Chapter 16: Echoes of the Past
Caelan's eyes snapped open.
He gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to process what had just happened. His limbs felt heavy, as though the weight of the Abyss still clung to him, pressing down with every heartbeat.
But the darkness was gone. He wasn't in the void anymore.
He was back in the familiar, yet unsettlingly quiet, forest of Sylvanus. The towering trees, their thick branches arching overhead, created an almost impenetrable canopy. The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. He could hear the rustle of leaves, the distant call of birds, but there was something wrong—an unsettling stillness that clung to the place like a shadow.
Caelan slowly pushed himself to his feet, his body aching as though he'd just awoken from a nightmare. His heart was still racing. Was it a dream? No. It had felt too real. The Abyss, that voice… the figure. He could still feel the weight of its presence pressing against his chest, threatening to crush him.
"Where's Aeliana?" he muttered, his voice hoarse. The last memory he had was of her standing beside him, just before the darkness consumed them both. She had to be here somewhere. She had to be.
He staggered forward, his boots crunching against the dry leaves beneath him. His eyes darted through the trees, searching for any sign of her. But there was nothing. Just the stillness, the oppressive silence that seemed to suffocate the very life from the world around him.
"Aeliana!" Caelan called out, his voice stronger now, desperate.
There was no answer. His call echoed into the distance, but it was met with only the wind's soft whistle. He felt a twinge of panic rise in his chest. She couldn't be far—could she?
A sudden, sharp crack echoed through the trees. Caelan spun, his heart pounding in his throat. His eyes widened as he saw a figure emerge from the shadows, stepping into the pale light filtering through the canopy.
It was Aeliana.
But she wasn't the same.
Her hair, once a cascade of soft silver, now shimmered with an eerie, unnatural glow. Her eyes, too, had changed—no longer the warm brown he had come to know, but instead a cold, unfeeling silver that seemed to reflect the very light of the moon. She moved toward him, her steps silent, her expression unreadable.
"Aeliana?" Caelan whispered, his voice trembling.
She stopped a few feet in front of him, her gaze distant, as though she were looking through him rather than at him. A cold chill spread across his skin as her eyes finally locked onto his. There was no recognition in them—only the cold emptiness of someone lost.
"You should not have followed me," Aeliana said, her voice flat, devoid of warmth or emotion.
Caelan recoiled slightly, his stomach turning. This wasn't the Aeliana he knew. "What… what happened to you?" His words caught in his throat.
The corners of her lips twitched, but it wasn't a smile. It was something colder, more unsettling. "What happened to me?" she echoed, her voice sharp. "You don't even know what you're dealing with, do you, Caelan?"
The words hit him like a slap. "What do you mean?" he demanded, his voice rising in frustration.
"You've awakened something," she continued, her gaze still distant, her tone unwavering. "Something ancient. Something dangerous. The Abyss is not just a force. It's a hunger. And it will consume everything. Including you."
Caelan's mind reeled. The Abyss? What did she mean? He had barely grasped the weight of what had happened, and now… now Aeliana was saying things that didn't make sense.
"Stop," he said, taking a step forward, his voice rising with panic. "This isn't you. You're not like this."
But Aeliana only tilted her head slightly, her silver eyes narrowing. "You think you can save me, Caelan?" she asked, her voice low and cold. "You're not strong enough."
The words struck like a dagger, but before Caelan could respond, a sudden pulse of energy surged through the air—a crackling wave that made the ground tremble beneath his feet. The forest around them seemed to vibrate, the trees shaking violently as the very earth seemed to shift. Aeliana's form flickered, her image distorting like a mirage in the heat.
"What's happening?" Caelan whispered, fear rising in his chest.
Aeliana's eyes flashed with something—something darker, colder. "You're too late," she said, her voice barely a whisper, but it cut through him like ice. "You've opened the gate. And now… it's coming."
Before Caelan could react, a shadow loomed over him, vast and all-consuming. The ground beneath his feet cracked open, the earth splitting like an ancient wound. A great, dark mass poured from the裂 the ground, writhing like a living thing—black tendrils that stretched toward him, twisting through the air like serpents.
He stumbled back, his mind scrambling for a way out, but it was too late.
The Abyss had arrived.
"No!" Caelan shouted, his hands raising instinctively as he summoned his power. But it was as if his magic had no effect—the tendrils twisted around him, their touch cold as death, draining the very life from his limbs.
"Caelan…" Aeliana's voice echoed, now faint and distant, like a memory slipping away.
"NO!" Caelan screamed, but the darkness drowned his voice.
As the shadow enveloped him, everything went silent.