The tension in the air was so thick it felt like it could choke me. We’d barely escaped the stronghold, and the weight of everything was crushing. Adrian lay unconscious in the corner of the room, his breathing steady but shallow. Rigel hovered near the doorway, arms crossed, his jaw clenched tight. His silence was heavier than any lecture he could give.Selene sat at the desk, pouring over a pile of documents she’d salvaged from the stronghold. Her brow was furrowed in that way that meant she’d stumbled on something important but wasn’t ready to share it yet.I stood in the center of the room, feeling like a storm was raging inside me. My mark was still faintly glowing, though its warmth had finally dulled. The power that had surged through me during the fight was unlike anything I’d ever felt before—terrifying, uncontrollable, and devastating.“What the hell was that back there?” I asked, breaking the suffocating silence.Rigel turned slowly, his eyes narrowing as they met mine. “Th
The air inside the sanctuary was still, like the quiet before a storm. I hadn’t slept much since Adrian’s faint words the night before, his warning looping in my mind like a song I couldn’t shake: “Don’t trust…” Trust who? It was a question I couldn’t answer, and it gnawed at me.Rigel sat near the hearth, his gaze fixed on the flames dancing in the fireplace. His normally guarded face seemed softer, almost vulnerable, but his jaw remained tight as if he were wrestling with thoughts too heavy to share.“You’ve been quiet,” I said softly, breaking the silence.He looked up, his golden eyes meeting mine with a flicker of something I couldn’t quite name—something raw, unguarded. “Quiet doesn’t mean I’m not thinking,” he replied, his voice rough but low.I hesitated before stepping closer. “And what are you thinking about?”He stood, his towering frame almost intimidating, but I’d learned to see past the armor he wore. “I’m thinking about how close we came to losing everything,” he said,
The air grew heavy, almost impossible to breathe, as the figure stepped through the shattered barrier. Darkness seemed to radiate from him, rippling like smoke, swallowing the light in its path. My heart pounded against my ribs, every instinct screaming at me to run, but my feet refused to move.Selene’s sharp intake of breath broke the silence. “No… It can’t be him.”Her face was pale, her usual composure slipping into raw fear. “Who is it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she clutched at her necklace—a small, worn charm that I’d never seen her without—and her eyes filled with something I’d never seen in her before: dread. “He’s called Malrik,” she said, her voice shaking. “He’s the one who… who destroyed my family.”The shadowy figure stepped further into the sanctuary, his boots echoing on the stone floor. His features became clearer—a strikingly handsome face marred by an eerie, predatory grin. His eyes burned like embers, a deep r
The tension in the sanctuary was suffocating, not just from the rogue leader’s presence but from the words he hadn’t yet spoken. Malrik paced in slow, deliberate steps, his dark cloak whispering over the ground. He looked as though he owned the place, each step driving home the fact that we were at his mercy.“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” he asked, his voice a silken thread laced with poison.I stood rooted in place, my body tense and trembling. The mark on my chest throbbed in time with my racing heartbeat, and I instinctively clutched at it. “Felt what?”Malrik turned, his lips curving into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “The pull. The whispers in your mind. The power clawing at you to be released.” His eyes locked on mine, and I felt as if he could see straight through me.“He doesn’t feel anything except disgust for you,” Rigel cut in, his voice sharp as steel. He stepped protectively in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking Malrik’s view. “Whatever game you’re playing,
When I woke, my body felt like it had been put through a shredder. My chest throbbed where the mark had flared, and the faint, glowing tendrils of light still lingered on my skin. The room was dim, lit by a single lantern flickering in the corner, and the muffled sound of voices outside the door reached my ears.I sat up, wincing as every muscle protested. My mind was a haze, fragments of memories or dreams floating in and out like the tide. The visions weren’t mine, though. They couldn’t be.One stood out. A forest bathed in silver light. A woman, her face blurred, whispering words I couldn’t quite catch. Her voice echoed with familiarity, and I could almost feel the touch of her hand against my cheek.“Daniel.”The sound of my name snapped me out of the vision. I turned to see Selene standing in the doorway, her arms crossed. There was a tightness in her expression that hadn’t been there before, like she was carrying something too heavy for her to admit.“How long was I out?” I aske
The night when my whole life changes! Something changed the night I met him. I was just a regular guy, drifting through a predictable life, mostly without a stable job and income and also an orphan without any inheritance, until a single encounter shattered the calm and plunged me into something I couldn’t understand.It started on an ordinary evening, in the heart of the city, when a sharp wind picked up, carrying a sense of unease. The streets were nearly empty, and I was on my way home from my job as a professional sleeper. My mind was preoccupied, when I felt it—a presence. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as if someone’s gaze was digging into me.Turning, I found a man watching me from across the street, standing under the flickering glow of a streetlight. Tall and still as a shadow, his eyes locked onto mine, intense and unnervingly steady. My heart thudded hard against my ribs. He was beautiful, but there was something… otherworldly about him, a quiet power radiating f
