"Are you really going to sit there and brood all night, Enzro?" The voice cut through the heavy stillness of the evening, laced with teasing laughter that floated like smoke in the crisp air of Wisteria.
I glanced sideways, catching a glimpse of woman's silhouette against the darkening sky, the faint glow of the lanterns illuminating her features. Her hair danced in the gentle breeze, looks alive with an aura that seemed entirely at odds with the weight of my silence.
"Brooding is a vital part of my artistic process," I replied, my tone dry but filled with playful resolve. "Someone has to uphold the tradition of the tortured immortal."
She rolled her eyes, stepping closer, the amber light slicing through her luminous form. "If only you'd let others in, perhaps your 'artistic process' wouldn't be so lonely."
"Loneliness has its advantages," I said, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned against the weathered stone wall of the chapel. "It allows you to observe the world without interference."
"Or it leaves you watching life pass by like a fleeting dream. You're immortal, Alaric, not a statue."
Her words lingered in the air, each syllable striking like the tolling of the nearby chapel bell. The lingering sound felt more real in this moment, like an echo of a reminder I both embraced and ran from. "Perhaps I have grown fond of watching."
"You're avoiding the point," she retorted, her soft laughter lilting through the evening chill as if weaving a delicate tapestry to go along with each word. "The festival is starting soon, and you can't simply hide."
"The festival," I repeated, my voice low, almost solemn, as if tasting the word produced a bitter aftertaste. Festivities filled with laughter and folklore that seemed a world away from my reality. "What do they celebrate, exactly?"
She leaned in, her breath forming small clouds in the cool air. "Life, joy, community—everything you keep at arm's length. Come on, Enzro. Don't you want to experience that?"
"If only I could trust it."
She tilted her head, scrutinizing me with those ocean-like eyes that shimmered in the soft light. "You act as if you're the only one cursed to watch from the sidelines. I've seen the shadows beneath your stoic exterior, you know. You think you're alone in this pain?"
The night seemed to hold its breath in that moment. "You don't understand, ▄▄▄ . Curses are not something we can debate over a warm cup of cider," I said, frustration slipping into my voice despite myself. "There are consequences to letting people in. You'll see."
"Is that really how you see me? A naive girl lost in dreams? I know the darkness that clings to you, Enzro. I've felt it too."
I turned my gaze to the horizon, where the last traces of sunlight succumbed to darkness, a deep sigh escaping me. "Then why place yourself in the crosshairs of my recklessness?"
"Because...someone has to, and I can't let you stand alone when this world is filled with so much light."
"Light?" A bitter chuckle escaped, quickly swallowed by the night. "The light is fleeting. All things must return to shadow eventually."
She stepped back, hurt glazing over her features, yet the fire she contained remained unextinguished. "You think I don't know about darkness? You think I'm merely a reflection of your eternal struggle? I carry my own pain here, beneath the surface."
"You don't. You don't know what grief is. You aren't burdened with the weight of centuries," I shot back, the words burning in my throat like embers igniting a long incombustible rage.
"Try me," she whispered, and her eyes sparkled with a mix of challenge and understanding. "Tell me what haunts you. Let me share that burden, or do you believe lasting friendships mean nothing? You isolate yourself in misery while I..."
The words hung like a fragile thread between us. I couldn't bear the thought of dragging her deeper into my cursed existence. "You shouldn't be tethered to my fate, ▄▄▄ ."
"Fate? You think I'm afraid of it? Is that what holds you back? Your fears? It's not only your destiny that intertwines with darkness, you know," she said, unyieldingly fierce, the warmth of her spirit a stark contrast to the chill wrapping around my heart.
"Haven't you heard what they say? Shadows cling to those touched by grief. They linger like a festering wound, and I've already seen too many suffer because of my existence."
"Then suffer with me," she countered firmly, stepping forward again. "We don't have to walk this path alone. Invite me in; let me hold your darkness alongside mine. Show me."
I gritted my teeth, staring into her earnest gaze, the abyss silvered with hints of long-buried memories. "And what if—"
Her voice carved through my hesitation. "What if you might find a way to break free?"
I stepped closer, caught in the gravitational pull of her words, an emotion rising that I dared not name—it was absurd, it was frightening, it was hope. "You're risking too much for a chance at me."
"I'm not afraid of the consequence," she said, her chin lifted defiantly, a resolve bubbling through her like an unyielding stream. "Life is meant to be lived, Alaric. Now, would you like to waste this moment brooding in a corner, or join me to experience the world we both secretly crave?"
The festival gathered its momentum nearby, laughter and music spilling like waves of color into the night. Life thrummed through the cobblestone streets, and for a brief second, I found myself awash in its promise. But this will, this choice—we were entwined in the hesitation of the possibility.
