I stood up. My head was empty. How much time had passed? It felt like I had slept for a week, or perhaps—an entire era.

  Mira was beside me in an instant. She sat on the edge of my cot and habitually placed her palm on the crown of my head.

  "Zen... as usual, you’ve done all the work for me," she said quietly.

  I wanted to object, but my sister’s hand pressed down on my "safety switch" with frightening precision.

  "In Hell, everyone fears you now. Every minor imp and every Demon of Fear knows your name. And that—is the key to solving the entire problem. You showed me the way."

  She narrowed her eyes, staring into the void before her.

  "A prison isn't made of walls or shackles. A true prison is the one you don't notice. I will create an Organization. I’ll gather all these restless demons of fear under one banner. I will give them tasks, give them goals, give them... a reason to exist. They will put on the chains of responsibility themselves, thinking they’ve found freedom."

  I listened to her, feeling my consciousness begin to slowly fade.

  "The hardest part is the first stage," Mira continued. "They need to be 'humanized.' Given a taste for life, for domesticity, for attachments. But you’ve already started doing that, haven't you? Aya and Alastor are your perfect experiment."

  She stroked my hair, her fingers sparking slightly with mana.

  "The Primordials and the Demon of Oblivion are still a problem, but as long as you are around—they can be crossed off the threat list. I will create family clans. Let the demons think they are maintaining order. Let the humans believe they are being protected by heroes."

  Mira chuckled—cold and calculating.

  "All that's left is to create the first leaders. Those from whom their new lineage will begin. Remember that technique of yours? A thousand souls for a single life? In our case, we’ll have to raise the stakes. Tens of thousands of souls for those who will become the foundation of a new world. But don't worry, Zen... times are unstable right now. Humans are already killing each other by the thousands across the continent. I’ll just... pick up what they no longer need."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She looked at my face.

  "So, what do you think of the plan, little brother? Grandiose, isn't it?"

  I wanted to speak, but...

  "Oh, what's this... fallen asleep already?" Mira smiled tenderly, not removing her hand.

  "Alright. Sleep. It will all be over soon. Soon I will find a solution that will allow you to never forget anything ever again."

  I drifted off into the darkness.

  I woke to a sound sharper than any blade. An argument.

  The voices of Mira and Lucida sliced through the silence of the cave, turning the cozy gloom into a battlefield.

  "MIRA, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Lucida screamed. Her voice trembled with horror and incomprehension.

  "Don't you understand, Lucida?" Mira responded calmly, and that calmness sent a chill down my spine. "This is the only way out. If we don't take control of everything now, tomorrow will be too late. The world will devour him, and he—the world."

  "DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?!"

  "I’ve weighed everything," my sister cut her off. "And I don't care if you come with me or not. I will continue down this path."

  "This path is full of blood!" Lucida stepped toward her. "The suffering of thousands of beings, Zenhald turned into a... Mira, I’ve wanted to ask this for a long time. That incident... back then... It was you who made him lose his mind, wasn't it? You made it so he went insane and burned everything around him? He was normal that day! Was it your doing?"

  Mira didn't offer excuses. She simply laughed. A dry, short, terrifying laugh.

  "How many years have passed since those times, Lucida? Are you still looking for someone to blame for what was inevitable?"

  "So... it's true... You made him that way back then."

  Silence fell.

  "I can no longer walk beside you," Lucida whispered. "Our paths diverge here. I don't recognize you, Mira. You’ve turned into something more terrifying than any Demon."

  I opened my eyes.

  They were both standing by the fire. Two ancient beings, deciding my fate and the fate of the world while I lay there. Something inside me clenched painfully. Seeing them fight was unbearable—it felt as if the last remnants of my home were collapsing right now.

  Lucida noticed my gaze. She approached, looking at me with infinite pity.

  "Accept it, Mira," she tossed over her shoulder. "He would be much happier without this Book. Without memory. Without your plans. He wouldn't even remember a thing."

  She turned and left. She simply walked into the night without looking back.

  Mira remained standing by the fire. Her shoulders shook slightly, but she didn't move.

  "Well, that’s that," she whispered, addressing the flames more than me.

  "I'm sorry, Zenhald, that you had to hear that. A burden once again... now only on my shoulders."

  She turned to me, and madness gleamed in her eyes.

  "Accept it?" she laughed again, and this time there was rage in the laughter. "HA-HA-HA-HA! Accept it?! Never!"

  She approached me and placed her hand on my head.

  "Sleep, little brother. Sleep. I will finish writing your story myself. And there will be no room for failure in it."

  I felt her fingers convulsively digging into my hair. The world began to slowly fade away.