DEMON BE NICE

Chapter 2: Veiled memories

Ciaran's POV

The ancient temple loomed before me, shrouded in an air thick with incense and history. Its walls echoed secrets older than the world itself. On a pedestal at the heart of the temple lay the Abyssal Heart, a gem pulsating with power that reached into my soul. This gem, the only passage to the world of imbalance, held memories I'd rather forget yet could never escape.

I gazed into the Abyssal Heart, and the world around me blurred as it dragged me back into a past I could hardly bear to revisit. Shadows of younger days unfurled before me, showing me a different, softer version of myself, surrounded by friends, laughter in the air.

**Flashback**

We were reckless back then, driven by curiosity and a hunger for the forbidden. Life in the underworld had been a playground for us, shrouded in secrecy yet predictable. But the human world beckoned that night, promising danger and thrill.

We emerged under the light of a full moon, casting aside caution in exchange for the thrill of trespassing on mortal soil. We felt invincible as we explored the strange, quiet world above. Laughter echoed through the night, blending with the rustling leaves, as if daring fate itself to come for us. It was freedom, until it wasn’t.

The memory twisted, plunging me into the dense woods as I ran, the laughter of my friends warping into desperate whispers. I could see the portal up ahead, shimmering with the promise of safety. But the laughter was fading, shifting into something hollow and distorted.

They’d reached it first. They waited, hands outstretched, their figures flickering on the other side. I ran, pushing myself harder, but the portal snapped shut just as I reached for them, sealing them from me with a cold finality.

The scene dissolved, returning me to the present, the Abyssal Heart still throbbing on its pedestal. I clenched my fists, shoving down the bitterness that rose within me. The stone had seen everything, felt everything, my regrets, my failures, my isolation. Yet, like a mirror, it only reflected back at me the emptiness I had carried ever since.

In the silence, a pang of longing rippled through me, tempered by a hardened resolve. I would use whatever chaos was necessary to reopen this gate. I would feed the Abyssal Heart with every ounce of darkness this realm had to offer.

As the temple’s dim light cast shadows around me, I felt something was off. Instinctively, I reached for the ring on my finger, the ring that anchored me to my full power. But my fingers met only bare skin.

An uneasy tension clenched at my chest as I frantically searched my pockets. The ring, my key to control, the source of 80% of my power, was gone.

I swallowed down the panic that edged its way up my spine, forcing myself to breathe. The connection between the Abyssal Heart and the ring was severed, leaving a hollow sensation inside me, like something essential had been torn away. Without it, I felt vulnerable in a way that made my skin crawl.

I drew in a slow, steadying breath and willed myself back to the scene of the accident, the Red Water Bridge. The surroundings materialized in a flash, cold and desolate in the moonlight. I extended my hand, scanning every inch of the shattered remnants of the truck for the faint red glow of my ring.

As I sifted through the debris, frustration gnawed at me. The ring was more than a mere object; it was a vessel of power, a weapon of leverage in this mortal plane. Had it been ripped from my finger during the teleportation? Did it lie somewhere, lost amid the chaos of that collision?

I moved through the wreckage with renewed urgency, every futile sweep of my hand stoking the simmering frustration within me. I could almost feel the ring’s energy mocking me from wherever it was hidden, its absence like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

With a growl, I turned my thoughts inward, replaying each moment that led up to this mess. It was there before I left for the temple, of that I was certain. The timing of its disappearance felt suspicious, as if it had been stripped from me to sabotage my strength.

But I had lost precious things before. I would not lose this.

I clenched my fists, breathing in the raw, dark energy of the woods around me. I had unfinished business, and the loss of a ring wouldn’t stop me. Somewhere, in the folds of memory and time, lay the answers. Somewhere, my past and my power were waiting to be reclaimed.

I would find that ring, and I would tear through every veil of reality until I did.