İlyara cupped Yitan's face in her hands and cried, "Dad!" Her bright red eyes were reflected in Yitan's wide, fearful eyes.
Yitan let out a scream of fear at İlyara's sudden movement, but then his fear slowly turned to anger.
"Shut up," he whispered. Then he grabbed İlyara's wrists, lifted his head, and shouted at her,
"Shut up!"
İlyara flinched as Yitan's anger suddenly flooded into her. What kind of anger was this? It felt as though it were squeezing her heart and stealing her breath.
My son!
My son?
İlyara tensed when she felt the wetness dripping onto her hands and let go of Yitan's head. Seizing the opportunity, Yitan shoved her away, then got up and backed away.
When İlyara brought her hand to her face, she realized her cheeks were wet. Was she crying? Why?
Killer.
Cursed.
As the inner voices grew louder, her tears flowed more freely. Her vision was growing blurry. Her heart hurt so much.
"My son," she whispered. But İlyara didn't have a son. Or did she? She didn't know. Her memories were still a mess.
"Ah," she hissed in pain. Something had pierced her head again, and some of her lost memories began to flood into her mind. She remembered the tree… That enormous, cursed tree. She had hugged it. That was absurd.
Why had she hugged it?
She couldn't answer that either. What did she know, anyway? İlyara was simply being tossed from one place to another.
Lost.
Alone.
"İlyara!"
Ah, that voice again. The one she heard whenever she felt lonely… The voice that saved her. İlyara smiled at the thought. Then she giggled before bursting into laughter.
Why did he keep saving her?
İlyara furrowed her brows.
Was there someone who kept saving her? Who was it?
"İlyara!"
This time, İlyara looked toward the voice.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Morhena Arın was running toward her, a sword in his hand. İlyara should have been frightened and backed away, but she didn't. Instead, she looked into Arın's eyes. It was strange. Arın wasn't looking away from her.
Her heart skipped another beat.
İlyara couldn't understand why Arın was looking at her so anxiously.
"Ah!"
This time, the pain piercing her head was even more intense, and other memories suddenly flooded into her mind. She remembered gray eyes. Those blank eyes… A shiver ran through her. Those eyes held no emotion. If only İlyara had no emotions either. Then she wouldn't suffer. She sighed at the thought.
How wonderful that would be.
When a shadow fell over her, she lifted her head. Yitan had raised his sword into the air and was looking at her with hatred.
A gentle smile spread across İlyara's face. Then she took a deep breath. Yitan had grown so much. He no longer needed to be protected.
Why did that matter to her, anyway?
There was so much she didn't know, but she no longer cared about any of it. Because at last, she could be at peace. Of course, Yitan would be the one to make that happen. But suddenly, Yitan's hands began to tremble.
Why?
Why was he depriving İlyara of this escape? Why!
Fortunately, his hesitation didn't last long. Gritting his teeth, Yitan swiftly swung his sword at İlyara.
"Die!" Yitan shouted.
That was what İlyara wanted, too.
İlyara closed her eyes and waited for her release. But the blow she expected never came. Instead, she heard a loud crash and a scream.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Arın on top of Yitan.
"I'll kill you!" Arın roared at Yitan.
Fear filled İlyara's entire body. She began to tremble, but still turned her gaze toward Arın.
"Let him go!" she shouted as she got up from the ground. Although she struggled to keep her balance at first, she kept walking.
Arın had both hands wrapped around Yitan's neck, squeezing tightly. His entire body was tense. The black liquid flowing through his veins became more pronounced as the muscles in his hands tightened.
"I said let him go!" İlyara shouted as she lunged at Arın. She wrapped her arm around his neck from behind and tried to pull him back. But she wasn't strong enough.
Weak.
Pathetic.
Yes. İlyara had always been weak. At that thought, her arms loosened around Arın's neck. But when Yitan's groans filled her with fear, she tightened her grip again.
"İlyara," Arın said. "He won't stop trying to kill you."
What was wrong with that?
"Let him."
Arın froze at İlyara's words. Then his entire body began to tremble.
"What do you mean?" he asked in an icy voice. His voice chilled İlyara's heart.
"I want my pain… my pain to end," İlyara said.
Arın slowly withdrew his hands from Yitan's neck. Yitan, meanwhile, coughed as he struggled to catch his breath.
"How?" Arın whispered as he straightened up.
When Arın stood up, İlyara had no choice but to release his neck as well.
When Arın turned around, his eyes met İlyara's.
"How?" he said. "How could you do this to me?"
İlyara furrowed her brows.
"What?" she asked.
Arın grabbed İlyara by the arms and shook her.
"How can you even think of leaving me?" he said.
Leaving him?
"You can't give me a purpose and then destroy it!"
What purpose?
Purpose.
Destroyer.
"I don't understand," İlyara said.
Arın stared at İlyara for a while, then pulled her close and embraced her.
"You can't abandon me," he said, stroking İlyara's hair. "If you're going to leave, take my heart with you."
Heart?
İlyara furrowed her brows.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Just understand already," Yitan said between coughs. "He's in love with you."
In love?
Love.
Mine.
A mocking smile appeared on Yitan's face.
"Did you force a Morhena to fall in love with you?" he said with disgust.
