I could feel it again. The shift in the air, the subtle but unmistakable pressure of something dangerous moving closer.
Something's coming.
The thought cut through my mind like a jagged shard of glass. My skin prickled, and the hunger inside me surged forward once again, as if it could sense the danger too. The world around me felt distorted, as if everything was moving in slow motion. But the tremor that ran through the walls, the rumble of something massive approaching, was far from slow.
I had never been so aware of the darkness.
"Stay close," Kael said, his voice steady but taut with urgency. He grabbed my arm, pulling me through the hallway. I didn't even have time to question where we were going — I just followed him, step after step, my pulse thundering in my ears. Every instinct in my body screamed to get away, to run and hide, but there was nowhere left to hide.
"We're not safe here anymore," Kael continued, glancing behind us. The echo of something, or someone, was growing louder. "We need to reach the heart of this place, now."
My thoughts raced, but they were clouded by the hunger gnawing at me from the inside, clawing at my very soul. My hands shook, the yearning for souls nearly too much to bear. I could feel them all around me, floating just out of reach — the dead, the lost souls, all waiting for me to consume them.
But I resisted. For now. There was too much at stake.
We burst through another doorway, into a vast chamber. This room was far different from the others we'd seen in the complex. The air was thick with power — an ancient energy that seemed to warp the very fabric of reality. The walls were adorned with symbols I couldn't decipher, glowing faintly in the dim light. There were no creatures in this room, no signs of the undead. Just a deep, oppressive silence.
Kael stopped in the center of the room, turning to face me. His eyes, normally calm and confident, were filled with something darker now — a flicker of fear. Fear that didn't suit him.
"This is it," he said, his voice low. "The heart of it all. The source of Alekhan's power."
I didn't know what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this — an empty room, the walls inscribed with symbols, and nothing else. It was as though we had stepped into a forgotten place, untouched by time. Yet, I felt a presence — a force that hung in the air, suffocating, like an invisible weight pressing against my chest.
"What is this?" I asked, my voice hoarse from the tension that had been building inside me.
Kael didn't answer right away. He stood still, eyes scanning the room. I followed his gaze, looking for something — anything — that might explain the feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"The source," Kael said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "The place where Alekhan's power was born."
I could feel it now. There was something here. A thread of dark energy that pulsed in rhythm with my own heartbeat. It was... familiar. As if it had always been a part of me.
"I don't understand," I said, stepping forward, closer to the center of the room. The floor beneath me seemed to hum with power, vibrating faintly under my feet. "What does this place have to do with me?"
Kael took a deep breath, his hand hovering just above the strange symbols etched into the floor. "Everything. This is where you were marked. This is where Alekhan bound you to him."
The weight of his words hit me like a physical blow. My breath caught in my throat, and for a moment, I felt as if the ground beneath me was collapsing.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "I didn't... I didn't ask for this. I didn't choose this."
But the hunger surged again, louder, stronger than before. I could feel it — the presence of Alekhan, pulling at me, calling me, tempting me to give in. The souls were so close now. Just a breath away. I could feel their warmth, their energy, their despair. But I couldn't take them. Not yet. Not until I understood.
Kael's voice broke through the chaos in my mind. "You have to choose. Now."
"Choose?" I repeated, struggling to regain control over my thoughts. The hunger was consuming me from the inside out. I felt it clawing at me, scraping away whatever was left of my humanity. "What do you mean, choose?"
Kael stepped closer, his face a mask of determination. "You can't keep running. Not from this. Alekhan's power is inside you. You can either embrace it, or you can fight it. But you can't ignore it any longer."
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. I wanted to fight. I wanted to push it all away, to tear the darkness from me. But I was beginning to realize the truth — I wasn't sure I could.
The room seemed to shimmer in front of my eyes, the symbols glowing brighter as the hunger inside me flared once more. I could feel Alekhan's presence now, not just in the room, but in every fiber of my being. He was calling to me. He was pulling at me, like a rope tugging me toward him.
"I'm not a weapon," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I'm not your puppet."
Kael's eyes softened, and for the briefest moment, I saw something in him — something that looked almost like pity. "You are more than that. But you need to decide what kind of person you want to be. You have the power to change everything, but only if you take control."
Before I could respond, a sharp noise split the air — the unmistakable sound of cracking stone. I turned, my heart racing. The room shook again, this time with greater force. The walls cracked, and a dark shadow spread across the floor like a living thing.
Kael's expression darkened. "They've found us."
"What?" I demanded, but before Kael could answer, a form emerged from the shadows at the far end of the room.
It was a figure, tall and shrouded in dark, tattered robes. A presence so strong that it felt like a physical weight in the air. My heart skipped a beat as I realized who it was.
"Alekhan," I breathed.
The figure stepped forward, its face hidden beneath the hood of its cloak. But I could feel it. His presence. The darkness that emanated from him.
"You've come far," Alekhan's voice boomed, low and reverberating, shaking the room. "But it won't matter. You will serve me, whether you want to or not."
Kael stepped in front of me, his body rigid, his sword raised. "You're not going to take her."
Alekhan chuckled, the sound hollow, devoid of warmth. "You think you can stop me? You think you can stop what has already begun?"
The hunger inside me flared again, louder than before. I felt it within my veins, in my very bones. It was consuming me, drawing me closer to Alekhan's power. The souls — they were all around me now, so close I could taste them, feel their energy pulsing like a heartbeat.
"I can't..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "I can't control it."
Kael's voice was steady, but there was a deep fear in his eyes. "You have to fight it. You're stronger than this."
Alekhan laughed again, stepping closer, his presence overwhelming. "You have no choice anymore. It is done."
And then it happened. The symbols on the floor erupted with a blinding light, sending shockwaves of energy rippling through the room. The light surged toward me, its power crackling in the air, pulling at my very soul.
No!
I fought back, tried to pull away, but it was no use. The hunger consumed me. I could feel it — Alekhan's power, suffocating me, filling every part of my being.
"You are mine," Alekhan whispered, his voice in my ear, like a lover's caress. "You always have been."
The room spun, and I felt myself fall to my knees, unable to fight the overwhelming wave of darkness crashing over me. But then, as if from a great distance, I heard Kael's voice.
"Fight, damn it!"
I looked up through bleary eyes, barely able to focus. And for a moment, I thought I saw something in Kael's eyes — something other than fear.
A flash of... hope?
But it was too late. Alekhan's power surged through me, and the world exploded in white light.