Korynth immediately answered.

"His soul!" she nearly screamed, Kael’s Will like a poisoned dagger that mutilated her mind and soul alike.

"I-I think he’s a Panacea seed too! But of the soul!"

Kael’s eyes widened so much they seemed like they’d burst.

He lost control of his strength and clamped down hard on Samael’s face, shattering his jaw and all the other bones in it.

Samael let out a shrill cry of pure agony that was muffled by Kael’s hand, tears streaming from his eyes as blood dripped down his shattered face and his body shook under the shock.

Kael didn’t pay it any attention, though.

"I think he also has a sort of special mental physique! It’s so potent I felt my laws of lust nearly fall to his embrace with a single glance!"

"I wanted to devour him for myself b-but...if you consume his soul, your soul will be fixed, and if you turn his mind into a Soul War-Frame you’ll...be unrivalled!"

She seemed out of breath, her voice getting louder and louder as Kael’s Will grew more and more chaotic, ravaging her mind.

"And if you eat the boy, your body will be fixed and you may even gain a—ARGHHH!—a...a...divine body—PLEASE ST—"

Korynth passed out. But then her eyes snapped back open, and she awoke once more while gasping for air, her body covered in sweat and nose leaking blood like a faucet let loose.

"..." Kael’s Will slowly settled, and he let go of Samael’s face as he floated back a couple of meters.

"...!" Samael gasped for breath too, finally allowed to breathe again, but the sudden motion rattled his jaw and broken face, sending spikes of pain through it and summoning more tears from his young eyes.

Kael floated towards Korynth. "You...have done...good."

"No, you’ve done a deed that I’ll never forget."

Kael’s hands, bloodied with Samael’s blood, reached out to caress Korynth’s face, staining her with the warm fluid.

Feeling the warmth of the blood contrasted by Kael’s cold palms sent shivers down Korynth’s spine, her heart shaking as old memories surfaced and—

"You’ve done well. Amazingly, even."

—she reluctantly began to shed tears, her Will too wounded by his own to be able to control herself.

Shame and rage danced in her heart as she helplessly cried, her bloodied face resting in his palm. His sick, almost mad gaze stared into her own with sparks of endless emotion.

"So...my dear...what do you want? You’ve brought them here for a reason—" his smile widened. "—you’ve come back home, to me, your promised one, for a reason."

"Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Korynth softly whimpered for a couple of moments as her tears slowed and her golden eyes deepened. Her Will rapidly mended, and she regained her calm.

She looked at him. "I want you to give me—"

At once, both Korynth and Kael’s heads snapped in the same direction, their gazes narrowing as they did so.

...

Uriel’s pupils fluttered open.

His pupils danced with a swirl of chaotic ivory and rose, the two constantly flickering around each other for dominance.

The first thing that hit Uriel as he woke up was light. The dungeon was relatively dark, and yet he felt that it was so bright he could barely see.

Then came the headache. It tore at the fabric of his very spirituality, pounding in his head with relentless cruelty and gnawing at his sanity itself.

But beyond this...nothing.

"..."

Uriel stirred, and he forced his eyes to open and assess his surroundings. His vision adjusted, and he immediately began to take the situation in.

The fact that his body was, for some reason, almost entirely broken and mutilated. The pike running through his chest, from which he limply hung, sealing all his abilities.

The dungeon itself, and then—

’Hm.’

—his gaze turned, laying eyes on the shaken and bloodied Samael, the crying Korynth, and the strange Kael.

The gears in Uriel’s mind spun rapidly despite the fact that he was still groggy and half-asleep, and in a beat, he understood the situation he was in.

He exhaled a deep breath. His gaze returned to Samael.

In his eyes he could see fear, hate, pain, shame, hope, joy, and...sorrow. It was a strange mix.

"Who..." Uriel felt like talking was the most laborious task crafted by the gods at that moment. "...hurt you?"

Samael didn’t dare answer, but he didn’t need to. Uriel could easily read his Will.

Slowly, he nodded, then turned to look at Kael.

"..."

Uriel wasn’t doing anything. Not only was he not doing anything, but he couldn’t do anything. The pike running through his chest wasn’t just for show—it sealed his abilities.

Not only that, but the entire dungeon was contained within a sealed dimensional space that only had branded energy, which only those of Kael’s blood could use.

Uriel could, literally, not do a thing.

And yet, as his eyes met Kael’s, Kael felt a weight rapidly begin to accumulate onto his Will and spirit. The flames of his soul wildly roared to fight back against Uriel, but it seemed futile.

The pressure only grew heavier. It only got larger, sharper, and more indifferent to the creaking sounds of his shattering core.

SHOO!

And then Uriel blinked, then yawned, and the pressure instantly faded.

"I’m...really tired."

Kael continued to stare for a long while, Samael’s fresh blood still dripping from his fingers as he stood still, suspended in the air.

He watched as Uriel almost fell asleep again, the fatigue in his gaze clear.

"...your name."

Uriel, whose eyelids felt as heavy as a world, stirred as he saw Kael address him. "What about it?"

"What is it?"

Uriel simply looked at him, half-asleep, and chuckled.

But he didn’t answer.

Seeing this, Kael smiled and floated towards Uriel, extending his hand and opening his palm to wrap it around Uriel’s face.

But then he stopped and pulled his arm back. His face twisted into a frown, and he looked inward.

’Why did I decide to grab his face...?’

He couldn’t remember forming the thought, let alone acting on it. He blinked, and he found himself reaching for Uriel, almost as if...

"Are you controlling me?"