Episode 7: Something Is Wrong
1128 Words
I couldn’t stop thinking about his face.
The warrior.
The moment he collapsed.
The way his body went still in my hands.
“I didn’t kill him…”
The words felt fragile.
Uncertain.
Like they could break if I said them too loud.
“Then come see for yourself.”
Kael’s voice was calm—but there was something beneath it.
Something serious.
Something… off.
My stomach twisted.
We stood outside a set of heavy wooden doors deep inside the fortress. Two guards stepped aside the moment Kael approached, their expressions tense.
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
Something was wrong.
I could feel it.
“Stay behind me,” Kael said.
I didn’t argue.
For once… I didn’t have the strength to.
He pushed the doors open.
The smell hit me first.
Sharp.
Metallic.
Blood.
My chest tightened as I stepped inside.
The room was dimly lit, shadows stretching across stone walls. A single figure lay on a raised platform in the center.
The warrior.
Unmoving.
My heart dropped.
“I…” My voice shook. “I thought you said he was alive.”
“He is.”
Kael’s tone didn’t change.
But his eyes were fixed on the body.
Watching.
Analyzing.
I forced my legs to move, each step heavier than the last.
“Then why isn’t he waking up?”
No answer.
Of course.
When I reached the platform, I hesitated.
For a moment… I didn’t want to look.
Didn’t want to confirm what I was already afraid of.
But I had to.
Slowly, I leaned closer.
His chest was rising.
Barely.
His skin looked… wrong.
Paler than it should be.
Almost drained.
“What happened to him?” I whispered.
Kael stepped beside me.
“You tell me.”
I flinched slightly.
“I don’t know! I just—I tried to stop him—”
“And instead, you connected.”
His words were sharp.
Precise.
Like he was piecing something together.
My brows furrowed.
“Connected?”
“When you touched him, your power didn’t just react,” Kael said. “It linked to him.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Linked?
“That’s not possible,” I said quickly. “I don’t even know how this works—”
“Exactly.”
That wasn’t comforting.
At all.
I looked back at the warrior, my chest tightening.
“Is he going to wake up?”
Kael didn’t answer right away.
And that scared me more than anything.
“I don’t know.”
The honesty hit harder than a lie.
Before I could respond—
The warrior’s body jerked.
Violently.
I gasped, stumbling back.
“What—?!”
His eyes snapped open.
But they weren’t normal.
They were completely black.
No white.
No color.
Just darkness.
A low, unnatural sound escaped his throat—something between a growl and a whisper.
“Lira…”
My blood ran cold.
He said my name.
“How does he—?” I whispered.
I had never met him before.
Never spoken to him.
So how did he know my name?
The warrior’s head turned slowly toward me, his movements stiff, unnatural.
Like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings.
“You…” His voice cracked. “You’re… inside…”
My heart pounded.
Inside?
“What does that mean?” I asked, panic rising.
Kael stepped in front of me instantly, blocking my view.
“Get back.”
The command was sharp.
Urgent.
The warrior let out a sudden, twisted laugh.
It didn’t sound human.
“She doesn’t know…” he rasped. “She doesn’t know what she is…”
A chill shot down my spine.
“Stop,” Kael said coldly.
The warrior’s head tilted slightly.
Too far.
Too unnatural.
“But you do…” he continued, his dark gaze fixed past Kael—on me. “That’s why you took her.”
My breath hitched.
Took me?
What was he talking about?
Kael’s posture shifted.
Dangerous.
“Enough.”
The single word carried weight.
Authority.
Threat.
But the warrior didn’t stop.
“She’ll destroy you all,” he whispered. “Just like before…”
Before?
Before what?
My mind raced.
None of this made sense.
None of it.
“Kael…” I said, my voice shaking. “What is he talking about?”
No answer.
The warrior suddenly lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kael moved instantly, grabbing him mid-motion and slamming him back onto the platform.
The impact echoed through the room.
“Sedate him,” Kael ordered sharply.
Two guards rushed forward, restraining the warrior as he struggled violently, his strength unnatural.
It took all of them to hold him down.
“He’s stronger than before!” one of them shouted.
Of course he was.
Because of me.
“I didn’t mean to do this…” I whispered, backing away.
But no one was listening.
Their focus was on him.
On stopping him.
On containing whatever I had turned him into.
“Lira.”
Kael’s voice cut through the chaos.
I froze.
Slowly… I looked at him.
His expression was different now.
Not cold.
Not distant.
But serious.
Focused.
“You need to leave.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“Now.”
“I’m not leaving—this is my fault—”
“This is exactly why you need to leave,” he said sharply.
The words hit harder than I expected.
“I’m not a problem you can just remove,” I snapped.
“No,” he said.
A pause.
Then—
“You’re a threat I can’t ignore.”
The room went silent.
At least… it felt like it did.
Because in that moment—
That was all I heard.
A threat.
Not just dangerous.
Not just unstable.
A threat.
Something inside me twisted painfully.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I said quietly.
“I know.”
His voice softened.
Just slightly.
“But that doesn’t change what you are.”
There it was again.
That question.
The one no one would answer.
“What am I?” I asked.
Silence.
Then—
Kael stepped closer.
His gaze locked onto mine.
Intense.
Heavy.
Certain.
“You’re something this world has seen before,” he said quietly.
My heart skipped.
Before?
“When?” I asked.
A pause.
Then—
“The last time… it ended in destruction.”
The words sent a chill through my entire body.
Destruction.
Not danger.
Not chaos.
Destruction.
I swallowed hard.
“What does that mean for me?”
Kael’s expression darkened slightly.
“That depends on you.”
A beat of silence.
Then—
“Because if you can’t control it…”
My breath caught.
His voice dropped.
Low.
Final.
“I’ll have to stop you myself.”
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