The cracks spread faster now, swallowing chunks of stone, groaning like the earth itself was in pain. Dust filled the air, stinging eyes, catching in hair and lungs. The family clung to each other, trembling.
Kiara's arms stretched toward Yuvaan, eyes wide, voice fierce but cracking with fear. "U… U… don't drink it, no matter what they say! Don't!"
She shifted closer to shield him, stepping forward instinctively. But the ground beneath her gave way suddenly. She tumbled forward, letting out a sharp cry. Kiaan wiggled in her arms, whimpering. Kiara tried to catch herself, but her head struck a stone edge with a sickening thud. Pain flared through her skull, and she slumped sideways, unconscious—or barely conscious—her body trembling.
Yuvaan's heart dropped. His eyes went wide, taking in the chaos—the crumbling floor, the family struggling to stay upright, Kiara's motionless form, Kiaan's tiny whimpers. Every instinct in him screamed to protect them.
His fists clenched, knuckles white. His teeth ground together. He swallowed hard, gaze flicking to the Salem Seven. They loomed over him, shadows twisting, the vial gleaming in their hands, the magic circle beneath him humming like a predator.
Yuvaan's voice came out low, broken, but resolute. "If I… if I drink it… will they be safe? Will the ground… stop?"
The Salem Seven didn't answer immediately. Their silence was deliberate, oppressive, waiting to squeeze the hesitation out of him.
The cracks widened even more, swallowing Bhoomi's foot as she cried out. Vinod grabbed her arm, struggling to pull her back, but stones tumbled into the void.
Yuvaan's eyes filled with fire and pain. He looked down at Kiara, sprawled on the ground, tiny Kiaan pressed against her chest, tears running down her cheeks, blood trickling from the corner of her forehead.
He swallowed hard. Every part of him rebelled, every fiber screamed no—but he knew what he had to do. His duty, his love, his bond to his family—stronger than fear, stronger than pride.
"I… I will do it," he whispered, voice breaking, shaking with the weight of the impossible choice.
Kiara's eyes fluttered open just slightly, and she gave him a faint, pained shake of her head. "No… U… Yuvaan… you don't have to—"
He shook his head back, tears spilling. "I have to… I have no choice."
The Salem Seven's leader smirked, extending the vial toward him. The liquid inside shimmered like molten night, a darkness that seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat.
Yuvaan's hand trembled, and for a moment he hesitated, seeing the terror, the fear, the helplessness in the faces of his family—the weight of their lives pressed onto him like a physical force.
Then he lifted the vial. He swallowed in one motion, the bitter, burning liquid sliding down his throat. The world seemed to shudder. His eyes widened. Pain flared through his body, magic coursing into his veins, alien and twisting.
The family cried out. Kiara's sobs echoed through the hall. Vinod, Bhoomi, Varun, Vikram—they all called his name, their voices layered with fear, anguish, and helplessness.
Yuvaan fell to his knees in the magic circle, clutching his chest, breath ragged, tears mixing with sweat on his face. The Salem Seven watched, their satisfaction tempered with anticipation, waiting for him to succumb entirely.
And through it all, his eyes stayed on his family. Kiaan's tiny face, Kiara's bloodied forehead, the desperation in every glance around him—it steeled him. He had made the choice. He had taken the vial.
The ground paused its collapse for a heartbeat. Silence settled over the room, broken only by Kiara's quiet, trembling whimpers and the sound of Yuvaan's ragged breathing.
The air was thick with dust and residual magic, the mansion hallway trembling slightly as if it sensed what was about to happen. Yuvaan's knees hit the cold stone floor, his eyes closed, chest rising and falling unevenly.
The Salem Seven stepped forward, silent, deliberate. One of them extended a hand, a crown hovering in the air, dark and twisted with shadowed runes that shimmered with ominous light.
"Rise as the Warlock King," one whispered, almost reverently, as the crown slowly lowered onto Yuvaan's bowed head.
The moment it settled, a pulse of darkness radiated outward, searing through the hall like a living thing. The Salem Seven stepped back, a faint smirk on each of their concealed faces.
"You are the Warlock King once more," their voices echoed, haunting and in unison. "The power is yours. We depart. Let the reign begin."
In a blink, they vanished. The oppressive weight lifted. The family blinked, stunned but relieved that the Salem Seven had left. Yuvaan remained kneeling, his eyes still closed, an eerie calm settling over him.
Kiara rushed forward, her arms trembling as she wrapped herself around him. Tears streaked her cheeks. "Yuvaan… you're back! You're okay!" Her voice shook, a mix of relief, joy, and lingering fear.
For a heartbeat, it seemed as though the nightmare had ended.
Then his eyes opened.
Black. Deep, absolute black, rimmed with a faint red glow. A shadow of pure malice radiated from him. His body stiffened. The warmth she had known was gone. In an instant, the Yuvaan she knew—the man she loved—was gone.
He gripped her by the neck. The force pinned her against his chest. Kiara's gasp caught in her throat. She tried to push back, but his strength was overwhelming, unnatural.
"Yuvaan… please… let me go," she choked, tears blinding her.
The rest of the family froze, horror frozen on their faces. Vinod, Vikram, Varun, Bhoomi, Chandrika—all voices cracked as they shouted and pleaded. "Yuvaan! Don't! She's—she's your family! Stop!"
But the voice that came out of him was not the same voice they knew. It was colder, sharper, dripping with venom.
"You… you bind a tiger with love," he spat, every word slicing through the hall. "You thought your emotions could contain me? You thought your bonds, your affection, could tame what you have created?"
Kiara's arms flailed. "I… I love you!" she screamed, desperation clawing at her voice.
Yuvaan's eyes glinted cruelly. "Love… affection… all of it is weakness." His hand tightened for a heartbeat longer, then he flung her across the floor. The sound of her impact echoed like a gunshot, a harsh reminder of the power that now coursed through him.
She landed with a painful thud, scraping her arms, her tears mixing with blood. She coughed, dazed, looking up at him.
The Warlock King, Yuvaan, now purely consumed by darkness, raised his chin, smirk curling at the edge of his lips. He let out a soft, cold laugh, mocking everything they had shared. "Your love… your care… your family… all lies. I am the storm. I am the king. And you… none of you… can stop me."
The family instinctively stepped forward, fists clenched, voices trembling but fierce. "Yuvaan! Stop this! You're not alone! You're still you!"
He glanced at them, eyes piercing, utterly devoid of the warmth they remembered. "I am exactly who I am. And everything you tried to give me… everything you held onto… has made me what I am now."
The hall went silent, except for Kiara's shallow, trembling breaths and the ominous hum of his power coursing through every stone, every shadow.
And in that silence, it was painfully clear—the Warlock King they had once known, the man they loved, had vanished. Only the darkness remained.
To be continued…