CHAPTER 6
1104 Words
Chapter 6: Whispers of the Past
The morning sun broke through the thin curtains of Jenny’s small apartment, spilling light across the dusty wooden floor. She blinked awake, confused. Her head was pounding, her body sore—as if she’d run a marathon in her sleep.
Then it hit her.
The palace. The shadows. The Queen. Azrael.
She shot up, heart racing. “It wasn’t a dream…”
The golden lamp sat quietly on her nightstand, gleaming faintly in the sunlight. And there, leaning casually by the window in a white shirt and black trousers, was Azrael—real, solid, and breathtakingly out of place in her cramped, messy room.
He turned to her with a faint smirk. “You’re awake. Good. I was starting to think mortals sleep for centuries.”
Jenny frowned, pulling her blanket up to her chest. “You’re in my room again.”
He raised a brow. “You summoned me. And this… tiny space is apparently your lair.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s an apartment, not a lair. And I didn’t summon you—I fainted!”
Azrael chuckled softly. “You mortals and your fragile forms.”
Jenny glared at him but couldn’t stop her cheeks from heating. “Well, sorry for not being a thousand-year-old smoke man.”
Azrael’s eyes glinted with amusement. “I prefer ‘immortal genie,’ but I’ll allow that.”
Jenny sighed and looked around. Her laptop, notebooks, and half-finished takeout boxes cluttered the desk. “So… what now? You said we need to find the Heart of Eternity. But how? I’m broke, remember?”
Azrael crossed his arms, the sunlight reflecting off the faint markings on his skin. “Money isn’t what we need. Clues are.”
“Clues?”
“Yes,” he said. “The Heart isn’t a single object. It’s divided into three fragments, hidden across realms—two in your world, one in mine.”
Jenny rubbed her temples. “Fantastic. I can barely afford coffee, and now I have to go treasure hunting across realms.”
Azrael tilted his head, smiling slightly. “You chose this path when you released me.”
“I didn’t choose anything! I just cleaned an old lamp!”
“Fate doesn’t care how it begins,” he said quietly. “It only cares that it does.”
Jenny stared at him for a moment, the words sinking in. He looked serious now, and behind his teasing tone was something deeper—a shadow of guilt or pain he couldn’t hide.
Before she could ask, the lamp flickered faintly, and a cold breeze swept through the room.
Azrael’s eyes sharpened. “She’s watching.”
Jenny froze. “The Queen?”
He nodded. “She can reach through reflections—mirrors, water, glass. Don’t let her catch your gaze.”
Jenny quickly covered the small mirror on her wall with a towel. “Okay. No mirrors. Got it.”
Azrael’s expression softened. “You’re learning fast.”
She sighed. “Yeah, fear does that.”
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then Jenny asked softly, “Why are you helping me, Azrael? Really?”
He looked away, his jaw tightening. “Because I failed you once. In your past life. I swore I wouldn’t again.”
Jenny’s chest tightened. “You failed me?”
He nodded slowly. “Seraphina—your former self—was the one who freed me centuries ago. I was bound to protect her, but I couldn’t stop the Queen from killing her.”
Jenny’s heart ached at the rawness in his voice. “So that’s why you’re so… serious about this curse.”
Azrael’s golden eyes met hers. “It’s not just a curse, Jenny. It’s my punishment. Every time you’re reborn, I’m forced to find you. To protect you. To lose you again.”
Her breath caught. “Lose me…?”
He looked away. “Don’t ask. You don’t want to remember that part.”
Jenny wanted to press him, but his tone made her stop. Instead, she whispered, “Then maybe this time, we can end it. Together.”
Azrael’s gaze softened, a flicker of hope in his eyes. “Perhaps.”
But before they could speak further, the air grew heavy again—like invisible fingers pressing against her chest.
Jenny’s vision blurred, and suddenly she wasn’t in her apartment anymore.
She stood in a dark forest, moonlight filtering through the trees. The air was thick with whispers, and the ground shimmered faintly with silver dust.
“Jenny?” Azrael’s voice echoed distantly. “Jenny, where are you?”
But she couldn’t move. Her body felt frozen.
Then she saw her—a woman in a crimson cloak, standing in the clearing. Long black hair, sharp eyes, and an aura that pulsed with power.
It was Seraphina.
Her past self.
Jenny stepped closer, drawn to her like a magnet. The woman turned slowly, her gaze locking on Jenny’s.
“You can’t escape fate, my future self,” Seraphina whispered. “You carry my sins. My choices. My love.”
Jenny’s heart raced. “What do you mean?”
Seraphina’s expression softened. “Azrael was never your curse. He was your salvation.”
Before Jenny could ask more, the forest began to fade, and a shadow emerged from behind Seraphina—tall, cloaked, and crowned in black smoke. The Queen.
Her voice was like venom. “You can’t hide forever, child. The more you remember, the closer I come.”
Jenny screamed as the darkness lunged toward her—
And she jolted awake, gasping for air.
Azrael was kneeling beside her, eyes wide with worry. “Jenny! What happened?”
She clutched her chest, trembling. “I saw her. I saw Seraphina—and the Queen. She said… she’s coming.”
Azrael’s face darkened. “Then we’re running out of time.”
Jenny looked up, fear and determination mixing in her eyes. “Then teach me how to fight back.”
Azrael met her gaze, his expression unreadable. “Be careful what you ask for, Jenny. Power always demands something in return.”
She swallowed hard. “Then I’ll pay it. Whatever it takes.”
For the first time, Azrael’s lips curved into a faint, proud smile. “Then let’s begin.”
Outside, the wind howled through the city—carrying with it a faint whisper, cruel and cold.
“The mortal girl dares to challenge me…”
The Queen’s laughter echoed faintly in the distance.
And somewhere in the shadows, the first piece of the Heart of Eternity began to stir.
- Writer
