It was thick, heavy air, an aching silence that pressed upon Kiaran, Eira, and Sable as they stumbled out of the oppressive darkness of the Sanctuary. Blood stained their clothes-the silver light of dawn glistening in it, bringing with it an earthy tang of iron, sharp reminder of how close to oblivion they had clung to life. His fingers flexed around the hilt of his sword, but his hand felt empty, powerless. A rush of victory already turned to emptiness, something he had long been unable to get over.

They crumpled beside the torn entrance to the Sanctuary, panting harshly. Torches quivering, throwing long, bony shadows up the stone walls. Eira's face was white, haunted eyes looking off into some distance where her gaze remained fixed.

The stillness wrapped around them, as if the Sanctuary itself was whispering something they weren't meant to know. Kiaran looked down at his shaking hands, outstretched and grasping them a little tighter. He'd felt something dark, formless coiling in his stomach, something that had seeped into his thoughts like the silken laughter of the entity still lingered in his mind, soft, insidious, as it had seemed to seep into his soul.

It's. gone, isn't it? Eira's voice shuddered through the silence.

Kiaran slowly shook his head. His eyes didn't leave the earth. "Not quite. More like it is. watching and waiting for something.".

He spoke, and a shiver down his spine. The malice of the entity lingered on, a dark presence that would not retreat. He knew it wasn't to be the last the saw of it, but sitting in silence made Kiaran's thoughts wander. A dull throb was developing in his temples, pulling memories to the surface that he'd long buried.

Hours slid by in a murmur of quiet movement, but for Kiaran, they passed into nothingness among restless thoughts of death. Cruel clarity forced faces from his mind which he thought he would never remember - some loved and some hated. Each step drew him deeper into dreams he had long hoped to bury in earth, as these ghosts came out of nothingness and receded once more.

Every face materialized, floating one after another, like ghosts, the solemnness on his mentor's face, eyes that spoke nothing but disappointment; a friend lost to betrayal, her smile twisted in a sneer of accusation; his family, hollow faces etched with the blame he carried for the choices he made.

He saw then his Seraphina, sister not saved, and life snuffed out before one could ever really comprehend the implications of the choices he has been making. Her face stays as the last to dissolve into darkness, stamped in his soul. This is where loss has given him seeds enough to seek vengeance, every stride a dark tribute to remember her.

Enough. he muttered, pushing his palms through his temples as if to shut out the visions.

But the ghosts remained. Their voices floated about him in a soft murmur of regret and blame. He felt the edge of an abyss; he was on the windward and balancing nothing, but darkness below.

A hand on his shoulder shook him back into the world. He blinked, and the faces receded to be replaced by Eira's worried eyes.

Kiaran… you look like you have seen a ghost.

He smiled awkwardly, almost compulsively. It felt hollow. "Maybe I do."

They sat there awhile, the fire crackling quietly. Then, out of the darkness came a figure that was all too familiar: Alaric Thorn, his face drawn and grim.

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"You have awakened the shadows, Kiaran," Alaric said low and ominous. "You may have won this battle, but it is only a small part of a much greater war."

Alaric's eyes bored into him, sharp and relentless. "You carry the curse inside you. It is no burden, Kiaran, but a chain-one that binds you to forces beyond mortal comprehension.".

Kiaran's jaws lock. "Then tell me how to break it, tell me what to do.".

Very, very slowly, his head had moved. In his eyes, hints of sorrow. "A curse is not broken with a snapped chain," he said. "There is a prophecy, very, very old. Ancient. It speaks of a destroyer of darkness but can become darkness himself if vengeance becomes his consuming purpose.".

The words hit Kiaran like a blow. He knew very well how the rumors went about the prophecy, but now, hearing it all, seemed almost perversely real. Was he that his route into vengeance led him deeper into a darkness greater than what he fought against?

Relicts, Alaric whispered with a conspiratorial edge, relicts hidden away in forbidden lands, guarded by forces that answer to no will of mortals. This power, he continued over the course of lives over curses. But the risk they posed was equal to their power.

Kiaran's heart throbbed in his chest. There it was-his hope, his chance. But Alaric's eyes held dark possibilities, clear warning.

"Seek them; he shall never find the way back after he hath once left the path."

Kiaran nodded slowly. The danger wasn't important. He'd made it this far and wasn't going to go back now.

As Alaric disappeared into the darkness, Eira stepped forward, a silent mask across her face. Unspoken words hung in the heavy air. Finally, she turned to him, her eyes bright and savage.

“Kiaran,” she began, her voice trembling with emotion. “This quest, this… obsession with revenge—it’s consuming you. You’re losing yourself to it.”

He tried to open his mouth to protest, but she held up a hand to stop him.

I know why you're doing this. I have guessed more than you would ever imagine; you cannot let it consume you. I have seen to what point the curse has driven other people; I've seen how it has hollowed them out and left nothing there but shadows of who they used to be. He nearly screamed at her words that run like a knife into him sharper than any he faced ever. He wants to tell her this is the only way. No words could deny what one listened to through her eyes, she isn't scared of him, she is frightened of what he became to be.

I won't, Eira he says his voice raw with the emotion. That's all there is to it have to move on for her and for all of them.

She smoothed her face, reaching up to touch his cheek with one hand. To his surprise, it felt warm and grounding. "Just promise me you won't lose yourself in this darkness. Promise me that you'll remember who you are, and not let this curse define you."

He nodded, but the promise felt fragile, a vow made in the dark.

The next day renewed in heart they went out once again setting forth determined and it was not with the last act they carried with them. Alaric spoke to Kiaran of this forbidden land. There had been word of relics hidden away, places filled with fragments of magical power that was forbidden. Of course, the lands that the blessed placed upon for perilous destinations were visited sparingly, yet a select few did return.

They walk in silences, deep in each other's thoughts. It's that burning determination in Kiaran, contrasting what Eira has said against him, reminding him that which was taken away. It was only when Kiaran went deeper into the forest that he heard that faint rustling sound. He froze right away, his senses high alert, scanning the dark space.

He caught a glimpse of something or someone in his line of sight, a shadow moving from tree to tree, silent and elusive.

Do you see that? Eira breathed low, barely audible. Kiaran nodded, his fingers tightening on the sword.

They watched as the silhouette edged closer, a figure shrouded in shadow, movements almost. unnatural. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest; he knew the truth-they were being watched, pursued by something or someone who moved with eerie familiarity.

The shadow halted in mid-air, teasingly just out of reach, and then with a whispered movement, it vanished into darkness, leaving behind chilled silence. Eira shivered, white as ash.

"That… wasn't human, was it? Kiaran shook his head, closing a fist over the sword. "No. Whatever it was, it is not done with us yet.". They stood there, all of them silent, as some portent settled over them like a shroud. The road ahead was dark, treacherous, and fraught with danger.

But Kiaran knew there was no way back. And yet, all the while, a shadow trailed off behind them - the constant reminder of darkness that awaited them.