Kyan wanted to take advantage of Lyara's confusion and fear to escape. The relentless pursuit over the days had left him with no options, and he knew this was his chance. But before he could take a single step, he felt a surge of energy pulsing within him, something entirely beyond his control. It was as if something had been unleashed in his mind, and suddenly, he could no longer move.
He stood frozen, as though his own will had been neutralized by a greater force. His body wouldn't respond, his muscles were locked, but his mind… his mind was in turmoil.
Lyara, not far from him, watched with growing confusion. To her, it seemed as if Kyan had simply vanished. There was no trace of mana, no movement at all. He was there, standing still, yet the air around him gave the impression that he didn't exist. As if he had teleported. She knew this wasn't possible for a mere human. Only someone like Alucius could do something of this magnitude.
She glanced around, frustrated, and started running through the forest, guided by her instincts. Kyan couldn't be far, but as she followed her intuition, she inadvertently ran further away from him.
Meanwhile, Kyan was immersed in an internal mental battle. The specters that had emerged around him began to whisper, their voices filling his mind, each one laden with rage, pain, and suffering. Their words echoed, creating a constant pressure.
"You are like us… You feel like us… You bear our pain…"
Kyan tried to resist, but the voices started to intertwine with his own memories of pain and suffering. He could feel the specters' rage, their frustration and despair, but what made him tremble was the realization that these emotions were… also his. Their pain became his pain. Their hatred, his hatred.
He tried to push it all away, tried to focus. But the shadows surrounding him, the specters, wouldn't allow it. Each word, each whisper, pulled him deeper into a sense of helplessness.
Then came the laughter. A low, disturbing laughter. It wasn't from a specter. It was internal, something that wasn't part of him… and yet, it felt familiar. The laughter was cold, cruel, and at the same time… completely in control. Kyan didn't know where it came from, but it was powerful.
"No..." he thought, feeling his body react to the laughter. Something within him stirred, something awakening. The presence of this laughter seemed to dominate the pain and anguish he was feeling, and soon, Kyan began to sense something changing inside him.
In an instant, his mind was no longer alone. He became aware of another presence, a part of himself that had been there all along, yet he had never recognized it.
It was a separate personality—cold and ruthless. A part of himself he had created to cope with the suffering that consumed him. A personality that now held control, without hesitation.
Kyan—or rather, the being now in control—felt a sinister calm, an unwavering certainty in what to do. He was no longer drowning in suffering. Instead, his body responded with precision and agility, his combat instincts rising brutally to the surface.
And then, he saw Lyara. She had caught his scent and returned to the forest. She was approaching, unaware of what awaited her. Kyan, or the part of him now in control, moved with astonishing speed. Before Lyara could react, he appeared before her, the darkness surrounding him almost tangible.
Lyara tried to respond, but the strike was too fast. A movement that could have been fatal, had it not been for her sheer determination. She barely managed to block it, but the impact sent her staggering back, nearly disoriented. The blow was brutal, and she felt Kyan's strength—or whatever he had become—as a wave of destruction.
"You're not the Kyan I knew anymore…" Lyara whispered, her words strained by pain and disbelief.
The being within Kyan looked at her with coldness, his eyes devoid of any human emotion. He didn't answer. He didn't need to. He was in control now, and nothing else mattered. Lyara was just another obstacle in his way.