Adrian's POV
I was out of breath, my legs moving faster than my mind could process. Every step I took felt like I was fighting against an invisible force, pulling me back from the one thing I needed most. Valeria. The name echoed in my head, a desperate mantra, as I raced toward her apartment, the only place where I might find her, the only place that could offer me any shred of redemption.
I had to fix this.
I had to.
But with every breath I took, I could feel the bond slipping further away, like sand falling through my fingers. It was gone, irreparably broken. My heart hammered in my chest, the guilt gnawing at me, urging me to hurry, to find her before it was too late.
But when I finally arrived, my breath catching in my throat, I froze.
The door was slightly ajar.
I stepped in cautiously, my pulse racing. The apartment was silent, too silent. The usual warmth that Valeria brought into the space seemed to have vanished, leaving behind only a cold emptiness.
"Valeria?" I called out, my voice sounding too weak, too small against the silence. My hand instinctively reached for my phone, but I couldn't bring myself to call her again. The ring of the phone felt pointless when I couldn't feel her presence.
I stepped further into the apartment, the faintest sense of dread crawling up my spine. She wasn't here.
But someone else was.
A figure stood in the shadows, leaning casually against the wall, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement. His presence was suffocating, an overpowering aura that chilled the room in a way I could never forget. Nyx.
I froze in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat. The last person I wanted to see. And yet, here he was, standing as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"Well, well," Nyx's voice was low, smooth, dripping with malice. "Look who finally decided to show up. The human who's been playing at being more than he is." He stepped forward slowly, each movement calculated, predatory. His smile was a mockery of sympathy. "You look... broken, Adrian. Miserable. I must say, it's quite a sight."
I clenched my fists, the rage bubbling inside me, but it was nothing compared to the storm that raged in my mind. The last thing I wanted right now was to deal with Nyx.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I growled, stepping closer, my pulse still hammering in my chest.
Nyx laughed, the sound a soft, mocking melody that made my skin crawl. "What, you don't like my company?" He tilted his head, studying me with an expression that was both curious and contemptuous. "I've been watching you, Adrian. Watching you fail. Watching you unravel. Tell me, how does it feel? To be nothing more than a weak, pathetic human caught between worlds that you'll never understand?"
His words stung, sharper than any physical blow, but I refused to let him see how much they affected me. He was enjoying this, enjoying my suffering, and I could almost taste the satisfaction in his voice.
"You think this is funny?" I spat, stepping closer to him, my body taut with frustration and helplessness.
"Funny? Oh, Adrian," Nyx said, taking a step toward me, his grin widening. "I'm not laughing. I'm simply... delighted." He leaned in, his gaze flickering with something dark, something almost predatory. "To see you so weak, so lost. You've been nothing more than a pawn, just like everyone else in this twisted game. And now, look at you. The bond you thought you had with Valeria? It's gone. You're nothing."
His words cut deep, deeper than anything I could have prepared myself for. I had known I had betrayed her, but hearing Nyx speak those words, with such venom and glee, made it all feel so final. It made the loss of Valeria hit me harder than I could bear.
"You have no idea what you're talking about," I snarled, my fists clenched so tightly my knuckles were white. "I didn't—"
"You didn't what?" Nyx interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't betray her? Oh, but you did. You broke the bond that tied you to her. And for what? For some fleeting, empty connection with Callista? How sweet. How utterly predictable."
I felt the urge to lash out, to throw myself at him, but something held me back. I wasn't sure if it was fear, or the crushing realization that everything Nyx was saying was true.
"She's gone, Adrian. Gone, and there's nothing you can do to fix it." Nyx's voice softened, almost in mock sympathy. "Don't you see? She was never really yours. You never stood a chance. You're just a mortal, a fool who couldn't even understand the weight of the bond you were a part of. And now... well, now you're nothing. A mere shadow of what could have been."
I gritted my teeth, struggling to control the storm of emotions that surged inside me. Anger, regret, confusion. I couldn't even look Nyx in the eye as he continued to stand there, reveling in my misery.
"You enjoy this, don't you?" I muttered bitterly, my voice trembling with restraint.
Nyx gave a small, almost pitying shrug. "Of course, I do. It's entertaining to watch you struggle. But it's not just about your suffering, Adrian. It's about the fact that, in the end, you're nothing more than a weak human who can't understand what's truly at stake."
He stepped closer, his eyes gleaming with cold amusement. "So, tell me, what are you going to do now? After all, you've lost her. You've lost everything. What's left for you?"
The weight of his words hung in the air, suffocating, as if they were designed to strip away any last shred of hope. I stood there in silence, feeling the emptiness in my chest grow.
I had betrayed Valeria. I had lost the one thing I never should have taken for granted. And Nyx was right. There was nothing left for me.
"Get out of my way," I muttered, my voice hoarse as I finally forced myself to look him in the eye. The fury inside me was still burning, but it was a hollow, painful kind of rage. I wanted to leave. I wanted to escape.
Nyx didn't move. "You're not going anywhere, Adrian. Not until you understand just how insignificant you really are. Not until you come to terms with the fact that you never had a place in her world."
I clenched my jaw, trying to summon any strength I had left, but Nyx's words felt like a death sentence. They echoed in my mind as I turned away, stumbling toward the door, desperate to get away from him, from everything.
I didn't look back.
And I didn't know where I was going. Only that I had lost.