The wind howled around them, a haunting echo of the emotions swirling within Seventeen as she stood at the edge of the plateau. The reality of her actions bore down on her like a crushing weight, yet it felt necessary to strip away the façade she had clung to for so long. As her friends gathered around her, their faces painted with concern and confusion, she took a deep breath and prepared to unleash the truth—the truth that would unravel them all.
"I brought you here for a reason," she began, her voice cold and cutting, contrasting sharply with the warmth of the moment before. "But let's get one thing straight: I loathe each and every one of you. You're just pawns in my game, tools to help me achieve what I need. That truth remains, even if I have no reason to use the Serena facade anymore."
Shock rippled through the group, eyes widening in disbelief. Draco stepped forward, his expression a mix of hurt and anger. "Serena, don't do this. We're in this together—"
"Together?" she spat, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "You think this is some sort of happy reunion? I used you to get here. You're nothing but a means to an end, and I want you to understand that. And I'm not Serena, Serena D'Angelo was a persona I created to get you all where I needed, to use you. I'm Seventeen. That's my name, you shall call me by it."
Her heart felt like stone as she saw the pain etched on their faces. It was easier this way—easier to be the villain than to reveal the cracks in her carefully constructed armor. "You want to know the truth about the prophecy?" she continued, her tone slicing through the silence. "The truth is darker than any of you can imagine."
She took a step closer to the edge of the plateau, her heart racing as she prepared to share the words that had haunted her for so long. "That little fake prophecy you've heard, about the six of you together is bullshit. Bullshit told by your motherfucking parents to use you and hide the truth. The real prophecy goes like this: When the seven come together, bound by blood and pain, one will rise to wield the darkness, while the others will hold the chains. Betrayal will twist their fates, but only in unity will they find strength. The daughter of shadows must guide them through the fire, or all will be lost to the depths of despair."
["Alright, maybe that's not the real version, but it has the same meaning. The real one that Lilith saw is too short, not as dramatic as I need it to be right now,"] she brushed aside.
The weight of her words hung heavy in the air, and for a moment, silence enveloped them, thick and suffocating. "I'm the daughter of shadows," she continued, her voice steady yet tinged with bitterness. "I need each of you, not just for your powers, but because only together can we confront the darkness that's coming. Darkness brought by your parents, a darkness that has been poisoning the Zodiac Archipelago for generations. But that doesn't mean I have to like you. You're just tools to help me achieve what I need."
Draco's ice-blue gaze pierced through her, and she could feel the intensity of his scrutiny. "You don't mean any of this," he said quietly, refusing to back down. "You're trying to push us away because you're scared. You're not the monster you're pretending to be."
"Monster?" she echoed, her voice low, filled with venom. "You think I'm scared? I've watched my family be slaughter. I've seen everything I loved turn to ash. I brought you here to keep you close, to make sure you wouldn't betray me like everyone else. Because if you do, the real prophecy says disgrace and death will dominate our lives. You have nowhere to go now, not after I made you start a rebellion with me from the inside."
Silence fell again, heavy and thick. The realization hit them like a cold wave; they were trapped, ensnared in her web of deceit, yet bound by the threads of a prophecy they had never truly understood.
"Then why act like this?" Light asked, her voice small but fierce. "Why make us feel like we're nothing to you?"
"Because it's easier to push you away than to let you in," Seventeen shot back, her anger flaring. "You don't understand the stakes. You don't know what I've sacrificed to bring you here. I hate that I had to manipulate you into this. I hate that I need your help to survive."
"But you don't have to do this alone," Sablina interjected, her voice steadier than the rest. "We can face this together. Isn't that what the prophecy is all about?"
"No," Seventeen snapped, her breath hitching. "You don't get it. We deal with what we have to deal with together, but it'll not be past that, I don't want any of you in my personal life. You don't know me. All you think you know was deceitful, was made-up. It took some time, but you all fell into place, right in the palm of my hand. I've spent years building walls, pushing everyone away to protect myself, I'm not stopping now because of the likes of you. It's safer this way."
"Protect yourself?" Draco challenged, stepping closer. "Or protect us from the real you? You're afraid we'll see the pain behind the mask, aren't you?"
Seventeen's facade cracked further at his words, but she refused to let it show. "You don't know anything about me," she retorted, folding her arms tightly over her chest, her heart racing with conflicting emotions.
"Then let us in," he urged, his eyes searching hers. "You don't have to be alone. We can help you."
For a moment, the air between them felt charged with unsaid emotions, raw and fragile. The warmth of his sincerity clashed against the chill of her resolve, but she pushed it away, focusing on the anger that bubbled beneath the surface.
"Let's get one thing clear," she said, her tone hardening. "We're in this together, but it doesn't mean I have to like you. This is a fight for survival, and I'll do whatever it takes to win. Even if it means tearing down everything I've built to protect myself. I won't like you, part of the prophecy or not, it won't change who you all are, and I despise what you are. But when in danger, we'll be united."
As they stood together in the fading light, the mountains looming above them, Seventeen felt the gravity of their situation settle in. They were all broken in their own ways, but perhaps it was time to face the darkness together, however painful that might be. The battle ahead would test them, and the stakes had never been higher.
"Then let's get our shit together and figure this out," Seventeen finally said, her voice a low growl, the bitterness lacing her words masking the vulnerability beneath. "You can hate me for lying and manipulating you, I would, it's on you, but if you don't swallow it, we'll all die. The entire Kingdom will, and it won't be on me, since everything I did was for this. The end will justify my means of action, that's all that matters. Because we're not leaving this place until we uncover the truth, no matter how much it hurts."
As the weight of her words hung heavy in the air, she could feel the truth begin to twist and turn in her gut, her friends drawing closer, their resolve unyielding despite the bitterness and wounds that hung between them. Together, they would face the darkness ahead, and perhaps in that, she could find a glimmer of the strength she had always longed for.
["Let them be furious with me if they want. I don't care. My life was never fair, I've been furious through it all, it's time to let their perfect lives burn like mine did. Only then we'll be able to work together. We'll deal with everything later, when we need to. I have priorities, and playing friends with the children of those who took everything I had from me ain't part of it."]