The path north darkened with each step. The air grew colder and sharper, an unnatural chill that

  seemed to reach through their clothes and sink into their skin. There was something in it—a

  faint, acrid scent that clung to the back of their throats, something that felt like the lingering edge

  of rot. Lily could feel it, subtle but persistent, growing stronger with each mile. The others

  seemed to feel it too, the silence stretching between them as the grim landscape around them

  swallowed any trace of warmth.

  Trees began to thin out, their branches twisting and gnarled, stripped of leaves and life. Fields

  lay barren, filled only with brown, withered plants crumbling underfoot. Hills once lush and

  green were now gray and cracked, a lifeless dust rising with each passing breeze. The absence of

  sound was suffocating—no birds, no insects, just the dead silence of a world drained of life.

  Lily stopped to touch a patch of cracked, dry soil, letting the dirt slip through her fingers. She

  could feel how empty it was, a faint echo of life clinging to it like a ghost. Elias watched her, his

  face drawn and tense.

  “It’s like everything here is… well, dead already,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Thalor, standing nearby, gazed up at the empty sky, his face unreadable but his eyes dark with

  worry. “This place… it feels as if it’s been drained. We must be getting close.”

  Nyx shivered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. “If Death’s anywhere around here, he’s

  making sure we know it.”

  They continued in silence, the terrain stretching on in an endless, gray wasteland. Each step felt

  heavier than the last, as if the land itself resisted them. It wasn’t long before they saw a figure

  slumped against a charred stump in the distance, barely more than a shadow against the dead

  ground.

  They approached cautiously. As they drew closer, the figure took shape—a man, gaunt and

  skeletal, his face sunken and hollow. His breathing was shallow, his eyes open but glassy, staring

  into the distance as if caught in a nightmare.

  Lily crouched beside him, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “Hey… can you hear me?”

  The man stirred, his eyes flickering as he struggled to focus. When he saw them, a look of terror

  crossed his face. He opened his mouth, but his voice was barely a rasp, no more than a whisper.

  “You… shouldn’t be here… none of you should…”

  Thalor knelt beside her, examining the man with a look of concern. “He’s not just exhausted.

  Something’s broken him.”

  The man’s hand shot out, gripping Lily’s arm with surprising strength, his fingers cold and bony.

  “Turn back… it’s too late. He’ll take everything from you—your life, your soul…” He laughed,

  a sound that was more of a broken sob. “Death isn’t just a man. He’s… he’s all-consuming.”

  Nyx took a step back, visibly shaken. “What happened to you?” she asked, her voice barely

  steady.

  The man’s eyes drifted, as if he were looking through them. “He comes in the night, a shadow…

  draining everything. Everyone I knew… they’re gone. The ground drank their lives, their

  memories…” His voice broke into a series of cracked sobs, his body trembling.

  Elias muttered, “This guy’s mind is gone.” But there was a tremor in his voice, an edge of fear.

  Lily glared at him. “He’s barely holding on. Show some respect.”

  Elias clenched his jaw, looking away, but his eyes held a hard glint. “Respect won’t save us if

  we’re all dead before we even reach Death.”

  Nyx rubbed her temples, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips. “If this is what we’re up against,

  how can we even be sure we’re capable of stopping him?”

  Thalor sighed, glancing back at the man. “The warning is clear enough. But…” He shook his

  head, sympathy softening his features. “Leaving him here would be like leaving him for dead.”

  The man’s fingers tightened around Lily’s arm, and he looked at her with hollow, haunted eyes.

  “Turn back… he’ll take you too…”

  Lily’s face hardened. “I’m not turning back. We’ve come too far to quit now.”

  Elias crossed his arms, jaw set. “I’m not saying we turn back, but running in without thinking

  won’t help us, either.”

  Nyx rolled her eyes. “Since when did you become the cautious one?”

  He rolled his eyes right back. “Look, I’m just saying if we walk right into Death’s hands without

  a plan, we’ll end up like him,” he said, jerking his chin toward the survivor.

  Lily stood, the resolve in her face unshakable. “We make camp nearby, away from this

  wasteland. Tomorrow, we press on.

  The others fell silent, uneasy, but the tension faded just a bit as they settled into her decision.

  Later, they set up camp a safe distance from the lifeless fields. Around the dim, struggling fire,

  they sat together, the shadows of their fears and doubts flickering on their faces.

  Nyx stared into the flames, twirling a knife between her fingers. “Do you think… there’s any

  truth to what he said? About Death being unstoppable?”

  Thalor stirred the fire, his face solemn. “There’s a reason legends paint Death as unbeatable. If

  he’s more than just a being, then we might be up against something… more.”

  Lily’s voice was firm. “We have Marks. We’ve survived things that should have killed us. I

  don’t care what kind of power he has—there has to be a way to defeat him.”

  Elias shook his head slowly, a troubled look in his eyes. “But Lily, you heard the man. What if

  his power really is beyond anything we’ve seen? You can’t just throw yourself at him and hope

  it’ll work out.”

  Lily’s eyes flashed with defiance. “I’m not backing down. This world has taken enough from

  us—it’s time we take something back.”

  Silence fell over the group as they stared into the fire, each of them privately wrestling with their

  doubts and fears.

  In the morning, they returned to the survivor, who lay motionless now, his breaths faint and

  ragged. His eyes opened as they approached, filled with a distant, sorrowful clarity.

  “You think you’re strong?” he rasped, his voice barely a breath. “You don’t know… what Death

  can do. He’ll strip you bare, leave you with nothing but your fear… and take everything.”

  His eyes met Lily’s, hollow and empty. “He knows your fear… he knows what you desire. You

  can’t hide from him. None of you can.”

  With those final words, his gaze went unfocused, and his body grew still. Thalor lowered his

  head, whispering a prayer as they stood in silence. The weight of the man’s warning hung heavy

  over them as they turned away, leaving his broken body behind.

  As they traveled north, the desolation grew. Every step they took seemed to deepen the air of

  decay and dread, each mile drawing them closer to Death’s domain. They could feel it creeping

  into their bones, testing their resolve, as each of them wondered if they truly had what it took to

  face the enemy waiting for them—or if, as the survivor had warned, they would be stripped bare,

  left with nothing but fear.

  As the group journeyed onward, the bleakness around them seemed to press down with an almost

  physical weight. Every step into the northern desolation felt like it stole a piece of them, and

  each mile brought a deeper, heavier silence. Even the air seemed to whisper with traces of

  despair, warning them of the path ahead.

  Tensions simmered among the group, each of them haunted by the survivor’s words. They had

  faced horrors before, but this felt different—like they were walking willingly toward the end of

  something they weren’t sure they could face. Thalor walked close to the others, his gaze darting

  constantly, his usual calm replaced by a quiet intensity.

  “Keep your eyes sharp,” he said, his voice low but commanding. “We don’t know what we’re

  walking into.”

