Chapter 106:
Yet, Sariel did not hold back in his final act of cruelty. He decided to leave a deadly mark before releasing her.
"And just as he decided to let Aisha go, he unleashed his final strike—a spear suspended in the air by chains, aimed straight at her."
"IF YOU WERE MINE, THE VAREK OF NOW IS NOT..." —Sariel whispered.
The spear shot forward, but Varek pushed Aisha in another direction, taking the hit himself. As if frozen in time, the metal tip, held by the chains hanging in the air, pierced through him, leaving Varek in shock as he was dragged against the concrete wall, immobilized.
"Blood gushed from his pierced chest. But then, the impossible happened..."
Even as blood filled his lungs and throat, he simply spat it out and, with all his strength, yanked the spear free in a single motion, tearing it from his chest, his gaze fixed on Sariel.
—This cursed family legacy is our burden alone. Keep that woman out of it, Sariel.
Varek's voice was icy calm.
"We're not children anymore, Sariel. And you no longer control me."
For a moment, Sariel hesitated. His black eyes flickered with uncertainty, but the hesitation vanished as quickly as it had come. His gaze settled on the cameo hanging from Varek's neck—now exposed.
"That image..."
His smile widened with malice, and the tension in the cell thickened.
—That woman again —Sariel murmured, his tone a mix of fascination and hatred. —No matter. But she is Aisha, something I can prevent.
With a roar, Sariel shattered the bars separating him from Aisha and lifted her into the air. Shadowy chains slithered like serpents, piercing Varek's skin and embedding themselves in his flesh, but he did not retreat.
—Let her go! —Varek shouted, struggling against the chains binding him. —No!
Sariel ignored his brother, focusing on Aisha, who gasped for air as her hands clawed at his unrelenting grip on her throat.
—Do you know why you sicken me so? —Sariel whispered, his eyes burning with murderous fury—. Because you're the cause of everything. You make them weak. Rasen. Varek. Everyone.
Just as Aisha was about to collapse, a thunderous roar split the air. The white wolf charged at the barrier Sariel had erected, cracking it until it collapsed. The wolf's fury filled the space, and Sariel turned, for the first time showing something akin to confusion.
Varek, bloodied but standing, faced Sariel. His chest remained torn open, but the blood had stopped flowing. His immortality glowed in the dim light like a living curse.
Everyone turned to stare in disbelief.
—I've endured a century of this torment, Sariel. This curse is ours, but she has no part in it.
His grievous wounds healed at a supernatural speed, and Varek's words seemed to reach deep into Sariel—yet his hatred for Aisha only grew as he saw the cameo with her image hanging from his brother's neck.
—You protect this woman over me? You've fallen in love, Varek. —Sariel mocked.
Before Varek could respond, Solomon lunged at Sariel with a fierce attack. But Sariel deflected the blow effortlessly, sending him crashing into the wall, which shattered.
—This is my fight, brother —Varek snarled, grabbing Solomon from the ground—. No one touches my family—least of all you, Ebony Wolf.
He held Solomon down, crushing him under the weight of his own failure. The dark barrier protecting the cell trembled and cracked completely, disintegrating into dust. Its energy writhed as if something within struggled to break free.
At that moment, Sanathiel struck a single, decisive blow, collapsing the barrier entirely.
"In Sariel's black eyes, for an instant, he saw something beyond the shadows. He saw the child Rasen once was. And that vision made him tremble."
—Rasen? —Sanathiel asked suspiciously.
Sariel's shadow wavered. His body tensed as if an invisible force fought to break free. Deep within that prison of flesh and darkness, Rasen wrestled with fierce determination.
—Not her... —his broken but resolute voice whispered from within Sariel.
The pressure of the shadows around Aisha eased for just a second—enough for her to gasp for air. She coughed, trembling, but her eyes burned with defiance.
—You're not him —she rasped—. And you never will be.
Sariel's eyes flashed with fury and deep pain. His grip tightened around Aisha's throat, but with the last of her strength, she raised a trembling hand and placed it over his—not in plea, but in challenge.
—Rasen... —she whispered, calling to the depths of his soul.
Sariel, convulsing, murmured before yielding:
—You were always better at saving her… but you could never save yourself, Rasen.
His grip on Aisha weakened for just a second—enough for Rasen to break through.
—Aisha! —his voice tore through with an anguished cry. His darkened pupils fractured, returning to their usual clarity.
Aisha collapsed to the ground, gasping, as Sariel clutched his head, a roar of agony escaping his throat. His essence convulsed within him, battling against Rasen's unyielding will.
Sanathiel wasted no more time and turned to Skiller.
—Activate the explosives. We can't let this abomination continue.
Skiller hesitated, finger hovering over the detonator.
—What if there's still something left of him?
Sanathiel looked at him as if the weight of centuries pressed upon his shoulders.
—Then pray for his soul… and for ours.
A sharp beep filled the cell, like an artificial heart racing toward collapse.
Then, with a grim expression, he added harshly:
—If we don't stop him now, we'll lose him forever.
Varek roared in fury.
—You're scum, Sanathiel! —he bellowed, lunging toward Rasen.
Rasen, still locked in conflict with Sariel, barely reacted as Varek grabbed him and hauled him onto his back. Despite his own pain and wounds, Varek held him with grim determination.
—Get her out of here, now —Varek ordered, urgency flashing in his eyes as he pointed at Aisha.
Aisha, still weak, watched as Rasen's figure faded into the distance with Varek. The remaining shadows in the cell dispersed like ashes in the wind, and the roar of explosions shook the ruins. As dust settled over the prison's wreckage, the fate of Rasen, Varek, and Aisha was lost in the fire's shadows.
Aisha fell to her knees among the ruins, the echoes of Rasen's scream still trembling in her bones.
The blast's aftershock vibrated in her ribs. In the smoke, she thought she saw a silhouette—or an illusion—of Rasen turning toward her one last time. But perhaps… it was no longer him.
Because sometimes, to save a soul… you have to lose it first.