The victory didn't last.
Not even an hour.
The camp was still standing, the tents intact, the weapons clean… but something had changed.
The air.
The soldiers no longer spoke.
They didn't celebrate.
They watched.
And when they looked at Adara…
it wasn't respect.
It was fear.
A deep fear.
Instinctive.
Like the fear you feel before something that shouldn't exist.
—
Inside the tent, the world was smaller.
Quieter.
More real.
Adara could barely sit up. Her breathing was ragged, her hands trembled slightly. Not from weakness…
from restraint.
—
Karan stood before her, holding her hands tightly.
Too tightly.
As if he feared she would disappear.
—
"You're not going to break," he murmured. Can you hear me?
Adara barely nodded.
But she wasn't sure.
—
The pulse was still there.
That heat.
That… hunger.
Stronger than before.
—
The tent door burst open.
Caelum.
No greeting.
No beating around the bush.
—The Council already knows.
Silence.
—
—What? —Karan didn't let go of Adara.
—
—Everything—Caelum replied.—What you did in the field… didn't go unnoticed.
Pause.
—
—The three Houses are on the move.
—
Adara looked up.
—
—Obsidian has blocked the routes to the Lake—he continued.—Ferrum is mobilizing troops. And Aurelion…
He stopped.
—
—Aurelion is waiting.
—
That was worse.
—
Karan stood up.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
—Let them come.
The air inside the tent dropped in temperature.
A fine frost covered the floor.
—
—You can't fight everyone—said a new voice.
Valerice.
—
She entered unhurriedly.
But with absolute authority.
—
—It's not about strength—she continued—. It's about preventing a war that will destroy everything.
—
Adara looked at her.
And understood.
Before she said it.
—
—What are they going to do?—she asked in a low voice.
—
Valerice didn't soften her answer.
—
—Seal you off.
—
The silence was complete.
—
Karan turned around abruptly.
"No."
"Yes," Valerice replied without raising her voice. "Or the Council will come for her... and they won't leave anything standing."
"Adara" felt the cold.
Not outside.
Inside.
"You can't ask me to do that," Karan said.
"I'm not asking you to do it," Valerice replied. "I'm ordering you to do it."
"Silence."
"Adara" looked at Karan.
She saw the struggle.
The rage.
The fear.
"Then she spoke."
"Do it."
"Karan" looked at her as if he hadn't understood.
"Adara..."
"If you don't do it," she continued, "someone else will."
Pause.
"And I won't survive."
"That broke him."
—
Karan closed her eyes for a second.
Just one.
—
And when she opened them…
she had already decided.
—
The Ritual
Night fell heavily.
The moon had a reddish hue.
As if the sky knew.
—
The circle was prepared.
Iron.
Ancient.
Cold.
—
The priests didn't chant loudly.
Their voices were low.
Constant.
Like a heartbeat.
—
Adara stood in the center.
Standing.
Move.
—
She wore no armor.
She wore no jewelry.
—
Only the weight of what she was about to lose.
—
Karan stood before her.
Holding the artifact.
—
The Soul Chains.
—
They weren't visible chains.
They were something worse.
—
A necklace.
Of silver and obsidian.
Dark.
Alive.
—
—Look at me,—Karan whispered.
—
Adara did.
—
—I'm not going to lose you.
—
She barely smiled.
—
—You're not losing me.
Pause.
—
—You're saving me.
—
That was the last thing before it began.
—
The necklace touched her skin.
—
And the world shattered.
—
It wasn't normal physical pain.
It was internal.
—
Like something inside her was being ripped out.
Torn away.
Forced into silence.
—
The fire disappeared first.
Then the air.
Then the earth.
Then the water.
—
Each element…
silenced.
—
Adara screamed.
But no sound came out.
—
Her hands closed.
Her body trembled.
—
And deep inside…
that crimson power…
—
roared.
—
For the first time.
—
But it couldn't escape.
—
The seal crushed it.
—
It imprisoned it.
—
It forced it to sleep.
—
When it was all over—
Adara fell.
—
Karan caught her before she hit the ground.
—
Her eyes…
no longer shone.
—
They were gray.
Dull.
—
Empty of power.
—
But not of conscience.
—
—I'm here… —she whispered.
—
Karan hugged her tightly.
—
But something…
was gone.
—
And they both knew it.
—