A FAITHFUL CHOICE

The door swung open unexpectedly, allowing in a cool breeze. The witches in the room were intrigued about what was going on, which pushed one of them to check.

"Who else is there?" She inquired.

A figure in full black appeared from the door, with amber eyes. The witch lurched backwards and mumbled, "The hybrid," as he entered the room.

They were gripped by fear. Adrian charged towards the witch, snapping her head out of her body. Her lifeless body collapsed on the ground, and her head rolled over to the witches. They all looked up at Adrian, who was standing a few metres away, and said, "Wh... what do you want from us?" One of the witches asked, stammering.

"I came back because I discovered you lied to me about the witch," Adrian grinned, "and I warned you about that."

"Leave them out of this; they have done nothing." She surged forward. "I was the one who lied to you," she cried.

"No! You should watch them all die and blame yourself," Adrian shouted.

He charged at them, removing their hearts, and held onto them in both his hands as their bodies fell to the ground.

"No!" She screamed in agony and rage as she raised her hand to Adrian and flung him against the wall.

He

whimpered as he fell to the floor. She charged at him, her hand outstretched, giving him a severe headache. As he yelled, it felt like the world was collapsing around him.

"You are a monster; you don't belong in this world," she yelled. "Die, you monster."

He tried to fight his way out of the pain, but it looked hopeless until his hand reached for a rod. He gathered his strength as he stood up to strike the witch in the face, and he breathed heavily as he walked over to the witch.

"Pl…. Please don't kill me," she begged.

“Only if

you tell the truth this time around, where can I find this powerful witch that I seek?" Adrian said as he grabbed her by the throat.

Words struggled to come out of her mouth: "Ne... Nexus Heights, you will find her there.”

He cast a

doubtful

look into her eyes and said, "I hope you're telling the truth. What else can you tell me about her?"

She responded,

“I swear, I’m not lying.

She is young and powerful...

mhmm, she also has a rare mark on her body."

He released his grip on her throat, and in a swift move, she made a desperate movement with a dagger, but he instantly seized her hand and prevented the stab. Her action ignited an outburst of anger within him.

“You made a terrible mistake,” he uttered as he

took the dagger

and sliced her throat, causing a torrent of blood to spill out.

A deep voice from behind said, “You shouldn’t have killed her."

Adrian turned around and approached him, saying, “I never planned to,

Lucas. I was going to keep

my word,

but she attacked me.”

He

led the way out of the room as Lucas followed him. “Hope you got the real details of the witch from her before you killed her." Lucas inquired curiously.

“Yes, I did. We are moving to Nexus Heights to find her."

He responded.

“Are you

kidding me, Nexus Heights?”

Lucas exclaimed as he

speeded

up

his pace and stopped Adrian.

“You're aware of how dangerous it is for you to be in Nexus Heights.

Yet you

still plan

to go

back there?” He inquired. “Instead, let me go and find this witch and bring her

to you.”

They locked eyes. “I’m fully aware, Lucas! But it is my responsibility to find the witch, not yours,” Adrian responded.

"I'm

persistently recognised as an outcast

and have

no place where I can truly embrace my hybrid identity. I refuse to spend the rest of my life haunted by this reality. If you prefer not to come along, I understand and appreciate your concern," he said,

with a

gentle

tap

on Lucas’s shoulder before

he

turned to

walk away.

Lucas stood

and watched

him leave. He realised that

Adrian

had truly

concluded to return to

his once-loved city, which he ran away from.

Adrian was finally back at home. He stood in front of the mirror, trying to take off his shirt, when he noticed

that someone stood

at the entrance.

“I guess you had a stressful day?” She inquired as she approached him.

“Hmm, maybe a little bit,” he responded. “I

assume

Lucas must have told you, right?” He inquired as he looked at her through the mirror.

“Yes, he

told me, but I am not here to

persuade you; instead, I’m here

to give you my

support,” she chuckled as she helped him pull off his shirt.

“When are you leaving for Nexus Heights?” She asked.

He

turned to her and placed his hand on her neck as they locked eyes. “Tomorrow,”

“Okay,

I’m going along with

you, right?”

she

inquired.

“No! Diana, it will be too dangerous for you to follow me,”

he

protested. “I can’t risk losing you.

I don’t want to

live the rest of my life in pain."

She

placed

a

hand on his cheek and said, “Nothing will happen to me, Adrian. I can’t see you leaving for Nexus Heights without me. My mind won’t be at rest. Moreover, you have trained me for years on how to defend myself against any supernaturals."

“I can protect myself;

I’m

a

good fighter; you don’t need

to worry about me, Mr. Hybrid,” she

added

with a smile.

A little smile appeared on

his

lips as he rubbed his hand on his head down to his face, contemplating

the decision to make. “Okay, you can come along."

Diana was excited to hear it, but

he

put a halt to her jubilation. “But you have to promise me something."

“What

promise

could that be?” she inquired curiously.

“You will keep yourself safe from danger if anything happens to me,”

he said.

Diana nodded her head.

“I’m not promising you that because nothing is going to happen to you, we are both coming back together safely."

She went ahead to

hop on him and give him a deep kiss. They both found their way to the bed to continue their blossoming moment. But Adrian's mind couldn’t get off the thinking of how life will be for him when he returns to his old city; will he be accepted back? Or will his life be more miserable than when he left?