Sarah's POV
The darkness swallowed me whole, leaving only the echo of Axel's last words in my ears. Run, Sarah... run...
But I couldn't run—not from him. Not from the man I loved.
The black void around me pressed in, the sensation of falling dragging me deeper into the unknown. My body ached, my breath came in frantic bursts, but I fought the panic clawing at my chest. This wasn't over. Axel's face, his voice—his plea—remained etched in my mind like a brand. He had given up, but I hadn't. Not yet.
Suddenly, the oppressive darkness began to fade, replaced by the faintest glimmer of light. It was soft at first, barely perceptible, but it grew stronger, more urgent. My heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Could it be the way out?
I reached toward the light, desperation fueling my every movement. The air around me shifted, becoming thicker, colder. It felt as though the very fabric of this place was tearing apart. The weight of the rift was more than a mere physical burden now—it was pulling at my very soul, seeking to drag me under.
But still, I pressed on.
The light ahead grew brighter, taking on the shape of something—no, someone. A figure standing in the distance, just beyond the veil of shadow.
My breath hitched as I recognized them.
Axel.
But it wasn't the Axel I'd just seen—the broken, shattered man who had warned me to leave. This Axel was whole. Alive. He stood tall, his posture confident, his expression soft with something I hadn't seen in what felt like forever: hope.
"Axel?" I whispered, my voice trembling with disbelief.
He turned toward me, his eyes locking onto mine. They were familiar, warm, but there was something else—something more dangerous lurking in their depths. A shadow that hadn't been there before.
"Sarah..." His voice was thick with longing, but it also carried a cold edge. "You came for me."
I took a hesitant step forward, my heart pounding in my chest. "I never left you," I said, my voice raw with emotion. "I won't leave you now."
His lips curved into a faint smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. Instead, his gaze was focused on something just behind me. I could feel the tension building, like an electric charge in the air, but I couldn't look away from him.
"Sarah," Axel said again, his voice now low and strained. "It's too late. The rift has already claimed me."
"No!" I stepped closer, refusing to believe it. "No, Axel. You're still in there. You can still come back."
He shook his head, the smile slipping from his face. "I'm not the man you loved anymore. Not the man you remember."
I reached for him, my fingers brushing against his arm, but as I touched him, a strange coldness washed over me. His skin was ice, his presence like a chill that sank deep into my bones. "What happened to you?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
The light around us began to flicker, growing unstable, and Axel's figure wavered like a mirage. I stumbled back, my heart hammering in my chest as I realized what was happening.
"No," I whispered, panic rising in my throat. "You're fading. Please, don't go."
But Axel didn't move. Instead, he just looked at me with those haunting, empty eyes, his expression one of quiet resignation.
"I can't come with you, Sarah," he said, his voice distant, almost detached. "I'm not meant to."
The world around us shook, the very ground trembling beneath my feet. I looked around, my mind racing as I realized that the space was collapsing. The rift was unraveling, tearing itself apart, and we were caught in the middle.
"Axel!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "You don't have to do this! Fight it! Please, fight for us!"
For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker behind his eyes. A spark of the man I knew. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by something darker, more cold.
"I've made my choice," Axel said, his voice now colder than ever. "And so have you."
Before I could respond, the ground beneath us cracked open, the rift pulling at us with an insidious force. Axel's figure began to disintegrate, his body turning to mist, fading into the darkness with a final, sorrowful glance.
And then, he was gone.
I fell to my knees, my breath coming in ragged gasps, my body trembling as the reality of what had just happened set in. Axel—my Axel—was lost to the rift. The man I had loved, the man who had once been my everything, had vanished into the abyss.
Tears welled in my eyes, but I fought them back. I couldn't afford to fall apart. Not now. Not when there was still a chance.
I stood, my legs shaking beneath me, and looked around. The light had faded, leaving only the endless expanse of the collapsing rift. There was no way out, no path forward. The world itself was unraveling, and I was trapped in the center of it.
But then, a voice broke through the silence.
It was faint at first, like a whisper on the wind, but unmistakable.
"Sarah."
I spun around, my heart leaping in my chest. Was it Axel? Was it really him?
But no. The figure standing before me was not Axel. It was someone else.
Someone far worse.