  Nyx nodded, staying close to him, her face troubled but resolute. There was a new closeness

  between them, an ease in the way she moved beside him, like they’d come to an unspoken

  understanding. Lily noticed it—the way Nyx would lean into him slightly, or how Thalor would

  reach out to steady her without a second thought. She found herself glancing more often at Elias,

  each look carrying an unspoken question she couldn’t quite put into words. She wondered if he

  noticed or if he even felt it too.

  Elias seemed more focused, his jaw set in a determined line. He caught Lily looking once and

  gave her a half-smile, but there was worry beneath it, and perhaps something else. His voice was

  gruffer than usual, his words clipped as if he were forcing himself to stay composed. “We’re

  close, aren’t we?” he muttered. “Feels like we’re getting dragged toward something, whether we

  like it or not.”

  Nyx’s gaze flicked over the cracked ground. “Feels like the end of the world, doesn’t it?”

  “It might be,” Thalor replied, his tone grim. “If we don’t find a way to break whatever binds this

  place.”

  They reached the edge of a small town, but it was unlike any they’d seen. It was barren and

  ghostly, the buildings leaning and crumbling, hollow shells that looked as if they’d been

  abandoned long ago. The streets were littered with debris, the doors of houses hanging open,

  revealing only darkness inside. Lily felt a chill crawl up her spine.

  “This place is empty, but it feels like it’s watching us,” she whispered.

  Thalor tensed beside her, his hand on the hilt of his weapon. “Stay close. I don’t like the feel of

  this place either.”

  As they moved cautiously through the town, the tension between them finally began to crack.

  Elias glanced around at the abandoned buildings and spoke up, his voice edged with frustration.

  “Look, we’re walking right into Death’s arms. What if we’re not ready for this? Maybe we’re

  just… not enough.”

  Nyx’s face tightened. “You think turning back now will save us? We’ve come too far, Elias.”

  “I didn’t say turn back.” He scowled, rubbing a hand over his face. “But maybe we’re going

  about this the wrong way. We’ve been thinking about Death as something we have to fight headon, but maybe… there’s another way.”

  Lily crossed her arms, feeling a surge of irritation. “You think we should negotiate with Death?

  What kind of bargain do you think he’s going to offer us, Elias?”

  Elias looked at her, his face shadowed. “I don’t know, Lily. But we’re talking about Death

  himself. Fighting him seems like the kind of thing you only get one chance to do—and maybe

  we should think about what that costs us.”

  The words hung between them, and for a moment, no one spoke. The enormity of what they

  were facing seemed to sink in, each of them struggling with the doubts they’d tried so hard to

  bury.

  Thalor broke the silence, his voice calm but steely. “Doubt will get us killed faster than any

  Horseman. We don’t have the luxury to question our resolve now.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Elias shot back. “You haven’t lost as much as the rest of us, Thalor.”

  Thalor’s eyes narrowed, his voice sharpening. “I’ve lost more than you know. But that doesn’t

  change the fact that we’re here now. If we start hesitating, we’re as good as dead.”

  Nyx stepped between them, her expression torn. “Enough. We don’t have time for this. If we

  can’t rely on each other, then we’re already finished.”

  Lily felt the tension in her chest twist, both anger and fear clawing at her. She looked at Elias,

  wanting to reassure him, to reach out, but her own doubts and the heaviness of their journey kept

  her silent. She thought back to the moment she’d arrived in this world—the confusion, the shock,

  and the sense that something had shifted irreparably in her life. Would she really be willing to

  leave everyone here, to find her way back to a life that felt so distant now?

  The answer felt further out of reach than ever.

  Elias exhaled sharply, glancing away. “I just… I don’t want us to make a mistake because we’re

  too focused on fighting something that might not be beaten by force alone.”

  Lily’s heart softened slightly, seeing the concern in his eyes. But there was a stubbornness there

  too—a refusal to give in, even if he was afraid. She wanted to tell him that she understood, that

  she shared that fear. Instead, she nodded, a silent promise that she would stand beside him, even

  if she didn’t have the words to say it.

  Thalor began walking again, his face set in determination. “We don’t have time to second-guess

  ourselves. We need to keep moving.”

  As they left the abandoned town behind, the feeling of dread only intensified. They could sense it

  now—the pull of something dark and consuming just beyond the horizon, a presence that seemed

  to stretch toward them, cold and unyielding.

  And as they continued their journey north, Lily couldn’t shake the sense that this path was

  leading them somewhere inevitable. An ending they couldn’t escape, and a reckoning none of

  them were truly prepared for.

  The landscape around them grew ever more barren as they traveled north, each step deeper into

  the desolate wasteland tightening the tension that clung to their group. Fields that might once

  have held golden grain or green crops now lay gray and twisted, their soil cracked and

  blackened, as though scorched from beneath. Trees appeared on occasion, but they were

  withered and gnarled, their branches curling as if clawing desperately at the sky, which remained

  an oppressive, muted shade of gray, unyielding and dull.

  The air itself felt wrong—cold, thin, yet heavy with a stifling sense of decay. Every breath tasted

  stale, like it had been breathed a hundred times before, and it filled their lungs with an uneasy

  chill. As they walked, an unnatural quiet settled over them, swallowing the sounds of their

  footsteps and leaving only the faint whisper of a distant wind that seemed to sigh with sorrow.

  The further they went, the stranger the landscape became. Stones littered the ground, scattered in

  strange, deliberate patterns that seemed almost like runes or symbols worn down by time.

  Shadows pooled unnaturally around them, their edges blurring with a faint, dark mist that

  seemed to cling to the air. At times, the ground seemed to shift beneath them as if they were

  walking across something restless, something alive. The hair on the back of Lily’s neck prickled,

  her instincts sharpening as every shadow seemed to stretch a little too far, or linger a little too

  long.

  And then the visions began.

  It was Elias who noticed first, his head snapping to the side as if he’d seen something in the

  distance. Lily followed his gaze and saw only the bleak horizon, yet Elias’s face had gone ashen,

  his expression one of disbelief.

  “Did you…?” He trailed off, eyes darting nervously across the empty field before them.

  “See what?” Lily asked, wary.

  Elias shook his head, his lips tight, his gaze flicking back over his shoulder. “Nothing,” he

  muttered. But the look in his eyes was haunted, as though something precious and painful had

  just flashed before him and vanished.

  They continued walking in silence, but soon Nyx stopped dead in her tracks, her face pale as her

  eyes fixed on something just out of reach. She took a halting step forward, her expression

  softening, then hardening in confusion.

  “Nyx?” Thalor called, his voice edged with concern.

  Nyx turned to look at him, her eyes wide, her lips trembling. “I saw… I thought I saw my

  brother.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, a raw thread of emotion hanging between them.

  Thalor’s brow furrowed, his hand tightening around his weapon. “Your brother’s gone, Nyx.”

  “I know that,” she snapped, but her voice wavered. She cast one last glance into the shadows

  before turning back, the muscles in her jaw clenched tight.

