After Agabius's fall, Cain manipulated investigations and spread rumors, ensuring the brothers would find no sanctuary.
He knew suffering breeds obedience, and hunger opens closed hearts.
"Weakness creates loyalty… and homelessness creates dependence."
---
In the cemetery, Cain stood before Tiflos, shrouded in mist, manipulating illusions to make him see whispers among shadows.
He controlled Saeed, forcing Tiflos toward emotional bonds, fragile yet sufficient to keep him tethered to the Organization.
"The emotional bond is the strongest chain…
when you love, you become governable."
---
Cain deliberately allowed Tiflos and Noor to uncover secrets about eye-selling, yet withheld the key.
He let Noor escape, knowing Tiflos would protect her, keeping him inside the Organization.
"Those who know half the truth will chase the other half in vain."
---
After Tiflos bonded with Noor, Cain began sowing seeds of discord between him and Orion.
Whispers during training, rumors in corridors, glances in crowded hallways.
At the same time, he honed Orion—teaching obedience, instilling that true power comes not from love, but from allegiance.
"When the bond breaks, the follower is born."
---
Cain created the perfect conditions for Noor's escape, knowing Tiflos would guard her, leaving Orion exposed.
At that moment, he planted seeds of obedience in Orion—not through fear, but through need.
"The child unprotected… will seek a protector, even if it is his executioner."
---
Homelessness… suffering… betrayal… all necessary, Cain muttered quietly, watching Orion from the window.
"Pain creates cracks in the soul… cracks let real power in.
Orion… has the power I desire, and destiny allowed me to witness it."
A faint shadow of concern flickered across Cain's face as he glanced at another surveillance monitor, tracking strange movements near the state's borders.
"But Dragon Drakon… his maneuvers are troubling.
The time is still too early."