CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR— Awakens to Coldness
Mira woke to cold.
Not the usual chill of stone or wind, but something heavier, emptier. It sank into her bones, settled in her chest. The cavern around her was silent. No drip of water, no echo of movement, just emptiness. A thin mist hung in the air. Her breath sounded loud, alien.
She tried to move. Her body was stiff, trembling. Fear weighed on her chest, but she forced herself upright. She didn't know where she was. She didn't care. She only knew she had to go. Anywhere. Away.
The tunnel twisted, unfamiliar. Her hands brushed wet stone walls for balance. Her bare feet slipped. Her lungs burned. Thoughts of the battlefield clawed at her: fire swallowing towers, stone splintering, guardians falling. And above it all ..him. Nine pupils, cold and devouring. She shivered.
Ahead, a faint light. Hope. She ran. Faster. Heart hammering. Freedom.Until she hit something.Not wall. Not rock. Someone.
The impact threw her back. Pain lanced through her shoulder. Breath left her lungs.she looked up.
Nine molten-black pupils. Slow. Precise. Watching. Devouring.
Her legs froze. Her chest tightened. She wanted to scream, but her voice failed.
Darkness swallowed her before she could move again.
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When she woke, she was no longer running. The cavern had shrunk. The air was thicker, heavier. She lay on rough stone, a thin cloth over her. Shadows pooled in corners.
And he sat across from her.Leylin.Still. Silent. His skin faintly cracked with molten light, pulsing. Nine pupils turned slowly, scanning, calculating.
She swallowed hard. "…Do you want to kill me?"
He said nothing.The silence stretched. Her chest tightened. She dared a glance. His gaze followed, methodical. He didn't move, but she felt it: he measured her. Every breath. Every thought..the being before her analysed her like a specimen to dissect
Then as abruptly as the wind he stood. His shadow swallowing her. Closing her eyes,she braced herself, fists tight.
One...two....Nothing.He passed her like her reactions meant nothing to him.
"Why is he soo...cold?" She mattered as she observed the cracks of Molten light tracing down his arms in deep fissures
"We head to sea."..his cold Voice woke her from her trance as only then did she register what he said
At first Silence, then a burst of curses!
Sea!
"Wtf do you mean sea,..where are the others!?
"What have you done with my friends!??
She yelled as she knelt down sobbing..
Standing still, leylin said nothing for a while, letting the silence stretch..then as if reading her thoughts,he turned away whilst saying coldly
"They are dead...most of them who resisted anyway"
Left watching his silhouette fade into the darkness of the cave..Mira asked herself a question she never thought she'd dare ask
*Why...is he so ...pretty "
BADUM