  Lily’s stomach twisted as she glanced around, suddenly feeling like eyes were watching from

  every corner. The shadows seemed to pulse, expanding and contracting in her periphery, as if

  they were breathing.

  Then she saw it—a flicker at first, like a figure just outside her line of sight. She looked again,

  and her heart stilled. Rylan.

  Her breath caught. There, standing in the mist, was her friend, her figure as vivid as memory and

  as real as life. Rylan’s black hair fell in familiar, messy waves over her shoulder, her face set

  with the calm confidence Lily remembered so well. Lily reached out instinctively, her heart

  racing, a desperate surge of longing overwhelming her.

  “Rylan?” she whispered, barely able to trust her voice.

  Rylan looked at her, eyes filled with a strange, knowing sorrow. She lifted a hand, as if to reach

  out, but her figure wavered, like a mirage.

  “Lily, don’t,” Thalor warned, his voice steady yet tense. “It’s not her.”

  But Lily’s mind buzzed with the desire to believe, to hope, and she took a step forward. Rylan’s

  image tilted her head, a small, wistful smile on her lips.

  “You left me, Lily,” the figure whispered, a pang of accusation threaded in her voice. “You

  could have saved me… if you’d tried harder.”

  The words hit Lily like a physical blow, tearing open a wound she thought she’d managed to

  close. Guilt surged through her, mingling with an ache so deep it made her knees tremble.

  “I… I didn’t mean to,” she stammered, her voice choked with regret.

  The apparition’s gaze hardened, Rylan’s familiar eyes now cold and accusing. “Maybe you

  wanted to leave. Maybe I was just another burden to you.”

  “Enough!” Elias barked, stepping between her and the phantom. The illusion shimmered, its

  edges blurring before fading entirely. Lily let out a shaky breath, her pulse racing as reality

  snapped back into place. The others looked just as shaken, each of them haunted by visions that

  seemed to call to their deepest fears and regrets.

  “These… things are trying to get in our heads,” Elias muttered, anger flashing in his eyes. “We

  can’t let them.”

  But the visions didn’t stop. As they continued, ghostly figures flickered around them, each a

  reminder of the lives they’d left behind, of people they’d loved, people they’d failed. The

  apparitions grew more vivid, their voices twisting the truth, digging into their memories to turn

  their own minds against them. For every step forward, it felt like something reached into their

  past, pulling at the loose threads of their hearts and unraveling them.

  Nyx trembled beside Thalor, her gaze fixed forward, her lips muttering names under her breath.

  Thalor walked silently beside her, his usual calm veneer faltering as shadows of his own past

  flickered around them. Lily could see the struggle in his eyes, the weight of memories bearing

  down, but he pressed on, every muscle in his body tense with determination.

  Elias kept close to Lily, his hand hovering protectively near her, his eyes steely as he resisted the

  pull of his own ghosts. She could feel the warmth of his presence beside her, grounding her even

  as whispers of Rylan’s voice echoed faintly in her mind, each word a twisted reminder of her

  failures.

  They reached the edge of a ruined chapel at the far end of the town. Its stone walls stood cracked

  and leaning, ivy and moss crawling up its sides like the grasping fingers of the dead. An eerie

  silence blanketed the place, thicker than anywhere they’d been. As they paused, Lily saw another

  vision—a flash of her family, her mother’s face, her brother’s laugh. They were standing there,

  just inside the chapel, as if waiting for her.

  She turned away, a tear slipping down her cheek. “They’re not real,” she murmured, clenching

  her fists. “They’re just memories.”

  Elias rested a hand on her shoulder, his touch a comforting weight in the sea of disorientation.

  “We’re real, Lily. We’re here, and we’re together. Don’t let them take that from you.”

  She met his gaze, the warmth and certainty there breaking through the haze of her grief. She

  nodded, breathing deeply to steady herself.

  With the specters swirling in their minds and haunting their every step, they continued forward,

  the ruinous town fading into the distance behind them. The apparitions grew fainter, but the chill

  of their accusations lingered, a reminder that the power they faced was more than just Death

  itself—it was the dark, unrelenting force of despair, intent on unraveling their resolve from the

  inside out.

  As they pressed on, a silent pact seemed to form among them. No matter what visions came, they

  would face them together, bound by shared losses and shared hope. Because whatever lay ahead,

  they would face it as one—or be broken apart, forever haunted by the shadows of their past.

  That night, as they set up a meager camp on the edge of the dark forest, the air felt colder than

  ever, biting into their skin and settling deep in their bones. They gathered close to the dwindling

  fire, each of them casting wary glances into the surrounding gloom. Though they hadn’t spoken

  of it, they all felt it: an oppressive, invasive darkness that seemed to throb beneath their skin,

  pricking at their most vulnerable memories.

  As sleep eventually took each of them, it was uneasy, like sinking into a pool where shadows

  drifted, waiting.

  Lily’s dream was vivid, cruelly so. She found herself standing in the graveyard back on Earth,

  the cold gray stones stretching as far as she could see. The air smelled of damp earth, and the

  mist hung low, swirling around her feet. She turned, feeling a heavy gaze upon her, and there

  they were—her mother, her father, and her brother, all standing in silence with faces that looked

  simultaneously familiar and hollow.

  “Lily,” her mother said softly, her voice laced with both love and disappointment. “We waited

  for you. Why did you leave us behind?”

  The words hit her like a physical blow. Her mother’s face was so real, every line, every detail

  sharp in the dim light. She tried to speak, but her throat closed up, her mouth moving

  soundlessly. She wanted to say that she hadn’t meant to leave, that she didn’t choose to disappear

  from their lives, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, her family only looked at her with

  pained, empty eyes.

  “We needed you,” her brother whispered, his voice echoing with something hollow and distant,

  as if from the depths of a well. “But you were gone.”

  Tears pricked at her eyes, but even as she tried to reach out to them, they faded like smoke,

  slipping through her fingers.

  Elias, too, was trapped in his own nightmare. He was back in the training grounds of his youth,

  the dusty arena filled with the echoes of shouting and clanging metal. In front of him stood his

  father, looking as he always had—stern, tall, and demanding. But there was something wrong.

  His father’s eyes were a sickly, lifeless gray, fixed on Elias with a gaze that bore both contempt

  and sorrow.

  “You were never enough,” his father said, the words carrying the force of a weapon. “You

  always faltered. How could you protect anyone when you couldn’t even meet my expectations?”

  Elias clenched his fists, his face flushed with shame and anger. “I tried,” he whispered, but his

  father only laughed, a hollow, joyless sound that echoed through the empty arena.

  “You failed everyone who mattered,” the specter sneered, his voice a mocking hiss that curled

  through Elias’s mind. “You always will.”

  Elias’s hands trembled, every painful memory of his training, of his perceived failures, rising up

  like a wall around him. He felt himself grow smaller under his father’s cold gaze, each word

  digging deeper until he was drowning in the weight of all he had tried—and failed—to live up to.

