I wandered deeper into the shadows, each step dragging me farther into a void I couldn't escape. Disappointment curled tight in my chest. Betrayal wasn't just a wound—it was a poison, worse than any blade. It festered, made worse by my inability to forget.
Then, from the darkness, something lunged. Reflex, pure instinct, took control. Black flames erupted, swallowing it whole, consuming it in the blink of an eye.
[You have slain Twilight Beast, Viletorn.]
[ Your flame grows stronger]
I didn't care. Not anymore. The hex's message did nothing to dull the sharp, unyielding pain. Slaying the beast didn't undo the hurt, didn't give me back what I'd lost. Ren's betrayal still gnawed at me, its sting constant and raw. Forgetting him would change nothing.
I needed more. I needed a weapon—something that could sever more than just flesh. Something that could sever the chains binding my soul.
A voice cut through the fog that clouded my mind.
"Night!"
Silver. Her voice—her name—pierced me like a shard of light in this suffocating darkness. She rushed toward me, her arms enveloping me, and in that moment, I stood motionless, a hollow shell. The warmth of her embrace did nothing to mend the shattered trust, the trust I had placed in the wrong hands.
"Where were you?" she asked, her voice quivering, breaking apart. "I saw you when we crossed over, but then... you vanished."
Her words, so full of confusion and concern, faded into the empty air. My body collapsed into her arms, but my heart remained cold, empty. Betrayal had drained me of anything that might have been left.
I couldn't speak. My voice was gone, swallowed by the ashes of everything I once believed.
Silver tried again, her words falling like dead leaves around us, each one heavier than the last. But nothing she said could fill the void. Every syllable felt like it was made of ash in my mouth. Nothing good could come from me anymore.
There were others in the camp—ten survivors, Silver said. Leftovers from a failed rift attempt. Someone named Marcus had torn their group apart. But none of it mattered to me.
I rose, standing from the broken rubble I had used as a seat.
[You have slain Twilight Demon, shade lurker.]
[Your flames grow stronger.]
The messages meant nothing. The link to Ren was still there, anchoring me in this unrelenting torment. Ren was a Darkling—a part of my soul now, whether I liked it or not. His essence would never leave me, even if I loathed him.
Did he regret it? Did he even feel the weight of what he had done?
I couldn't bring myself to care anymore.
I left the makeshift hideout behind, stepping into the night. One thought drove me: perhaps crossing realms would sever the link. If there was any hope left, it lay in that desperate hope.
Forgotten King's Blade.
CHRONICLE: [FORGOTTEN KING'S BLADE]
ENCHANTMENTS: [SEVERING EDGE] [MORPHSTEEL] [LINK]
STATE: BROKEN
Forgotten King's Blade.
The blade... It was broken. Useless in its current form. But it was a start. A broken piece of power that could—maybe—help me leave this cursed place.
I couldn't fight this battle alone. I couldn't fix the shattered pieces of my soul with my bare hands. I needed a weapon stronger than what I had now. A weapon that could sever the link, sever the soul.
A shadow passed overhead.
I didn't have time to react before the massive black bat swooped down, its wings like a shroud of night. It slashed at my shoulder with a hooked claw, and the sting of its strike tore through me. Blood trailed down my arm, dripping to the ground like a silent promise of more pain to come.
I spun, fury swelling within me, and my teeth clenched.
"Come then," I growled.
My flames answered the challenge, dark and seething, swirling around me like a storm. The bat screeched in response, its rage matching mine.
This wasn't over. Not yet.