⚠️ Warning: This chapter contains delicate topics, including scenes of violence, abuse and trauma. A conscious reading is recommended. The system of the platform may automatically change some words. If you notice something out of context, your comment helps to keep the coherence of the story. I thank the support and wish a good reading!
The air seemed to weigh even more after those words.
The room, already immersed in shadows, became suffocating, as if each wall slowly closed around them.
The smoke of Nika's cigarette did not dissipate; instead, it accumulated, forming dense veils that waved like silent specters.
No sound came from outside. Neither steps, nor voices, nor the wind that always insinuated itself through the cracks. It was as if the world had held its breath before the revelation.
The emptiness that already occupied the environment now seemed to become a living abyss — echoing, silent, each word pronounced reverberating on the walls.
"Do you remember anything from that day?" Nika's voice broke the silence, firm, but loaded with tension.
Ereon remained still, eyes lost in an invisible point, as always.
The absence of an answer consumed her, and Nika, taken by anger and by a whirlwind of emotions, let escape:
"The conversation only exists when there are two voices. If you keep choosing silence, I will too. So, I will ask one last time: do you remember anything from that day?"
For a moment, the room seemed to sink even more into emptiness.
The absence of sound prolonged until, finally, a low voice, almost a whisper, was heard:
"A dark room... a noise... and then, everything went silent."
Nika could not hide the surprise. A melancholic smile curved her lips — she no longer expected any answer.
"That is good, is it not?" she murmured, ambiguous between relief and sadness.
"After that..." Ereon's voice failed. "I do not remember anything else. Only the darkness."
She breathed deeply, with fists tight against her chest, and began to speak, with a voice loaded with anger, memories and sadness:
"Understand, Ereon... this indifference of yours is the greatest insult. After everything Diana went through, after all the sacrifice she made so that you were alive... I cannot accept this."
She closed her eyes, trying to contain the fury that burned in her veins, but it was impossible.
The air that escaped from her was dense, each word cutting:
"I will tell you about the strongest warrior I met after the fall... and why you need to understand what happened. I will also teach you about the Abyss, but that will have to wait."
She breathed deeply, and her voice became almost a whisper of memory, firm and loaded:
"I remember the first day I met her... I was hungry, desperate, and I entered a house thinking it would be empty. But there were two children hidden, sleeping in a narrow corner. You, Ereon and Anne. She always checked before leaving, to make sure you were safe."
Nika swallowed hard, her body tense with the memory:
"Before I could run, I felt a sharp blade on my neck. I heard two cold questions: 'Who are you? Why are you here?' I stayed there, with indifferent eyes. She asked me to turn slowly. I expected her to end my life at that moment. But instead, she asked if I was hungry. Said I had scared her, thought I had been sent to hurt you. Maybe she read in my eyes the desire to die… and yet, she accepted me without asking anything."
She breathed deeply, admiration mixed with anger almost making her tremble:
"At that time, I did not know how great the burden she carried was. But every time I observed her, I asked myself: what gave her so much reason to smile? So I started spending time with you. She told me that you were left at her door, that she did not know what had happened to your sister — did not know how you got there — and spoke about her life, about the strength she kept. Each child she saved was the reason to continue."
Nika clenched her fists, her voice deeper:
"She fought in her own way. Each gesture, each decision, each risk… even on nights when she was forced to submit to the count's men, victim of abuses that no human should endure, Diana continued to protect you. Each imposition, each violence she suffered, was an unbearable burden, a humiliation imposed by the count's raw power, and yet, she did not give up. Each act, each sacrifice, each moment of silent torment was calculated to save the children, to keep you alive."
Nika's voice broke, revealing regret and guilt:
"And I… I blame myself, because that day I followed her. I wanted to understand how she managed to survive, how she got up every morning, how she endured everything. But my curiosity, my desire to become someone like her… led Anne to that tragic end. If I had not followed Diana, maybe nothing would have happened that way. Maybe everything could have been different."
Nika's words still echoed when, for Ereon, the room disappeared. He was back to that night, trapped in the memory, each sensation amplified.
Anne grabbed his arm, expression firm despite fear.
"Ereon! Someone came in… stay here. Do not leave, no matter what happens."
His heart raced, blood throbbing in his ears. The absence of sound that followed seemed alive, oppressive, carrying the smell of old wood and dust. Each second seemed to last an eternity.
Then, the boy opened the door. The corridor was dark, damp. The floor creaked under his feet, and he could even hear the echo of his own bones.
