Chapter 100: The Final Choice
Melissa’s POV
Kane lay before me, struggling to breathe. His golden eyes, once filled with warmth, were now clouded with pain.
I should have felt something-anything.
But all I felt was power.
Raw. Unstoppable.
The darkness inside me pulsed, whispering its hunger. It wanted me to finish this. To strike him down.
I lifted my hand, black energy crackling at my fingertips.
Kane coughed, blood dripping from his mouth. “Melissa… don’t do this.”
His voice was weak. Desperate.
I hesitated.
A sharp pain shot through my head like my mind was at war with itself. Images flickered in my mind-Kane’s arms around me, his laughter in my ears, the way he had once held my face and promised, “I’ll always stand by you.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
That Melissa is gone.
I clenched my jaw. “You’re wasting your breath.”
He groaned, trying to push himself up. “I don’t believe that.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You will.”
I stepped closer, my power surging, ready to strike.
A single tear slipped from Kane’s eye.
And something inside me… cracked.
For the first time since the darkness took hold, I felt it-pain.
Not his pain.
Mine.
A war waged inside me.
Kill him. Destroy everything. Accept the power.
But the memories-our memories-wouldn’t fade.
I gritted my teeth. My hands trembled.
And deep inside me, something began to fight back.
The air around me shifted.
A cold breeze wrapped around my body, whispering promises of power.
And then-he appeared.
Darius.
He materialized beside me, his figure cloaked in shadows, his eyes burning red.
“You are extraordinary,” he murmured, his voice smooth as silk. “You have finally embraced what you were meant to be.”
I exhaled sharply. “What do you want?”
His lips curled into a slow smile. “To give you everything.”
The battlefield seemed to fade. The pain in my chest dulled.
Darkness swirled around us, and suddenly, we were somewhere else-an obsidian throne room, its walls carved with ancient markings.
At the center stood a throne made of shadows.
Darius gestured to it. “It’s yours.”
I swallowed hard. “Mine?”
“You were never meant to serve the light, Melissa. You were born for this.” He stepped closer, his voice soft but commanding. “The supernatural world needs a ruler. A true queen.”
I glanced at the throne.
It called to me.
It felt right.
I could feel its power seeping into my bones, wrapping around me like a second skin.
Darius extended a hand. “All you have to do is let go of him. Let Kane die.”
I stiffened.
“Kane is your weakness,” Darius continued. “He holds you back. But if you embrace the darkness fully, you will never be weak again.”
I turned my gaze to Kane.
He was still on the battlefield, struggling to rise, his body shaking from exhaustion.
He was so fragile.
So human.
Darius stepped behind me, his voice intoxicating. “You could rule everything, Melissa. No one would dare to defy you. No one could ever hurt you again.”
Power. Control.
It was everything I had ever wanted.
Wasn’t it?
My heart pounded as I looked between the throne and Kane.
I took a step toward the throne.
Darius smiled.
The darkness inside me roared in approval.
Another step.
Kane groaned, shifting slightly, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Melissa… please.”
Something inside me twisted.
Memories rushed back in waves-Kane holding me when I was afraid, whispering my name like it meant something, standing by my side when no one else would.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
The throne promised power.
Kane promised love.
But love had made me weak. Hadn’t it?
I opened my eyes, my heart pounding against my ribs.
Darius watched me, expectant.
“Kane will only drag you down,” he said smoothly. “But if you take your place as queen, you will never have to suffer again.”
I turned to Kane one last time.
His breathing was uneven.
His golden eyes shone with something that shouldn’t have been there.
Hope.
Even now, after everything, he still believed in me.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
This was it.
The moment that would define everything.
Darius’s voice was a whisper in my ear. “What do you choose?”
I turned back to Darius.
The weight of my decision pressed down on me.
I could feel Kane watching.
I could feel the power humming in my veins.
Everything had led to this.
I exhaled slowly.
Then, I lifted my chin, met Darius’s gaze, and whispered-
“I choose…”
The darkness swirled around me, thick and suffocating.
Kane’s breath caught.
Darius’s smirk deepened.
The world shattered.