Page 47

I stumble in the present, eyes rolling back.

The tether’s hum recedes into static. Sariah’s voice fades.

Instead, I hear Nerezza’s laughter from that old memory, see her wide smile.

Then the vision shifts—her face contorting with pain as she wields forbidden magic to protect my gargoyle clan from dark elf raiders.

Screams echo. Blood splatters. My clan’s gratitude morphs into horror as her spell warps them.

I see it all from the vantage of that younger self, powerless to stop her.

I gasp, runes sputtering. The illusions swirl faster, yanking me through memory after memory: Nerezza coaxing me to trust her, to support her quest for ultimate power, the moment she used chaos to bind gargoyle souls to twisted stone bodies.

My heart breaks anew. I recall the wave of guilt that nearly drowned me then.

I watch it replay with brutal clarity, tears burning my eyes.

Through the haze, I dimly sense Sariah shouting my name, brand flaring to break me from the vision. But Nerezza’s illusions clamp down, suffocating. She steps closer in the real world, though I can’t see it. My consciousness is trapped in the swirl of memory.

Then her voice resonates inside my head: “Submit, Kaelith. Spare yourself—and your new purna—from the fate of my wrath. You know how destructive I can be. If you rejoin me, I’ll let her live, let her walk free from the nightmares.”

I choke, seeing Sariah’s face superimposed over Nerezza’s illusions, recalling the synergy, the closeness. If Nerezza truly wants Sariah gone, she could unleash horrors on her. My tail thrashes in the real world, wings shuddering. Wouldn’t it be simpler if I surrender, keep Sariah safe?

Tears slip unbidden in the vision as Nerezza conjures illusions of Sariah screaming, consumed by chaos. My runes flicker wildly. No, I can’t believe— But the illusions burrow deeper, cracking my resolve. If I just yield to Nerezza, maybe Sariah is spared.

The next scene hits me like a knife to the chest: I watch a twisted version of the future where Sariah, her eyes black with void, stands over my broken body, cackling as she becomes the new Nyxari.

My mind reels with horror. No, that can’t be real, can it?

But Drayveth’s condemnation… Nerezza’s manipulations…

The fear I’ve harbored all along rears up, strangling me.

“Sariah,” I whisper, voice choked. “I… I don’t want this for you.” The illusions swirl around me, forcing me to witness unstoppable chaos if she succumbs. If I spare her that by returning to Nerezza… is it worth it? My heart cracks under the weight.

Nerezza’s voice purrs in my mind: “Yes, Kaelith, yield. I can seal the darkness away from her. Let me harness your synergy for the greater good. Isn’t it kinder to protect her from the path of another Nyxari?”

I’m drowning in guilt and anguish. My limbs jerk in reality.

Sariah tries to hold me, brand flaring bright, but Nerezza’s illusions intensify, blotting out the real world.

In this psychic realm, Nerezza appears in her old, uncorrupted form, gentle smile curving her lips.

She extends a hand. “Choose me again,” she whispers.

My chest heaves with ragged sobs. I can’t watch Sariah become a monster. The illusions feed on that fear, bombarding me with twisted images of Sariah’s brand oozing black venom, of gargoyle bodies strewn about. If I do nothing, is that the fate awaiting us?

My resolve cracks. In the vision, I find myself trembling, stepping toward Nerezza’s outstretched hand. Better I sacrifice myself than lose Sariah to this horror. A flicker of betrayal ignites in me, but I cling to the desperate notion that maybe Nerezza will truly spare Sariah if I obey.

Suddenly, the illusions shift, and I’m back in the present, gasping for air.

Nerezza’s eyes blaze with triumph. I realize I’ve physically moved closer to her, stumbling out of Sariah’s reach.

Sariah’s voice crackles in my ear, frantic: “Kaelith! Don’t—please—listen to me!

” I catch the anguish in her cry, but my mind reels with the memory of that horrifying vision. I must protect her.

Nerezza smirks, her illusions still swirling around us.

She lifts a hand, conjuring a barrier of shadow that divides me from Sariah.

My wings snap open, but I can’t muster the strength to resist. My head throbs.

Nerezza’s mental assault left me disoriented, heart pounding with panic for Sariah’s future.

I turn to Sariah, hating what I’m about to say, but believing it might be the only way to keep her safe. “Sariah… I have to go. If I leave with her, she’ll spare you.” My voice breaks, shame coursing through me.

Her eyes widen in horror, tears brimming. “No! That’s exactly what she wants. Don’t do this!” She slams her staff against the shadowy barrier, arcs of silver magic sparking. But Nerezza’s illusions are potent, and Sariah’s exhausted from healing me. The barrier holds.