I clenched my jaw. "This guilt you see as bravery... it will not end well."
"And this stoic isolation will lead to regrowth, I assure you." Her voice softened, breaking against the barriers I'd erected. "That's why you're truly afraid. But I will not run from this."
I stared at her. "You'll push me into the abyss."
"Only if you let me."
"▄▄▄ ..."
"Don't '▄▄▄ ' me," she said, her trademark spark igniting again, crinkling at the corners of her eyes. "Let me show you what it feels like to embrace joy, even if it comes with suffering later. I swear if anyone can get you dancing among the stars, it's me."
Behind us, a melodic chant began to rise, pulsing through the air like a wave crashing upon the shore. "You know what you want. You want to be a part of it."
With that temptation, I felt the barriers shifting, each sighing structure creaking under the weight of our shared burden.
"Alright..." I began, but doubt still lingered. "But if you feel my presence is bringing darkness—"
"We'll break that cycle together." She grasped my hand with a fierce determination, intertwining our fates with a single tether, binding all hesitations with the warmth of her heart. "We have to start somewhere."
"Then I will endure this chaos, but..." I hesitated, a sliver of future conflict stretching ahead of us. "If anything goes wrong..."
"We face it together."
"Together," I echoed, a promise fueled by uncertainty and possibility, and as the festival drew me further into its embrace, I felt a spark igniting a part of me long thought buried beneath centuries of sorrow—life.
"Now, come on! They'll be starting without us!" she laughed, pulling me toward the lively square, and though the darkness loomed in the periphery, in that shared moment—under the lantern glow—I felt like a flicker of hope igniting amidst a sea of shadows. There was suddenly a loud noise of a shatteing glass.
I jolted awake, heart pounding, as though pulled from a deep, familiar dream. The room was dim, shadows stretching across the walls, and a strange tingling sensation spread through my limbs—like the aftermath of a sudden shock. The kitchen across the room shows the scattered remnants of a once-pristine plate on the floor , now reduced to jagged shards of porcelain. Each fragment caught the light, reflecting a glint of white amidst the chaos.
The air was thick with the suddenness of the break, the sharp sound still echoing in the silence. I couldn't help but remember the dream again. It was familiar, a familiar scene, a familiar woman but I couldn't remember it.
I can't remember when it happened or if it even happened. My mind was a mess, the same woman kept infiltrating my dream over and over again. She was someone I knew and she knew me but at the same time I couldn't help but feel strange — unfamiliar — unfamiliar name, unfamiliar face. My heart racing as I sat up in bed. I took a deep breath to calm myself, I glanced around the room moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a pale glow on the scattered porcelain pieces across the kitchen floor.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, feet meeting the cool wooden floor, and padded barefoot into the kitchen. Kneeling down, I gingerly swept the shards into a dustpan, the sharp edges glinting under the dim light. After disposing of the broken pieces in the trash, I made my way to the bathroom. The cold water splashed against my face, the chill invigorating my senses. As I wiped my face with a towel, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. The reflection staring back was unfamiliar—eyes wide with exhaustion, hair tousled from sleep. I lingered, studying the face before me, as if searching for a clue to the disorienting start to my night.
I couldn't help but remember the day again. The day I became a monster in their eyes.
It was not a day marked by grand ceremonies or celestial omens, but by the quiet whispers of betrayal and the cold sting of a blade driven into my chest. I had been a warrior, a leader among my people, feared and respected. But that day, I was brought low by my own ambition.
I had sought power, sought to transcend the limitations of mortality. In my arrogance, I believed that by conquering death, I could protect my people forever. I sought out the ancient magics, the forbidden rites that promised eternal life. And I found them.
But the price was steep.
The ritual was performed under the blood-red moon, in the heart of the forsaken forest where the veil between worlds is thinnest. I stood alone, chanting incantations older than the stars, my blood mingling with that of the earth. The magic surged through me, searing my flesh, rewriting my very essence.
When it was over, I stood reborn—immortal.
But the cost was more than I had bargained for.
The goddess Sidonia, angered by my defiance of the natural order, cursed me. She bound my heart, ensuring that I would never know love again. She decreed that I would wander the earth, alone and unchanging, until I found my true mate. Only then would the curse be lifted.
For centuries, I searched.
I watched as kingdoms rose and fell, as empires crumbled to dust. I saw the faces of countless people, each one a fleeting possibility, each one a reminder of what I could never have. I loved them, in my own way, but the curse kept me distant, kept me from truly connecting.
But there was a woman who has been buried deep within his memories. Forgotten but never truly erased. "She was a shadow in the recesses of his mind, a whisper in the corridors of his thoughts, her presence lingering like the faintest scent of jasmine on a summer breeze—unseen, yet ever-present, woven into the very fabric of his being."