CHAPTER 4: Shadows Of Fate.

Kyara's POV

I didn't wake up to the pleasant glow of the light or the comfort of my bed. No, I awoke to the suffocating blackness of a foreign landscape, damp, cold, and strangely silent. My body felt heavy and nearly numb as if the strength surging through me had sapped all of my energy. My limbs were sluggish and scarcely responding, but the pain in my chest persisted, reminding me of what had just happened. The voice, cold and nasty, rang in my mind.

"Mercy or destruction."

I sat up slowly, peering in the darkness, my heart racing. Where was I?

"Kyara?" A strong voice pierced through the silence.

Eric.

He sat next to me on the ground, his massive form silhouetted by the dim light coming through a break in what appeared to be a stone wall. Relief came over me, but it was temporary. The sight in his eyes was a mix of concern and something sinister.

I looked around. We were in some underground room, perhaps a cellar. The walls were covered in moist stones, and the air was dense with the aroma of soil and something metallic. "What... what happened?" I inquired, my voice faint and my throat dry.

"You collapsed," Eric remarked, his voice low and calm. He moved closer, the warmth of his body in stark contrast to the cold that surrounded us. "I've brought you here to rest. We're okay for now, but we need to talk."

His tone was forceful, almost demanding, but the anxiety was palpable. I caught his stare, sensing the tension between us. He wasn't only worried. He was terrified—of me.

"Eric, I don't know what's going on," I murmured, my voice shaking. "That power... is not mine. It doesn't feel like it belongs to me.

"You're wrong," he murmured, his gaze intensifying. "It's yours, Kyara." And if what Victor said is correct..." He trailed off, straining his jaw and tightening his neck muscles.

The mere mention of Victor's name sent shivers down my spine. Just thinking about him made me uneasy. But what was worse was the nagging feeling that he was correct about something. The strength I felt was expanding and getting harder to manage.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eric's tone sounded softer and more tender, unlike him. "I think you must have tried this previously. "Why didn't you trust me?"

I opened my lips to answer, but the words remained in my throat. How could I describe what I didn't understand? How could I tell him that I'd been harboring this worry for months, like it didn't exist, thinking it would simply go away?

"I didn't think it mattered," I said quietly. "I thought... I thought I could handle it."

Eric breathed quickly and reached out to cup my face. The gesture was so surprising and lovely that I forgot to breathe. His palm stroked my cheek, and his eyes locked on mine as if attempting to extract the truth from me.

"You don't have to handle this alone," he said, his voice a quiet growl that sent shivers down my spine, but not from fear this time. His touch was warm and anchoring, and for a time, I allowed myself to fall into it, into him.

But then I remembered Victor's remarks.

"You're the key to everything."

I pulled back, shaking my head. "Eric, you do not understand. It is not just me; there is something broader going on. Something harmful. Victor—he knows something about me, and I guess he is correct. I'm... I am connected to whatever is coming."

Eric's jaw tensed, and his palm dropped away from my face. "Victor is manipulating you, Kyara." He's attempting to tamper with your mind. Whatever he thinks he knows doesn't matter. I will not let him near you again."

His protectiveness should have reassured me, but it only made me feel more constrained. This was not something he could overcome alone through strength. This was not a physical fight. It was something deeper and more pernicious.

"Eric, you can't protect me from this," I murmured, my voice barely stable. "Not when I don't even know what this is."

Before he could respond, a strong gust of wind rushed into the chamber, extinguishing the small flame in the lantern, the only light source we had; the darkness overtook us as a familiar, scary presence closed in on me.

Victor.

"Did you think you could hide from me, Kyara?" His voice slithered through the shadows like poison, mocking, and terrifying. "You should know better by now."

My heart raced, and the air around us grew heavier with his presence. Eric was suddenly on his feet, his body rigid and ready to fight. But I knew it would not be so straightforward. No, not this time.

"Show yourself!" Eric hissed, his voice filled with wrath that could scarcely be suppressed.

Laughter rang around us, and Victor appeared from the shadows, like a specter. His eyes sparkled in the darkness, locked on mine with a hunger that made my skin crawl.

"Still playing the hero, I see," Victor snarled, shifting his glance briefly to Eric before returning to me. "But do heroes never win, Kyara? "Not in stories like ours.

"Get out," I exclaimed, my voice quivering with dread and wrath.

Victor smirked and stepped closer. "Oh, yes, I will. But not before I warn you of what's coming. He leaned closer, his voice becoming a low whisper that only I could hear. "You can't escape destiny, Kyara. The choice will be yours when the time comes "Mercy... or destruction?"

His words sent shivers down my spine, but before I could respond, Eric sprang at him. His fists hit Victor's jaw, sending him falling into the stone wall with a horrible thud.

Victor chuckled, even though blood was trickling down his lip. "Eric, you are too late. The clock is running. Soon, neither you nor I will have the power to rescue her.

He instantly vanished into the darkness, as if he never existed.

The solitary silence that ensued was deafening. 

Eric stood panting, hands clenched, yet the tension in his posture told me that he, like me, knew this wasn't done.

I took a nervous breath, my chest tense from the weight of what had just occurred.

"Kyara," Eric murmured, his voice straining and his eyes flaming with fire. "We have to leave. Now."

But I was unable to move. Something in Victor's words touched a deep chord with me. That choice—mercy or destruction—felt too real, too close. What is the worst part? I wasn't sure which course to follow when the time arrived.

"Eric..." I said quietly, my voice barely audible. "What if I'm the one you can't protect me from?"

His face softened, but I could sense terror in his eyes. He drew closer, softly caressing my face again, his thumb following the line of my jaw.

"I won't let that happen," he insisted, his voice low and determined. "I don't mind what it takes. I'll fight for you, Kyara. Always."

For a brief time, the world appeared to constrict to just the two of us—his warmth, strength, and the promise in his words. Even as I leaned into his touch, I felt a cold, gnawing fear descend in my stomach.

Because I understood deep down that the war was not just on the outside, but also inside me, and soon, I would have to make a decision.

But what if Victor was not the true danger? What if the true threat... was me?