Kaito stood before the illusion of his mother.
Tears burned his eyes.
"I couldn't save you."
The illusion smiled sadly.
"You were a child."
The fear cracked.
Morvane hissed.
"No. Cling to guilt."
But Kaito shook his head.
"I won't be ruled by the past."
Instead of rejecting the fear—
He embraced it.
The shadow inside him shifted.
Adapted.
He reached forward and touched the nightmare.
"I devour all of you."
The illusion shattered.
Morvane staggered in the real world as darkness began pulling him inward.
"You were not meant to evolve this way," the Lord whispered.
But evolution had already begun.