Kael returned to the enclave to find unrest brewing.
Word had spread like wildfire of the Devourer, of entire regions falling silent, of Kael's growing power. Fear took root in places where gratitude once lived.
Some whispered that Kael was the same as the thing approaching.
Others said he was worse.....because he still pretended to be human.
A Warden confronted him openly in the courtyard. "If you can control the dead," the man demanded, "why not end this now? Why not take everything and crush the enemy before it reaches us?"
The hunger surged at the suggestion.
Kael felt it coil tightly around his heart.
"Because then there would be nothing left worth saving," Kael replied.
The words felt thin, even to him.
That night, he stood alone on the wall, the weight of expectation pressing down harder than any horde. He felt the cracks in his humanity widen not from feeding, but from doubt.
Was restraint truly strength?
Or was it cowardice disguised as morality?
The Witch joined him, placing a hand on the stone beside him. "Faith breaks before flesh," she said softly. "Yours. Theirs. Even mine."
Kael didn't answer.
For the first time, he wondered whether being human was worth the pain it demanded.