Chapter 41: Uncomfortable Companions
Melissa’s POV
All around me, the whirling darkness of the crumbling world tugged and tore at every strand of my determination. Damon walked purposefully beside me, looking out over the horizon as if he could find a path out. I had no choice but to follow his direction even though I didn’t trust him at all.
“Melissa, keep up,” Damon ordered sharply.
I shot back, accelerating my speed nevertheless, “I don’t take orders from you.”
He remained silent, staring straight ahead. With each step, the unsteady earth under us cracked and moved. The Shadow Realm seemed to be alive and trying to ensnare us in its clutches.
“How far is it?” My tolerance was growing thin, so I demanded.
Damon’s gaze was unreadable as he looked over his shoulder. “Closer than we deserve, but farther than you’d like.”
I gave an eye roll. “Will you please respond to me directly for once?”
I almost ran into him when he stopped suddenly. He turned to face me and said, “All right.” There is a point in the future where this realm’s fabric is at its weakest. It’s our only option, but it won’t be simple.
I glared at him while folding my arms. “Why do I think you’re omitting something?”
He said with a slight but grating grin, “Because I am.”
I let out a groan. “You’re not possible.”
Until Damon spoke again, this time in a calmer tone, we remained intensely quiet. Melissa, do you know why I did all of this? Why did I attempt to use the power of the Shadow Realm?
I replied sourly, “I can’t imagine it was for anything good.”
Something that sounded nearly like remorse weighed heavily on his sigh. “Don’t you think I’m a monster?”
I didn’t respond right away. “I have a lot of reasons to believe that because of you.”
Damon paused once more, looking off into space. Once, I lost everything. My pack and my family were killed. I couldn’t save them because I was weak. Melissa, that’s why I wanted power. I wanted to preserve what was rightfully mine, not to destroy it.
I briefly noticed a change in him, a flashback to the person he may have been before hatred took him.
Unable to control my temper, I responded, “And see where that got you.” “You’ve only made things worse. You turned into what you detested.
He winced, but his eyes remained fixed. “Perhaps you are correct. But I will take advantage of every opportunity to make up for what I have done.
I squinted. “And I’m meant to think you’ve developed a conscience all of a sudden?”
Damon laughed sourly. “Have faith in your desires. It doesn’t alter the reality that we must live together.
He was right, as much as I didn’t want to admit it. The realm’s collapse was unrelenting, and each moment lost took us one step closer to the darkness’s engulfment.
The tension between us was evident as we continued. The terrain became increasingly perilous, and the darkness became denser and suffocating. My mind was whirling with doubts, and my pulse was thumping as I struggled to keep up.
At last, we arrived at a clearing where the air felt lighter and the shadows were thinner. Damon came to a halt and pointed at a distant, glistening rift.
“That’s it,” he declared. “Our escape.”
Seeing his reluctance, I scowled. “What’s the catch?”
Damon paused; his face serious. “The rift won’t be open for very long. We’ll be stuck here indefinitely if we don’t time it just right.
Anxiety made my stomach turn as I swallowed forcefully. “We’d better not mess this up, then.”
Damon’s voice seemed strangely hesitant as he spoke again as we got closer to the rift. “There’s something you should know, Melissa. There is a second item in our world, one that is buried away. It can mend what I broke and bring equilibrium back.
I came to a halt and gazed at him. “An additional artefact? Why didn’t you inform me earlier?
He acknowledged, “I didn’t think it mattered.” “But now… you should be aware.”
I had a lot of questions, but I didn’t have time to ask him them. The air around the fissure crackled with energy as it shimmered brighter.
“We must relocate,” Damon insisted.
I followed reluctantly, my faith in him tenuously intact.
The ground shook severely as we approached the rift. To balance me, Damon reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Remain near,” he whispered.
Even if my entire being begged me to keep my guard up, I nodded. We moved closer to the rift as a group, its energy attracting us like a magnet.
However, Damon’s hold on my arm became firmer as we approached the edge.
“What are you doing?” Panic swelling in my chest, I demanded.
His eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and resolve as he gazed at me. “I apologize, Melissa. However, this is where we diverge.
He pushed me backwards with such power that I fell to the ground before I could react.
“Damon!” I fell to my feet and yelled.
His shape vanished into the light as he passed through the split. I made a rush for it, but I was pulled back by the shifting and cracking ground beneath me.
“No!” I yelled, my voice resonating through the crumbling world.
As the shadows surged about me, the light faded, and the rift started to close. Panic and rage flooded my veins as my heart raced.
I was by myself.
The insight struck me like a blow to the body. I was stranded in the Shadow Realm’s ruins after Damon betrayed me.
As the ground trembled severely, I stumbled and could hardly stay upright. My flesh was brushed by the icy tendrils of the shadows as they closed in.
With determination igniting within me, I clenched my hands.
I told myself in a whisper, “I’m not giving up.” “Not just yet.”
However, the darkness engulfed all around me as the last traces of light dimmed, leaving me to confront the falling world by myself.
My spine tingled when I heard a faint, strange voice echoing through the darkness.
“We’ve been waiting for you, Melissa.”