Kayvaan nodded. “I know. But knowing doesn’t solve the problem. What I do? This power isn’t something I trol. It’s beyond me—beyond any human, I think. Even the most disciplined psykers would struggle against this.”

  Rosina’s gaze was unwavering as she replied, “Under normal circumstances, you’d be right. The power of Chaos isn’t meant to be mastered by mortals. Your fate would be sealed—you’d be ed. But these aren’t normal circumstances.”

  Kayvaan turo her, a flicker of hope in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you’re not alone in this. I have a method—something I teach you. If you follow it, you suppress this power and learn to trol it.”

  “I don’t quite uand,” Kayvaan admitted, his gaze narrowing.

  “You have some uanding of my people, so let me simplify it,” Rosina begaone calm but firm. “The foundation of all Eldar civilization is spiritual energy. In terms of mastery over this power, there’s no ra the gaxy—aside from the -spawned daemons—that surpasses the Eldar. But unlike humans, our emotions are far more intense. We love with the fury of a wildfire and hate with the venom of a serpent. Our emotions are like sudden storms—uable and unstoppable. This iy often leads us to do terrible things in moments of impulse, and such votile emotions make trolling our spiritual energy dangerous.”

  She paused briefly before tinuing, “To prevent us from self-destru, we developed the Path. There are many Paths: the Path of the Warrior, the Path of the Artisan, the Path of the Seer, the Path of the Performer—tless others. But they all share one core principle: trol. trol over oneself, over one’s emotions, and over the poield. The Path exists to ehat reason rules over chaos, that impulse does not e us.”

  Kayvaan arched an eyebrow. “And yoing to teach me the secret of your Path? Isn’t that a closely guarded secret of your people?”

  “You’re correct,” Rosina said bluntly. “The Path is sacred to us. While some outside our race might know of its existehe deeper truths and the way to walk the Path are hidden. This knowledge isn’t something we share lightly.”

  “Then why share it now?”

  Rosina’s voice softened. “Because I have no choice. This is the only way to save Sydria’s life. If revealing this secret means proteg her, I will do so without hesitation.”

  Kayvaan smirked, his tone ced with irony. “The Path doesn’t seem to work very well on you. I don’t see much reason in your as.”

  Rosina’s lips curled into a wry smile. “True. The Path ot suppress my love for her. No matter how much I practice, I ot quench it. My reason tells me it’s foolish, that it will only lead to ruin. But some things defy logic. I’ve made mistakes, and I know my fate may be bleak, but I have s. Funny, isn’t it? I hought I’d admit these things to anyone, let aloo you.”

  Kayvaan shook his head, dismissing the personal fession. “You should save hoy for your enemies, not your lovers. Now tell me— this Path really help me trol the power within me?”

  Rosina’s expression turned serious. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But it’s the only ce we have. We have no other options.”

  To Kayvaan, the Eldar Path seemed like nothing more than a sophisticated way to describe a system of skills. It was as if the Eldar had elevated the pursuit of mastery to a life philosophy. Each Path provided a plete framework for living, from the rare and mystical Path of the Seer to the mu vital Path of the Artisan.

  It reminded Kayvaan of the stories he’d heard about a martial arts. To truly master their teiques, one didn’t just learn the physical skills; they embraced aire way of life, often being ascetid dedig themselves fully to a code of discipliill, Kayvaan remained skeptical. “I’m not optimistic about this,” he muttered.

  “I don’t expect you to fully uand the Path,” Rosina replied sharply. “And I ot give you the entire philosophy—it’s not just a skill; it’s a way of life, a supreme pursuit of band trol. You, a human, ot live by its tes. But there are fragments of it I share, enough to help you suppress the chaos within.”

  Kayvaan sighed. “I’m not really in a position tue. What’s the catch?”

  Rosina’s tourned cold. “You must take an oath. Not a simple one—I don’t trust humans. This will be a psychic oath, binding you to your word. A lock will form in your soul, a maion of your promise. If you break it, the lock will trigger a psychic explosion powerful enough to obliterate aire city—and you along with it.”

  Kayvaan sidered her words carefully. “And what exactly is this oath?”

  “You must swear that you will never harm Sydria or me, that you will never bee our enemy. We may never be allies, but we will not be foes.”

  Kayvaan frowned. “And if you attack me?”

  “The oath is mutual,” Rosina expined. “If we betray you, the bond will dissolve.”

  After a moment’s thought, Kayvaan nodded. “Fine. Let’s begin.” The ritual was plex. First, Kayvaan swore the oath in Gothic, repeating it in the Eldar tongue. Rosina guided the process, weaving psychiergy into the fabric of his being. As the ceremony progressed, a spectral formed in Kayvaan’s mindscape, encirg the fortress at his core. Ohe oath was sealed, the faded.

  Rosina therieved the iaone. Her expression was heavy as she activated it, releasing the soul of an a Eldar martial master. The spirit fred to life, its presence radiating knowledge and power. But before it could ma fully, the darkness within Kayvaan surged violently. The corrupting force of Sanesh ed the a hero’s soul in an instant, obliterating its sciousness, ideals, aions. All that remained ure repository of skills and experienow absorbed into Kayvaan.

  In that moment, something ged, his senses sharp, as though he was in a new world. Everything looked different—more vivid, more detailed. He sighed heavily, muttering, “So, this is what an Eldar iance feels like. It’s not at all what I imagined.”

  Before this, Kayvaan had no real uanding of the Eldar's mysterious ways. Now, with the knowledge and skills of an a martial master imprinted into his mind, he uood their Path far better than even Rosina might have intended.

  Eldar iance wasn’t meant to work this way. Typically, a student would learn gradually, moving through years of training and discipline. Only after reag mastery oh would they be exposed to the essence of an a’s soul. Summoning such a soul prematurely, without proper preparation, was dangerous—deadly even. For most, the power would tear them apart. Rosina’s gamble had been reckless, a desperate move that could have gone horribly wrong.

  Rosina’s face paled as she noticed the ge in Kayvaan. “I… I had no other choice,” she stammered, though she tried to force a smile. “You’re not an ordinary human, Kayvaan. Surely you see that. But even if you’re angry, don’t fet—the oath is bound to your soul. You ’t harm me.”