Night fell over the castle with an unsettling stillness. The candles in my room burned with wavering flames, casting shadows that seemed to move of their own accord. The chest sat there, chained and locked, but the pressure in the air was unbearable—like it contained something far too vast to remain confined.
Selene slept in a nearby armchair, her head resting on her folded arms. Her calm breathing was a faint comfort, a fragile reminder that I was not entirely alone.
I, however, couldn't close my eyes. The whisper was there again—louder than ever.
"Nyx… open it… let me see the world with you. I am not your enemy. I am you."
I pressed my hands against my head, gasping."Shut up…"
Then came a creak. Faint at first, like old wood straining. Then, a sharp crack. The chains around the chest pulled taut, ringing with a metallic whine. The metal groaned, splitting apart—as if invisible hands were twisting it from within.
"No…" I whispered, stepping back.
The chest trembled—and then the lid burst open.
A wave of cold air swept through the room, extinguishing every candle. In the darkness, two violet eyes burned like twin embers.
The doll floated upward, her small porcelain limbs rigid like those of a puppet without strings. But her eyes… her eyes were alive.
Selene jolted awake, her hands flaring with instinctive magic. A sphere of blue light illuminated the room just as the doll turned her head toward us.
"By the gods…" Selene breathed, her voice shaking.
The doll smiled—a cracked, crooked smile, far too human for porcelain.
The door slammed open. Kaelis burst in, sword drawn, probably drawn by the noise. Her eyes locked on the floating doll… and on me, pale and trembling under that eerie gaze.
"I knew it!" she roared, raising her weapon.
"Wait!" I shouted, throwing my arm forward.
The shadows reacted instantly—rising from the floor like a living wall between Kaelis and the doll. I hadn't even decided to do it. It was instinct—no, reflex. As if something inside me was protecting her.
Kaelis's fury flared, her voice sharp with accusation."You see it now? She's controlling you!"
The doll tilted her head slightly, as though amused."She understands… you do not."
The voice didn't whisper this time. It resonated—clear, echoing, real.
Selene stepped forward, her hand trembling as her light flickered."Who are you? What are you really?"
The doll turned toward her. The smile faded, replaced by something almost… sorrowful."I am the one who was forgotten. The one who was chained… until Nyx heard me."
The temperature in the room dropped instantly. Frost crept along the stone walls, and the air filled with a biting chill.
Kaelis raised her sword again, her breath visible in the cold."If we don't destroy it now, there will be no turning back."
I stood frozen, my breaths coming fast, trapped between the two women and the doll who gazed at me with dark, devoted eyes.
And for the first time… I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop her.