The world held its breath.
Vivian stood motionless, the dagger trembling in her grip, its edge still pressed against the woman's throat. Her blackened eyes flickered—something deep inside warring against the force that had consumed her.
Sebastian had seen many horrors in his life, but nothing like this. Nothing so personal, so wrong. Vivian was still there—he knew she was—but something else was too. Something that didn't belong.
He forced himself to move forward, step by step, despite the invisible weight pressing against his chest. His voice was quiet, controlled, as he spoke. "Vivian. Let go."
Her body tensed, her breath coming in short, shallow bursts. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the dagger, but she did not strike. It was as if she were caught between two opposing forces—one urging her forward, the other holding her back.
The woman, who had stood unflinching until now, slowly raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "Vivian," she murmured, her voice soft but firm. "You are not lost."
Vivian's head twitched to the side, her eyes narrowing as if the words physically pained her. "No," she whispered, voice distorted with something inhuman. "No, you lie."
Sebastian clenched his fists. "You know us. You know me."
Her eyes darted toward him, recognition flashing for the briefest moment before a new force took hold. A cold wind swept through the clearing, carrying whispers—shadows moving at the edges of reality, curling around Vivian like mist.
And then, she laughed.
It was not her laugh.
It was a sound that did not belong in this world—fractured, hollow, filled with something ancient and cruel.
The woman exhaled sharply. "She's still fighting it."
Sebastian felt his pulse pound. "How do we help her?"
The man beside them finally spoke. "You don't."
Sebastian turned on him, rage flaring. "Like hell I don't."
The man's face was set in stone. "If you interfere, you'll break her completely. She has to do this on her own."
Sebastian looked back at Vivian, his chest aching at the sight of her trembling form, at the war raging inside her. He could see the cracks forming—the moments where she surfaced before being pulled under again.
And then, suddenly—
She moved.
But not to attack. Not to surrender.
She dropped the dagger.
It hit the ground with a dull thud, and the moment it did, the entire world seemed to shudder. A wave of darkness rippled outward, the force of it knocking Sebastian and the others back. The ground beneath them split, jagged fractures snaking out like veins of obsidian. The air grew thick, suffocating.
Sebastian's vision blurred, his ears ringing as he tried to stand. He could barely make out Vivian's form through the swirling darkness, but he saw her knees buckle, saw her hands clutching her head as if trying to rip something out of herself.
And then—
She screamed.
It was a sound that shattered the sky itself.
The darkness surged, rising like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path. For a moment, Sebastian could see nothing, hear nothing—just an endless, echoing void.
And then—
Light.
A burst of pure, searing light erupted from where Vivian stood, piercing through the shadows, burning them away. The force of it sent Sebastian sprawling, but this time, it was warm. It wasn't the cold, suffocating darkness of before.
He forced his eyes open, blinking against the brightness. And there, at the center of it all—
Vivian stood, her chest heaving, her hands still shaking.
Her eyes—
They were no longer black.
They were hers again.
Sebastian felt his breath hitch. "Vivian?"
She swayed slightly, her legs weak, her expression blank as if she didn't quite understand where she was. But when her gaze met his, something inside him settled.
She was back.
The woman exhaled in quiet relief. "She did it."
The man crossed his arms. "Not entirely."
Sebastian tensed. "What?"
The man's gaze remained fixed on Vivian. "She severed the bond. But she did not destroy it."
Vivian's lips parted, her voice hoarse as she finally spoke. "Then where did it go?"
The answer came in the form of a distant rumble—low, ominous, growing louder with each passing second.
Sebastian turned toward the source of the sound, and his blood ran cold.
The fractures in the ground—
They were no longer fractures.
They were portals.
And from their depths, something was rising.
To be continued...