Elixir's POVA chilling stillness settled over the clearing. My breath was lodged in my throat, my muscles frozen in place as I stared at the impossible—myself standing just feet away, yet so fundamentally wrong.This other me had black eyes. They had no warmth. No hint of humanity. Just a deep, dark void.Lucian was the first to react, his stance shifting, a quiet growl rumbling from his chest. Soren’s fingers twitched toward the dagger at his belt. Even Ewen, usually unshaken, had his hand poised near the hilt of his sword.But the seer's face showed nothing.I swallowed hard. What… are you?My mirror image tilted her head, her lips curving into an eerie smile. "Isn't it obvious?" Her voice—my voice—sent a bolt of nausea through me. "I'm the path you left behind."Lucian’s jaw clenched. "If that were true, you wouldn’t be standing here."The thing that looked like me gave a slow, deliberate blink. “Wouldn’t I?”The air around us thickened. The wind stopped. Even the trees, their br
Elixir’s POVEverything around me seemed to fall apart. A face—but not mine—looked back at me. It wore a smirk that felt both familiar and strange. “I’m the choice you didn’t make,” she whispered, her voice curling around me like smoke. Lucian tensed beside me. He stood like a shield but I could see his fingers twitch. He was ready for a fight but had no clue what it was about. Soren and Ewen stood nearby, watching my counterpart closely, breaths even and quiet. Inside, I felt like I might break down. “What… are you?” I asked, barely above a whisper. The counterpart laughed softly. “You know what I am.” She stepped closer. “I’m everything you tried to bury. Everything you didn’t want to be.” I stepped back. My heart raced. The seer, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. “She is the result of your indecision.” Indecision? My head spun. I had made choices. I had fought. I had felt pain. But it didn’t seem like it was enough. “You’re lying.” My voice was sharp
Elixir’s POVI could hear my name in the heavy silence. But it didn’t feel like a call or a plea. It felt like a claim. I gasped. My chest felt tight, like invisible hands were squeezing my ribs. My knees scraped against the rough ground. The cold seeped into my skin, but I was frozen. I couldn’t breathe. Not with it staring at me. It came from the rift. It looked just like me. Lucian had a firm grip on my arm. I felt him holding me back. Or maybe he was holding himself back. I could feel his heart racing against my skin. “Elixir, look at me.” His voice cut through the chaos in my head. I turned my gaze away from the thing that looked like me. Lucian’s blue eyes were fixed on mine, filled with urgency. “We need to go. Now.” The crack in the ground grew wider with a low growl. The air felt heavy, making my bones ache. But that thing—my other—just smiled. “Running?” it said, tilting its head. “That’s not what you do, is it?” Then something else appeared behind it. It
Elixir’s POVThe silence that followed was heavier than the battle itself. Lucian’s hands were still on my shoulders, steadying me, but his grip was almost too tight—like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go. “Elixir,” he murmured again. “Are you sure you’re still here?” The words sent a chill down my spine. Because I wasn’t sure. I could still feel it. The echo of what I had just fought. The part of me I had tried to bury. It wasn’t just gone. It had merged with me. I pulled away from Lucian, my heart hammering. My hands curled into fists as I tried to shake the sensation off—the feeling that something inside me had shifted. Ewen wiped the sweat from his brow. “I don’t like this,” he muttered. “That thing might be gone, but the air still feels wrong.” Soren was breathing hard, his face pale. “Because it didn’t just disappear,” he said darkly. “It left something behind.” Lucian stiffened. “What are you saying?” Soren’s gaze flicked to me. And then— I felt
Elixir's POVLucian’s grip on my shoulders was steady, but the storm in his eyes betrayed him. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but the words never came. Because we all felt it. Even though the entity had shattered into nothing, the air was still wrong. The silence was too thick, too absolute. It wrapped around us like a noose, pressing in from all sides. Soren staggered to his feet, rubbing his face. “Tell me that’s over,” he muttered. Ewen let out a long breath, gripping his sword like it was the only thing keeping him standing. “We need to leave. Now.” I knew he was right, but something in me hesitated. My pulse pounded in my ears, an uneasy rhythm I couldn’t ignore. Something was still here. Lucian turned to me, his fingers brushing my arm. “Elixir?” His voice was low, careful. I swallowed hard and looked past him. The crack in the ground—the one the entity had crawled from—was still there. Only now, it wasn’t just a fracture in the earth. It was
The silence stretched between us, thick and oppressive. The rift was still there, yawning open like a wound in the earth, but the thing that had worn Ewen’s face was gone. Lucian's grip on my wrist was firm, grounding me when everything else felt like it was unraveling. His pulse thudded against my skin, matching the frantic beat of my own heart. But even as we stood there, frozen in place, I knew one thing. This isn’t over. Soren took a slow step forward, his blade still slick with something that looked like blood—but wasn’t. The air around it hissed, curling away from the metal like it was alive. “That wasn’t him,” he muttered, echoing his own words from before. Lucian exhaled sharply, his grip tightening before he finally let me go. “We need to move. Now.” I forced myself to nod, even though every part of me wanted to stay, to demand answers from the abyss staring back at me. Because deep down, I knew. It knew where we were going. And it wouldn’t stop. Not u