The following morning, I woke with the image of the strange burned into my mind, as vivid as if I’d just seen him. That intense, almost otherworldly look in his eyes kept replaying, refusing to let go. I tried to shake it off, but every time I closed my eyes, he was there—like a phantom in the corners of my thoughts.Throughout the day, nothing felt real. Conversations blurred, routines felt mechanical. I was on autopilot, sleepwalking through my life, haunted by thoughts of him. His face, his voice, the way he seemed to know me, as if we’d met somewhere in another life—it was intoxicating. And it was terrifying even though I tried not to think about it.By nightfall, my obsession had deepened, morphing from curiosity into something darker. I started hearing things in the quiet moments—footsteps just behind me, a breath so close it sent shivers down my neck. I’d whip around, pulse pounding, but there was never anyone there. Shadows seemed to stretch and shift in unnatural ways, leavin
The nagging sense of dread only deepened after that night. Every shadow felt too close, every sound too loud. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone—or something—was always watching me.My sleepless nights turned into restless days, and as the city outside continued its usual bustle, I delved into an entirely different world. Late nights at the library, dim-lit corners of obscure websites, anywhere I could find whispers of the things lurking beneath the surface, I wanted to be sure that I was not losing my mind. Most of it felt like nonsense, ancient folklore and children’s tales. But the more I read, the more these so-called legends started to feel… uncomfortably familiar. Beings who lived on the fringes of our world, creatures who slipped in and out of human lives, feeding off them, binding themselves to them.One night, I stumbled on an article about a local legend: a cursed protector, a being who appeared human but was anything but. It was said he was bound to a single soul—a “
When I woke, my body felt like it had been put through a shredder. My chest throbbed where the mark had flared, and the faint, glowing tendrils of light still lingered on my skin. The room was dim, lit by a single lantern flickering in the corner, and the muffled sound of voices outside the door reached my ears.I sat up, wincing as every muscle protested. My mind was a haze, fragments of memories or dreams floating in and out like the tide. The visions weren’t mine, though. They couldn’t be.One stood out. A forest bathed in silver light. A woman, her face blurred, whispering words I couldn’t quite catch. Her voice echoed with familiarity, and I could almost feel the touch of her hand against my cheek.“Daniel.”The sound of my name snapped me out of the vision. I turned to see Selene standing in the doorway, her arms crossed. There was a tightness in her expression that hadn’t been there before, like she was carrying something too heavy for her to admit.“How long was I out?” I aske
The tension in the sanctuary was suffocating, not just from the rogue leader’s presence but from the words he hadn’t yet spoken. Malrik paced in slow, deliberate steps, his dark cloak whispering over the ground. He looked as though he owned the place, each step driving home the fact that we were at his mercy.“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” he asked, his voice a silken thread laced with poison.I stood rooted in place, my body tense and trembling. The mark on my chest throbbed in time with my racing heartbeat, and I instinctively clutched at it. “Felt what?”Malrik turned, his lips curving into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “The pull. The whispers in your mind. The power clawing at you to be released.” His eyes locked on mine, and I felt as if he could see straight through me.“He doesn’t feel anything except disgust for you,” Rigel cut in, his voice sharp as steel. He stepped protectively in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking Malrik’s view. “Whatever game you’re playing,
The air grew heavy, almost impossible to breathe, as the figure stepped through the shattered barrier. Darkness seemed to radiate from him, rippling like smoke, swallowing the light in its path. My heart pounded against my ribs, every instinct screaming at me to run, but my feet refused to move.Selene’s sharp intake of breath broke the silence. “No… It can’t be him.”Her face was pale, her usual composure slipping into raw fear. “Who is it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she clutched at her necklace—a small, worn charm that I’d never seen her without—and her eyes filled with something I’d never seen in her before: dread. “He’s called Malrik,” she said, her voice shaking. “He’s the one who… who destroyed my family.”The shadowy figure stepped further into the sanctuary, his boots echoing on the stone floor. His features became clearer—a strikingly handsome face marred by an eerie, predatory grin. His eyes burned like embers, a deep r
