The nightmares began two weeks after Cordelia's capture.
They started subtlyâfragmented images, half-remembered fears, the kind of dreams that fade upon waking. But they grew worse. Darker. More coherent.
Kael found himself standing in the Hollow King's prison, watching the barrier he'd helped create pulse with sickly light. The Pale Lady's presence was there, but it was wrongâdistorted, corrupted, twisted into something that screamed with endless rage.
*"You thought you won,"* a voice whispered. Not the King'sâsomething else. Something that spoke from within Kael himself. *"But victory planted seeds of defeat. The bargain you made. The power you touched. The corruption you absorbed when you saved Cordelia's worthless life."*
He woke gasping, drenched in sweat, the taste of ash in his mouth.
*"That was concerning,"* Netherbane said.
*What's happening to me?*
*"I don't know. But the dreams are connected to something real. I can feel traces of foreign energy in your consciousness."*
*From Cordelia? From the wraith energy I cut away from her?*
*"Possibly. You absorbed a fragment of her corruption when you severed those connections. It may be trying to integrate itself into your soul."*
*Can you remove it?*
*"Not without risking damage to both of us. Our bond is too deepâanything foreign in you is foreign in me as well."*
Kael sat up, running his hands through his hair. The clock showed just after three in the morning. Sera slept beside him, her face peaceful, unaware of his turmoil.
He couldn't tell her. Not yet. Not until he understood what was happening.
---
The next night was worse.
The dream dropped him into a version of the Spirit Dimension, but one twisted beyond recognition. The grey twilight had become absolute darkness, pierced only by the distant light of souls being consumed. He walked through a landscape of death, passing the corpses of everyone he'd ever knownâMarcus, Sera, Elena, Sister Vera, Dante.
Each body bore the marks of his blade.
*"This is what you become,"* the voice said. *"This is what the bridge ability truly leads to. Not salvation, but consumption. Not protection, but domination."*
*No. I won't accept this.*
*"Your acceptance is irrelevant. The transformation has already begun."*
He woke screaming.
Sera was there immediately, her arms around him, her voice steady despite her fear.
"Kael. Kael, look at me. You're here. You're safe."
"I'm not." His voice was raw. "Something's wrong with me. Something's growing inside."
"What do you mean?"
He told her about the dreams. About Netherbane's analysis. About the fear that the corruption he'd absorbed from Cordelia was taking root.
Her expression grew more concerned with each revelation.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I didn't want to worry you. Didn't want to admit it was real."
"Kael..." She took his hands. "We're in this together. Whatever's happening, we face it together. That's what this is."
"Even if I'm becoming something dangerous?"
"Especially then." She squeezed his hands. "Tomorrow, we talk to Sister Vera. She knows more about spiritual corruption than anyone. If there's a way to help, she'll find it."
"And if there isn't?"
"Then we'll figure something else out. But we don't give up. Not ever."
He held onto her words like a lifeline.
Not ever.
---
Sister Vera's examination was thorough and increasingly worried.
She used techniques Kael had never seenâprayers that created visible light, rituals that mapped the flows of energy through his soul. The process took hours, leaving both of them exhausted by its end.
"There is something," she confirmed finally. "A fragment of corrupted energy, lodged deep in your spiritual core. It's small, but it's growing. Feeding on your fears, your doubts, your darker impulses."
"Can you remove it?"
"Not without significant risk." Vera's face was grave. "The fragment has bonded to your bridge ability. It's using your unique connection to both worlds as an anchor. Attempting to cut it out might sever the very thing that makes you... you."
"What are my options?"
"Two that I can see. First, you can try to contain it. Use meditation, spiritual discipline, and constant vigilance to keep it from spreading further. This would be a lifelong battleânever won, but potentially never lost either."
"And the second?"
"Purification. A ritual that would burn the corruption out of you entirely." Vera hesitated. "But the ritual is extreme. It would require you to confront the source of the corruption directlyâto face whatever the fragment represents and defeat it in spiritual combat."
"Combat against what?"
"Against the part of yourself that the corruption has attached to. Every doubt, every fear, every dark impulse you've ever suppressed. They would be given form, given power, and you would have to destroy them without destroying yourself in the process."
Kael absorbed this.
"When would this happen?"
"It would take a week to prepare the ritual. During that time, you'd need to maintain absolute spiritual disciplineâno combat, no use of the Soul's Edge, minimal contact with anything that might worsen the corruption."
"And if I fail the purification?"
"Then the corruption wins. It absorbs you completely, and you become..." Vera didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to.
A monster. Another corrupted wielder. Another Mordecai, or worse.
"I'll do it," Kael said. "The purification. I'd rather fight once than battle forever."
"Are you certain? The containment option is safer in the short term."
"Safer, but not sustainable. The corruption will grow, and eventually, containment won't be enough." He met Vera's eyes. "I've spent my whole life avoiding impossible fights. Running from things that scared me. That's not who I am anymore."
"Then we begin preparations immediately."
---
The week of waiting was torture.
Kael couldn't train, couldn't fight, couldn't do anything that might strengthen the corruption inside him. He spent hours in meditation, following Vera's guidance, learning to recognize the fragment's presence and resist its influence.
The nightmares continued, but he faced them differently now.
Instead of running from the visions of death and corruption, he studied them. Looked for patterns, weaknesses, anything he could use in the coming confrontation.
*"You're treating this like combat preparation,"* Netherbane observed.
*Because that's what it is. I've faced wraith lords, ancient spirits, the Hollow King himself. This is just another enemy.*
*"An enemy that knows everything about you. That uses your own darkness against you."*
*Then I'll use my light against it.*
Sera stayed with him throughout, offering comfort when the nights grew too dark, providing distraction when his thoughts spiraled toward despair. Her presence was an anchor, a reminder of what he was fighting for.
Dante visited once, his expression complicated.
"I heard about my mother," he said. "About what she became."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. She made her choices." But there was pain beneath his words. "I wanted to thank you. For not killing her. For giving her a chance at redemption, even if she doesn't deserve it."
"Everyone deserves a chance."
"Maybe." Dante was quiet for a moment. "Whatever's happening to youâVera mentioned a purification ritualâI want you to know that I'm with you. Whatever you need."
"Why? We were enemies once."
"We were rivals. That's different." Dante almost smiled. "And rivals become allies when it matters. This matters."
It was the closest thing to warmth Dante had ever shown him.
---
The night before the ritual, Kael found himself on the battlements again.
The stars wheeled overhead, indifferent to his struggles. Somewhere in the Spirit Dimension, the Pale Lady maintained her eternal vigil. Somewhere in the darkness, the remnants of the Hollow King's forces plotted their next move. And somewhere inside him, a fragment of corruption waited to see if he would be strong enough.
*"Nervous?"* Netherbane asked.
*Terrified.*
*"Good. Terror means you understand the stakes."*
*You've said that before.*
*"Because it's true every time."*
Kael smiled despite himself.
*What do you think my chances are?*
*"Honestly? I don't know. The purification ritual has been performed only a handful of times in the Order's history. About half of those who attempted it succeeded. The other half..."*
*Became what they feared.*
*"Yes."*
*Then I'll be in the half that succeeds.*
*"That's the spirit I've come to expect from you."*
The night deepened, and eventually, Kael returned to his quarters. Sera was waiting, and they held each other through the hours until dawn.
Tomorrow would determine everything.
But tonight, he would rest.
And hopeâagainst all evidence, against all fearâthat it would be enough.
