CHAPTER 2 — I WOKE UP IN HIS WORLD
POV: Lira Vale
Darkness didn't feel like darkness anymore. It felt like something alive. It pressed against me from every side, thick and suffocating, like I had been swallowed whole by the night itself. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't even tell if my eyes were open or closed.
All I could feel… was him. That cold presence. That terrifying, magnetic pull. "You're mine now, Lira." His voice echoed again inside my head, deeper this time, as if it had carved itself into my bones.
"No…" I tried to speak, but no sound came out. Panic surged through me. I forced my limbs to move, struggling against whatever held me, but it was useless. The darkness tightened, wrapping around my body like chains.
Then—A sharp pain shot through my chest. I gasped. Air rushed into my lungs violently, burning as if I had been drowning for hours. My body jerked forward, and suddenly—Light. Blinding. Harsh. Real.
I collapsed onto cold ground, my palms scraping against rough stone as I struggled to steady myself. My breaths came out in ragged gasps, my heart slamming wildly against my ribs. "I'm… alive?" The words barely left my lips. For a moment, I just stayed there—on my hands and knees—trying to understand what had just happened. I was in my room. Then he touched me. Then everything went black.
And now—I slowly lifted my head. This was not my room. The ground beneath me was made of dark stone, uneven and ancient. The air was colder here, heavier, carrying a strange scent—earth, smoke… and something metallic. My fingers curled slightly against the floor. "Where… am I?" My voice echoed. Echoed. That was the first thing that sent fear crawling up my spine. Because rooms don't echo like that. Only… large places do. Very large places.
My gaze snapped upward. And my breath caught. Towering above me were massive stone pillars, stretching endlessly into darkness. Shadows clung to every surface, twisting unnaturally as if they had a will of their own. The ceiling was too high to see clearly, swallowed by dim flickering lights that looked more like dying flames than actual torches. This wasn't a building. This was a hall. A massive, ancient… terrifying hall.
"No…" I whispered, slowly pushing myself to my feet. My legs trembled, but I forced them to hold me up. "This isn't real." It couldn't be. I had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation. A nightmare. A very vivid, very terrifying nightmare.
"Yes…" The voice came from behind me. My entire body froze. Slowly—Too slowly—I turned around. And there he was. The same figure. The same shadow. But this time… I could see more. Not clearly. Never clearly. His form was still wrapped in darkness, like the shadows clung to him instead of simply surrounding him. But now I could make out the outline of his body—tall, broad, powerful in a way that made the air around him feel… smaller. Controlled. Dominated.
My heart skipped. "You…" My voice trembled. "What did you do to me?" He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stepped closer. One step. And the shadows followed. Two steps. And the temperature dropped. Three steps— I stepped back. "Don't come any closer." My voice came out sharper this time, but it didn't hide the fear beneath it.
He stopped. Not because I told him to. But because he chose to. "I didn't do anything you weren't already meant for," he said calmly. Anger flared through me, cutting through the fear. "I was in my apartment!" I snapped. "Now I'm here—wherever this is—and you expect me to believe this is normal?" His head tilted slightly, as if studying me. "Normal?" he repeated. The word sounded strange coming from him. Like he wasn't familiar with it. "Nothing about you is normal, Lira."
My chest tightened. "How do you know my name?" I demanded. Silence. Then—A low, almost amused chuckle. "I know everything about you." A chill ran down my spine. "No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "That's not possible. I've never seen you before." "Because you never looked properly." My breath hitched. That line again. The same one he said before. "You never look into the dark long enough."
My fingers curled into fists. "I'm not playing whatever game this is," I said firmly. "Take me back." "To where?" "My home!" "This is your home now." The words hit harder than they should have. For a moment, I couldn't speak. Because something inside me—Something deep and quiet—Didn't reject it. And that terrified me more than anything else.
"No," I whispered. "No, that's not true." I took another step back. Then another. "I don't belong here." "You do." "I don't!" "You do." His voice didn't rise. Didn't change. But the weight of it—It pressed down on me, suffocating. "I said I don't!" I shouted, my voice echoing loudly through the hall. Silence followed. Heavy. Unsettling.
Then—He moved again. Faster this time. Before I could react, he was right in front of me. I gasped, stumbling back, but my back hit something solid—a pillar. Trapped. My heart pounded wildly as I looked up at him. "Stay away from me," I whispered. But even as I said it—I didn't move. Couldn't move. Because his presence… It wasn't just frightening. It was overwhelming. Addictive. Dangerous in a way that made my body react without permission.
His hand lifted. Slowly. Deliberately. And before I could stop him—His fingers brushed against my neck. I sucked in a sharp breath. Cold. So cold. But the moment his skin touched mine—Heat followed. A strange, burning sensation that spread through my veins like fire. "What—" I gasped, clutching his wrist. "What are you doing to me?" His grip tightened slightly. "Waking you up."
