Kairios departs ahead of the main group, moving toward the village alone, unaware that events are already in motion around him. His intent is simple, help where he can, continue his pilgrimage, and stay true to the oath he carries.

Behind him, Proxus follows with the auxiliary force, now equipped with Lumin-tech gear designed to identify threats. Through the visor, the world is different. Targets are marked, movements highlighted, enemies clearly defined.

Too clearly.

When the operation begins, the unit advances on what they believe to be a bandit presence within the village. To Proxus, everything aligns, the markings, the behavior, the threat.

But none of it is real.

The gear is distorting reality, turning villagers into enemies.

Meanwhile, inside the village, Kairios encounters the people directly. There are no bandits, only fear, confusion, and lives already on edge. When the attack begins, he is the only one who sees the truth.

And the only one standing in the way of it.

Kairios intervenes, trying to stop the assault as the auxiliary force descends. His actions immediately put him at odds with Commander Valcor, who arrives not just to oversee the mission, but with a specific objective.

Kairios himself.

To Valcor, Kairios is not a cleric, not a healer, but a problem, a “bandit weapon” that needs to be eliminated.

Their clash is immediate and decisive, no longer a passing encounter, but a direct confrontation of ideology and control. Kairios fights to protect the innocent. Valcor fights to remove a threat.

Caught between both sides, Proxus is forced to act.

Still seeing the world through the visor’s distortion, he makes a critical decision. He strikes Kairios with a charged Arc attack, paralyzing him in an attempt to stop the chaos before it spirals further. In that moment, perception overrides truth.

Valcor seizes the opportunity.

Using Ouroboros Nacido, Kairios is restrained, and the situation narrows to a single outcome, Proxus is ordered to finish it.

Everything pauses on that choice.

Then Proxus breaks.

He removes the visor.

Reality returns.

In a single motion, his attack shifts, striking Valcor instead. The blast tears through the moment, exposing Valcor and leaving him wounded. The operation collapses as quickly as it began, and Valcor is forced to retreat, his objective incomplete.

But the damage is already done.

In the aftermath, deeper within the woods, the truth behind the chaos reveals itself.

A man is found, his body overtaken by something unnatural. His arm is encased in black chitin, lined with closed eyes, while his chest fractures with unstable light. This is no ordinary victim.

Kairios tries to save him.

And fails.

For the first time, his flame is rejected. The more he pushes, the more violently the corruption responds, until the very act of healing triggers something else entirely.

A presence steps forward.

A member of the Cult of the Eye claims the man as a “compass,” a tool in their search for the Crown of Eyes. She speaks calmly, deliberately, referring to Kairios as “sweet flame,” as if recognizing something within him.

Then the world shifts again.

Hell locusts descend.

In the chaos, the man’s body gives way, transforming into something beyond saving. As Kairios watches, powerless to stop it, the creature awakens and speaks the words that fracture everything he believes:

“Your fire fades.”

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