Thorns of Obsession
---
The light vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
And silence followed.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
---
Smoke drifted through the shattered Hollow. Pieces of stone crumbled from the ceiling. Broken runes flickered weakly along the walls like dying stars.
The Council hunters were gone.
Not dead.
Gone.
Driven back.
---
My knees gave out instantly.
The strange power burning inside me disappeared so fast it felt like something had ripped it out by force.
Before I could hit the ground—
Riven caught me.
---
Riven:
"Hey. Hey—look at me."
---
His hands gripped my face carefully, almost desperately.
For a second, I couldn't focus.
Everything blurred.
The room.
The blood.
The fear in his eyes.
---
Then pain hit.
Violent.
Sharp enough to make me gasp.
The mark on my chest burned like fire beneath my skin.
---
Me (shaking):
"Riven…"
---
He pulled open my collar.
The glowing symbol had changed.
Before, it had been small.
Now golden cracks spread from it across my chest like shattered glass.
---
Riven went pale.
---
Riven (quietly):
"No…"
---
Lucen rushed toward us, kneeling beside me immediately.
The second he saw the mark—
His expression darkened.
---
Lucen:
"The Seal awakened too early."
---
Me:
"What does that mean?"
---
Nobody answered immediately.
Which terrified me more than the pain.
---
Finally, Lucen spoke carefully.
---
Lucen:
"The Seal wasn't meant to fully awaken until the Crimson heir either accepted the curse…"
His eyes shifted toward Riven.
---
Lucen:
"…or died."
---
The room went still.
---
Me:
"…What?"
---
Riven looked away first.
That alone told me enough.
---
Me (voice rising):
"You knew?"
---
Riven:
"I suspected."
---
Anger flared instantly through me.
---
Me:
"You let me walk into this without telling me?!"
---
Riven (sharply):
"Because I was trying to stop it!"
---
The shadows around him lashed violently with emotion.
Cracks spread across the floor beneath his feet.
---
Riven:
"I was trying to protect you from becoming part of this nightmare!"
---
Me:
"Well, it's a little late for that now!"
---
Silence crashed between us.
Painfully loud.
---
For the first time in weeks—
Riven looked helpless.
Not angry.
Not possessive.
Helpless.
---
Lucen stood slowly.
---
Lucen:
"The Council will come back stronger next time."
He looked directly at me.
---
Lucen:
"And now they know the Seal has awakened."
---
Me:
"What exactly IS the Seal?"
---
Lucen hesitated.
Then finally answered.
---
Lucen:
"A prison."
---
Cold spread through my chest.
---
Lucen:
"Centuries ago, the first Crimson rulers made a pact with something ancient. Something powerful enough to grant immortality through blood magic."
---
Riven's jaw tightened.
Like he already knew this story.
---
Lucen:
"But the power corrupted them. It fed on violence. Obsession. Fear."
A pause.
---
Lucen:
"So the founders created the Seal—a bloodline capable of containing that power before it consumed the world."
---
My breathing slowed painfully.
---
Me:
"And I'm… part of that bloodline?"
---
Lucen nodded.
---
Lucen:
"You were born to either destroy the Crimson curse forever…"
His expression darkened.
---
Lucen:
"…or inherit it completely."
---
Riven immediately stepped closer.
---
Riven:
"That's not happening."
---
Lucen looked at him carefully.
---
Lucen:
"You may not get a choice anymore."
---
Riven's magic exploded outward instantly.
The room darkened violently.
---
Riven:
"I said NO."
---
I grabbed his wrist before the shadows could spread further.
Instantly—
The darkness calmed.
Not disappeared.
Calmed.
---
Everyone noticed.
---
Lucen stared at our joined hands.
---
Lucen (quietly):
"The bond stabilizes both of you…"
---
Riven looked down at me slowly.
Like the realization terrified him.
---
Riven:
"If something happens to you…"
---
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
---
Because now I understood too.
The bond wasn't just emotional anymore.
Our lives were literally tied together.
---
Suddenly—
A scream echoed somewhere deeper in the Hollow.
Wren.
---
Lucen's expression changed instantly.
---
Lucen:
"The crystal chamber!"
---
We ran.
The underground corridors shook violently around us. More runes were failing now.
The Hollow was dying.
---
When we reached the chamber—
The door was open.
Broken from the inside.
---
Wren was gone.
But written across the wall in blood were five words:
---
"THE VESSEL BELONGS TO US."
---
Riven's expression turned murderous instantly.
---
Then I noticed something else.
A symbol beneath the message.
A crown.
Made of thorns.
---
Lucen froze.
Actually froze.
---
Me:
"What is it?"
---
Lucen looked genuinely afraid for the first time since I met him.
---
Lucen (whispering):
"…The First King."
---
A cold chill crawled down my spine.
---
Because something told me—
The Crimson Council wasn't the real enemy.
Not even close.
---
And somewhere in the darkness beneath the ruins of the Hollow—
Something ancient had finally awakened.
---
[End of Chapter 34]