Nerezza laughs, stepping close to me, brushing her ephemeral fingers along my runes. Her touch makes my skin crawl, yet the illusions tangle my mind, reminding me of simpler times. A lie. Still, I can’t shake the dread that if I resist, Sariah will suffer a monstrous fate. My chest aches.

“Sariah,” I murmur, voice ragged. “I—I can’t watch you turn into… her. If siding with Nerezza spares you from that path, it’s a price I’ll pay.” My heart wails at the betrayal in her eyes.

She slams the barrier again, voice cracking with desperation. “Kaelith! You’re letting her illusions trick you. She wants you enthralled or dead. This won’t protect me—please, don’t leave me.”

Tears slip from my eyes, guilt crushing me. But Nerezza’s illusions swirl once more, showing me scenes of Sariah’s brand blackening with chaos. My wings droop, tail limp. I can’t let that happen.

Nerezza’s voice purrs in my ear, “Choose me, Kaelith. End this cycle of fear.”

I force a strangled breath, turning my back on Sariah, swallowing the sob that threatens to burst free. I do this for you. That’s the lie I cling to. My runes flicker with anguished conflict as I shuffle forward, letting Nerezza guide me away from the barrier.

“No!” Sariah screams behind me, heartbreak lacing every syllable. “Kaelith, no, I love you—don’t do this!”

The tether thrums with violent protest, sending razor-edged jolts of pain into my core as I pull away from her. I nearly collapse from the agony of severing that closeness, but Nerezza’s illusions cradle me, dulling the physical torment with false comfort. I hate this.

Her dark robes swirl around me, and she half-manifests a corridor of shadows. I see glimpses of twisted gargoyles waiting beyond, their eyes gleaming with demonic light. My stomach twists. This is madness. But I’m locked in a spiral of guilt. If I fight, Sariah might become the monster I fear.

A final, despairing shriek rips from Sariah’s throat.

The tether convulses inside me, flaring a last desperate wave of synergy that begs me to return.

My knees nearly buckle. I almost pivot, almost run back to her arms. But Nerezza’s illusions tear open a vision of Sariah in Nyxari form, decimating entire armies.

No. My heart cracks, finalizing my decision.

I surge forward, passing through the curtain of swirling shadows.

Nerezza’s laughter echoes around me, triumphant and cruel.

The last thing I see is Sariah’s face, contorted with betrayal and grief, brand blazing silver as she tries to break the barrier.

My chest feels carved open, the tether screaming in silent agony at our forced separation.

Then darkness envelops me. Nerezza’s illusions coil around my mind, ushering me into a realm of half-light and swirling magic.

The real world recedes, leaving only the faint echo of Sariah’s sobs.

My last conscious thought is that I’ve betrayed the woman I love in a desperate bid to save her from a fate that might be all in my head. All is lost.

The shadows swirl, forming a corridor of half-solid illusions.

My wings remain limp at my sides, runes flickering with confusion.

Nerezza’s presence drifts around me like a noxious perfume.

She leads me deeper, humming a soft tune that resonates with ancient sorrow.

My mind reels with each step, old memories tangling with the present. I’m succumbing.

“Kaelith,” she purrs, voice echoing. “You’ve chosen well. Together, we’ll ensure that foolish purna never becomes another Nyxari. I’ll keep her safe—provided you remain at my side.”

I want to retch at the hypocrisy of her words, but the illusions weigh me down. My heart throbs with the tether’s pain. Sariah is still out there, alone, thinking I abandoned her. My lungs tighten. I did abandon her.

Nerezza’s illusory corridor opens into a grand chamber that can’t possibly exist in these mountains.

Pillars of black obsidian rise from a marble floor, swirling with smoky wisps of chaos.

Figures scuttle at the edges of my vision—gargoyle thralls, contorted by her corruption.

My stomach twists at the sight of my kin so twisted, but I can’t muster the strength to fight.

Guilt overwhelms me, burying my instincts under a weight of grief.

Nerezza steps before me, black robes trailing across the floor. She lifts a hand to my cheek, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “No tears,” she murmurs, her voice sweetly cruel. “You’re doing what’s best for the one you claim to love, after all.”

A trembling hiss escapes my lips. “If you harm her, I’ll?—”

She laughs, placing a finger on my runes to hush me. “Relax. Why would I destroy my leverage?” Her expression flickers with a twisted semblance of affection. “My goal is to see you by my side willingly, without these pesky illusions. But you do enjoy illusions, don’t you?”