Aralynn woke with a start, the remnants of a dream still clinging to her like ash. She was inside her father's house lying in her room, a comfort zone she missed terribly.Delilah’s voice, soft and trembling echoed in her mind.“You must awaken him.”“Or destroy him.”She shivered. The words weren’t hers, yet they pressed on her chest like weight. And then she sensed someone else lurking around her.Before she could think, a voice cut through the tension.“You’re awake.” Aralynn turned.There was her mother Delilah, resting on the door, her eyes piercing through her.“Mother, what happened?” Aralynn swallowed. “That doesn't matter dear.”*You have awakened, no one can look down on you anymore.” Delilah assured, approaching her.“Awakened?” “How, mother?” Aralynn demanded.“You felt it too, didn't you?”“You have immeasurable power now, baby.” Delilah cooed.Aralynn clenched her fists, her pulse racing. “Is that why you are back, because you want my power?” Araluny snapped.“No,

The air shimmered as Nicklaus stepped closer, his presence pressing against Aralynn’s skin like invisible chains. “I thought you wanted them both,” he mocked. Aralynn’s fingers curled tighter around the hem of her dress. “Are you going to offer me my freedom,” she breathed. “Or not.” Nicklaus' chin lifted, he stretched his hands towards her and a blade appeared on his palm. It was beautiful in a cruel way, dark metal veined with silver light, humming faintly, as though alive. Power crawled along its edge, cold and suffocating. “You hesitate,” he observed softly. Aralynn stared at the short curved blade quietly. “What is that?” she demanded. “Your freedom,” he simply replied. Aralynn lifted her gaze towards him, eyebrows raised. Nicklaus smiled. “This will sever him from what he is. Strip the god from the flesh.” “It won't kill him,” she said, voice rigid. “He will sleep.” Nicklaus's gaze sharpened. “Powerless.” “And then?” she asked. “You will be free,” Nick

The forest was silent, heavy with the scent of burnt earth and iron.Kael knelt in the center of the clearing, shadows crawling along the ground, flickering like living embers. Aralynn lay beside him, her chest rising and falling in slow, shallow breaths. Her hair fanned out like dark silk, her lips pale and her hands curled in delicate fists.Kael’s fingers traced the air above her, feeling the pulse of life returning, his void-black eyes reflecting the remnants of destruction around them.“Sleep,” he murmured, voice hoarse. “You need rest.”Slowly, he closed his eyes, his hands rising as shadows surged upward, forming jagged walls of black that spiraled toward the sky..Trees trembled, birds fell dead mid-flight, and the soil itself cracked beneath his influence. Each shadow escaping through him left him staggering, pain seared through his chest, lightning stabbing along his spine, his vision blurringThe barrier pulsed, a living thing shaped by his will but every pulse demanded