LILA’S POV
The forest shook as he stepped fully into the clearing. Crimson eyes pierced the darkness, locking onto me, and I felt the weight of every betrayal, every loss, every painful memory pressing down on my chest. The wind twisted, carrying whispers of fear from the shadows.
He smiled smug, cruel, impossibly confident. My blood boiled.
“Lila,” he hissed, voice like fire and ice. “You survived. You became strong. But strength is meaningless if you cannot control it. If you cannot bend it to me, then you are nothing but a tool wasted.”
I slammed my fists into the ground. Golden energy surged outward, shaking the trees. “I am not your tool. I am not yours! I am Lila! And you will pay for every second of torment, every attempt to break me!”
The red glow of his eyes intensified. Shad
