SISTERHOOD
At Damon's ruined fortress, the air was thick with tension and faint traces of magic. The Sisterhood exchanged pleased looks when they arrived and saw only two of their enemies.
"Only Lyrian and Reone?" Veyra smirked. "I was expecting the whole cavalry. Not that I'm complaining. These two will do just fine."
Her hands glowed a dark red, ready to strike, but Caelynn grabbed her wrist.
"I know you want to get them back for what they did to us, but we need to use our strength sparingly, Veyra," Caelynn warned coolly. "We might need it for our future plans."
Nivara nodded in agreement.
"We might have the numbers, but Lyrian and Reone are no pushovers either... the fight could go either way."
Veyra groaned in annoyance.
"Fine. What do you geniuses suggest, then?"
Caelynn smiled slyly.
"How about we play some good old-fashioned mind games with Damon's guests? That way, we take them down without having to exert ourselves."
Veyra grinned despite herself. "I'm listening."
While they were talking, Nivara fidgeted, glancing toward the fortress interior.
"You two do that. I'll go find Damon."
Her sisters shot her looks.
"Ugh, you're so besotted," Veyra said.
"Am not," Nivara said, cheeks pink. "Look, if he dies, we can kiss our plans goodbye. I'm doing this for us."
Having made her case, Nivara flew off.
Caelynn rolled her eyes.
"She's been such a bore lately."
"I know," Veyra agreed. "But anyway—enough talk. Let's have some fun."
"We need to separate them first," Caelynn said.
"Leave that to me." Veyra smirked, summoning a gust of wind that snaked through the corridors.
After a while, Caelynn added her own tricky little touch: an illusion spell that warped light and shadow to disorient even the strongest opponents.
She smiled in anticipation, knowing that Lyrian and Reone were in for a terrible time.
---
LYRIAN
Lyrian and Reone moved cautiously through the fortress, every step echoing against the cracked stone walls. The air was thick with dust and dark magic.
"Where could Damon have gone?" Lyrian asked.
Reone was about to answer when, without warning, a sudden gust of wind tore down the corridor, whipping loose soil and debris into a swirling, blinding storm.
"Where did this come from?" Reone shouted, shielding his face.
"I don't know!" Lyrian yelled back, squinting through the grit, her heart racing.
The wind grew stronger, pushing against them with bone-jarring force. Dust and pebbles pelted their skin, scratching and stinging. Lyrian reached out instinctively, trying to grab Reone—but the storm was relentless.
"It's so strong!" Reone's voice cut through the roar of the wind—and a second later, a violent blast lifted him off his feet, dragging him down the corridor like a leaf in a hurricane.
"Reone!" Lyrian cried, lunging forward to catch him—but the soil-laden gust blocked her sight completely. She could hear him calling, but the sound was distorted, broken by the howling air.
Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the wind passed.
Panic clawed at her chest at this bizarre phenomenon. She looked around. The corridor felt impossibly vast and empty, and she had a feeling she was being watched, sending a cold shiver down her spine.
This is just Damon's cheap tricks, she told herself. Don't be scared.
She was about to go look for Reone when she realized something important. It didn't make sense that a wizard—even one as skilled as Damon—could conjure a wind spell that powerful. The only dark sylph Lyrian could think of who could do this was... But no, it couldn't be, she thought. The Sisterhood are dead.
Then, out of nowhere, voices spoke, whispering her name.
"Lyrian," they called.
She immediately became alert.
"Who's there?" Lyrian demanded.
No reply. Only faint giggles echoed.
"Damon, if you're trying to scare me—just know it's not going to work!" she said, though her voice was trembling slightly.
"We're not Damon," said a familiar cold voice.
"Have you forgotten us, Lyrian?" another asked sweetly.
"I think she has, sister," said a third.
Three ghostly figures materialized before her—the Sisterhood, pale and transparent, eyes glowing faintly.
"Hello, Lyrian," they said in unison.
Lyrian stumbled back, horrified.
"Caelynn, Veyra, Nivara? But how? You're supposed to be dead!"
"We are," Veyra whispered from behind her, cold breath brushing her ear. "You murdered us, remember?"
"No, we didn't," Lyrian protested, shaking her head. "It was self-defense! And you… you left us no choice!"
"That's not true!" Nivara snarled. "You could've spared us, found another way. But you wanted us dead, because deep down, you're just like us!"
