Chapter 97: The Return of the Past

Evryn's heart skipped a beat, her pulse racing as the voice echoed through the stillness. It wasn’t just a whisper, it was a haunting, familiar presence that curled through her thoughts like a cold wind. The darkness around her seemed to deepen, and for a moment, she was paralyzed by the weight of the words, the very essence of the shadow’s return clinging to the air like smoke.

She turned slowly, her body trembling as she scanned the surroundings, half expecting the familiar figure to emerge from the shadows of the rift she had just sealed. She couldn’t be sure, but there was something in the way the air shimmered, a faint ripple of energy that betrayed its presence. And then, a silhouette appeared—a figure, tall and imposing, standing at the edge of the fading light. The outline was unmistakable.

"No…" Evryn whispered, taking a step backward. "It can’t be."

But the figure did not move, their presence seemingly anchored in time, frozen in place. The air around them seemed to twist, as if reality itself were bending under their power. It was a presence that Evryn knew all too well, but one she had hoped never to face again.

"It’s me, Evryn," the voice said softly, almost tenderly. "I told you this wasn’t over."

A chill swept over her, like a sudden gust of wind cutting through the stillness. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear. It was him. The one she had believed to be lost forever—the one who had once betrayed her, and whose disappearance had haunted her every waking moment.

"No…"

It couldn’t be him. She had sealed the door. She had done everything. She had stopped the shadow. There was no way he could have returned—no way he could have survived.

The figure took a step forward, the darkness parting around them like a veil. Their eyes, glowing with a strange intensity, fixed on Evryn. A familiar, unsettling smile curled at the corners of their lips.

"You think you’ve won?" the figure asked, their voice dripping with bitterness. "You think closing that door has ended this?"

Evryn’s breath caught in her throat as recognition hit her like a hammer. It was him—Kieran Volk. The alpha of the Abyss Pack. The man who had once been her everything and, at the same time, the reason for her downfall. The very same man she had thought lost to the depths of the abyss, never to return.

"No," she whispered again, her voice shaking, barely able to comprehend what was happening. "This isn’t possible. You’re—"

"Alive?" Kieran finished for her, stepping closer, the shadows swirling around him like a protective cloak. "You thought you sealed the door, Evryn. You thought you could keep me out. But you were wrong."

Evryn stumbled back, her mind racing. The emotions surged within her—betrayal, anger, confusion—but most of all, an overwhelming sense of dread. How was he here? How was he standing before her, after everything that had happened?

"But I saw you fall," Evryn breathed, her voice barely audible as she struggled to keep herself composed. "I saw what happened. You were gone."

Kieran’s smile deepened, but there was no joy in it, only darkness, a twisted mockery of everything she once knew. "You saw what I wanted you to see, Evryn. You think the abyss claimed me? You think that was the end of the story? No. It was just the beginning."

His words hung in the air like a slow poison, sinking into her very soul. She felt the ground beneath her shift again, like the earth itself was no longer stable, no longer trustworthy.

"You were always so naive," Kieran continued, his voice now colder than ice. "You closed the door, but you never truly understood the force you were dealing with. The shadow was only a part of it. The truth is, you were never meant to stop it. You were meant to open it."

Evryn’s heart pounded in her chest as the full weight of his words slammed into her. She couldn’t grasp it. None of this made sense. Everything she had done, every sacrifice she had made—it had all been for nothing?

"What do you mean?" Evryn demanded, her voice rising with urgency. "What are you saying?"

Kieran’s eyes glinted with something dark, something that made her blood run cold. "I wasn’t the one who betrayed you, Evryn. I was the one who was betrayed."

She flinched at his words, the hurt from her past threatening to overtake her. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice growing desperate. "You betrayed me, Kieran. You left me to die. You abandoned me."

He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. "And that was the plan all along. You never knew the truth about who you are, Evryn. You were always meant to be part of something greater than yourself. But you couldn’t see it, could you?"

The words hit her like a slap, and her breath caught in her throat. She had spent years seeking the truth, piecing together the fragments of her past. She had believed the lies, believed Kieran’s betrayal, but now… now everything she thought she knew was crumbling before her.

"The truth is," Kieran continued, his voice soft but filled with a dangerous edge, "you were never meant to be human. You were never meant to be part of this world."

Evryn’s world tilted on its axis, her mind unable to fully comprehend what he was saying. She stepped back, shaking her head, her breath coming in shallow gasps. "No… this doesn’t make sense. You’re lying."

"Am I?" Kieran’s voice was laced with a cruel smile. "You’ve been running from the truth your entire life, Evryn. But now it’s here. You’re a part of something far darker than you ever imagined. The rift you sealed? It was never meant to be closed. You were the key to unlocking it."

The ground beneath her feet trembled, and Evryn stumbled, barely keeping herself upright. The air around them seemed to close in, thick with the force of Kieran’s words, the weight of everything he had just revealed. The shadow that had once threatened to engulf her wasn’t just a force of darkness—it was a part of her, a part of something much bigger than anything she had imagined.

Her heart raced. She had to make sense of this, had to understand what he was talking about. But her mind was clouded, overwhelmed by the enormity of what he had just said. Was it possible? Could everything she had believed about herself—about her past—be a lie?

"No," she said again, more forcefully this time, as she took a step forward, her hands clenched into fists. "I won’t listen to you. I’ll stop this."

Kieran’s eyes darkened, a shadow flickering across his face. "You don’t have a choice anymore, Evryn. This is the path you were always meant to walk."

And with that, the darkness around him flared, swallowing him whole. The world shifted again, and before Evryn could react, the figure was gone.

But the words echoed in her mind, drowning out all other thoughts.

The path she was meant to walk.

The truth.

And as the shadows of the abyss receded, she knew one thing for certain: the war was far from over. It had only just begun.

Evryn stood in the silence, her chest heaving, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. She thought she had been through the worst of it. She thought the darkness was sealed, but Kieran’s words had left a scar on her soul that could never be erased.

And then, as she turned to leave, a faint whisper reached her ears, chilling her to the core.

"The truth is out there, Evryn. And I will make you face it."