The room pulsed.
Not with light—
But with a suffocating, ancient darkness that felt… alive.
Liana dropped to her knees, clutching her chest as something inside her ripped open like a sealed door being forced apart.
"N-no… stop…" she gasped.
But it didn't stop.
It claimed her.
A shadowy mist rose from the floor, spiraling around her legs, slithering up her spine like cold fingers. The air tasted metallic—like blood and forgotten magic.
Her eyes rolled back.
Her voice shook.
"Who… who are you…?"
A whisper curled into her ear.
"I am what you were born to be."
Her heartbeat slammed painfully.
"No… Kael—Kael will come—"
The darkness laughed.
A slow, ancient, cruel laugh that vibrated in her bones.
"That wolf cannot save you."
"He cannot cage you."
"He cannot keep you."
Liana felt her body stiffen.
Her vision bled into black and silver until she could no longer tell what was real.
"Stop… please…" she begged.
But the darkness slid its hand across her mind like a lover caressing her cheek.
"You were created to destroy him."
Liana's breath shattered.
"No—NO—Kael is—"
The entity shoved deeper into her consciousness.
Her muscles locked.
Her fingers twitched.
Her veins turned dark, glowing faintly beneath her skin.
Her voice was no longer her own when she spoke:
"What… do you want me to do?"
The darkness whispered a single command—
A single destiny:
"Kill Kael."
Liana's pupils shrank.
Her body stopped fighting.
Her heartbeat slowed…
And then steadied into perfect, unnatural calm.
Her mind turned silent.
Emotionless.
Empty.
Until only one purpose remained.
Kill Kael.
She stood slowly, her movements too smooth, too controlled to be human. Her long hair fell over her face, shadowing her eyes—now a glowing, unnatural silver-black.
Chains she didn't realize were part of the room snapped like weak twigs.
A pulse of corrupted magic burst from her skin, shaking dust from the ceiling.
The seal on the iron door cracked.
Once.
Twice.
BOOM.
The door shattered outward.
The hallway lights flickered as she stepped out, darkness swirling behind her like a cape.
Her footsteps echoed.
Her voice was soft.
Almost sweet.
"Kael…"
But the tone was wrong.
Too calm.
Too deadly.
"He's coming."
Her lips curled slightly, but it wasn't a smile—
it was the face of a predator sensing its prey.
"Good."
She turned her head slowly, sensing his presence from far across the territory.
The darkness pushed her forward.
A phantom hand guiding her spine.
Every corridor she walked through froze, frost spreading across walls and choking out Kael's golden warmth.
Even the wolves in Kael's clan felt it.
They bowed their heads instinctively — not in respect, but in fear.
"L-Luna?" one whispered.
But she didn't look at them.
She was not Liana.
She was the darkness wearing her skin.
And she kept walking.
Straight toward the throne hall—
where Kael was about to appear.
---
At the same time…
Kael sped through the forest, golden flames burning under his feet.
His wolf snarled violently, clawing to get out.
"She's losing control—SOMETHING touched her," his wolf growled.
"I know," Kael hissed. "I felt it."
A pulse of corrupted energy hit him from afar.
Kael's body stopped mid-stride.
His heart dropped.
"…Liana?"
The energy didn't feel like her.
It felt older.
Darker.
Hungry.
And familiar.
Too familiar.
"No… gods no…"
He sprinted faster, ripping through the path—
Just in time for another pulse of darkness to slam into him so hard, he staggered.
"LIANA!" he roared.
He teleported into the mansion—
Into a hallway dripping with shadow.
Into the presence of something he had prayed to never sense again.
And then…
She stepped out.
Slow.
Graceful.
Beautiful.
And corrupted.
Her eyes glowed silver-black like a starless night.
Her voice was soft, emotionless.
"Kael."
His breath hitched.
"Liana… what did they do to you?"
She tilted her head.
"Not what they did."
Her fingers flicked—and the shadows in the hall curled around her hand like pets.
"…what I became."
Kael's wolf went silent.
This wasn't possession.
It wasn't enchantment.
This was a hidden power inside her awakening—
one Kael had been warned never to face again.
He stepped toward her slowly.
"Liana? Can you hear me—"
Her eyes hardened.
"Don't come closer."
He froze.
She didn't blink.
"The darkness wants your heart," she whispered. "And I… I can't stop it."
Her hand lifted.
Shadows sharpened into spears around her.
"Step closer," she said, "and I will kill you."
Kael swallowed, chest tight.
His voice broke.
"Then kill me, Liana…
because I'm not running."
But the darkness behind her hissed…
And her pupils shrank again.
Her body moved—
Too fast.
Too smooth.
Too deadly.
Straight toward him.