The tension in my room was so thick it could have been carved out of the air. Selene kept her light spell alive in her trembling hands, Kaelis stood ready with her sword, and the doll floated before me—its violet glass eyes piercing straight into my soul.
"I won't let it control you," Kaelis said, her voice sharp as steel.
"It doesn't control me…" I tried to answer, though my shadows still coiled protectively around the doll as if shielding it.
The doll tilted its head, that cracked smile curving once more."I don't want chains. I want freedom… with you."
A sudden crash tore through the tension. The window shattered into a thousand glittering shards as a hooded figure burst through from outside, a curved dagger glinting in their hand. Everything happened in a heartbeat—Selene barely managed to raise a shield of light before Kaelis lunged forward, but the attacker was already too close to me.
The blade came down, aimed straight for my chest.
It never reached.
The doll moved with impossible speed. Its tiny porcelain arms stretched outward, and from them erupted threads of thick, living shadow that coiled around the attacker's arm. The man cried out in fury and pain as the darkness crushed him against the wall with a bone-snapping crack.
The silence that followed was deafening. The intruder writhed, gasping, utterly trapped. The doll floated before me, her eyes glowing with dark pride.
"See?" she said softly, almost sweetly. "I don't destroy you. I protect you."
My breath came fast and shallow. Part of me wanted to believe her.
Kaelis, on the other hand, was pale with fury, her sword still poised to strike."This is what it does! Don't you see, Nyx? It's pretending to save you—just to bind you tighter!"
Selene trembled, torn. Her eyes darted between the attacker, the doll, and me, as if she were caught in an impossible choice."But… she's right too. Without the doll, that man would have killed you."
The doll turned toward Selene, her cracked lips curling into something that almost looked like satisfaction."I'm not the enemy. Why won't you trust me?"
The shadows holding the intruder began to constrict. A sickening crack filled the room—and I realized she had no intention of letting him live.
"Stop!" I cried, thrusting out my hands. My own shadows surged forward, colliding with hers in a violent struggle.
It felt like two wills—two parts of the same darkness—fighting for dominance in the same space. The man collapsed to the floor, unconscious but alive, when I finally managed to break her hold.
The doll turned toward me, disappointment etched across her cracked face."Why did you save him? He wanted to kill you."
I couldn't answer. My heart thundered, torn between fear, gratitude, and doubt.
Kaelis took a step closer, her voice burning with anger."Do you still not see, Nyx? That thing knows nothing of loyalty—only hunger. And every day, it wraps its chains tighter around you."
Selene gripped my arm, pleading."Nyx… tell me you can still choose for yourself."
I looked at the doll. She only smiled—softly, knowingly—as if she already knew the answer.