Chapter 125: The Corruption Inside
Melissa’s POV
With a sudden gasp, I lost my air when I hit the ground hard. My bones shook from the force of Kane’s strike, but I wouldn’t remain down.
I wouldn’t run.
I pushed myself up, cleaned my face of the grime, and investigated Kane’s clouded, icy eyes. Under the moonlight, his sword shone steadily in his hand, as though he were about to attack once more.
“Listen to me, Kane,” I stated in a steady but shaking voice. “This isn’t you.”
His eyes darkened again as he cocked his head slightly, as though he was thinking about what I had said.
His voice was empty and low as he stated, “It doesn’t matter.” “It doesn’t matter.”
I took a deep breath. The Kane I knew, the one who had battled with me, who had given me his all to keep me safe, was vanishing, buried behind whatever evil had gripped him.
I wouldn’t let him leave, though.
I made my shoulders square. “Then I will remind you.”
I charged without saying another word.
Kane responded immediately and met my onslaught with quick, well-practised moves. Sparks flew into the air as our swords struck. The clearing reverberated with the clang of metal on metal.
I clenched my jaw and resisted his might. He was stronger and faster. His every blow was intended to kill me.
However, I didn’t battle for victory.
I struggled to get him back.
In between breaths, I said quietly, “Kane, you are not a monster.” “The dark is not you.”
His jaw tightened, and his blows wavered just briefly.
I seized the opportunity. I spun around, knocked his blade away, and put my hand to his chest. I sent him a jolt of energy to overcome the corruption.
His muscles tensed for a second. His breath caught. His eyes flitted, the black against the gold.
“Kane,” I said in a whisper.
A glimmer of pain passed across his face as his lips parted.
Then he pushed me back with a shout.
Although I stumbled, I didn’t fall.
Something I couldn’t identify caused his expression to contort. “You ought to have fled.”
I gave a headshake. “Never.”
He exhaled sharply, as though he were in agony. His hand shook around his sword’s hilt.
There was still a possibility.
I needed to go to him.
But he moved before I could say anything else. His sword sliced through the night faster than before, faster than I could respond.
I was just in time to lift my blade. I reeled at the impact.
The battle was far from over.
I wouldn’t stop, either.
My arms hurt from trying to hold Kane back throughout the battle, and I was out of breath. He had gained strength, speed, and ruthlessness. However, I could see by the look in his eyes that he was still alive.
Not quite yet.
I needed to approach him differently.
I hoped Lydia and Zephyr would return shortly after they had gone in search of answers. I needed to stop this before it was too late, and I needed them-I needed anything.
Breathing sharply in the chilly night air, I dashed across the ruins. The region felt cursed, haunted by something invisible, even though the fight had long since ended. As if something ancient stirred beneath it, the ground throbbed beneath my feet like a heartbeat.
Lydia was huddled over an old book with her brows knitted in concentration when I found her. Zephyr was standing tensely behind her.
“What is it?” With a raspy voice from fatigue, I inquired.
Lydia looked at me abruptly, her face whitened. Melissa… I believe I understand Kane’s situation.
I took a deep breath. “Tell me.”
She seemed to be struggling to find the appropriate words as she hesitated. “It goes beyond simple corruption. There’s more to it. Something older.
My chest constricted. “Just say it, Lydia.”
She gave a shaky breath. “An old deity.”
I went cold.
Zephyr took a step ahead. In the ruins, we discovered this. It claims that a god was imprisoned in this country ages ago. A deity of chaos and corruption. He gestured toward the book Lydia was holding. “And the conflict? The magic we employed? Perhaps it was awakened by it.
A shiver went through my body.
I gave a headshake. “No. That isn’t possible.
Lydia looked directly into my eyes. “Yes, it is. Kane, too. “He might be the first to fall under its control,” she whispered after hesitating.
My stomach turned over.
I turned and looked back toward the area where I had left Kane. It all made sense now, the way his eyes had changed, the hollowness in his voice.
I bawled my fists up. “Then we must put an end to it.”
Lydia gave a nod. “Before it consumes him entirely.”
With a scream that chilled my blood, a savage gust of wind ripped through the ruins-
A shout.
I screamed.
Reverberating all night long.
The ground shook beneath us before I could even respond. a steady, deep pulse that resembles the heartbeat of an awakening creature.
Zephyr pulled out his blade. Lydia tightened her hold on the book.
And a deep, old voice whispered in my mind amid the ensuing silence.
“It’s too late.”
Kane attacked me once more, this time with greater speed. My arms felt like they would break from the power of his sword’s collision with mine. I tried to defend myself by gritting my teeth, but he was no longer fighting like himself.
He struck wildly and unrelentingly as if something inside of him had taken over.
“Kane!” Avoiding a vicious cut to my chest, I yelled. “This must be fought!”
Only a harsh, guttural snarl was his answer. His once-warm, love-filled eyes have turned into dark abysses of desolation.
I swung my sword, hoping to knock him off balance by hitting his shoulder, but he moved too quickly. Suddenly he was behind me, cutting through the air with his blade. I stumbled backwards at the impact, hardly having time to block.
Panting, I went to one knee. My vision became hazy. My strength was failing me.
With his sword held high, Kane towered above me. His voice was no longer his own as he said, “You are weak.” It seemed as though someone else was speaking through him since it was multi-layered, dark, and old.
I felt panic around my chest.
It wasn’t Kane.
There was more to this.
I couldn’t give up, though.
I forced my legs to stay firm as I pushed myself to my feet. In my ears, my heart thumped. Although I had previously battled through agony, this time was different. I was being broken by this.
“Please, Kane.” Even if my voice wavered, I didn’t let it falter. “I am aware that you are inside. I’m confident you can overcome this.
For a second, just a second, he lost his hold on his sword.
I witnessed it.
A moment of hesitation. A moment of recognition.
My chest blazed with hope.
However, something black slammed over him once more in the same instant. With a yell, he raised his blade again.
There was no time for me to move.
As the sword descended, the world slowed-
And my side erupted with anguish.
I stumbled backwards, gasping. Hot and terrible, a sharp, scorching sensation swept through my ribcage.
I glanced down. My clothing was drenched with blood.
I had been hit by Kane.
Not profoundly, but sufficiently to convey a message.
My eyes hurt with tears.
He was getting farther and farther away.
I was losing, too.
I gripped my side, breathing erratically. Over me, Kane stood with an unfathomable face.
The agony in my chest was far worse than the pain.
I always thought I could get through to him. That my voice would be sufficient to resurrect him no matter what darkness engulfed him.
However, now… I was no longer certain.
Once more, Kane raised his blade.
I was too weak to resist any longer.
I heard a voice in my head.
Gentle, ageless, and strong.
“Let me in, and I will save him.”
My body froze.
It wasn’t my voice. Kane didn’t own it. I had never heard anything like that before.
It throbbed in my veins, a presence that offered something perilous and curled like a shadow over my thoughts.
Strength.
Redemption.
A means to return him.
I had no idea what that meant. I had no idea how much it would cost.
However, when Kane’s sword descended again-
I had to make a choice.
Right now.