A ghost was an understatement—it was him.Was this what he would have been?
Kaz didn't believe it. The old him was dead.
This double—this half—was just wearing that face to get under his skin.It worked. A little.But he'd have to try harder than that.
The double spoke again. His voice was light, almost casual—but Kaz could hear the truth beneath it. A quiet edge that cut through the act.
"And stop thinking of me as a double. Or a half. I've been here the whole time."
He's been here the whole time?What was that even supposed to mean?
Was he just supposed to accept that—just like that—that this thing had always been there?
The thought sat wrong. Twisted.
Had it been quiet all this time? An afterthought?Or was it something that couldn't speak until Kaz was chosen—until the Rift curse woke it up?
Kaz didn't believe it. Not for a second.He didn't even know what he was going to call it.This was getting quite frustrating.
How did he know what I was thinking?
The mist thickened around them. A couch, chair, and coffee table emerged from it like memories pulling themselves into shape. The void beneath their feet shifted, settling into something that resembled a wooden floor.
His double—his other self—sat down casually, a steaming cup of something like tea or coffee in hand, summoned from nowhere.
Then he sighed.
"We share the same mind. Well… right now, anyways."
Right now?What was that supposed to mean?
He sighed—annoyed, like Kaz was the one wasting time.
"You're dense. I'm gonna answer the questions I want to answer first."
He took a slow sip, then continued.
"You're a creature of chaos—like we've both seen in the scripts. That chaos made me when you were born. But back then, I was more like a subconscious. I saw everything… but I didn't do anything. Just watched."
Kaz thought to himself, Even…But before he could finish the thought, it was answered.
"Okay, again—not it. Just call me Dareth. And yeah, that was a nasty crash. Especially for that one brother."
Kaz cut him off, fury flaring."Don't you dare say his fucking name, you psycho!"
This was the one thing that got under Kaz's skin the most.No one mentioned that day. Ever.
And for Dareth to bring it up—casually, like it was nothing—made it even worse.If he'd seen what happened and still chose to speak on it, then something was seriously wrong with him.
Kaz would rather be alone than deal with that.
Dareth sighed, disappointed.
"Well, we're not getting anywhere until next time."
Kaz yelled at the seemingly unintrested guy infront of him
"you dont get to end this conversation after trying to bring up my dead"
Kaz couldn't finish his sentence.
The purple mist thickened, twisting into smoke as an upside-down tornado formed above him—its spiral wide and hungry.
It began to swallow him whole.
But he still had a few more words to say.
"I will never let anyone speak my True Name!" he shouted, voice rising over the roar. "You will never see the light of day! Far from Order will never come from anyone's lips!"
He screamed it with such fury, with such conviction, that it echoed through the dreamscape like a war cry.
Dareth only laughed.
Not in shock. Not in fear.
But like it was all just a game.
Kaz woke up from his dream tears running down his face one of the nurses that was watching him in the infirimiry of the military academy ran over to him as he woke up yelling at what seemed to be nothing and tears running down his face
A couple hours later...
Kaz sat in silence, replaying his first encounter with his other half—Dareth.
Things had gotten so heated, he'd forgotten to ask any of the questions he actually wanted to ask. Still, a few answers had slipped through.
He couldn't share a body with Dareth.He had to make sure no one ever found out his True Name.
And now, there was something else to worry about.
He'd finally figured out the full extent of his Rest Commandment.It didn't just demand eight hours of sleep. He had to stay within that exact range.Too much or too little—and his body would shut down.
He used to think the commandment wasn't that bad.But now? It was a leash. A silent countdown.
And on top of that, Ryuma was out there running his mouth—telling everyone Kaz had killed a Rift spawn as a traitless novice.
It wasn't true.
But lies had a way of spreading faster than truth.And if Kaz wanted to stay alive, he had to keep his head down.
Stay invisible. Stay under the radar.
There was only one way Kaz could lower his rising fame—make it impossible for anyone to believe someone as weak as him could have killed a Rift spawn.
He'd have to lie.And lie his ass off.
Soon, he'd be required to rank his trait, list his skills, and choose a specialization. When clans formed their units, they divided people into roles: scouting, close combat, navigation, mid-range, defense, healing.
But Kaz had a problem—he still didn't know what his ability, Chaos Control, could actually do.
Before he gave them any information, he needed to test it.Figure it out.Understand it inside and out.
Only then could he decide how to survive the next move.
He couldn't let Dareth out. Ever.
His True Name had to be buried—locked so deep no one could ever dig it up.
He didn't have a flaw tied to it, nothing that would make him accidentally reveal it… but slip-ups happened. And if anyone did learn it, Dareth could take control in an instant.
Kaz would rather die than let that happen.
Because that wouldn't just be losing.That would be something far worse—watching someone else live your life, feeling every moment, every choice, without being able to move, to speak, to stop it.
Just… reacting.Trapped inside your own body.
A fate worse than death.