Episode 12:
Alok woke with a start. His alarm hadn't gone off yet, but he felt as though something had dragged him out of his sleep. The dream or whatever it was still lingered in his head: the corridor, the chains, the monstrous yellow eyes.
But when he touched his pendant, it was ice-cold, as if mocking him.
He washed his face and looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His skin was pale, his eyes sunken. "What the hell is happening to me?"
At school, things weren't any better.
His classmates joked, laughed, gossiped, and teased one another like always. Yet Alok felt disconnected, like he was watching a movie he wasn't a part of.
The girl who sat in front of him Mihiri turned and frowned. "You look like a zombie. Did you even sleep last night?"
Alok forced a weak smile. "I… tried."
She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more.
During lunch break, Alok sat alone under a tree near the back field. He wanted to be away from everyone, away from the noise. That's when he noticed it again those eyes.
Far across the fence, just beyond the school grounds, a dark figure stood still in the shadows of the trees. Its yellow gaze locked onto him.
Alok's breath caught.
But before he could react, a group of boys from class walked past, laughing loudly. When Alok looked again, the figure was gone.
"Am I… going insane?" he whispered.
That night, he couldn't take it anymore. He placed the shard and pendant on his desk and demanded answers.
"Why me?" he said aloud, clenching his fists. "Why am I seeing this? What do you want from me?"
The shard vibrated faintly, almost like a sigh.
And then, words appeared carved into the air itself in glowing script:
"You are chosen."
Alok staggered back. "Chosen? For what?!"
The words burned brighter.
"To inherit… the Dark Holder."
Suddenly, pain ripped through his chest. He collapsed to his knees, clutching the pendant as visions flooded his mind: vast realms of fire and mist, battles between gods, chains binding a figure made of shadows, screaming voices, falling stars.
When it ended, he lay trembling on the floor. His breathing was shallow, his heart hammering.
The pendant no longer felt cold it was alive, pulsing faintly with his heartbeat.
And outside his window, those yellow eyes returned.
This time… they were smiling.