Valeria's POV
The room was quiet now, the heavy air dissipating as the Relic's energy faded into a subdued hum. It was as though the very walls of the chamber had exhaled, releasing a breath that had been held for too long. Yet, despite the silence, something still lingered—an unresolved tension, a fracture in the air that I couldn't ignore.
I stood there, still holding the Relic, my fingers numb from its cold touch, but I couldn't bring myself to let go. The power was still there, pulsing beneath my skin, but it was different now. More... manageable. It no longer felt like it was about to devour me, though the undercurrent of its darkness remained. A storm had passed, but the winds still whipped through the air.
Adrian's hand remained on my shoulder, a constant presence in this ever-shifting world. I could feel his warmth seep through my skin, his concern radiating from him like a tangible thing. I wanted to speak, to tell him that I was fine, that I had everything under control, but the words felt hollow. Was I truly in control? Or had I only managed to hold back the inevitable?
"Valeria..." Adrian's voice was soft but insistent. "You're still not telling me everything. What happened back there? The Relic—it was alive. I saw it. It reacted to you."
I turned slowly to face him, the weight of his gaze making my chest tighten. His concern was palpable, but there was something more there too—something deeper. Fear. Not just for me, but for what I was becoming.
I couldn't blame him. I had felt it too. The power, the darkness, the whispering voice that had nearly shattered me. It was all too much, and it was changing me. But I couldn't tell him that. I couldn't bear to see the fear in his eyes, the way it would shift everything between us if I admitted how much of a threat I had become. How much of a threat we had become.
"I..." I struggled to find the words. "It's not what you think. The Relic—it's my power. It's connected to me, and I—"
"Don't lie to me," Adrian cut me off, his tone sharper than I'd ever heard it before. "I saw what happened. I felt it. It wasn't just your power, Valeria. Something was feeding on you, something ancient and dark. That voice—that thing—you don't know what you're dealing with. It's not just a tool for you to use."
I winced, the weight of his words striking me harder than I wanted to admit. He was right. I had felt it too—the thing that had tried to consume me. The Relic's power was a curse as much as it was a gift. It wasn't just a matter of wielding it. It was bound to me, and the darkness that came with it was bound to me as well.
"I know," I whispered, my voice thick with the realization. "I know, Adrian. But I have to use it. I have no choice."
He shook his head, his jaw clenched. "There's always a choice, Valeria. You don't have to face this alone."
I turned away, my grip tightening on the Relic as if to ground myself. "You don't understand. If I don't do this—if I don't take control—we're all doomed. The power in me... it's not something I can outrun. The Trial, the voice, the shadows—they will all keep coming for me until I accept it. Until I accept that this is my fate."
Adrian stepped closer, his hand now brushing my arm, urging me to turn toward him. "Then let me help. Let me stand by you. Whatever this power is, you don't have to face it alone. Don't shut me out, Valeria. I won't let you."
His words softened the edges of the storm inside me. But I couldn't let him in. Not fully. If I did, I risked pulling him into the darkness that was festering inside of me. The more I allowed him to see, the more he would become entangled in my fight. And that would make him a target—just like everyone else I had ever cared for.
I took a shaky breath, pulling my hand from his grasp. "You don't understand. You can't help. You don't know what's coming. You don't know what I'm capable of."
Adrian's eyes narrowed, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "I don't need to know everything, Valeria. I need to know that you're not shutting me out. I can handle it. We can handle it, together."
But I could see the doubt in his eyes, the cracks in his resolve. He didn't believe it, not really. And how could he? How could anyone believe that this could be defeated by anything other than the sheer force of my will? The power was so overwhelming, so insidious. It wasn't something that could be shared or controlled.
Not by anyone but me.
"I need you to leave," I said, my voice cold, though I didn't mean it. "Please. For your own safety."
His face hardened, a flash of hurt crossing his features before he masked it with anger. "I won't abandon you, Valeria. Not like this."
I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want him to see me like this, to see the cracks that were widening with every moment I spent tethered to this cursed power. But I couldn't bear the thought of him being caught in the storm. Not now, not when I was still teetering on the edge of destruction.
"I'm not asking you to abandon me. I'm asking you to trust me," I said, voice barely above a whisper. "Please, Adrian. Just... trust me."
I watched as his expression faltered, torn between his desire to protect me and the fear that I was slipping away from him. For a long moment, he said nothing. He just stood there, staring at me as if trying to decipher the truth in my eyes.
Finally, with a resigned sigh, he nodded, though I could see the lingering uncertainty in his gaze. "I'll trust you. But don't make me regret it."
I couldn't promise him that. Not now, not when I was so uncertain of my own fate.
As Adrian left the room, the door creaking softly behind him, I stood there alone, the weight of the Relic pressing heavily against my palm. The darkness inside me was growing again, stronger, louder. I could hear its whispers once more, threatening to overwhelm everything I had left.
But I wasn't going to let it take me. I couldn't. If I did, there would be nothing left for me to fight for.
I had to be stronger than this. For Adrian. For everyone.
I closed my eyes, gathering what little strength I had left. The darkness would come for me again.