"Kaelen, wake up; we don't have much time," Rowan said.
The city was gone. Nothing again—not black, just nothing—but with Rowan standing in it this time.
Now that Rowan stood so close, his face was clearer—the roughness in his skin came from experience, not old age.
Kaelen stood up and looked at the sky.
He sat down, covered his ears, and screamed. "Leave me alone."
Rowan grabbed both of his wrists and separated them from his ears.
Kaelen looked at his hands while struggling to get them back in position; he realized there was no blood anymore, no voices.
"So you finally came to your senses."
Kaelen stood up and asked. "Where am I this time?"
"Listen well; if you don't move your pride away, both of us will die. I was able to bring you here, a part of your void, which was given to me. It's small; once they come back, we can hope you have changed by then."
"What do you want me to change? I have accepted everything you said."
"What is wrong with you? Why can't you listen to understand what I am saying instead of listening to give a reply?"
Kaelen stayed quiet; he thought he was smart for misunderstanding what Rowan said on purpose.
"What's the reason behind this silence?" Rowan shouted.
Kaelen shrugged. "You told me to listen to understand, not reply."
Rowan pointed at Kaelen and said, "That. That is what I am telling you to put away."
"Let's get done quick then; start your speech."
Rowan's mouth tightened. "Kaelen, this is not a time for playing around; it is the end for both of us."
"When are you going to stop saying 'our end'?"
"I keep reminding you because you don't seem to understand anything that goes against your contrary mind."
"So what is it that you want me to do other than become what you want?"
Rowan spun. The punch came faster than Kaelen could read it. Kaelen's face kissed the ground from its impact.
"This is not just me; it's the best for you too."
Kaelen sat back up the same way as before, side-eyeing Rowan. "So you want me to be your idle son."
"I am no enemy of yours; for once in your life, don't lose more people. Those people whom I heard you lost, don't lose your new friends."
Kaelen's face lost the aggravated expression it had.
Rowan smirked.
They knew it was an improvement in Kaelen. But Kaelen took it as a loss and a victory for Rowan.
"It's good to get whatever you want."
"If I got everything I want, I would be alive, not with an idiot like you; I could have taken over the moment you entered any of the voids and met my family."
Kaelen went quiet in a way that was different from his earlier silences. He brought his hands closer to his face, locking his fingers.
"I sacrificed everything for you; everyone sacrificed something for you. Then why can't we expect something from you in return?"
Kaelen unlocked his hands and looked at the ground.
"You don't need to feel low; do what is required and be proud of it."
Kaelen twitched. "I can get both of us out, and I will do it my way."
"This is your void, so it's your choice. Just do your best."
Kaelen started walking towards the end of the void.
"They spent so long trying to control me that they forgot what happens when I stop letting them."
"You just watch what I do. Today, you will get to witness the greatest performance of your life. Just don't question it and watch like a good audience." He touched the boundary; it created a ripple.
"Noooo!" Rowan screamed.
"Now they know where we are."
"I know; I told you to watch and not ask anything."
Rowan expected something great after watching Kaelen's confidence, but the uneasiness from Kaelen's unpredictability was still there.
They both stood at the same spot; Kaelen had his hands in his pockets, away from worries on a weekend, and Rowan struggled to keep his feet on the ground.
They watched as the voices took shape—not sound anymore, something with form, pressing against the boundary of the void from the outside.
Kaelen brought out one of his hands, his hand carrying a paper, an old one, its content hard to understand.
"You want control," Kaelen said. "I can't let you have it."
"Is this a trick you play when we have already taken over most of it?"
"We both know you can't. Either I live the same way as you three, or we make a deal; I get my life back with complete void, and you write what you get yourself."
The voices went quiet for a moment. Then something like a grunt.
The paper flew away from Kaelen's hand and went high up in the sky.
"Here." The paper came back towards Kaelen.
It had a lot of new terms, mostly restrictions on Kaelen's use of power.
Most of it made no sense to Kaelen, but some were obvious after reading once.
There was one statement that stood out. "Restricted from using identity manipulation over the power of the God of deception, the God of corruption, and the God of war." Kaelen had thought of at least one way to pass other terms, but this one was too unfair.
"I want the 17th restriction gone, and don't waste my time. All of us know I pose more of a threat to you if I don't accept the contract because you have already revealed your identities in it. I never thought of them as that big of a threat."
The gods stayed silent; they took back the contract, edited it, and sent it back.
One after another, Kaelen got rid of the heavy restrictions.
The voices of the gods had turned pale; they were on the verge of begging Kaelen to sign it.
Rowan finally gave a smile. His satisfaction was all that Kaelen demanded at the moment. He signed it without a second thought.
The void turned back to where it was; Rowan's void was no longer separated from Kaelen's.
After receiving everything back, Kaelen had no reason to stay. They said their goodbyes, and Kaelen left.
He returned to his room. The people outside were still on the same topic as they were before; not just the topic, but the word that was left incomplete was completed the moment he returned.