The world drifted in and out of focus. Everything around me was muffled, like I was underwater. I caught fragments of voices—people calling my name, frantic and scared, but they felt distant, like echoes from a place I'd already left behind.

...

..

.

Then, all at once, I slammed back into myself. My eyes snapped open, and I gasped, lungs burning as if I'd been holding my breath for hours. The light was blinding, harsh against my face, and every inch of my body felt... wrong.

I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit me, forcing me back to the warm stone beneath me. I was lying in the middle of the city square, the once lively sounds of Valtara replaced by a thick, unnerving silence.

My limbs trembled as I lifted my hands, and the sight of them filled me with a new kind of terror—blackened, as if I'd been burned alive. Wisps of dark smoke curled from my skin, fading into the air.

I heard gasps from all around me and looked up to see the crowd. Dozens of people stood just beyond the edge of the square, staring down at me with faces full of fear, horror, disgust. They watched me as though I were a monster, something out of a nightmare that had crossed into their world.

I struggled to my feet, my knees shaking as I fought to keep my balance. My head was still throbbing, images flashing before my eyes— fire, screams, blood splattering. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make sense of them. The memories felt foreign, like someone else's life forced into my mind.

Then, through the crowd, I found Sacer. He was standing apart from the others, his gold eyes wide with something I didn't understand. Fear, maybe. Pity.

"Sacer," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "What... what happened?"

He didn't answer. He just stared at me, his gaze as unreadable as it was unyielding. And then he did something that shattered whatever hope I had left—he took a step back. I felt my heart stutter, my pulse going cold. He looked away, his face hardening, as though he couldn't bear to see me.

"What did you do?" a voice snarled, breaking the silence.

I turned, confused, and saw a man standing near the edge of the crowd, his face twisted in anger. He pointed a trembling finger at me, his eyes blazing. "I saw it—the flames, the darkness! You... you're him, aren't you?"

One of them. The words sank into my skin like ice. More voices joined in, murmuring accusations, casting fearful glances at my blackened hands, my still-smoldering skin.

"No, I didn't... I don't know what happened," I stammered, my hands shaking as I looked around, desperate to explain, though I didn't even know what I was explaining. "Please... I didn't mean to..."

I searched for my father, hoping he would tell everyone it was a mistake, that I was just his son, not some monster. But when I found him, his face was pale, his eyes wide with shock. He looked at me like he didn't know me, like he was seeing a stranger where his son used to be.

"Father," I tried, stepping toward him. "Please, I—I didn't mean to..."

He shook his head, stepping back. "Luca... what were those flames?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "What did you do?"

"I don't know!" The words broke out of me, half-scream, half-sob. "I didn't do anything—it just happened!"

The crowd's whispers turned into an uproar, fear and panic spreading like wildfire. People edged away from me, clutching their children, casting wary glances at Sacer as well.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "The Demon King has returned!" and the words hit me like a punch to the gut. They were looking at me like I was some kind of creature, something dangerous, something that needed to be stopped.

Sacer's gaze was was focused on me again, his face full of pain and a terrible, reluctant understanding. I could see it in his eyes—he knew something I didn't, and whatever it was, it made him afraid. Afraid of me.

"You should run," he whispered, so quietly that only I could hear. "Luca... you need to leave."

I stared at him, feeling my heart break. Looking into his eyes, I realized he was terrified—of me. And I knew that in that moment, he saw me not as his brother, but as something he'd been told all his life was evil.

"Luca!" he urged, his voice strained. "Go!"

Anger bubbled up inside me, raw and wild, a dark heat that felt like it was clawing its way out. Why was he doing this? Why was he casting me aside like I was some sort of monster?

As my anger grew, I felt that same dark whisper in my mind, coaxing me to lash out, to release the flames again, to show them all what I was capable of.

With one last, desperate look at Sacer, I turned and ran. The crowd parted in front of me, their fearful whispers filling my ears as I pushed past them, sprinting through the winding streets. My mind was a haze, a chaotic swirl of confusion, fear, and betrayal.

I didn't know where I was going—all I knew was that I had to get away, had to leave the square, the city, before whatever was inside me took over completely. I ran until the voices faded, until the streets around me grew quiet and empty. Only then did I stop, leaning against a wall as I tried to catch my breath.

The city stretched out in front of me, unfamiliar and vast. I had no idea where to go, or who to turn to. All I had were questions, questions that burned just as fiercely as the flames that had consumed me.

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What was I? Why did this happen to me? And why... Why had Sacer looked at me like I was the enemy?

My hands trembled as I slid down the wall, my head falling into my hands. I was lost, alone, with no idea of who—or what—I was supposed to be.

But as the silence closed in around me, a single thought rose above the chaos, chilling and absolute.

Who am I?

—

I don't know how long I sat there, my mind spinning, my body exhausted, but at some point, I forced myself to get up. Staying in the city was a risk I couldn't take. The echoes of "Demon King" still rang in my ears, and every shadow seemed to press down on me, whispering the same name.

I was Damon. But I was also Luca, wasn't I?

The thought twisted in my mind like a snare. How could I be both? The streets were quiet now, the last of the market noise fading as people settled into their homes. I had nowhere to go and no plan—just an overwhelming need to escape before someone decided to find me.

I moved through the back alleys, keeping close to the walls, away from the torchlight flickering in the main streets. My whole body felt heavy, like I was walking through mud. I didn't know how to fight this darkness, this... other side of me. Part of me wanted to collapse, to sink back down into that quiet alley and just disappear. But another part, deeper, almost primal, was urging me on.