Was Arın in love with her? Why? How?
"Shut up, brat," Arın said in a deep voice. But he didn't stop embracing İlyara.
"The dead should stay dead," Yitan said as he got to his feet.
Arın gritted his teeth in anger and pulled away from İlyara. However, İlyara caught his hand.
"Is it true?" İlyara asked. "Do you really love me?"
Of course it wasn't true. Who would ever love İlyara? And a Morhena, no less. It was impossible.
Impossible.
A lie.
Arın looked at İlyara in silence for a while, then placed his hand over his heart.
"Here… it flutters whenever I see you," he said. "As if it's trying to reach you."
Reach.
İlyara's heart began to race.
"Why did you scream 'Dad' at me?"
At Yitan's sudden question, İlyara froze.
Dad.
Who was he?
Another sharp pain shot through her head, but this time it was far more intense and wouldn't subside. Unable to bear it any longer, İlyara crouched down, clutched her head, and began to scream. As black smoke enveloped her body, Yitan backed away from her. Arın, meanwhile, wrapped his arms around İlyara.
First, her journey with Arın appeared in her mind. Then Veyra and the Ancient… What had she done?
The Ancient had killed her father!
But she wasn't the only one who had killed someone. İlyara remembered what she had experienced in Yitan's memory, and then the bridge… The place where it had all begun.
What had İlyara done?
Murderer.
She recognized this voice now.
He… he was the father. The one whose pure love she had kept hidden inside herself. And that love belonged to Yitan. It was a father's love. The love of the father she had stolen from Yitan…
İlyara began to cry, unable to breathe. She wanted to scream, but couldn't even let out a moan. Arın, who was embracing her, was screaming in her place.
Arın was absorbing all of İlyara's grief. Thanks to the bond agreement they had made, he could easily draw this cursed emotion out of her.
İlyara wanted to push him away. She didn't want Arın to be exposed to these terrible emotions any longer, but she wasn't strong enough.
As her breathing steadied, she began to calm down. It was all thanks to Arın. He was by her side again. İlyara smiled at the thought.
İlyara's smile faded when Arın suddenly hissed. When she looked at him to see what was wrong, she couldn't believe what she saw. The tip of the sword protruding from Arın's stomach was very close to İlyara.
When İlyara raised her head in fear and shock, her eyes met Yitan's. Yitan had stabbed Arın with the sword.
"Damn it!" Yitan cursed. "Why do you keep stepping in front of this damned woman every time?!"
Had he been targeting İlyara?
Die.
"R-Run," Arın said. He seemed to be struggling to speak. For a Morhena, a wound like this was nothing, but he must have absorbed too much grief from İlyara just moments ago. His body was trembling.
İlyara took a deep breath and stood up. Then she walked toward Yitan.
"Don't go," Arın said quietly.
He tried to get up from the ground, but the weight of the grief kept his dead body from rising.
İlyara touched Arın's shoulder.
"Don't worry," she said.
When Yitan realized that İlyara was walking toward him, he tried to pull the sword out of Arın's stomach. But the sword wouldn't budge. Arın was holding it with his hand. He didn't care that the blade was cutting into his hands.
Yitan gave up and stepped back, then tried to move away from İlyara. But İlyara suddenly quickened her pace and pinned him against the wall.
"Let me go!" Yitan shouted.
İlyara gently stroked Yitan's cheek.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I took your father away from you."
Yitan's frightened expression quickly turned to hatred.
"I don't give a damn about your apology!"
"But I do," İlyara said, resting her forehead against Yitan's.
"Don't waste any more of your life because of me."
"What do you mean—"
Before Yitan could finish speaking, İlyara drew the hatred he felt toward her into herself. It was excruciating. The hatred directed at her engulfed her from within. She tried to calm herself as she breathed heavily. Then she closed her eyes. She reached the pure love she had hidden deep in her heart. She would give it to Yitan. After all, it was a feeling directed toward Yitan. It didn't belong to İlyara. But she wanted to keep it.
It was a magnificent emotion.
My son.
"İlyara."
Arın's voice pulled her attention to him. Did she still need this love when Arın was by her side? Could she trust a Morhena?
No.
İlyara turned to Yitan, who was looking at her without emotion, and began transferring the pure love to him.
After transferring the pure love to Yitan, she stepped back.
"Now love yourself and let go of the hatred," she said.
Then she turned to Arın, who was sitting on his knees, and watched in astonishment as his body expelled the sword. She realized there was still so much she didn't know about Morhenas.
Once the sword was completely out, she supported Arın and helped him to his feet. Then they stepped out through the broken wall and walked toward the forest.
---
Yitan
Yitan initially found the warmth spreading through his body strange. But the feeling didn't last long. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so full of love.
When he raised his head, he watched the woman he had spent years trying to kill walk away. He no longer felt anything toward her. He should have, but he simply couldn't.
All he felt was the pure love he had for himself.
Perhaps he would join the Taşkans and get married someday. A smile spread across Yitan's face at the thought.
Could he become a father one day?
He tensed when he sensed movement behind him. Before he could figure out what was happening, he felt cold metal against his neck.
"Incompetent," a man whispered into his ear. He recognized that voice.
Yitan's eyes widened in fear.
Before he could react, the man slit his throat.