  Thalor found himself in the dim library where he had spent most of his life, the familiar scent of

  parchment and ink mingling with the musty air. But something was wrong here, too. The rows

  upon rows of shelves were empty, stripped bare, as if everything he had ever learned, everything

  he had ever studied, had been erased.

  He stumbled forward, his hands brushing the bare shelves, his heart pounding with the terrible

  knowledge that all he had dedicated his life to was gone. A voice drifted through the empty air,

  cold and accusing.

  “Knowledge without action is meaningless, Thalor. You’ve spent your life learning, but what

  have you done? You read about courage, yet where is yours?”

  He swallowed hard, his mouth dry, and the weight of his regrets pressed down on him. It was

  true—he’d spent so many years hiding behind his books, believing that knowledge would save

  him, that wisdom would protect him. But now, it all seemed hollow, empty as the shelves around

  him. The voice grew louder, harsher, reminding him of every moment he had faltered, every

  chance he’d let slip away.

  Nyx’s dream was a shadowed memory of her home, her brother standing in front of her with a

  look of betrayal etched into his face. His once-kind eyes were empty and cold, and he stared at

  her as though she were a stranger.

  “You left,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, carrying a hurt so deep it made her heart

  ache. “I needed you, but you chose your own path. Was it worth it?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that she had no choice, that her path was for both of

  them, but he turned away, fading into the darkness before she could answer. A hollow feeling

  settled in her chest, her breath catching as she reached out, only to grasp empty air. The darkness

  around her whispered her own fears back to her, taunting her with every decision, every path

  she’d taken that had led her away from the people she loved.

  They awoke in the early hours, each of them shaken, their dreams clinging to them like a shroud.

  As they sat around the dying embers of their campfire, no one spoke at first, the silence heavy

  with the weight of their shared grief. Lily noticed Elias staring into the flames, his face grim,

  while Nyx’s gaze was distant, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. Thalor’s usual calm had

  been replaced with a haunted look, his eyes dark and troubled.

  After a long silence, Elias finally broke the stillness, his voice low and strained. “They know…

  they know exactly what haunts us.”

  Thalor nodded, his gaze heavy. “This place is feeding off our regrets, our fears. It wants to break

  us before we ever reach Death’s doorstep.”

  Lily hugged her knees, her heart still pounding from the memory of her mother’s accusing gaze.

  “I don’t know how much more of this we can take.”

  Nyx’s voice was barely above a whisper, her gaze fixed on the fading stars above. “If we keep

  letting it get to us, we’ll break before we even get close. Maybe that’s what it wants.”

  A somber silence fell again, each of them wrestling with the raw vulnerability that the visions

  had forced upon them. But even as they sat there, their spirits bruised and battered, a faint, fierce

  determination began to build among them. It was as if the dreams, terrible as they were, had also

  reminded them of everything they were fighting for, everything they had already lost.

  They couldn’t give in, not here, not when they had come this far.

  The mist came in slowly at first, curling around their ankles as they continued along the narrow

  trail, winding deeper into the desolate northern woods. At first, they barely noticed it, distracted

  by the weight of their dreams and the darkening landscape. But then the mist thickened,

  swallowing the trees in a ghostly haze that muted every sound.

  The silence became unnerving, pressing against their ears like a thick blanket. Visibility dropped

  to only a few feet, their surroundings fading into a featureless gray void. The trail seemed to

  vanish beneath their feet, leaving them stranded in an endless sea of fog.

  “Stay close,” Elias called, his voice muffled by the mist. “Don’t stray from the path!”

  The others murmured in agreement, but even their voices seemed to drift and dissolve into the

  surrounding gloom. The group huddled together, their eyes scanning the mist, but the dense fog

  twisted around them, playing tricks with shadows and whispers.

  Suddenly, Lily glanced over her shoulder and found… no one. The others had been right behind

  her, she was certain, but now, there was only emptiness stretching out on all sides.

  “Elias?” she called, her voice thin and shaky. “Thalor? Nyx?”

  The mist grew thicker, swirling like smoke around them as the group pushed deeper into the

  heart of the desolate northern woods. The cold, damp air pressed down on them, heavy with an

  otherworldly silence, and Lily felt her skin prickle with an uneasy chill. Shadows moved in the

  fog, and every step made her pulse race faster, each one heavy with a sense of impending dread.

  She looked over her shoulder, trying to keep track of the others, but the fog seemed to consume

  them one by one, leaving her more alone with every passing second.

  A sudden glint of silver caught her eye through the haze, a figure standing just beyond her reach.

  She squinted, her breath catching as she realized it was Elias, his face pale, his body limp. Blood

  dripped from his mouth, trailing down his cheek and staining his familiar, rugged features. His

  eyes stared out at her, empty and lifeless.

  “No…” Lily whispered, her voice trembling as her mind rejected the sight before her. “Elias!”

  She rushed forward, her heart pounding as her mind spun, unwilling to believe it could be real.

  But the closer she got, the more undeniable it became. His body lay at an unnatural angle, his

  skin already taking on the grayish pallor of death, his eyes devoid of their usual warmth and fire.

  Lily dropped to her knees beside him, reaching out a trembling hand to touch his face, her

  fingers brushing his cold skin. Her mind fractured with grief, horror, and rage, her whole body

  trembling as the reality crashed down on her.

  “Who did this?” she hissed, the grief sharpening into an unquenchable fury. She clenched her

  fists, her vision blurring as the mist swirled around her, shifting and reshaping until a tall,

  cloaked figure materialized in the fog—Death.

  He stood there, calm and unfeeling, a dark silhouette with hollow eyes that seemed to watch her

  without remorse, as if Elias’s death were nothing more than a casual inevitability.

  “You!” Lily screamed, her voice raw, cutting through the mist. She sprang to her feet, her fists

  crackling with energy as her rage exploded within her, fueling her with a feral power she’d never

  known. She launched herself at Death, a frenzied, brutal attack, pouring every ounce of her

  anguish and hatred into each strike.

  Her fists collided with the cloaked figure’s form, each impact sending shockwaves through her

  body, but she barely felt it, lost in the consuming rage. She hit him again and again, fueled by the

  unrelenting pain of seeing Elias dead at her feet.

  Then she heard it—a familiar voice, cutting through her haze. “Lily!”

  She froze, her breath catching as she turned around, her heart clenching at the sight of Elias

  standing just behind her, alive and unharmed, his expression a mix of confusion and fear.

  “Elias?” she whispered, her voice cracking. The realization hit her like a physical blow, her rage

  shattering into horror as she turned back to the figure in front of her.

  The mist began to clear, thinning to reveal a figure sprawled on the ground at her feet—not

  Death, but Nyx, her once-vibrant face now cold and still, her eyes wide with the shock of

  betrayal. Blood pooled beneath her, staining the earth in a dark, spreading circle.