I made it to the edge of the city before I stopped again, my chest heaving, my body rebelling against every step. The forest loomed just beyond the gates, its dense trees casting long, dark shadows under the moonlight. It looked forbidding, but it was better than being out in the open.

Taking a deep breath, I slipped into the trees, my footsteps muffled by the thick layer of leaves underfoot. I didn't look back at Valtara. Right now, I wasn't sure I'd ever see it again.

After a few minutes of running, I found a clearing, a small patch of grass under the open sky, and I collapsed onto it, the damp earth cool against my skin. The forest was silent except for the soft rustling of leaves or the occasional hoot of an owl. For the first time since the square, I felt like I could breathe.

But then the memories flooded back.

I closed my eyes, and flashes of the square seared into my mind: the crowd's fearful faces, Father's horrified gaze, Sacer's look of quiet, resigned betrayal. I'd never seen him look at me like that. It was as if he knew something he hadn't told me, like he'd been waiting for this moment, the moment he realized I was... different.

A wave of bitterness rose in my throat.

My hands clenched into fists, and I felt that strange, dark heat pulsing beneath my skin again, whispering, tempting me to let it out, to surrender to whatever lay inside me. I could feel it burning in my chest, filling me with a power that felt both familiar and foreign. But I didn't want to give in—I didn't want to lose myself to something I didn't understand.

But then, a thought crept in, cold and insidious. What if there was no other way? What if I couldn't escape this? What if I was destined to be exactly what they feared?

I tried to push the thought away, but it lingered, gnawing at the edges of my mind. There was a part of me that didn't want to fight it.

As I lay there, staring up at the stars, I realized that I had two choices: I could run, keep hiding, try to bury this darkness deep inside me and hope it never surfaced again. Or... I could embrace it. I could try to understand it, to harness it. Maybe then, I could find out who I really was.

—

The hours stretched on as I lay in the clearing, I must have drifted off at some point, because the next thing I knew, the first light of dawn was breaking through the trees.

I sat up, my muscles stiff, my mind clouded with exhaustion. But I knew one thing for certain: I couldn't stay here.

There was a village a day's walk from Valtara, near the edge of the forest, where travelers stopped for supplies before heading into the mountains. If I could make it there, maybe I could blend in, find a way to hide, to escape whatever fate was chasing me.

Pushing myself to my feet, I set off into the trees, my footsteps crunching softly over the underbrush. I kept moving, forcing myself to focus on each step, anything to keep the overbearing fear at bay.

But as I walked, a new sound reached my ears—the crunch of footsteps on leaves, somewhere behind me. I froze, my heart pounding, as I strained to listen.

The footsteps grew closer, deliberate and slow, like whoever was following me knew exactly where I was. Panic surged through me, and I ducked behind a tree, pressing myself against the bark. My breath was shallow, my hands trembling as I peered around the trunk, hoping, praying that whoever it was would pass me by.

But then I saw him.

Sacer.

He was moving quietly through the trees, his gaze fixed on the ground, his expression focused and unyielding. His white hair caught the early morning light, making him look almost ethereal, like a ghost.

A surge of anger mixed with relief twisted inside me. I wanted to call out to him, to demand an explanation, to ask him why he'd looked at me like that, why he'd told me to run. But part of me was afraid of what he might say, of the truth he might reveal.

Instead, I stayed silent, watching as he moved closer, his gaze still on the ground. I wonder what he was thinking, what he was planning to do if he found me.

But then, as if sensing my gaze, he stopped, lifting his head to look directly at me. Our eyes met, and for a moment, everything else faded away. It was just the two of us, twin brothers.

"Luca," he said softly, his voice carrying through the quiet forest. "I had a feeling you'd be here."

I didn't respond, my body tense as I watched him, waiting for him to make the first move. I could see the pain in his eyes, the struggle he was fighting to keep hidden. But I could also see the determination, the resolve that had always made Sacer who he was.

"What do you want?" I managed, my voice rough and wary.

Sacer took a slow step forward, his gaze never leaving mine.

I shook my head, the anger and confusion boiling over. "You knew, Sacer. You knew something was wrong, didn't you? That's why you told me to run. You knew, and you didn't tell me!"

He flinched, but he didn't look away. "I didn't know, Luca. Not really. I... I had a feeling, maybe, but I didn't know it would be like this." He paused, his hands opening and closing at his sides. "But now that I've seen it... I can't ignore it."

My chest began to tighten, the reality of his words sinking in. "So, what now?" I spat.

His expression softened, and he took another step closer, his gaze intense. "I need to know, Luca. Do you feel it? Do you feel it inside you?"

His question hung in the air, heavy and daunting. I wanted to deny it, to tell him he was out of his mind, that I was still just Luca, his brother. But the memory of the flames, of the darkness that had consumed me in the square, was too fresh, too real. I couldn't lie to him—not about this.

"Yes," I whispered, the admission tearing at me. "I feel it, Sacer. And it scares me. I don't... I don't want to be,” I raised my shaking, blackened hands in front of my face. Studying them. “...This."

Sacer's expression softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw the brother I'd grown up with, the boy who'd often come to me in the dead of night due to bad dreams. But then his eyes hardened.

"I don't want you to be this either," he said softly. "But if you are, if you're really him... then I have to do what's right."

The words cut through me, cold and final. Anger began to surge through me, but really, all I was feeling was sadness. "I don't know who, or what I am, Sacer," I said, my voice breaking. "But if you're going to treat me like an enemy... maybe I don't have a choice."

With one last look, I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there in the clearing. I didn't look back. I couldn't. Because if I did, I knew I'd see the same thing in his eyes that I’d scene at the square.

Duty.

And as much as I hated it, I knew that sooner or later, we would have to face each other again—not as brothers, but as enemies.