Kellan took a step toward the figure, drawing his weapon. His movements were cautious and his gaze alert. Even though he could not see the intruder's face, the tension in the air told him that this was not a random encounter.
– Who are you? He asked, his voice sounding like a blade being pulled from a scabbard. – You'd better answer before I lose my patience.
The figure raised its hands in a calm, reassuring gesture, as if trying to show that it was not going to fight. The voice that finally sounded was quiet but strangely familiar.
– Still the same... Always ready to fight before you even ask if it is necessary. – The shadow of the hood shifted to reveal a fragment of the face a scar on his cheek and eyes with an intense, almost golden glow.
When the hood dropped a little lower, Kellan could see more details of the woman's face. High cheekbones gave her expressiveness, and the thin, straight line of the nose perfectly harmonized with the rest of her features. Her lips, though pursed into a thin line. The scar running along her left cheek, starting just below the eye, and ending at the edge of her jaw, did not disfigure her face, but rather added to her raw beauty and aura of experience.
Her eyes were what attracted the most attention. Bright, almost golden, they shone in the twilight like two glowing coals. In their depths lurked both intense insight and a shadow of regret. Her hair was dark, black, though it had a slight silver tinge, which could have been the effect of light or... a sign of something more, as if time or magic had affected their appearance.
Kellan felt a strange cramp in his heart, was it the pain of the past?
– I know you, – he muttered, not lowering his weapon.
– That's right, – the figure said, taking a slow step toward him. – But the question is, do you remember who I am?
– Don't come close, – Kellan said warningly, but his voice was no longer as firm as it had just been. His mind gave him images fragments of memories that seemed blurred, as if they had been taken away by time.
The figure stopped, and its eyes focused on his.
– Kellan... you are back. I knew you would come back. She said with a hint of melancholy in her voice. – But you did not come back alone, he is with you.
Kellan took half a step back, as if the words were a blow to his soul.
–What are you talking about? – He asked, feeling a cold shiver run down his spine.
– Don't pretend you do not feel it, – the figure said, taking one more step towards him. – You still smell of that place. The shadow is in your blood, in your breath.
Kellan lowered his weapon, though his hand still trembled.
– It is impossible – he whispered. – I ran away. I left it behind.
The figure shook its head.
– Shadows do not let go so easily, – she said. – I know because I have seen it before. You have been there too long. Although you won, you did not beat him.
Kellan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to suppress the wave of emotion that washed over him. He knew that something had changed in him since he had returned from the shadow dimension. The darkness he was suppressing still pulsed inside him, like a reminder of a place he wanted to forget.
– Who are you? – He finally asked, his voice softer now, almost pleading.
– I used to be a close friend of yours, – the figure replied. – But times have changed. Now I am here to make sure that you... Or what came back with you will not become a threat to this world.
Kellan felt his body tense again.
– That sounds like a threat, – he said sharply.
– No, Kelan, – the figure said, her voice now full of sadness. – This is a warning.
The cool air between them seemed to thicken. Kellan looked into the person's eyes, familiar but strange, and realized that he could not just escape his past. Though his memory was partial from behind a veil of fog.
Kellan looked at the woman once more, as if trying to read the answers hidden in her eyes. On the one hand, he felt the familiar warmth from her, on the other, the weight of the inevitability that seemed to hang in the air between them. The woman straightened up, her golden eyes flashing with determination.
– Your stay there... in the shadows... He blurred your memories, – she said calmly, though her tone was serious. – But that does not mean you have lost yourself completely. At least... Not yet.
Kellan felt her words pierce his mind like needles. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, though he did not raise it in a defensive gesture.
– How can you know that? – He asked quietly, barely holding his voice from trembling.
The woman took a step towards him, but this time without a hint of danger. Her face was calm, though full of sadness.
– Because I know this place, – she answered. – I know its darkness and how deep it can penetrate the soul. You do not come back from there without scars, Kellan. They are not always visible, but they are there.
Kellan looked down, feeling her words open a wound inside him that he tried to ignore. Somewhere deep down, he knew she was right.
– Why are you here? – He asked, looking at her again, this time more firmly.
The woman sighed, and a shadow of weariness appeared on her face.
– I have come to see if you are still you, – she said, her voice soft and caring, – And to make sure that whoever came back was the same Kellan I admired. –
Kellan felt something in his chest squeeze him painfully.
– And if not? – He asked, though deep in his heart he was afraid of the answer.
The woman looked at him hard, but there was still a shadow of sadness in her eyes.
– If you lose yourself..., if the shadow takes control of you, – she said with unusually calm firmness, – I will set you free. Forever.
Her words hung in the air like a sword above his head. Kellan froze, looking at her in silence. He could feel the echo of her voice vibrating in his mind, reminding him that from now on, he would not be the only guardian of his own fate.
– I am watching you, Kelan, – she added, taking a step back. – What happens to you is up to you.
Kellan looked away, feeling anger and grief mingle inside him. He wanted to say something, but no words seemed appropriate.
– You have a chance to stop it before it is too late, – she said. – Don't waste it.
As her silhouette faded into the darkness, Kellan felt her presence leave a mark on him, a warning, and a challenge at once. The clenched hand on the sword relaxed slightly, but he could still feel the weight of the weapon, as if reminding him that his fight was not over yet. He was more tired than he expected. He sheathed the blade of his sword and then went to the inn for his dream rest.