My heart skipped. "From what?" His face lowered, shadows shifting slightly. "From the lie you've been living." "I don't understand!" "You will." His thumb pressed lightly against my pulse. And suddenly—Pain. Sharp. Blinding. I cried out, my body arching as something surged through me—memories, images, sensations that weren't mine. Dark forests. Howling winds. Eyes glowing in the night. Blood. So much blood. I dropped to my knees, clutching my head. "Stop—please—stop!" The images kept coming. Faster. Stronger. Until—They stopped. Just like that.
I collapsed forward, my breath coming in shallow gasps. "What… was that…" I whispered weakly. He crouched in front of me. Close. Too close. "Pieces," he said. "Of what?" "You." My vision blurred. "That's not possible…" "It is." I shook my head, trying to push myself back. "I'm human." Silence. Then—"No," he said quietly. "You're not." My heart stopped. "What?" "You were never human." My chest tightened painfully. "That's insane." "Is it?" I looked at him, searching for something—anything—that made sense. But there was nothing. Only darkness. Only him.
"I don't believe you," I said firmly. "You will." "How?" He stood. Towering over me again. "Because you don't have a choice." Fear crept back in. Stronger this time. "What does that mean?" "It means," he said slowly, "you've already crossed the point of no return." My breath caught. "No…" I shook my head, pushing myself to my feet again. "No, I can still leave." I turned. Started walking. Then running. My footsteps echoed loudly as I rushed toward what looked like an exit—an archway at the far end of the hall. Hope surged through me. "Yes… yes, I can get out—" I reached it. Stepped through—And froze. Because on the other side… Was the same hall. My stomach dropped.
"No…" I turned around. The space behind me had changed. The pillar I stood near was gone. The distance stretched endlessly. The exit I came from—Was nowhere to be seen. "This isn't possible," I whispered, panic rising again. "You're trying to leave a place that exists beyond your understanding." His voice echoed from everywhere. And nowhere. I spun around. "Show yourself!" Silence. Then—A whisper, right behind me. "I never left."
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me back against a solid chest. I gasped, struggling immediately. "Let go of me!" "You're still trying to run." "Of course I am!" "Why?" "Because you're a monster!" The word hung in the air. For a moment—Everything went still. Then—His grip tightened. Dangerously. "And yet…" he murmured slowly, "your body doesn't fear me the way it should." My breath hitched. Because he was right. And I hated that he was right.
"Let me go," I whispered again, weaker this time. "No." My heart pounded harder. "You can't keep me here." "I can." "I won't stay." "You will." "I'd rather die!" The moment the words left my mouth—Silence fell. Heavy. Deadly. Then—He turned me around. Forcing me to face him. And for the first time—The shadows shifted. Just slightly. Enough for me to see—His eyes. Dark. Endless. And glowing faintly with something inhuman.
"You already tried that once," he said quietly. My blood ran cold. "What…?" His gaze locked onto mine. Unmoving. Unforgiving. "And look where it brought you." My breath stopped. My mind spun. "I don't—" "You died the moment you saw me." The world tilted. "That's not true…" "It is." "No…" "You don't belong to that life anymore." My chest tightened painfully. "Then where do I belong?" His hand lifted again, cupping my face. This time—I didn't pull away. Because I couldn't. "Here," he said. My heart skipped. "With me."
Silence. Thick. Heavy. Terrifying. And yet—Something inside me responded. Something I didn't understand. Didn't want to understand. "This is insane," I whispered. "Maybe." "I don't even know your name." A pause. Then—"Kael." The name settled into me like it had always been there. "Kael…" I repeated softly. His gaze darkened. "Yes." My breath trembled. "What are you?" A faint smile touched his lips. Not kind. Not gentle. Something far more dangerous. "Your beginning," he said. My heart skipped again. "And your end."
Before I could respond—The ground beneath us trembled. A deep, rumbling sound echoed through the hall. I stiffened. "What was that?" Kael's expression didn't change. But his grip on me tightened. "They're coming." Fear shot through me. "Who is 'they'?" His eyes flickered toward the darkness beyond. "Things far worse than me." My stomach dropped. "That's not possible…" A distant growl echoed. Low. Hungry. Getting closer. My fingers tightened against his shirt. "What do we do?"
For the first time— I didn't pull away. Didn't resist. Because whatever was out there… It felt worse. Much worse. Kael looked down at me, something unreadable in his gaze. Then—He pulled me closer. Protective. Possessive. "Now," he said quietly, "you stay exactly where you belong." My breath hitched. "And where is that?" His arms tightened around me. Unbreakable. "Right here."
The growl came again. Closer. Louder. And this time—I felt it. Something in the darkness… Watching us. Waiting. My heart pounded wildly as I clutched onto him without thinking. And for the first time since all of this began— I realized something that terrified me even more than him. I wasn't trying to escape anymore. I was holding on. Tightly. Desperately. As if letting go… Would be the biggest mistake of my life.
And somewhere in the shadows— Something moved. Something that wasn't him. Something that wanted me. And Kael's voice dropped into a deadly whisper. "Don't look at them." My breath caught. "Why?" Silence. Then—"Because if they see your eyes…" The growl turned into something sharper. Closer. Right behind us. "…they'll know exactly what you are." My body went cold. "What am I?" Kael's grip tightened one last time. And his answer came like a curse. "Mine."