Elixir’s POV The air inside the ruins was heavier than before. Not just thick with dust, but with something unseen, something crawling beneath my skin. I had felt this presence before. It wasn’t just a memory, nor was it an illusion. It was real. Lucian’s fingers tightened around my wrist, his silent way of telling me to stop, to think before I took another step. But I couldn’t. The pull inside me was stronger than my fear. I had to know. I pressed my palm against the door. The air split the second my flesh hit the stone, and a deep crack rippled through the chamber, bringing to life the dormant marks. The brightness was blinding, pouring into my fingertips and spreading up my veins like molten fire.The door moved. Lucian yanked me back just as the slabs of black stone groaned and slid apart. A rush of cold air spilled from the darkness beyond, thick with the scent of something ancient, something that had been waiting. Soren and Ewen flanked us, weapons drawn, their ey
Elixir’s POVI couldn’t believe I said it. My breath seized as the name left my lips, barely louder, yet it carried the weight of a thousand nightmares, suffocating, and undeniable.Veylan.I instantly regretted it. Saying his name felt like waking something that should have stayed asleep.It felt like breathing life into something long buried- something that should have stayed beneath the earth. Lucian gripped my arm tightly. His eyes were sharp, full of disbelief. There was something else, too- something dark.“Say it again,” he said, his voice calm but urgent.I shook my head. No way I could say it again.I felt exposed. My mind was stuck in a terrible memory. It wasn’t just some bad dream. I had been there, frozen in place, hearing those awful words.“You were never meant to survive.”The air around me felt thick. It pressed down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. The walls felt like they were closing in, the torches throwing crazy shadows- no, they weren’t shadows. They we
Elixir's POVThe air got really cold. I touched Lucian's hand. But just as I grabbed his wrist, that old, decayed hand pulled him into the darkness.“No!” I screamed, my voice echoing in the crumbling room. I lunged forward, but the darkness swallowed him whole. The walls around me twisted, like they were alive and eating my hope. The floor cracked beneath me.Lucian was gone.Soren and Ewen struggled to keep their balance on the shifting ground. The whole temple shook, like a big animal waking up. When Veylan disappeared, it felt like the place was deciding our fate.“Where is he?” Ewen shouted, panic in his voice. “Where the hell is Lucian?”I had no answer. My hands shook, stretching out to where he used to be. I knew something dark was watching me. I could almost feel it lurking.“We need to go!” Soren cursed. “Before this place crushes us!”The temple groaned, the floor splitting wider. My heart raced. I wanted to jump into the dark and save Lucian, but Soren pulled me back.“Eli
Elixir’s POVThe ground opened up beneath me.One second, I was running. The next, I was falling into a dark pit. I barely had time to scream before the air rushed past me. I gasped for breath. I clawed at nothing, hoping for something to grab. But there was nothing. No ledge, no rope, no helping hands. Just empty darkness.The wind howled around me. Or was it something else? It felt alive, sliding through my hair and chilling my skin. It seemed to know who I was. It called my name in a mix of voices that wasn’t mine.I twisted in the air, heart racing and stomach churning. How long was I falling? Seconds? Minutes? Time felt strange, twisting around me.Then I hit something.It wasn’t the hard landing I expected. Instead, I landed on something soft. It felt like sinking into thick mud. I gasped, forcing my body to move.My hands pressed into the surface. It was warm and pulsing.I jerked my hands back. Panic shot through me.This wasn’t stone or dirt. This was flesh.The thought mad
Lucian's POVLucian stood still. The darkness below stirred with each breath Elixir took. It felt like an old friend to her, wrapping around her like a loyal pet waiting for a command. His hands turned into fists. This felt wrong. Elixir had always been strong, but this- this was unnatural.Veylan thrashed against the shadowy tendrils holding him. He was halfway lost in the nothingness. His screams turned into something growly and animal-like. Every struggle made the shadows squeeze tighter, pulling away his life. The air was thick and heavy, almost like it was alive. “Elixir,” Lucian called, keeping his voice steady. “Let go.” Nothing happened. Her eyes, once filled with fire and defiance, now held an emptiness that sent a shiver down his spine. The glow around her hands pulsed, growing stronger, as if the abyss recognized her. As if it welcomed her.“Elixir,” he tried again, stepping closer. She took a slow breath, and the tendrils around Veylan squeezed tighter. A hor
