Chapter 107:
The name Rasen still throbbed in her chest like a broken bell.
Smoke hung heavy in the air, the dying breath of a beast. Amidst the rubble and ash, Aisha heard only his name echoing inside her skull: Rasen…
But the truce shattered.
Solomon materialized from the ruins like a specter bearing orders. No locked gazes, no preamble – just a fist slamming into Varek's open wound. He went down with a grunt, Rasen's unconscious body dragged with him.
Back at the second cabin, Solomon hauled him to the cell under the others' watchful eyes, shackling his body with heavy iron. Then, he shoved Varek inside.
"Chain him," Solomon spat. "At the slightest hint of rebellion… kill him."
Sanathiel's voice cut through the tension: "As always, Ebony Wolf, carving your path before your mistress. Shield."
Aisha brushed the dust from her clothes, then gently wiped the blood from Rasen's face with a clean cloth.
"Don't get attached, Aisha. Keep your distance. He's dangerous."
"White Wolf, you're the last one who should lecture. But if you hadn't recognized him… this would be worse."
She took his hand in hers, adding softly, "Thank you, Sanathiel."
Skiller bound Varek to one of the long iron rods jutting from the wall.
"Don't forget," Skiller added, "those first-generation beasts are still prowling outside the cabin, ready to snatch Rasen."
Varek awoke in silence, dried blood crusted on his nape the only sign of what had passed. His wounds had already knit shut, leaving the Ebony Wolf stunned.
"Sariel!" Varek roared, his voice raw with fury and desperation. "Where is he?!" If you take him from me, you'll make a fatal mistake."
Solomon raised his sword, resting the cold edge against Varek's throat.
"Silence," he hissed, yanking Varek's white hair before shoving him away in disgust. "Just lock him up," he ordered, ignoring Varek's threat.
"Don't come near. Hear me, Ebony Wolf? Take me to him." Aisha heard the plea and stood, seeking him out.
As the cell door groaned open, Varek slowly pushed himself up, chains clinking with every movement. Solomon and Sanathiel watched from the cabin's corner. His violet eyes – unmistakable to Aisha – burned with a raw mix of longing and pain.
"Do you remember, Aisha?" he whispered, his voice cracking. "The boarding school… when the world was ours. When we thought we could defy fate. Just this once… trust my words…"
Your laugh was the only sound that calmed my shadows. You were my home when I had no body, no name.
"Wait, Ebony Wolf, don't close it…"
A lump formed in Aisha's throat. Memories flooded back: shared laughter, secrets whispered in the dark, growing up together… and the moment everything shattered. The choice to save Sanathiel, obeying her father's orders.
"Say what you need to say…" Her voice trembled, but she held her ground. "I'm listening."
"Your memory loss… I caused it," Varek confessed, his voice fracturing. "I couldn't bear to see you carry the guilt. And still… I never stopped loving you."
Even when you became Sanathiel's companion. Even now, fighting for that human, Rasen." Bitterness twisted his gaze. "You knew. You knew it was on my father's orders, to save you. You knew everything about Phase I: The Hunt for the White Wolf."
"Sometimes I wonder… what if we'd run away together? When I asked you. Maybe… we could have been happy. Far from all this filth."
"Don't spout nonsense," Solomon cut in, harsher than usual. "Don't give his delusions more voice than they deserve."
"Yes or no?" Varek pressed, a bitter smile touching his lips. "Finally saying something intelligent, Solomon."
Aisha watched him warily. Varek had always been powerful, but now… desperation bled through.
"YES OR NO?"
"...Yes."
"Leave us," Aisha commanded.
Solomon hesitated, then nodded curtly and moved to guard the entrance. "Wait outside, Sanathiel," he added, blocking the doorway.
"Wasn't planning on entering anyway."
Varek rose slowly, chains rattling. The other two remained shadows in the corner.
"You know… you remember something… from when we were children. You saw it. A mark… on my back." His voice dropped. "You don't even recognize what I am."
He unbuttoned his vest and pulled up his shirt, revealing a tattoo etched into his back: an hourglass.
Aisha's breath caught. Not at the tattoo itself… but because each grain of sand seemed to pulse with his breath. As if her very life was tied to his dwindling time.
"Every falling grain brings your death closer, Aisha. I, Varek, Sanathiel, Sariel… we are blood brothers. Instruments of chaos. And you…" His voice softened as he looked at her with aching tenderness. "You should never have met us. But it's too late. You are Luciano Kerens's living legacy. The missing piece that reignites the war."
You lied to me. Betrayed our trust. Then you let me fall into that lie – I wasn't a hunter… Finally, you delivered me to the White Wolf, your brother, knowing everything. Served me up on a silver platter…
Varek tugged his shirt down and stood tall, emphasizing, "You… from the moment I saw you, I knew. You were more than a human caught in this war. You are the balance between destruction and redemption."
(Aisha lowered her gaze, swallowing hard. The words felt like a judgment.)
