Chapter 26:
They ran.
They both ran until their lungs burned and their legs felt like lead. Every breath came with pain, every step kicked up dust and small stones, and yet neither of them stopped. They didn't speak. There was no time for that. Only the sound of their heavy breathing and hurried footsteps filled the night air.
Finally, when their bodies refused to move any further, they slowed down. Adrian leaned against a rock, his chest rising and falling rapidly, while Aldric dropped to one knee, gripping the damp ground for balance. The faint light of dawn was beginning to show, a thin gray line stretching across the horizon.
They had run all night.
The two of them exchanged a glance. Their faces were pale and their clothes were soaked with sweat. For now, they were safe—or at least far enough away to rest.
Adrian reached into his dimensional storage device and pulled out a bottle of water. Without hesitation, he twisted off the cap and drank greedily. The sound of swallowing echoed softly in the stillness of the cave they had taken refuge in.
Aldric sat a few feet away, his back against the cold wall. He watched silently as Adrian drank. The way he gulped down the water so desperately reminded him of something he wanted to forget—Lionel's death.
That single memory had become a wound that refused to heal. No matter how much he tried to push it away, it kept coming back, again and again.
In his mind, he saw Lionel's pale, blood-covered face. He saw the hate burning in his eyes. The bite into his own hand. The strange, cold look before he died.
Aldric's mind began to spiral.
Lionel's death… Lionel's death… Lionel's death…
The words repeated endlessly in his head, echoing like a broken record. His breathing quickened. He pressed his hands against his temples, trying to shut it out, but the more he tried, the louder it became.
"Lionel's death. Lionel's death. Lionel's death. Lionel's death. Lionel's death. Lionel's death Lionels death Lionels death Lionels death Lione…"
His eyes widened slightly.
Something wasn't right.
That thought cut through the chaos of his mind like a blade.
He froze, his body going still as the world around him seemed to blur. A strange, cold feeling crawled up his spine. It was as if he had just grabbed a thread—thin and almost invisible—that connected everything together.
Lionel's eyes before he died. His last action. The blood. The look of hatred that wasn't directed at Aldric but at something—or someone—else.
And then Adrian's strange behavior after the battle.
Aldric's pulse quickened. A small, sharp realization flickered in his thoughts, faint but terrifying.
Before he could think deeper, Adrian's voice broke through his trance.
"You can sleep," Adrian said quietly, turning away from him. "I'll take the first watch."
His tone was calm, but something about it made Aldric's gut twist.
For a moment, Aldric didn't move. His breathing steadied, his face calm, but inside, his mind was racing. Every sound in the cave seemed distant. The whisper of the wind outside. The dripping of water from the ceiling. The soft scrape of Adrian's armor as he moved.
Aldric slowly stood up. His shadow stretched across the stone floor. Adrian passed by him, heading toward the mouth of the cave to keep watch.
And then—something inside Aldric clicked.
His lips curved slightly into a cold, almost detached smirk. The sound of the wind outside seemed to vanish, as though the world itself was holding its breath. The distant chirping of crickets became a blur in his ears.
In that moment, Aldric's voice echoed softly through the cave, calm but edged with something sharp.
"Why?" he said.
Adrian paused mid-step, his back still turned.
Aldric's voice grew quieter, but every word carried.
"Is it so you can kill me in my sleep?"
The words hung heavy in the air.
The silence that followed felt endless.
The wind outside resumed, howling faintly through the cracks in the rocks. Rain began to fall again, soft at first, then heavier. The sound of it against the stone walls filled the cave like a distant drumbeat.
Adrian didn't answer.
He stood still, his shoulders slightly tense, the faint light from the cave entrance outlining his form in gray.
Aldric's eyes didn't leave him.
Somewhere deep inside, a part of Aldric already knew the truth. Something was wrong with Adrian. The signs had been there—the nosebleed after the battle, the sudden exhaustion, the moments of silence that seemed more than just tiredness.
It wasn't natural.
But now, standing in that dark, damp cave, the truth felt closer than ever.
Aldric's smirk faded. His face returned to calm indifference, but his eyes remained sharp, watching, waiting.
The rain outside grew heavier, thunder rolling faintly in the distance.
Two men.
One cave.
And a question that might change everything.
The air between them thickened with tension.
And in that moment, the night seemed to hold its breath once more.