# 𝓘vlis & 𝓚calb .

The hall was silent, but it was not peace. It was the kind of thick quiet that only exists when two disasters stand face to face before the impact.

Ivlis walked slowly, his steps far too light for someone carrying murderous intent on his shoulders. A crooked, lazy smile curved on his lips, as if all of this were nothing more than a game he had already won.

Kcalb stood firm, unmoving, his gaze locked onto him like a blade. Demonic energy pulsed around him, restrained only by force of will.

Ivlis circled him, unhurried, like a predator with no need for haste.

— You still look like that… so tense. — his voice was low, almost gentle, soaked in mockery. — Relax, Kcalb. I didn’t come to fight. Not today.

He stopped beside him. Too close. Close enough to provoke.

— I came to offer you a way out.

Kcalb growled something under his breath, but Ivlis only laughed quietly, pleased.

Always that look of hatred. Funny. — he tilted his head. — You could drop all of this. Power, kingdoms, that invisible crown crushing your neck… run away with me. Disappear. Ever thought about it?

Ivlis traced a path in the air with his fingers, sketching an imaginary escape.

— A place with no duty, no wars, no one calling you king or monster. Just choice. Just movement.

The silence between them crackled.

Kcalb did not reply. The energy around him intensified.

Ivlis sighed, dramatic.

— It’s always like this. — he murmured. — I reach out my hand. You raise your fists.

He took a step back, the smile thinning into something sharper.

— But don’t fool yourself. Even when I speak of escape… it’s still a hunt. — his eyes glinted. — And you always run exactly the way I want you to.

The air tore with tension.

And Ivlis, satisfied, already seemed to know exactly how this would end.