Elixir’s POV The world imploded. Stone crumbled. The walls that once caged us turned to dust, sucked into the gaping void beyond. A force- ravenous, all-consuming- ripped through the ruins, swallowing the torches, the air, the very fabric of reality. I tumbled backward, my body weightless, plummeting into a darkness so absolute it devoured my breath. My scream never left my throat. Then- impact. A shockwave tore through me as I crashed onto an unseen surface. But it wasn’t stone. It wasn’t solid. It pulsed beneath me, a sick, shifting mass. Lucian landed beside me, his sword already drawn, his eyes scanning. Ewen and Soren weren’t here. Just the two of us. The space around us was vast yet suffocating, shifting in unnatural ways. Faint pulses of red light flickered in the air, illuminating the truth. We were standing on something alive. My stomach twisted. The ground beneath us slithered, a thick, pulsating mass of flesh and bone, stitched together by sinew. Faces
Elixir’s POVThe walls creaked like they were alive. The old stone pressed around us, closing in. The air smelled rotten, thick enough to choke on with every shallow breath.I forced myself up, pressing my palm against the icy floor. My ribs hurt, and my mind fogged. I couldn’t break down now.Lucian stood a few feet away, sword ready, eyes fixed on the empty hallway. It looked empty, but it felt anything but.Veylan’s presence hung in the air, tightening around us like a noose.Ewen wiped blood from his forehead. “Tell me we’re not trapped.”Lucian didn’t say anything.Soren looked at me, his eyes sharp. “Elixir, you sensed it first. Does he have control here?”I swallowed hard. “Not just control. This place bends to him. He isn't just in the temple; he is the temple.”Lucian straightened. “Then we burn it down.”I wanted to believe it could be that simple. Destroy the place and watch Veylan’s hold crumble.But the temple was alive. It was tied to Veylan in ways we didn’t get.Ewen’s
Lucian’s POV The darkness was unbearable. Not the kind where your eyes adjusted, where shadows took shape, and flickering torchlight could carve through the black. This was something else. Something alive. A suffocating void that swallowed even the thought of escape. I couldn’t see Elixir. Couldn’t hear Soren or Ewen. But I felt him. Veylan. His presence seeped into the air, thick and cloying, curling like smoke in my lungs. The laughter from before had stopped. Now, only silence remained. A silence that pressed in on all sides, so heavy it felt like the temple itself had closed its mouth around us. Then- A whisper. Low, right at my ear. "You should have buried me deeper." Ice shot through my veins. My grip on my sword tightened, the leather-wrapped hilt digging into my palm. My body screamed at me to move, to strike, but there was nothing to strike. Another whisper. "You think your blade can stop me?" This time, I felt breath against my skin. I swung. Th
Lucian’s POVIt was dark. Really dark. I could barely remember what light felt like. My breaths were slow. My grip on my sword was strong. But I felt fear knotting in my stomach. We weren’t just stuck. We were trapped.“Elixir,” I whispered. My voice vanished into the silence. No reply. Panic squeezed my chest. I reached out, but all I felt was cold air. “Elixir!” I called again, louder this time.Still nothing.Then I heard a whisper. But it wasn’t hers.“She's listening, Lucian.”The voice slipped through the darkness. It felt old and wrong. It was Veylan.The air shifted. I felt a breeze that shouldn’t be there. It grew stronger, wrapping around me. Then I heard it- a slow, dragging footstep. Another one followed.I turned fast, raising my sword, but there was nothing. The footsteps came from something else. Something that was watching me.The darkness shifted. A shape moved, slow and careful. It didn’t step out, it came apart from the dark. Then I saw him.Veylan.He looked like h
Lucian’s POV The name still echoed in my mind. Veylan. It wasn’t possible. It shouldn’t have been possible. Yet Elixir had seen him. Heard him. And that meant we were standing at the edge of something far worse than we had imagined. We moved quickly through the crumbling temple ruins, our steps echoing in the eerie silence. The torches lining the walls flickered as though disturbed by an unseen force, casting long, twisting shadows that stretched unnaturally across the ground. I kept Elixir close, my hand hovering near the blade at my hip. She was silent now, her expression unreadable. But I could see the tension in her jaw, the way her fingers curled into fists at her sides. She was unraveling. “Elixir,” I said quietly, slowing my pace just enough to walk beside her. “Talk to me.” She didn’t look at me. “There’s nothing to say.” I exhaled sharply. “You just told us that a *dead man* is alive. A man we buried. A man who shouldn’t even exist anymore. That’s not noth
Elixir’s POVI couldn’t believe I said it. My breath seized as the name left my lips, barely louder, yet it carried the weight of a thousand nightmares, suffocating, and undeniable.Veylan.I instantly regretted it. Saying his name felt like waking something that should have stayed asleep.It felt like breathing life into something long buried- something that should have stayed beneath the earth. Lucian gripped my arm tightly. His eyes were sharp, full of disbelief. There was something else, too- something dark.“Say it again,” he said, his voice calm but urgent.I shook my head. No way I could say it again.I felt exposed. My mind was stuck in a terrible memory. It wasn’t just some bad dream. I had been there, frozen in place, hearing those awful words.“You were never meant to survive.”The air around me felt thick. It pressed down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. The walls felt like they were closing in, the torches throwing crazy shadows- no, they weren’t shadows. They we