Their efforts were futile from the start, and Kaj wondered if perhaps that was better in the end. Perhaps it led to fewer casualties, but nothing could ever make Kaj feel better about what he and his kin had done. Did Mirage still feel the ghosts, the haunts, of her own invasion? Kaj smiled wryly to himself, circling restlessly above the battleground. Oh, but nobody had hated her when she had made the decision. Kaj didn't doubt he'd be the one demonized in the end; not apathetic, impassive Archibald, who was meant for war and had never let anyone fool themselves into the opposite. Certainly not Kahlua, with her quivering delicacies, the way she'd trembled and frozen before all her soldiers, garnering only sympathetic glances. And his own hesitations? Only Resplendence had answered his fears, and Kaj wondered dimly why it was everyone followed him so loyally, when all he felt was dissent somehow.

The end was almost anti-climactic. Though, a sick sort of pride wound itself through his stomach, because with the force of the Edge and the Basin combined, what couldn't they conquer? But this wasn't conquering, Kaj thought quietly to himself. This was slaughter. This was war in a way he'd never known it, so different from the days when he'd numbed and killed off all sensors and receptors of emotion in his body. Still, he ruminated on the potential to return to that realm of numbness, complete apathy and impartiality. Distance. Safety. Perhaps it was the only thing that would keep him from breaking into pathetic shards, drawing the true disdain of his people. For who ever told him he was fit to be King? A murderer. And how was he supposed to trust in his own abilities with that shadow encroaching on his soul?

Din died down, dust settling, victory claimed. Time ticked on, as it always did. The only real master, the true eternal winner. Archibald's voice rose above the silence, as if even nature was waiting on bated breath for an answer, a direction. Kaj alighted beside him, surveying the land with old, sad eyes. He could feel the hatred, the betrayal, as if it had sunken into the land itself. Infected it. And he would have to live with it. But he would do it again if it meant keeping his kin safe, and he prayed any repercussions She tried to pull on them would be negated by Her brother's new protection of the once-Edgers. And still Kaj knew others would never leave the misted cliffs, even if he tried to explain to them that he'd done it for them. It would never matter. And he would bear their ill-will with the same quiet suffering he did everything else. After all, didn't he deserve it?

Even still, a wing stretched to try and drag along Archibald's flank. We are here. We are whole. We have won. Together. Pale blues slid towards gold, trying to convey that message before turning regal head to the broken, battered souls that stood before him. How could he give them hope? How could he console those who still had the flames of hatred burning in their souls for him? His eyes flickered to Ophelia, and he wondered if her mind was open to him, and he did not attempt to shield himself from her if she desired to look inside him. In some minute way he craved it, so that she may once more be the lantern that had led him out of darkness the last time. Except...it was an unfair burden to place upon her. Kaj could not be a colt, helpless and weak, seeking others to do the hard parts for him. So he implanted steel within his bones, creating a basis for his soul to stretch across like a canopy, and looked to his people.

"I urge you not to look upon us as demons. Give us the chance to be your leaders. Do not let stung pride drive you into the Wilds, for you are all welcome to remain here in the home you've created for yourself. More violence and loss is not a necessity," his clear vocals boomed out, chasing Archibald's words. Ah, but he'd already said everything before Kaj, hadn't he? Chagrined, the newly turned Czar wondered if he'd ever stop feeling that volatile cocktail of love and bitterness over Archibald. But he was just one more peg on a ladder for Kaj to be lesser than. "To those of the former World's Edge - you have fought well. Rest. Those who have the strength will watch over for today. Approach us at your own pace for healing and decisions regarding ranks and desires. May we all be safer here," he let his hopes and desires wash tiredly into his vocals, and wondered if they'd even turn ear to his words. It seemed they were all broken in some way.