"Monster!" Nivara yelled.
"No!" Lyrian screamed, covering her ears as their voices echoed around her.
---
REONE
He got up with a groan, his whole body aching. The wind had slammed him against a wall before suddenly stopping.
He rose with effort, clutching his head.
"Lyrian!" he called out automatically.
A familiar, weary voice answered—but it wasn't Lyrian.
"Reone..."
He froze at that voice. No, it couldn't be…
"Varek?" he said, turning toward the sound.
The old man's ghostly figure stepped out of the mist, eyes sorrowful.
"You let me die, Reone. How could you?"
Reone's grip tightened on his sword, scared but alert.
"It's not you. It can't be."
Varek ignored him.
"You were like a son to me, Reone," he continued. "And yet you let me die."
Reone's jaw clenched. "You. Are. Not. Real."
"Do you want me to die again?" Varek asked.
"Stop it!"
"I never mattered to you, did I?" he said bitterly.
"Of course you did!" Reone shouted.
"Then why didn't you save me?" Varek's voice echoed in his skull. "I relied on you."
Reone shook his head, backing away—only for another voice to join in.
"I relied on him too, Varek. And he also let me down."
He turned and saw...
"Rhys?" Reone whispered, horrified.
"You were too distracted by Lyrian to protect me, weren't you? Damon killed me because you failed."
"And me," added Varek.
Reone fell to his knees, helplessly shaking his head.
"No... it's not true."
The ghosts closed in on him.
"NO!" he screamed in anguish.
---
DAMON
The corridors of Damon's fortress echoed with Lyrian and Reone's screams, the gust of wind Veyra had conjured curling along the walls like living smoke.
Nivara's boots echoed faintly as she flew through the shadows, searching for Damon.
When she finally found him, her heart dropped. Damon lay sprawled against a stone column, blood darkening the floor beneath him. His breathing was shallow, his eyes half-lidded.
"Damon!" she gasped, rushing to his side. "Oh, no, no, no..."
She knelt beside him, her usual confidence replaced by panic.
"Damn, you're in bad shape," she said, brushing his hair from his face.
His eyes flickered open just enough to meet hers.
"Nivara... where are your sisters?" he rasped, voice barely a whisper.
"They're... taking care of Lyrian and Reone," she answered quickly.
He nodded weakly, then frowned.
"And why... why aren't you with them?"
Nivara hesitated, suddenly flustered.
"Because..." she started, looking away. "Because I wanted to make sure you're okay."
Her voice cracked slightly at the end, surprising even herself.
Damon looked at the young girl clearly harboring foolish feelings for him. Something cunning flickered in his eyes, but Nivara didn't see it. Damon reached out a blood-streaked hand and took the one of his new pawn.
"I knew I liked you, Nivara..." he murmured with a smile.
Then his grip went slack. His eyes closed.
"Damon?" Nivara whispered. She shook him gently. "Damon! Wake up!"
No response. Panic surged through her. She pressed a hand to his throat and deduced he was fading fast.
For a long moment, she just stared at him—not as a tool for power or their dark alliance—but as him: beautiful, brilliant, and as cunning as they got.
Her heart started beating for him in that moment.
"I won't let you die, Damon," she whispered to herself, rolling up her sleeves.
She touched his wound and closed her eyes, focusing on channeling her own energy into him.
Resonance flowed between their bodies, black light flooding the dark room.
Nivara hissed. The process hurt and weakened her—but she didn't let that stop her. All she cared about was the image she was conjuring in her mind: one of her and Damon, together, in love.
---
SISTERHOOD
From their hiding place, Veyra and Caelynn watched with smug satisfaction as Lyrian and Reone were tormented by illusions inside their own heads.
Lyrian screamed into the fog, clutching her head as ghostly versions of the Sisterhood closed in.
Reone knelt nearby, haunted by phantom figures whispering blame into his ears.
Veyra smirked.
"Well, that didn't take long."
Caelynn folded her arms, pleased.
"This will keep them distracted for a while."
"Good. Our work here is done," Veyra said, flicking her hair. "Let's go check on Nivara."
"Hopefully she won't be fawning over Damon this time. Ugh," Caelynn said as she and her sisters turned away, smiling.
---
LYRIAN
She stood trembling in the swirling air, the spectral Sisterhood circling her like vultures.
"You killed us," Nivara's ghost hissed.