The air inside the sanctuary was still, like the quiet before a storm. I hadn’t slept much since Adrian’s faint words the night before, his warning looping in my mind like a song I couldn’t shake: “Don’t trust…” Trust who? It was a question I couldn’t answer, and it gnawed at me.Rigel sat near the hearth, his gaze fixed on the flames dancing in the fireplace. His normally guarded face seemed softer, almost vulnerable, but his jaw remained tight as if he were wrestling with thoughts too heavy to share.“You’ve been quiet,” I said softly, breaking the silence.He looked up, his golden eyes meeting mine with a flicker of something I couldn’t quite name—something raw, unguarded. “Quiet doesn’t mean I’m not thinking,” he replied, his voice rough but low.I hesitated before stepping closer. “And what are you thinking about?”He stood, his towering frame almost intimidating, but I’d learned to see past the armor he wore. “I’m thinking about how close we came to losing everything,” he said,
The tension in the air was so thick it felt like it could choke me. We’d barely escaped the stronghold, and the weight of everything was crushing. Adrian lay unconscious in the corner of the room, his breathing steady but shallow. Rigel hovered near the doorway, arms crossed, his jaw clenched tight. His silence was heavier than any lecture he could give.Selene sat at the desk, pouring over a pile of documents she’d salvaged from the stronghold. Her brow was furrowed in that way that meant she’d stumbled on something important but wasn’t ready to share it yet.I stood in the center of the room, feeling like a storm was raging inside me. My mark was still faintly glowing, though its warmth had finally dulled. The power that had surged through me during the fight was unlike anything I’d ever felt before—terrifying, uncontrollable, and devastating.“What the hell was that back there?” I asked, breaking the suffocating silence.Rigel turned slowly, his eyes narrowing as they met mine. “Th
The rogue leader’s voice echoed through the chamber, dripping with malice. The darkness pressed against us, thick and stifling, as though the very air was conspiring to suffocate us. I clutched Adrian tightly, his weight a dead drag against me. His breathing was shallow, each exhale weaker than the last.“You walked into my web,” the rogue leader hissed, the sound slithering from every corner. “And now, you’ll all pay for your arrogance.”Selene muttered an incantation, her hands glowing faintly. A soft blue light spread around us, illuminating the room just enough to reveal the enemy: shadowy figures slipping out from the walls, their movements unnervingly silent. They surrounded us, cutting off every escape route.Rigel stepped forward, his sword gleaming in the faint light. “You’ll regret this,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.The rogue leader emerged from the darkness, tall and imposing, his face twisted into a cruel smile. “Oh, I think not. You see, Adrian here has been
The sanctuary was silent as we prepared to leave, but the silence wasn’t comforting—it was heavy, oppressive. Rigel stood by the door, his arms crossed and his face hard. He hadn’t stopped pacing since Adrian’s signal had gone dark. Every now and then, he’d stop, glance at me like he wanted to say something, then continue his restless movements.Selene sat at the table, her maps spread out in front of her, whispering softly under her breath. I didn’t need to ask what she was doing. Protective enchantments, probably. She liked to be precise about these things, especially when we were walking into something as dangerous as the rogue faction’s stronghold.“Are we just going to sit here all night?” Rigel finally snapped, breaking the quiet.Selene didn’t even look up. “We’ll leave when we’re ready. Charging in blind isn’t a strategy; it’s a death wish.”Rigel’s fists clenched, and his jaw tightened. “Every second we wait, Adrian’s closer to—”“Enough!” I said, my voice sharper than I inte
Rigel was sitting by the fire, his back straight despite the injuries he was still nursing. His face was turned away from me, his features shadowed by the flickering flames. I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I should disturb him, but something about his stillness made it impossible to walk away.“You’re quieter than usual,” I said, sitting down a few feet away.His gaze flicked toward me, sharp and assessing as always. Then, to my surprise, he sighed. “There’s a lot on my mind.”I waited, not pushing him. Rigel wasn’t one to share easily, but I’d learned that if you gave him enough space, he’d eventually say what he needed to.After a long silence, he spoke. “You asked me once why I’m like this. Why I’m so… overbearing.” He gave a bitter laugh. “You probably think I’m some possessive monster who doesn’t know when to let go.”“I don’t think that,” I said softly.He glanced at me, his expression unreadable. “Maybe you should.”He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. The
Rigel was still weak, resting against the wall of the crumbling shelter as the rest of us gathered to discuss the next steps. His face was pale, but his gaze was as sharp as ever, tracking every word, every movement, every flicker of emotion in the room. Adrian, as usual, leaned casually against the opposite wall, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.“We can’t wait any longer,” Adrian said, breaking the silence. “The rogue faction knows where we are. If we stay here, they’ll finish what they started. I can get inside their stronghold, get the intel we need, and—if the opportunity presents itself—take them out.”“No,” Rigel said flatly, his voice rasping from exhaustion but firm. “It’s too dangerous. You wouldn’t make it out alive.”Adrian shrugged, his tone almost flippant. “Maybe. But someone has to go, and it sure as hell can’t be you in your current state.”Rigel’s jaw clenched, his hand tightening into a fist. “We can find another way. Sending you in alone is suicide.”“Do