"Let go."
The voice wasn't his.
It wasn't the thing's either.
It came from inside me.
Soft.
Close.
Dangerous.
For a second, everything else faded.
The fight.
The noise.
The pressure.
All of it blurred into the background like it didn't matter anymore.
Because that voice felt… right.
Too right.
Like it belonged there.
Like it had always been there and I just never heard it until now.
"Let go," it whispered again.
My body reacted before I could think.
My fingers loosened.
My breathing slowed.
That tight grip I had on myself, on whatever was building inside me, started to slip.
And the moment it did
everything inside me surged.
Not outward.
Not yet.
Deeper.
Like something was waking up fully this time.
"Hey."
His voice cut through it.
Sharp.
Closer than before.
Real.
My head snapped slightly to the side, my focus breaking just enough to pull me back from the edge.
His hand came up, gripping my jaw firmly, forcing me to look at him.
"Stay with me," he said.
Not loud.
Not angry.
But there was something in his eyes this time I hadn't seen before.
Not just control.
Not just focus.
Something closer to fear.
And that hit me harder than anything else.
"I am," I said quickly, but my voice shook.
He didn't let go.
Didn't loosen his grip.
Like he didn't trust that answer.
Like he could feel how close I was to slipping.
"Don't listen to it," he said.
"I'm not trying to."
"Try harder."
That almost made me snap.
"I'm literally fighting something inside my own head," I shot back. "What do you want me to do, pretend it's not there?"
"Yes."
That stopped me.
"What?"
"Pretend it's not there," he repeated. "Ignore it. Starve it. Don't give it anything."
"That's not how this works."
"It is if you want to stay you."
The words hit deep.
Too deep.
Because that was the first time he said it like that.
Stay you.
Like there was a real chance I wouldn't.
Before I could respond, the thing moved again.
Fast.
Violent.
It came straight at us.
He reacted instantly, pulling me behind him and stepping forward to meet it.
The impact this time was worse.
Louder.
Heavier.
The force pushed through the air hard enough to knock me back a step even though I wasn't the one hit.
He held it for a second.
Then it broke through.
It slammed into him, sending him crashing into the wall again.
Harder than before.
A crack split across the surface behind him.
My chest tightened sharply.
"Stop!" I shouted, stepping forward without thinking.
The thing turned immediately.
Its focus snapped back to me.
That pull came again.
Stronger.
Closer.
I felt it in my chest, in my lungs, in my blood.
Like it wasn't outside me anymore.
Like it was part of me.
"You're wasting time," it said.
"I'm not going with you," I snapped.
"You already are."
"No."
"Yes."
The word echoed again.
And this time
something inside me answered it.
Not fully.
Not completely.
But enough.
The energy surged again.
Faster.
Hotter.
Stronger.
My body leaned forward.
I tried to stop.
I really did.
But it felt like trying to hold back something too big for me.
Something that didn't care what I wanted.
"Don't," he said again.
He was already moving back toward me.
Fast.
But not fast enough.
The thing reached me first.
Its hand didn't grab me this time.
It hovered just in front of my chest.
And I felt it.
That connection.
That pull.
That recognition.
Like it knew me.
Like it had always known me.
"You belong to the beginning," it said.
My breath caught.
"I don't even know what that means."
"You will."
That again.
Always that.
I was tired of it.
Tired of not knowing.
Tired of feeling like something else was deciding everything for me.
"No," I said, louder this time. "You don't get to keep saying that like it explains anything."
The energy inside me reacted instantly.
But this time
I didn't fight it.
Not completely.
I held it.
Directed it.
Just a little.
It pushed outward, not exploding wildly, but focused.
The force hit the thing's hand, forcing it back slightly.
Not much.
But enough.
Enough to make it pause.
"You're resisting," it said.
"I'm choosing," I shot back.
Something changed in its expression.
Not anger.
Interest.
"That won't last."
"We'll see."
Behind me, I felt him move again.
Closer.
Faster.
Stronger.
This time, when he reached me, he didn't pull me back.
He stepped beside me.
Not in front.
Beside.
That shift hit me.
Hard.
Because it wasn't control.
It wasn't protection.
It was something else.
"Then we do this together," he said.
I glanced at him.
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
"That's a terrible idea."
"It's the only one we have."
Before I could argue, the thing moved again.
This time, both of us moved.
At the same time.
The impact was immediate.
Explosive.
The force from both sides collided, pushing the thing back harder than before.
For the first time
it stepped back.
Actually stepped back.
My chest tightened.
"We did that," I said, almost under my breath.
"We did," he replied.
Something about that felt… dangerous.
Not in a bad way.
In a way that made everything feel more real.
More connected.
The thing straightened slowly.
"You think this changes anything?" it asked.
"No," he said. "But it's a start."
That made it smile again.
Wrong.
Sharp.
"You're already too late."
Before either of us could react
it moved again.
But this time
not toward me
not toward him
past us
straight into the group behind
and everything exploded.
The attackers didn't stand a chance.
It tore through them like they weren't even there.
Fast.
Brutal.
Final.
The sound of it filled the space.
Cracks.
Shouts.
Silence.
One by one
they dropped.
Gone.
Just like that.
I stared, my breath catching.
"That's not on our side," I said.
"No," he replied.
"That's worse."
"Yes."
The thing turned back toward us.
Slow.
Calm.
Like it had just cleared the room for one reason.
Us.
"You're next," it said.
My chest tightened again.
But this time
I didn't step back.
I didn't freeze.
I stepped forward.
Just slightly.
And I felt it again.
That energy.
That connection.
But this time
I didn't lose myself in it.
I held it.
Barely.
But enough.
"I'm not done yet," I said.
His hand found mine again.
This time
I didn't pull away.
---
End
The thing moved
faster than before
stronger than before
and just before it reached us
he pulled me closer
his voice low
dangerous
real
"If I lose you, I burn everything"
and something in me
answered that
before I could stop it.