The boys were still in the cave, both sitting on the floor. Itoî was leaning against the cave wall, while his little brother faced him. Uyan was shirtless, having placed his armor over the branches to dry them faster.
"Ah, I sort of figured," Uyan told his brother.
"Huh? WHAAAT?!" Itoî exclaimed, shocked.
"Well, yeah. Don't you remember when you had nightmares a week ago? You woke up crying blood and screaming all over the room. I'm the one who had to go get Kaelle and Mom to help you," Uyan replied.
"I don't remember any of that."
"That's normal. You were in a trance," Uyan replied.
"Anyway. So, tell me, what's the deal with this demon?" Uyan continued.
"I keep wondering if I'd asked that demon for help, he could've saved Mom," Itoî said in a small voice.
"Don't even think about it," Uyan replied, shooting him a hostile glare.
"Huh? Why?" Itoî asked.
"If Mom made us amulets, it wasn't for nothing. She knew the danger a demon's influence could pose to you, but also, potentially, to us."
Itoî clutched the amulet in his hand. He rested his fists on his knees, pressed his head against them, and thought. His saddened gaze stayed fixed on the dusty, cold cave floor.
Uyan looked away. He seemed to be crying.
"I could've maybe saved her," Itoî said.
That's when Uyan whipped his head around and yelled:
"Stop spouting bullshit! We couldn't have done anything for Mom! We haven't even mastered a single element! Nothing! We have zero knowledge of magic! And you—"
"I wasn't talking about me, damn it! I'm talking about the demon!" Itoî shot back, angry.
Uyan lunged at Itoî and punched him square in the face:
"What don't you get, you idiot?! It's precisely because of that demon that Mom is dead!"
Itoî's eyes went wide and he asked:
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"W-What do you mean?"
"If that shitty demon didn't exist, Mom wouldn't have cast God knows how many blessings to save your ass, Itoî! And what were you gonna do, huh?! Sacrifice yourself, supposedly to save Mom?! You would've doomed us all out there!" Uyan continued, out of breath.
He was exhausted. The cold, the anger, and the sadness had drained him of his strength.
Itoî couldn't answer. For a few moments, he blamed himself for his mother's death, then voices echoed in his head. But they weren't the demon's:
I am weak!
Dad, where are you?
Mom, no!
We're going to be at war soon, Big Bro.
How is grandma's grandson doing?
Where am I? Get me out of here!
Uyan slapped his older brother.
"You were in a trance again, damn it! What the hell is wrong with you, Big Bro?" he asked, crying.
Itoî grabbed his head in his hands and screamed:
"My head hurts, Uyan!"
Uyan stood up and asked, worried:
"W-What do you mean? Is it the demon?"
"No! I have a bunch of voices in my head, Uyan, a ton! In my head, it's static, whispering incomprehensible words. So many people are talking to me! It hurts, little bro!"
Uyan understood what was happening to his older brother. It had nothing to do with a mental illness like schizophrenia or anything similar. It was something else, something no one knew existed, except Vars and their mother.
That's when the young boy pulled a small box from his pocket.
Inside were a few pills. He gave one to Itoî:
"Here, swallow this. You'll feel better."
Itoî took it and swallowed it. He felt soothed and gradually returned to normal.
"W-What did I have, Uyan?"
"I don't know. It happens to me too, but with you, it seems way more violent. Your face was all contorted and you seemed completely out of it. Has this happened to you before?" Uyan asked.
"Yeah, but not this much. It was very mild."
"Did Mom know?"
"No, I didn't want to worry her, to be honest."
"You idiot! If she'd known, she would've made these pills for you," Uyan said, annoyed.
"Mom was working with Vars on these meds. She assumed it was a rare disease, but I don't know. In his free time, Vars used to read books on the subject, but he couldn't find anything," Uyan continued.
"I-I see," Itoî said, lowering his eyes again.
Uyan realized his words about their mother had struck a nerve with his older brother.
"I'm sorry, Itoî. I didn't mean it was your fault when I talked about the demon. But I stand by what I said about saving Mom. It would've been impossible," Uyan said.
Uyan's voice dropped at the end. After all, the subject of their mother was still very raw. The children were crushed by this day, which felt like a direct visit from hell.
Itoî looked up and saw Uyan stumbling and shaking. He lunged at his little brother to catch him before he fell.
"T-Thanks, Big Bro," Uyan said.
He looked tired and almost feverish.
"You've pushed yourself too hard, Uyan," Itoî said, stroking his little brother's head.
"Rest. You've changed so much in such a short time," he continued.
"H-How so?" Uyan asked.
"Not like me, I mean. You seem more resilient against everything that's happened."
Uyan slowly closed his eyes. Itoî pressed his brother's back against his chest so the armor would warm him too.
"It's not that, Big Bro. I just want to stop thinking about it," he murmured, closing his eyes.
Two quiet tears rolled down Uyan's eyes.
Itoî rested his chin on his little brother's head. His face turned red and tears welled up in his eyes. He cried silently so as not to wake his brother.
He felt so pathetic, so weak, but also so guilty for having considered accepting a demon's help, which would have wiped out his mother's efforts.
He told himself, while crying:
I'm so weak, so pathetic…