"Gaon...?" the demon woman said calmly, though her voice trembled. She couldn't understand what had just happened. The one she had called a traitor—had just protected her.
"Kaelthira... you're still alive. Good..." my phantom spoke, ignoring me completely. I watched as the demon—apparently named Kaelthira—teared up. She looked at the other me with an expression that bordered on worship.
"How? Why?"
"It doesn't matter," the phantom said. "What matters is that you stay alive. You need to lead the demons to victory. Not her. You."
My brow twitched at those words. So that's it. The past me had no desire for me to rise this far.
