Page 81 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Stars

Kanzex

The air inside her chamber was heavy. Thick with tension, thick with a darkness that I could not even begin to grasp. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach, that gnawing, suffocating dread that had plagued me since the moment I stepped into this madness.

What had I done?

Her lips—soft, warm, everything I had imagined them to be. But now, as I pulled back, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything had changed. Her eyes, once glowing with that strange, cryptic energy, now held a strange coldness and distance. There was a brief flash of recognition, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by the serene mask she had perfected.

And yet, the room felt off now.

I tried to breathe, but it came out in short, shallow bursts, the air too thin. There was no sound beyond the pounding of my heart in my ears, the sharp rush of blood to my head. I didn’t look at her as I staggered back, my mind spinning, but I could feel her watching me. Always watching.

I couldn’t stop. I needed more answers, more... her .

“You think you’ve gained control,” she said softly, almost as if she was speaking to herself, her voice distant and melodic. “But all you’ve done is set things into motion that can never be undone.”

The words caught me like a punch to the chest.

I looked up at her, my breath ragged. “What are you?—”

Before I could finish, there was a sudden crash , like something tearing through the hull of the ship. The sound of metal warping, groaning under pressure. I shot up, my heart racing in panic.

What was that?

I turned to her, but she didn’t move. Her gaze was fixed on the wall, distant, almost detached , as though the noise didn’t affect her at all.

“Stay here,” I hissed, backing away. “I’ll go check it out.”

But her gaze—so cold, so calculating—never wavered.

“Do you think you can save them all?” she asked, her voice a whisper, barely audible. “You can’t save them, Kanzex. They’re already lost.”

I didn’t respond. Whatever was happening between us had irrevocably transformed into something far more dangerous than before. But I couldn’t afford to dwell on it now.

I rushed out of the room, the corridors of the ship now eerily silent. The faint hum of machinery was the only sound, but it was distorted, like the ship itself was groaning under some unseen weight. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was closing in around me.

I turned a corner and froze.

Blood.

It was smeared across the walls in streaks, pooling on the floor, dripping down the hallway. The scent hit me like a slap to the face, metallic and thick, coating the air.

My breath caught in my throat as I followed the trail. The walls around me seemed to close in as I moved deeper into the ship, toward the source. A twisted part of me wanted to turn around, to head back to her, to make sure she was still where I had left her. But the rest of me—dread coursing through my veins—knew I couldn’t stop now.

The trail led me to the crew quarters.

I stood at the entrance, frozen. The door was ajar, the faintest crack of light spilling out into the hallway.

And then, I saw it.

One of the crew members—slumped against the wall, eyes wide open, frozen in terror. Blood pooled beneath him, but it wasn’t just blood. It was... wrong . The way it shimmered in the dim light, as though it wasn’t even entirely liquid.

I stepped closer, my heart pounding, my breath catching in my throat as I moved to check his pulse. He was cold—too cold. The body had already begun to stiffen.

But something else caught my attention.

A mark etched into the floor beside him. It wasn’t blood—it was a symbol. One I recognized from ancient texts I had studied during my early research days. The markings of a powerful, ancient force.

And then it hit me.

Her.

Somehow, in the silence of my madness, I had overlooked it. The murders. The disappearances. The whispers of crew members missing and the subtle changes in their behavior.

It was all connected to her.

The temperature of the ship seemed to drop, and I could feel it in my bones, the creeping dread that slithered down my spine. The walls felt too close, the narrow corridors suffocating. I needed answers. I needed her .

Without thinking, I turned on my heel and rushed back toward her chamber.

But when I reached her door, the ship seemed to groan beneath my feet, a distant rumble that echoed in my chest. I slammed my palm against the door panel to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.

No. No. I couldn’t?—

I stepped back, my heart pounding in my chest. There was no time.

And then, I heard it.

A soft, eerie sound that drifted from the crack beneath the door. A song —the same haunting melody I had heard in the back of my mind for days now. The same song that had drawn me closer to her. But this time… it was twisted.

The door suddenly slid open, and I found myself face-to-face with the female who had haunted my every thought. But she wasn’t the same.

Her once serene, distant gaze had morphed into something wild and untamed. Her eyes shimmered with an unnatural light, and her smile—there was no kindness left in it. Only darkness .

“You came back,” she said, her voice now laced with a new subtle darkness. “But it’s too late, Kanzex.”

I stumbled back, my mind reeling.

I had been a fool.

The truth had always been there, waiting. It had been in her eyes, in her song, in the way she had spoken. She had always known what was happening. She had always known the darkness she was bringing.

And I had followed her.

I tried to take a step back, but my body froze. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.

The air was suffocating now, thick with the weight of something ancient beyond my comprehension as a researcher. Just as she always said. Just as she always knew. I could feel her power—dark, unrelenting, alive —pressing down on me, suffocating me.

“You wanted answers,” she whispered, stepping closer, her eyes gleaming. “But what you truly wanted, Kanzex, was me .”

And as she reached out to touch my face, everything in the room seemed to darken. The walls closed in around me, and the last thing I heard was her voice, like a song that echoed in my skull, drowning out the sound of my own heartbeat.

And then, silence.

Complete, suffocating silence.

The madness had finally consumed me.