CHAPTER THIRTY THREE (33)
"Prince Damiel of Avalon, I have always wanted to meet with you."
The voice was calm.
Ancient.
Almost amused.
"I've waited a very long time for this meeting."
Damiel answered through the same mental link.
"Have never heard of you, who are you?"
A quiet chuckle echoed through his thoughts.
"Names have little value, let's ask the questions we both truly want answers to."
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Damiel spoke first.
"What do you want?"
His voice was calm.
Steady.
"And why are you after me?"
The creature laughed softly, almost as though it had expected that question.
"What I want...
...is surprisingly simple."
It took one slow step forward.
"Tell me, how did you awaken it"
Damiel's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
It?
"What is 'it'?" Damiel thought.
The creature tilted its head, as it understood he had no idea what he said.
Its crimson eyes seemed to search deeper than flesh.
Then it smiled.
"Very well, Perhaps I asked the wrong question. Let's try that again,"
Another step.
"Who awakened what has slept inside you for years?"
The words struck Damiel harder than he allowed himself to.
The shadow.
The dreams.
The chains.
The voice.
But how could this creature know?
More importantly...
How was he supposed to answer a question he didn't understand himself?
A hundred questions rose inside him.
What is the relationship between the shadow and this creature?
Was it another being?
Had someone awakened it?
Who?
Why?
When?
He buried every one of those thoughts beneath his unreadable expression.
His face remained perfectly still.
Cold.
Unshaken.
The creature watched him in silence.
Then...
It laughed.
Not mockingly.
Almost...
Appreciatively.
"Remarkable, you live up to your reputation."
Damiel said nothing.
The creature folded its arms behind its back.
"We might have gotten along rather well."
Damiel's eyes narrowed slightly.
The creature continued.
"You carry yourself much more than I expected."
"Measured."
"Disciplined."
"You hide every emotion before it reaches your face. The creature paused."
"You don't even understand who you are...
Yet you already behave as though you do."
He shook its head slowly.
"Had our paths not demanded opposite destinations...
I imagine we would have made excellent companions."
A brief silence settled between them.
Then its voice softened.
"Tell me something, Prince Damiel...
Isn't it considered rude...
...to ignore a visitor?, even though we weren't close,
Its crimson eyes gleamed.
I've traveled a very long way to see you"
After all...
A smile slowly spread beneath the shadows.
"we haven't seen each other in centuries."
For the first time...
Damiel's eye brows furrowed, before returning to his normal cold composed expression.
Centuries?
That was impossible.
He had never seen this creature before in his life.
The creature noticed.
It laughed again.
Ah...
I see now.
It pointed toward Damiel.
"You truly have no idea what power sleeps inside you, do you?!."
Damiel remained silent.
But inwardly...
Those words echoed.
The shadow had said something similar.
"You have no idea how powerful you truly are."
Now this creature...
"You have no idea who you are."
Two enemies.
Two different goals.
Yet both spoke as though they knew something about him that he did not.
The creature's crimson gaze sharpened.
A loud groan echoed behind Damiel.
He looked over his shoulder.
Kael.
Roan.
Zaiel.
General Vaelor.
His Soldiers.
Every one of them remained on their knees.
Blood ran from their ears as they fought against the invisible assault.
Some soldiers had already collapsed unconscious.
Even while in agony...
Kael struggled to raise his head toward Damiel.
Roan forced himself onto one knee.
Zaiel looked toward his commander with quiet shame, as though apologizing for failing to stand beside him.
The creature followed his gaze.
Then smiled.
"You have remarkably loyal comrades."
"I'll admit..."
"...it almost makes me envious."
Damiel's eyes darkened.
"What are you doing to them?"
The creature shrugged lightly.
"Not much."
"Just enough..."
"...to keep them out of our conversation."
Another wave of piercing ringing swept across the battlefield.
More soldiers collapsed.
The werewolves never reacted.
Not one.
They simply stood.
Waiting.
Watching.
Obeying.
Damiel observed them carefully.
Every breath.
Every movement.
Perfectly synchronized.
"Then allow me one final question, Prince Damiel." The creature said cutting Damiel thought.
Its voice became quieter.
Almost curious.
"Whoever awakened what sleeps within you...
Where are they?"
No answer came.
Damiel's silence was deliberate.
The creature observed him for several moments.
Then nodded slowly.
Very good.
"I was really hoping we would do this the easy way"
He smiled.
Even without realizing it.
Damiel's fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
The creature continued.
"Hide it well.
Because when I discover who or what the key is..
Its crimson eyes glowed brighter.
I'll take it from you...
...and keep it by my side forever."
For the first time that night—
Emotion slipped through Damiel's control. Rage, pure rage.
Only for an instant.
But it was enough.
Reyna.
The shadow's warning returned immediately.
Protect her.
She's the key.
A violent surge of fury erupted inside him.
Beside it, Azaelth roared.
'Don't let him touch what's ours.'
Damiel vanished.
The ground beneath his feet shattered as he launched forward.
His sword flashed through the darkness with enough force to cleave stone.
But—
It struck nothing.
Only empty air.
The creature had already disappeared.
Its laughter lingered across the clearing.
Interesting...
Its voice echoed one final time inside Damiel's mind.
"So... it seems it is also your greatest weakness."
A pause.
Then, almost with anticipation—
"Prince Damiel of Avalon...
I'll see you again.
Back home."
The words sent a chill through Damiel.
Not the fortress.
Not the northern border.
There was only one place the creature could mean.
The Heart of Avalon.
The laughter faded.
At the same moment, the werewolves turned together in perfect unison and walked back into the forest, their movements empty and mechanical, like puppets whose strings had been pulled.
As the ringing inside the demons' minds finally disappeared, Kael, Roan, General Vaelor, and the other soldiers slowly pushed themselves to their feet, breathing heavily.
Damiel watched the retreating wolves in silence.
Then he finally understood.
"I was wrong."
Every eye turned toward him.
"The werewolves aren't his allies."
His gaze remained fixed on the disappearing pack.
"They're not following him by choice."
A heavy silence settled over the battlefield.
"They're being controlled."
He said as the others began to whisper, his silver eyes darkened, as he continued.
"This was never a war between demons and werewolves."
He slowly sheathed his sword.
"It has always been a war between demons."