  Lily staggered back, her hands shaking, her stomach twisting as the weight of what she had done

  crashed down on her. “No… Nyx, I… I didn’t mean—”

  A strangled sound escaped her throat as she looked up, her gaze meeting Thalor’s. His face was

  ashen, his eyes wide with grief and fury. He dropped to his knees beside Nyx’s body, his

  trembling hands reaching out to close her lifeless eyes. He whispered her name, his voice

  breaking, his shoulders shaking as he bent over her, the raw anguish spilling from him in waves.

  “You… you killed her,” he choked, his voice barely more than a whisper, trembling with rage

  and grief. “You killed her, Lily.”

  Lily’s vision blurred with tears, her chest tight as she tried to find words, but nothing she could

  say would ever be enough. “Thalor… I thought—I didn’t know—”

  “Don’t,” he spat, his voice filled with venom as he stood up, his expression cold and unyielding.

  “You let your anger take over, and now she’s dead.”

  Elias tried to step between them, his hands raised in a calming gesture. “Thalor, please—”

  But Thalor turned away, his face hardening with resolve. “No, Elias. This… this is too much.”

  His voice wavered as he tried to steady himself, his gaze darkening. “I’m done. If this is what

  following you means… I won’t be part of it anymore.”

  He turned his back on them, his movements sharp and deliberate as he walked to where Buck

  was waiting, saddling up without a second glance. Lily watched in stunned silence, her whole

  body numb as Thalor tightened the reins, his face a mask of pain and anger.

  “Thalor, please,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any

  of this.”

  He paused, his shoulders tensing, but he didn’t look back. “Neither did she,” he replied coldly,

  his voice hollow, before he mounted Buck and rode off, disappearing into the mist, leaving Lily

  and Elias alone.

  A heavy silence settled over the clearing, thick with the weight of everything that had just

  happened. Lily stood there, her heart aching as she stared at the spot where Nyx’s body lay, the

  blood staining her hands, her clothes, everything around her.

  Elias stepped forward, his hand resting gently on her shoulder, his gaze filled with a deep,

  unspoken grief. “Lily,” he said quietly, his voice soft, filled with a painful understanding.

  She turned to him, her face streaked with tears, her voice breaking. “I… I thought he was dead. I

  thought I’d lost you.”

  He pulled her into a quiet embrace, holding her as she cried, the grief and guilt crashing over her

  in waves. They were alone now, and the path before them was darker than ever—but they had no

  choice but to keep moving, to press forward into the unknown, together.

  As the mist slowly began to lift, thinning out like breath on a cold morning, the forest emerged in

  hazy patches around them. The trees, gnarled and twisted, stood silent witnesses to the tragedy

  they’d just endured. The air felt lighter, but a bitter chill lingered in the wake of Nyx’s death, and

  Lily found herself gripping Elias’s hand tightly, as though he were her last tether to sanity.

  Elias gave her hand a gentle squeeze, anchoring her to the present, and she looked up at him,

  searching his face for any sign of resentment or blame. Instead, she found only determination,

  tempered by grief, a mirror of her own emotions. They shared a silent understanding; they had to

  stay vigilant, had to hold onto each other if they wanted to survive whatever lay ahead.

  With a soft nod, Elias gestured to the faint path stretching out before them. “Ready?” he asked,

  his voice barely a whisper in the dawn’s quiet light.

  Lily swallowed, nodding as she forced herself to look ahead. “Ready,” she murmured, though the

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  word felt hollow against the weight in her chest. With each step they took, she was reminded of

  the cost of her rage, the price she’d paid in blood and loyalty. But she couldn’t afford to falter

  now—not with Death waiting somewhere out there in the shadows.

  They moved in sync, a shared silence settling between them as they walked. The tension in

  Lily’s muscles slowly eased, replaced by a wary calm, an alertness to everything around her.

  Every rustle of leaves, every distant bird cry was a reminder of the dangers lurking just beyond

  the edges of their vision.

  After a long stretch, Elias broke the silence, his tone quiet and contemplative. “I keep thinking

  about what Thalor said,” he admitted, his gaze fixed on the ground. “About how this journey… it

  keeps taking things from us.”

  Lily’s jaw tightened. “I know,” she replied, a hard edge to her voice. “But there’s no going back

  now. We’re too close.”

  Elias nodded, a distant look in his eyes. “I just… I wish there was another way to end this.

  Something that didn’t cost us so much.”

  A shadow passed over her face, and she released his hand, wrapping her arms around herself as

  if to keep the cold out. “If there is, I haven’t found it yet,” she said softly, looking away. “But I

  know one thing… I won’t let Death take anything else from us. Not you. Not anyone.”

  They continued in silence, the dawn growing brighter around them. The mist had lifted entirely

  now, revealing the landscape in stark, haunting clarity. The trees were more twisted here, their

  branches barren and skeletal, like hands reaching toward the sky in eternal torment. The ground

  was littered with dry, brittle leaves that crumbled underfoot, and the air had a faint, metallic taste

  that set Lily’s nerves on edge.

  Ahead, they spotted an abandoned village, the remnants of wooden houses barely more than

  charred skeletons. It was as if some unspeakable force had torn through this place, leaving only

  ashes and silence behind. Lily felt a shiver run down her spine as she took in the devastation,

  each building a reminder of the desolation that waited for them if they failed.

  “Do you think anyone… survived?” she asked quietly, her voice almost lost in the eerie quiet

  Elias shook his head, his expression grim. “Doubtful. But we should look, just in case.”

  They made their way through the ruined village, each step echoing in the silence. Shadows flitted

  in the corners of Lily’s vision, but she forced herself to ignore them, refusing to let the memories

  of her visions drag her under again. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, as if

  the very ground beneath her was waiting, hungry and patient.

  Near the edge of the village, they found a man lying against a wall, his body covered in cuts and

  bruises, his breathing shallow. Lily rushed over to him, dropping to her knees at his side, her

  hands hovering over his wounds as she searched his face for any sign of recognition.

  “Hey,” she said gently, her voice barely above a whisper. “Can you hear me?”

  The man’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glazed with pain. He looked at her with a flicker

  of awareness, his cracked lips parting as he struggled to speak. “You… shouldn’t… be here,” he

  rasped, each word a struggle. “Death… he… takes… everything…”

  Lily’s heart clenched, and she leaned closer, her voice urgent. “What do you mean? Where is

  he?”

  The man’s gaze drifted, and he seemed to look past her, his eyes clouded with memories of

  horrors she could only imagine. “He… feeds on despair,” he whispered, his voice faint, as if he

  were speaking from the edge of a nightmare. “Twists… the mind… makes you see… things you

  can’t… can’t unsee…”

  Elias knelt beside her, his brow furrowed as he took in the man’s words. “Did he… do this to

  you?”

  The man nodded weakly, his hand clutching at his chest as though trying to hold himself

  together. “He… makes you want to give up. Makes you… question everything. No one… no one

  leaves his domain… unchanged.”

