The first drops of rain hit the cracked stones of Arden Fort, mixing with blood and ash.We'd won.At least, that's what the survivors whispered.
But as the last flames died, silence crawled over the fortress like a shadow.
Reiss was barking orders below, gathering the wounded. Sera stood on the ramparts, cloak torn, lightning still fading from her staff. She stared out toward the valley where the council army had retreated — for now.
I approached, bandaged side aching. "You should rest."
"I can't," she said softly. "Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces — the ones who died because of me."
"You mean because of us." I leaned against the stone beside her. "Guilt's a heavy thing. But we carry it together."
She turned, rain streaking down her cheek like tears. "Together? You still trust me after what happened in the tunnels?"
"You saved my life," I said simply. "Twice. That's more than most have done."
For a moment, the world stilled. Just the rain, the wind, and two people who didn't know how to stop surviving.
Night fell.We took shelter in what was once the commander's chamber — cold walls, one broken window, maps still pinned to the table. The others slept in the lower barracks. Sera sat by the window, tracing the lightning beyond with her finger.
"You ever wonder," she said quietly, "what kind of story this would've been if we'd met before all this?"
I smiled faintly. "You'd have hated me anyway. I was a different person. Arrogant. Cruel."
She shook her head. "No… I think you were someone just pretending to be cruel."
Her words hit deeper than she knew. For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then thunder rolled — closer this time, almost alive. The candlelight flickered, bending toward the door.
I frowned. "That's not a storm."
Sera stood instantly. "Mana surge."
The air thickened, humming with power. A pulse tore through the fort, rattling the stones. From the courtyard below came screams.
Reiss burst in. "The east gate! Something's—"
He never finished. A shockwave blew him backward, door splintering as black mist poured through.
I felt it before I saw it.The curse.Awakening.
Pain seared through my veins, white-hot, like molten chains tightening inside my body. I dropped to my knees, clutching my chest.
"Lucien!" Sera grabbed me, but the aura lashed out, cracking the floor. My shadow rose behind me, forming claws, faces, whispers — all screaming my name.
"No… not now," I gasped. "Not—her—"
"Fight it!" she cried, wrapping her arms around me, ignoring the black flames licking her sleeves. "You can control it!"
But the curse didn't want control. It wanted freedom.
Let go, it whispered. You were never meant to save them. You were born to destroy.
I could feel Sera shaking against me, feel her heartbeat pounding against the chaos. "Lucien, look at me," she said, voice trembling but steady. "You're not the villain this story made you."
Her words cut through the noise — for a moment. I met her eyes, saw myself reflected in them, saw what I wanted to believe I could be.
Slowly, I raised a trembling hand and touched her cheek. "Then… help me end it."
She pressed her forehead against mine, chanting softly. Her mana flared, white and pure, wrapping around my shadow. The curse screamed, recoiling, thrashing against her light.
I screamed too — half in pain, half in rage — as black met white, darkness met dawn.The world shook. Lightning split the sky above the fort.
Then, silence.
The aura shattered like glass. I collapsed into her arms, gasping.The rain outside stopped.
She smiled through tears. "You did it…"
"We did it." I managed a weak laugh. "Guess that makes us even now."
Her hand lingered on my face. "Don't joke. You almost—"
I didn't let her finish. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe the fear of losing her again — but I pulled her close and kissed her.
It was clumsy, desperate, but real.For once, the curse didn't resist.It was quiet.
When we broke apart, she whispered, "You idiot."
"Yeah," I breathed. "Yours."
She laughed softly — the kind of sound I hadn't realized I missed.
We barely had a minute before Reiss stumbled back in, bruised and bleeding. "The curse—did you—"
"It's gone," I said. "For now."
But Sera's eyes widened. "Lucien…"
I followed her gaze.
Across the room, the black mist that had vanished moments ago was crawling back — slower, more deliberate, coiling toward the ceiling like smoke forming words.
Then I saw it — a mark burning into the stone:"The Gate Opens."
Before we could react, the sigil exploded in a burst of black fire. The window shattered, a storm roaring outside — not rain, but mana, twisting reality itself.
Sera screamed my name as the wind dragged us toward the light. I tried to hold onto her hand — her eyes wide, terrified — but something yanked her away.
And just before everything went white, I heard the curse whisper again, calm this time, almost amused:
You can't rewrite a villain's fate, Lucien.