"Your love… decides who lives. And who dies among us."
Aisha recoiled as his violet eyes blazed.
"Why are you saying this?"
Varek exhaled heavily. "What flows in your veins isn't just life… it's power. Power enough to twist the fate of the Nevri… and of us. You proved it with Sanathiel. Now… you could do it for me. If you dare."
"I don't want any part of this," Aisha whispered, stepping back. "I just want to save Rasen."
Varek laughed, a harsh, bitter sound.
"Rasen… Always him. Sariel will be used as bait, drained to his last drop, to unleash hell on this earth."
Solomon, silent until now, stepped forward, wrenching the cell door fully open. "Then… tell her, Varek!"
Varek shot him a venomous glare, then bowed his head. When he lifted it, resignation warred with defiance in his eyes.
"My destiny is to be my father's vessel. A shell for his physical return. And your blood… is the key. Only by sacrificing one of my other two brothers…"
Silence crashed down in the cell. Varek took a step forward, chains clanking. "I offer you protection. You can save Rasen, change the fate of the Nevri… and Sanathiel's. Just… choose me as your companion."
The cell trembled. The marks on Varek's body ignited with a sinister, pulsing light.
Aisha shuddered. "Varek…"
He reached for her, gripping her arms as if afraid her decision would vanish like smoke.
"If you choose to save him—" His voice distorted as his body began to warp, shadows writhing beneath his skin. "—you will destroy everything. Sanathiel. Rasen. And finally… yourself."
Aisha's heart hammered against her ribs. How could she choose?
Solomon surged between them, shoving Varek back, breaking his hold.
Aisha's trembling hand stretched out, still reaching for him.
"Varek…" she breathed.
"Don't let him consume you! Fight, Aisha! The White Wolf will devour you if you don't tame him!"
But it was too late. Shadows coiled around Varek's body, swallowing his silhouette as if the darkness itself were reclaiming him. A guttural cry of agony ripped from his throat, echoing through the cell.
Solomon grabbed her shoulders.
"You don't understand," Aisha murmured, her hands shaking violently. "It's not just Rasen. It's… the humanity I see in him. Something you and I… lost long ago."
Varek laughed again, a sound scraped raw with contempt.
"Humanity?" he repeated. "You're the one refusing to see. If you continue down this path, you'll damn humanity with your actions. There's no redeeming me now… but don't be the puppet in this war, Aisha. Or will you choose regret?"
Aisha closed her eyes. A part of her ached to believe him. But a stronger part clung to Rasen… to the fragile hope of a future without blood and curses. Seeing Varek suffer like this… it stirred feelings she thought long buried.
Tears traced paths down her cheeks. Solomon held her back.
Varek slowly rose. The chains binding him snapped and fell to the floor like dead serpents.
He pointed to the hourglass tattoo on his back, tearing his shirt aside. Each falling grain of sand pulsed with ominous urgency.
"This curse," he stated, his voice gravel-deep, "began with my father. He used us as instruments of his chaos. But I…" He lifted his gaze, his expression oscillating between despair and surrender. "…was the first born. The Firstborn. His perfect vessel." His voice broke. "But my father underestimated… that growing up among humans, even we brothers… could fall for the same woman."
The wounds on his body sealed instantly, leaving only a simple burn-like mark on his palm. Seeing it, Solomon lowered his guard.
Aisha embraced him one last time. Her chin rested on his shoulder, his pulse a frantic drumbeat against her skin, then falling silent.
"No more words, please… Varek. I can't bear to see you suffer more."
Then, he spoke the words he'd never dared voice aloud, his voice trembling:
"I love you, Aisha."
Sanathiel didn't enter. But his shadow filled the doorway. His golden eyes burned like twin, fractured suns.
The air crackled between them, thick with unspoken threat. The balance had shifted. Aisha's heart… had shifted too.
"The love I felt for you, Aisha…" Varek murmured, "…was the only thing that kept me sane. But now… not even that can save me from my sins."
She looked at him, eyes glistening:
"I don't hate you. I never could."
Varek closed his eyes for a heartbeat. As if those words were a farewell in disguise.
Then he kissed her.
It wasn't a promise. Nor a goodbye. It was the kiss of a man who no longer hoped for salvation… only remembrance.
And in that instant, Aisha didn't kiss back. But didn't pull away either. She stood frozen… and that was enough.
She felt the world stop. Not for love. Not for guilt. But for something older. Darker. As if Destiny itself leaned in to hear her choice.
The White Wolf's fist shattered the cell door like paper.
"Get away from her, Varek!" Sanathiel's voice wasn't his own – it was a primal roar. "What if the beast within me doesn't want you dead… but erased? I'll do it."
His eyes blazed with a light that wasn't fury or pain. It was a primal warning.
The White Wolf wasn't speaking anymore: he was roaring.
And so, amidst ashes, broken chains, and shattered hearts, the world took another step towards the abyss. And Aisha… towards her true awakening.