  Lily felt a chill run down her spine, but she pushed it down, meeting the man’s gaze with fierce

  determination. “We’re going to stop him,” she said, her voice steady, though inside, fear gnawed

  at her resolve. “We’re not leaving until he’s gone.”

  The man’s expression twisted into a broken smile, a hint of something almost like pity in his

  eyes. “You think… you can kill Death?” He let out a soft, hollow laugh, the sound fading into a

  cough. “You’re… as foolish… as the rest.”

  Lily bristled, her fists clenching as anger bubbled up in her chest. But Elias put a hand on her

  shoulder, grounding her.

  “We’ll help you,” he said softly, glancing down at the man. “You don’t have to fight him

  anymore. Just tell us where he went.”

  But the man only shook his head, a haunted look in his eyes. “He’s… everywhere. In every

  shadow… every whisper…” His voice trailed off, his gaze distant. “You… won’t come out the

  same,” he murmured, his eyes closing as he drifted into unconsciousness.

  Lily stood, her face set with grim determination. She felt Elias’s gaze on her, and when she

  turned to meet it, she saw her own resolve mirrored in his eyes.

  “We’re not going to fall apart,” she said, her voice steady. “We have each other, and that’s more

  than he expects.”

  Elias nodded, taking her hand once more, his fingers warm and steady against hers. They moved

  forward together, leaving the broken village behind, stepping into the shadows with a shared

  purpose. Whatever lay ahead, they would face it together, bound by a promise and a fire that

  Death couldn’t extinguish.

  The wasteland spread before them, silent and lifeless, as if it were holding its breath. No plants,

  no signs of life, only a chilling emptiness stretching to the horizon. Lily and Elias advanced, the

  tension thick between them, their footsteps muffled on the brittle, ashen ground. As they moved

  closer, the sky itself seemed to darken, and then they saw him—a figure draped in shadows, an

  aura of foreboding radiating from his form.

  Death.

  He stood at the heart of this deadened land, an embodiment of stillness and silence, wielding a

  scythe that swallowed the last remnants of light. The weapon seemed to absorb the very essence

  of life, making the air around him cold and heavy. He made no move, yet his gaze, hollow and

  endless, seemed to pierce through them both.

  Lily took a bold step forward, her voice cutting through the void. “I am Lily the Thorn. Show me

  what death does when it meets someone who cannot die.”

  Her words hung in the air, charged with defiance. Death tilted his head ever so slightly, a trace of

  something like curiosity in his shadowed stance. Then, he lifted his scythe, and the land around

  them shuddered, as if recognizing its master.

  The battle began in a flash of steel and shadow. Death moved with an unnerving, ethereal speed,

  his scythe a dark blur. Each swing carved through the air, and the chill of his presence sucked the

  life from the ground beneath their feet.

  Lily met him head-on, her strikes fierce, her every blow an assertion of her defiance. But Death

  was an endless, consuming force; every hit she landed felt as though it was devoured by the

  darkness surrounding him. Each swing of his scythe seemed to pull the strength from her limbs,

  leaving her feeling hollow and drained.

  Elias fought beside her, his movements sharp and controlled, yet she could see the exhaustion

  lining his face. Death’s very presence was an assault, gnawing at their willpower, stripping away

  their energy. It felt as if the ground beneath them sapped their strength, and every heartbeat came

  at a greater cost.

  “Lily!” Elias shouted, his voice cutting through the haze of exhaustion, but his warning came just

  as Death’s scythe swung toward him. He barely ducked in time, stumbling back, his footing

  faltering. Lily saw him grit his teeth, his breaths coming in short gasps as he swung his blade

  toward Death’s cloak, but his strikes glanced off, barely leaving a mark.

  Death turned his gaze on Elias, an ominous shift in the air as he advanced. The scythe arced

  toward him, the blade whistling through the air. Elias parried, the force nearly knocking him off

  balance. Lily lunged, aiming for Death’s side, but her weapon merely grazed his shadowed form

  before he whipped around to face her.

  Death’s hollow gaze settled on her, a silent, suffocating malice radiating from him. He moved

  with a cold precision, swinging his scythe in a brutal, relentless rhythm. Lily struggled to keep

  pace, her muscles straining with every clash. She could feel her energy draining, slipping away

  with each attack.

  Elias managed to regain his footing, rushing back to her side. “We’re not done yet!” he shouted,

  his voice filled with a resolve that cut through the despair gnawing at her. They struck together,

  their movements synchronized as they forced Death to step back.

  But Death was unyielding. The ground itself seemed to wither beneath his feet as he advanced

  once more, his scythe moving like a harbinger of oblivion.

  Lily and Elias pushed forward, side by side, their movements fierce but faltering. The land

  around them seemed to grow darker and colder, the bleakness feeding into their exhaustion. Each

  time they clashed with Death, it felt as if they were fighting against the weight of the entire

  world. Every swing of his scythe drained the very life from the air, leaving them gasping, their

  breaths forming mist in the chill.

  Elias struck first, charging Death with a powerful sweep of his sword. Death’s scythe rose to

  parry the blow effortlessly, and with a swift turn, he brought it down on Elias with a force that

  shattered the ground where he stood. Elias narrowly dodged, rolling to the side, but the near miss

  left him rattled, his movements slower.

  “Elias!” Lily called, barely managing to shield him from Death’s next strike. The blade of her

  weapon met the scythe with a clash that sent shockwaves through her bones, forcing her to grit

  her teeth to stay on her feet. She looked over at Elias, worry deepening in her gaze as she saw

  him struggling to regain his balance.

  Lily’s vision blurred with anger. She pushed forward, unleashing a flurry of strikes, her

  movements raw and unrestrained. Each swing carried with it the weight of all she had lost, all

  she had fought for. Her body was on fire with exhaustion, yet she forced herself to keep going,

  driven by an instinct as fierce as survival itself.

  Death retaliated with a powerful arc of his scythe, slicing through the air with deadly precision.

  Lily barely managed to duck, feeling the cold kiss of the blade as it grazed her shoulder. Pain

  radiated down her arm, but she pressed on, her strikes filled with a desperate fury. She felt the

  power of her Mark pulsing within her, an unyielding defiance that drove her forward.

  But Death’s next blow was relentless. He struck her mid-swing, his scythe connecting with her

  side in a devastating blow that sent her sprawling to the ground. She gasped, feeling the life

  ebbing from her limbs as she tried to pull herself back up. Her vision swam, her body refusing to

  respond as she struggled to rise.

  Elias shouted her name, his voice cutting through the haze. He lunged at Death, pouring every

  last ounce of his strength into a desperate assault. But Death was relentless, his scythe moving

  with a lethal grace that seemed effortless. In a swift, brutal motion, he knocked Elias back,

  sending him crashing to the ground beside her, his breath ragged.

