Valeria's POV
The night felt endless.
I stood at the edge of the balcony, staring into the distant horizon where the moon hung heavy in the sky, casting a pale, ethereal light across the city below. It had been hours since Adrian left, hours since the silence of the Relic's grip consumed me once more. And though the world outside seemed peaceful, I could feel the storm inside me stirring—growing darker, louder with each passing second.
The Relic's power was feeding on my every thought, every emotion. It was impossible to ignore now, impossible to pretend I had any semblance of control. I could feel its cold tendrils creeping into my mind, whispering promises of unimaginable strength, yet all I could see in that darkness was destruction. The more I resisted, the more it threatened to consume me. It was a battle I was slowly losing.
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, trying to center myself. But it was a futile attempt. The moment I let my guard down, the whispers returned—insistent, demanding. Accept it. Embrace it. Use it.
I gripped the railing tighter, the cold metal biting into my skin, as if trying to ground me against the madness that threatened to tear me apart.
A noise behind me made me spin, my hand instinctively reaching for the power that surged just beneath my skin, ready to strike. But it wasn't the dark entity from before, nor the Relic that I could feel pushing against the edges of my awareness.
It was Adrian.
He stepped out from the shadows, his presence filling the room like a familiar, grounding force. His eyes locked onto mine with a mixture of concern and determination, but this time, I saw something more—something deeper in his gaze. The fear was still there, but it was tempered by something else. Hope. A quiet resolve that, despite everything, he wasn't ready to give up on me.
"Valeria," he said softly, his voice cutting through the tension in the room. "You don't have to do this alone."
I shook my head, my fingers still curled around the railing. "I don't want to pull you into this, Adrian. You have no idea what it's like, what this thing is. It's more than I can handle. More than you can imagine."
"I don't need to imagine," he said, his voice steady. "I've seen it. I know you're not okay, Valeria. I know what this power is doing to you. But that doesn't change anything. I'm not walking away. Not from you."
I closed my eyes, his words ringing in my ears, but all I could feel was the weight of my own uncertainty, the gnawing fear that if I allowed him to get any closer, I would drag him down with me. The last thing I wanted was for Adrian to bear the weight of my mistakes, of the choices I had made that led me to this point. I had already lost so much, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing him too.
"You don't understand," I said, my voice shaking despite myself. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this under control. It's not just a test, Adrian. This thing... it's a force. A curse. And it's inside me."
He took a step closer, his gaze softening. "I don't need to understand everything about it, Valeria. I just need to understand you. You're still you, right? Under all this power? Under all this fear?"
I couldn't respond at first. The truth was, I wasn't sure anymore. The more the Relic's power consumed me, the more of me it erased. It was like watching a part of my soul slip away, piece by piece, until I was just a shell—a vessel for something darker. And you're supposed to embrace this? The thought slithered through my mind like a serpent, but I forced it away. I had already made my choice. There was no going back now.
"I'm still me," I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. "But I don't know how much longer that will be true."
Adrian's expression softened, and before I could step back, before I could close myself off completely, he reached out and placed his hand gently on mine, his fingers warm against the coldness of my skin. I didn't pull away, but the contact sent a shock through me—one that both soothed and ignited something deep within me.
"You don't have to go through this alone," he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm here. And I always will be."
For a moment, I let myself believe him. Let myself feel the truth of his words—at least, what I wanted them to be. But then the weight of the Relic's power returned, crashing into me like a tidal wave, and the whispered promises filled my mind once more. You can have everything. You can control it all. The temptation was maddening.
"I don't want you to get hurt," I said quietly, my eyes drifting to the city below. "You're already too close to the edge as it is."
He chuckled softly, a sound that was both bitter and reassuring. "I've been standing at the edge with you from the moment we met, Valeria. Don't think I'm going to back down now."
His words held a finality that cut through the chaos inside me, grounding me in a way I hadn't expected. There was something in Adrian's unwavering faith—something in the way he looked at me, not with pity or fear, but with the simple belief that we could face this together.
I swallowed, gathering what little strength I had left. "I can't promise that this won't end in disaster."
"I'm not asking for promises," Adrian replied, his voice steady. "I'm asking you to trust me. To trust that we can fight this. Together."
And for the first time in what felt like ages, I allowed myself to believe in the possibility of it.
The Relic still pulsed within me, its energy thrumming under my skin, but now, it felt... different. Less suffocating. The dark whispers still lingered, but they no longer commanded me. Instead, they seemed to retreat into the corners of my mind, as if waiting for the moment when they could strike.
I wasn't sure what this meant for the future—what consequences our actions would have. But as I stood there with Adrian, feeling the warmth of his hand still resting on mine, I made a silent vow to myself. I would not let the darkness consume me—not while I still had something worth fighting for.
"I won't let it win," I murmured, more to myself than to Adrian.