Voices arose, cutting:
"Now this bitch will learn…" the count laughed, his voice cold and cruel. "We should not have killed her…" one of the men responded, in a mocking tone. "We should have taken her, like her mother."
Ereon's stomach contracted. The metallic smell of blood hovered in the air, mixed with the smoke of something burned. He advanced, trying to remain invisible, each muscle tense.
When he entered the room, he saw Anne fallen, naked and motionless, her eyes already lifeless. The count, laughing, still moved over her, with vile victory stamped on his face.
Ereon felt the bitter taste of fear mixed with fury.
A shard of glass shone in the dim light. Instinctively, he threw himself, stabbing it into the count's eye. The man's scream echoed like thunder.
But soon came the others, punches and kicks turning the floor into a field of suffering. Each impact tore his flesh, but he crawled across the floor, face bloodied, trying to reach Anne. Each blow seemed to take more of his life, but he continued.
The world reduced to torment, to despair and impotence.
He managed to reach her hand, touched it one last time… and then everything went dark.
Absolute quiet took over. There was no more vision, no more sensation. Only emptiness.
[...]
And then, like a distant echo, Nika's voice cut through the memory:
"…when we arrived, you had already been brutally murdered. The count crushed you mercilessly. But Diana did not accept what she saw."
She squinted, her breathing heavy:
"It was at that instant that I saw her look at the Abyss. And it looked back. I do not know what she found there, but I know she denied your death. Your wounds closed, and you began to breathe again."
Nika breathed deeply, her eyes watery:
"But Anne… she did not return. Until the last instant, Diana was willing to sacrifice herself for you. When she handed me the wrapped katana and told me to flee with the little that remained, I saw that she had already decided her own fate. She stayed behind, faced the count and his men, knowing she would not come out alive from there. Not for herself. But for you."
Then I gathered the children she had saved and we fled, because we knew there would be no one else there to protect us.
I decided to follow Diana's path, freeing the girls from the count, just as Theseus began to take the boys to the orphanage.
She raised her face, hard and accusatory:
"So do not dare treat this life as if it were only yours. It belongs to Diana and Anne. Never dare forget that."
The room remained silent for a moment, until she noticed steps moving away from the door.
But, before disappearing completely, a low voice, almost a whisper, echoed from the darkness:
"Teach me…"
A dense silence hovered in the air, almost suffocating.
Nika inhaled deeply, feeling the weight of the situation.
"Lili… are you there?" she called, her voice low, loaded with caution.
"I am…" replied, outside the room, staying in the corridor's shadow. "I was watching from outside. Did you know I was nearby?"
Tension grew in the environment. Nika realized that this conversation would not be just words; each sentence would define Ereon's path in the months to come.
"You have not been watching him since he arrived?" she asked, firm, betraying concern and a hint of irritation.
"Yes..." Lili breathed deeply, with cautious voice. "I did not know they were the same person, that he had come back to life."
"Sorry for not telling before," said Nika, with a voice loaded with emotion. "I am very grateful to you, and I believe Diana and Anne too. If you had not come to warn us that day, maybe, like Anne, he would not be here. But your existence could not be revealed, especially now, when we are about to fight a war..."
"And then... what do you intend to teach him?" asked Lili, whispering, cautiously.
"Do not tell me that you are thinking of doing something he should not..." her voice trembled, incredulous.
"It is not time for jokes." Nika raised her face, firm, tension marking each word.
"I know..." Lili lowered her head, in an almost whispering tone. "Sorry, the atmosphere is too heavy."
"As Theseus said, he has good battle instincts," Nika continued, firm, "but he lacks something essential: knowing how to wage wars without always resorting to the sword. Brutal force works in the county, but there are levels far above that. The three kings, the most powerful nobles, the gods... and, of course, the dangers that emerge from the Abyss. He will need to learn to deal with all this."
"And how will we do this?" asked Lili, with the tension evident in her voice.
Nika breathed deeply, choosing each word.
"Remember: last time, you played too much. You cannot be frivolous. You need to show him that the world is much more dangerous than he imagines. Everything he learned in the orphanage will collapse before him."
Lili raised her face, firm and determined, even outside the room.
"I am ready."
Nika fixed her gaze on the door, feeling the weight of the silence that followed.
A shiver ran down her spine. Something hovered in the air, invisible, waiting...
"And that he be prepared... because when this war begins, nothing will be as before. Neither us, nor him, nor the world around us."