  As they lay there, Death loomed over them, his shadow casting a chill that seeped into their

  bones. The air around them grew still, heavy with an impending finality. Lily tried to push

  herself up, reaching out to Elias, her hand finding his. They shared a glance, unspoken

  determination passing between them as they braced themselves for what felt like the end.

  Just as Death raised his scythe for a final, merciless strike, something unexpected happened. He

  paused. His gaze shifted, and a strange stillness fell over him. It was as if, for the briefest

  moment, he hesitated, his hollow stare meeting Lily’s with an unspoken understanding.

  The figure moved through the shadows with an unsettling grace, his presence almost as chilling

  as Death’s. Cloaked in darkness, Cain emerged, his eyes alight with a knowledge as old as

  suffering itself. He seemed at once human and something more—a being shaped by cruelty and

  betrayal, a man who had turned even death into his servant.

  “Lily the Thorn,” he called out, his voice smooth, filled with a dreadful calm. He fixed his gaze

  on her, his eyes sharp, studying her as though he already knew her every fear, her every

  weakness.

  Cain took a step forward, his cloak shifting to reveal a strange, pulsing Mark on his hand—a

  symbol she’d never seen before, one that seemed to writhe and shimmer as if alive. “I am Cain,”

  he declared. “The first to bear a Mark, and the only one to have earned it through my own blood.

  This Mark is not a blessing but a curse, a weight of betrayal that I carry for eternity. It is the

  Mark of Cain.”

  His words cut through the silence, each one a heavy blow to the tension in the air. The Mark he

  bore pulsed with power, an aura so intense it made her own Marks stir in response. She could

  feel it from where she stood—an oppressive energy that threatened to overwhelm everything

  around it. Death, ever loyal, seemed to shift at Cain’s side, waiting, his scythe lowered in

  deference.

  Cain’s gaze settled on her again. “I know why you seek these Marks, and I know the question

  burning in your soul. You want to understand what you are, what all of this means.” He spread

  his arms, gesturing to the desolate land around them. “But answers must be earned, Thorn. You

  have faced each Sin, each Horseman. Now, you must face me.”

  A flicker of recognition flashed in Lily’s eyes, but before she could respond, Cain continued. “If

  you can best me, then I will give you what you seek. But you must journey north, to my domain.

  Only there will you find the truth.” His gaze turned cold, challenging, as if daring her to refuse.

  Lily's fists clenched, her heart pounding. This was it—the end she hadn’t known she was

  searching for. The answers, the purpose of her Marks… everything lay within Cain’s grasp. And

  to reach him, to uncover it all, she would have to face the most powerful foe she had ever known.

  With a final look at her, Cain took a step back, his figure beginning to fade into shadows. Death,

  too, inclined his head to her and Elias, a gesture that felt almost respectful, as if acknowledging

  the battle they had waged. Then, without a sound, both of them vanished, leaving only a single

  artifact in their wake: Death’s ring, black as midnight and glinting ominously in the weak light.

  Lily walked forward and picked up the ring, its cold metal pressing into her palm. This small

  token, left by Death himself, was a reminder of how close they had come to the end. And a

  promise of what was still to come.

  Elias stepped up beside her, his eyes wary, watching her as she turned the ring over in her hand.

  “So… we go north?”

  Lily nodded, her voice steady as she replied, “We go north.”

  Elias took her hand, his rough fingers folding gently over hers as he pulled her close. For a

  moment, they stood in the vast, empty silence of the wasteland, the bleakness of the land around

  them a reminder of everything they’d endured—everything they’d lost. He looked down at her,

  his eyes soft yet filled with a fierce determination, a deep well of unspoken emotion.

  “Lily,” he began, his voice raw, each word steady yet heavy. “We’ve come so far. I’ve watched

  you take on battles that would break anyone else. We’ve lost everyone. It’s just us now… and I

  don’t want to lose you, too.” He brushed his thumb over her hand, searching her gaze. “I love

  you. I’ve loved you through every fight, every scar, every mark. And if this journey, this… quest

  for answers—if it’s what you truly need, then I’ll stand by your side until the very end.”

  She looked up at him, her heart pounding. There was a part of her that wanted to collapse into

  him, to let herself believe there was an escape from this path, that she could just turn her back on

  Cain, on everything that had drawn her here.

  But Elias’s grip tightened as if reading her thoughts. “But I’m asking you, Lily,” he continued,

  his voice barely more than a whisper. “Let go. Let’s walk away from this, from Cain, from

  whatever twisted game he’s playing. No answer could make sense of all this pain. You don’t owe

  this world anything. You don’t have to face him to prove yourself.” His voice cracked, and he

  swallowed hard before finishing, “Come with me. Just… walk away, together.”

  Her gaze dropped to where their hands joined, her heart aching. She knew what he was offering:

  a life, however uncertain, that held the promise of peace, a life not defined by struggle and

  vengeance, a life she could perhaps reclaim with him. But the questions in her mind clawed their

  way to the surface, refusing to be silenced. What had the Marks really meant? What was her

  purpose here? Why had all this been forced upon her?

  Lily looked up at him, her lips parting as if to speak, but the words caught in her throat. She saw

  the hope in his eyes, the desperate plea that she’d turn away from the dark path ahead. And in

  that moment, her heart broke a little, knowing that no answer she gave would ease his fear or his

  pain.

  Still, she leaned closer, pressing her forehead to his, her voice barely a whisper. “I don’t know

  what the right answer is, Elias. But I know… I can’t turn back. Not yet.” A tear slipped down her

  cheek as she added, “But if we go forward… we go together.”

  He closed his eyes, exhaling shakily as he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as though

  he could protect her from whatever lay ahead. She felt his warmth, his strength, and for a

  moment, the weariness of their journey melted away, leaving only the two of them against the

  world.

  After a long silence, Elias nodded, his voice low but resolute. “Then together it is.”

  Their journey north began in a stark, ghostly landscape, the air cold and stale, thick with the

  lingering presence of Death. The ground beneath their feet was hard, cracked, the soil drained of

  life and color. The trees around them were mere skeletons, twisted and blackened, reaching their

  brittle branches to the sky as if grasping for something long lost. Each step they took echoed in

  the desolation, the land around them barren and unforgiving, and even the faintest breeze felt

  laden with whispers of despair.

  As they continued onward, though, the oppressive stillness began to shift, almost imperceptibly.

  The ground, once covered in a layer of ash and dust, started to show small patches of color—

  tiny, hardy weeds pushing through cracks in the earth. The trees, though mostly stripped and

  bare, occasionally held hints of green buds clinging stubbornly to the branches. The air grew less

  stale, a faint smell of damp earth mingling with the scent of pine that hadn’t been there before. It

  was as though the land itself was beginning to wake up, responding to their movement out of

  Death’s shadow.