"You wanted us gone," Veyra taunted.
"You enjoyed it," Caelynn added cruelly.
Lyrian pressed her hands to her ears.
"Stop it! I didn't."
"I bet she celebrated with Reone afterwards," Caelynn sneered.
At the mention of Reone, Lyrian paused, wondering where he was. If he was he seeing this too?
Was he okay?
Lyrian found the thought of him suffering and alone to be frightening,more frightening than anything—even the ghosts of the Sisterhood.
She closed her eyes, trying to block out the poisonous voices, trying to control her fear.
"I need to find Reone," she told herself.
"Are you sure you won't kill him too, murderer?" Nivara taunted.
"I would never hurt Reone," she said, her voice steady. "And you're not real."
The ghosts tilted their heads, smiling eerily.
"We're real enough to scare you."
"Not anymore. You see, I fought to protect my loved ones—and you know what? I'm willing to do it again!"
A pulse of energy radiated from her. Sound—melodious but powerful—filled the air. The spectral Sisterhood glitched for a bit before their forms disappeared into the darkness.
The fog around Lyrian thinned, and for the first time, she could breathe freely.
"Reone..." she whispered. "Hold on. I'm coming."
She ran through the corridor, following the faint echo of his voice.
---
REONE
Reone stood surrounded by the ghosts of Varek and Rhys, their faces twisted in accusation.
"You let us die. You failed," Varek said coldly. "You weren't good enough, as usual."
Reone clenched his fists, his heart pounding. But in that moment he realized something important.
"Rhys would never say that."
"I wouldn't if I was alive," Rhys said, but his figure glitched at that moment.
Reone narrowed his eyes at him, wondering what was going on.When he denied the figures of the spectres they glitched. That's when the truth dawned on him again.
"It's all just a trick."
Hearing this, the phantoms stepped closer, looking desperate.
"You a failure, Reone," Varek said. "You can't do anything right."
"Lyrian distracts you,"came Rhys's voice
Reone frowned at them, as they kept trying to use his own doubts against him.
Damon was trying to mess him up mentally, he decided angrily.
"I know that you're not real," he told the ghosts. "And Rhys isn't dead—Mia wouldn't allow it. And even if he was, I know he wouldn't be angry with me, especially for caring about Lyrian."
The ghosts faltered, their eyes flickering with panic.
Reone raised his spiral,a boomerang like jagged blade.
"That's right. You're done,"he told the gosts.
With one decisive swing, his blade cut through them—and they vanished into light.
He exhaled shakily, lowering the blade in his hand.
"Nice try, Damon."
Though still shaken by their words, he pushed those feelings aside and started looking for Lyrian, in case she needed him.
---
LYRIAN
She kept walking uncertainly through the corridors,which seemed endless and empty. She was starting to give up when she turned a corner and—there Reone was.
"Reone!" she cried, relief flooding her voice.
He looked up, just as startled, then smiled—a huge one, full of warmth.
"Lyrian..."
They ran to each other, and Reone caught her in his arms, which felt like home. For a long moment, they just held each other—no words, no magic, just the steady beat of two hearts that were and would always be resonating with one another.
"I thought..." Lyrian whispered, pulling away. "I thought..."
"I know. I'm alright," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. "Damon tried, but he couldn't break me."
"Or me," Lyrian added.
The last traces of Caelynn's spell faded completely, leaving the two of them standing side by side—bruised, shaken, but stronger than ever.
But then something horrifying occurred to Lyrian, and she pulled away from him.
"What is it?" Reone asked.
"That wind phenomenon... the illusion and the things the ghosts which were with me knew... it all felt familiar and... not Damon," Lyrian told him.
Reone looked at her, confusion etched in his features.
"Well, if it isn't Damon, who else could it be?" he asked.
At that moment, they heard voices and became still, suddenly alert. An unpleasant feeling crawled up Lyrian's spine. Those voices... she recognized them. But that was impossible...
Without saying another word, Lyrian followed the direction of the voices.
"Where are you going, Lyrian?" Reone whispered.
She didn't say anything, just focused on investigating.
Reone followed her.
They arrived before a door of a room from where the voices were coming.
Hesitantly, Lyrian stealthily peeked inside. At first, she saw nothing. Then—three faces she never thought she would see again.
She almost revealed their presence with her gasp, shocked at seeing the Sisterhood, who were very much alive this time.