  Further along, they began to see a true transformation. The ground softened beneath their boots,

  patches of yellow and purple wildflowers dotting the sides of the worn path. Grass stretched up

  in clumps, sparse at first, then thickening, growing greener with each passing mile. Small

  creatures darted between the shrubs, insects buzzing and birds chirping faintly in the distance,

  their songs a welcome reminder of life and vitality.

  By midday, the forest was alive with color, soft shafts of sunlight filtering through a canopy of

  green leaves overhead. Moss covered rocks and tree trunks, lush and vibrant, as if reclaiming

  what had been lost in Death’s bleak territory. The soil smelled rich and fresh, a reminder of

  fertile life and growth. Lily found herself breathing easier, a new energy sparking in her veins as

  she took in the transformation around them.

  Elias stopped to look around, his gaze scanning the forest in wonder. “It’s strange, isn’t it?” he

  said softly. “To go from a wasteland to this… to life.”

  Lily nodded, taking in the sounds and sights, the gentle rustling of leaves, the distant trickle of a

  stream they hadn’t seen in days. “It’s like the land knows we’re leaving Death behind,” she

  murmured, her fingers brushing the petals of a nearby flower.

  The vibrant green trees around them felt like a promise, a reminder of what lay beyond the

  shadows they’d faced. It wasn’t peace—not yet—but it was hope, a tangible relief from the

  darkness they’d carried with them so long. With every step, their path grew more alive, nature’s

  beauty blooming brighter, as if to welcome them back to the living world.

  As they walked through the resurrected landscape, Lily and Elias moved in a comfortable

  silence, each lost in thought, yet aware of the other’s presence. The weight of the journey, of

  everything they had endured, lingered in the air, heavy and unspoken.

  Finally, Elias broke the silence. “It’s strange,” he began, his voice low. “All this life around us…

  after where we’ve been. Everything we’ve seen and lost. It almost doesn’t feel real.” He kicked a

  small stone down the path, watching it bounce and tumble into the grass. “Sometimes I wonder if

  that’s all life is. A series of things we have, and then… lose.”

  Lily considered his words, her gaze distant. “I used to think life was simple,” she replied quietly.

  “I thought it was about surviving, getting through each day. I never really looked beyond that.”

  She paused, running a hand over a budding leaf on a nearby branch, marveling at the softness of

  its green surface. “But now… I don’t know. I feel like I lost that version of myself somewhere

  along the way. Maybe it’s better that I did. That girl… she wouldn’t have made it this far.”

  Elias looked at her, a gentle sadness in his eyes. “You’ve changed, Lily. I can see it. We both

  have. I feel like I’m looking at the world through different eyes… eyes that have seen too much.”

  His voice grew thick with emotion. “Rylan, Nyx… even Thalor… I think about them. And I

  wonder if maybe we could have done something differently.”

  Lily’s gaze fell to the ground, her jaw clenched as she swallowed back the ache rising in her

  chest. “I keep telling myself that they’re just… just another part of this journey,” she said, her

  voice wavering. “But every step forward feels like leaving them behind, like I’m betraying their

  memory by continuing.”

  They walked in silence for a moment, surrounded by the vibrant green, the world’s life buzzing

  around them in cruel contrast to their inner grief. Finally, Elias reached over, taking her hand, his

  grip warm and steady. “They wouldn’t have wanted us to stop, Lily. You know that, right?”

  She nodded, though the words were hard to believe. “I know,” she whispered. “But it doesn’t

  make it any easier. I used to think… if I just pushed forward, kept fighting, everything would be

  worth it in the end. But now…” Her voice trailed off, her gaze distant. “Now, I don’t know if I’m

  even fighting for the right reasons. I’ve lost so much of myself in this journey. I don’t even know

  what I’d do if we ever found peace.”

  Elias let out a sad laugh. “Maybe peace isn’t something we’re meant to find. Maybe it’s

  something we carry, somewhere deep inside, even when everything around us falls apart.”

  Lily looked at him, her heart softening as she saw the weariness etched in his face. “And how do

  you carry it, Elias? How do you find peace in all this?”

  Elias shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I think…

  maybe it starts with choosing to believe that this isn’t all for nothing. That there’s something

  bigger waiting for us. That all of this, somehow, will lead us to the answers we’ve been

  searching for.”

  Lily’s gaze softened, and for a moment, she let herself lean into that hope, fragile though it was.

  “I want to believe that too,” she murmured, squeezing his hand. “I want to believe there’s

  something worth all this pain. That maybe… just maybe, I’ll find the girl I was meant to be when

  this is all over.”

  They walked on, hand in hand, letting the sounds of life around them fill the silence that

  stretched between words, their pain and hope mingling, carried on the faint, forgiving breeze of a

  world beginning to bloom again.

  They came upon the river just as the sky began to dim, its surface a deep crimson that pulsed and

  shifted as if it were alive. The water, dark as blood, ran thick and silent, carrying a strange

  weight that seemed to seep into the air around them. They both stood still for a moment, feeling

  the solemnity of it, the way the current flowed on without end, indifferent to anything that

  touched its banks.

  Lily sat down on a rock near the edge, her gaze lost in the hypnotic flow of the red water. Elias

  joined her, his hand close enough that his warmth brushed against her skin but not quite

  touching.

  “It’s like the river Phlegethon from Dante’s Inferno,” Lily murmured, tracing a line on the rock

  with her finger. “A river of fire and blood that punishes souls, carrying the pain of everyone it’s

  ever touched.” She gave a bitter smile, her voice tinged with something far-off, almost

  dreamlike. “Back on Earth, we don’t have rivers like this. But we have something… maybe just

  as haunting. In hard times, people turn to God for guidance, for comfort. They believe… that He

  created everything for us, that He loves us. They trust that whatever happens, He’s watching over

  us, caring for us like a father.”

  Elias turned to her, the quiet curiosity in his gaze drawing her in, like he was inviting her to

  continue.

  “I always had a hard time believing that, though,” she confessed. “It didn’t sit right with me. I

  think… I think of God more like fire. Fire can burn your house down in minutes, turn everything

  you’ve ever known to ashes. But it doesn’t hate you. It’s not punishing you. It’s just… being fire.

  Doing what fire does.”

  Elias nodded slowly, his eyes distant, like he was considering her words. “So… God is just there.

  Doing whatever God does. No intent, no care, just existing?”

  “Maybe,” she said softly. “But fire can also be a campfire. It can keep you warm on a freezing

  night. It can cook your food, protect you from wild animals. It can even be beautiful. But it’s not

  rewarding you or trying to show you kindness. It’s just… fire. That’s what it does.” She looked

  down at her hands, her voice almost a whisper. “I never felt loved by some higher being, Elias. I

  just felt… like I was in the presence of something that didn’t care if I lived or died.”

  Elias was silent for a moment, taking in the words as if tasting them, rolling them over in his

  mind. “I get that,” he said finally. “But, I guess… I still think there’s something comforting

  about believing someone’s out there. Someone watching over you, even if they’re not reaching

  down to fix everything. Like… you’re not alone in this mess, you know?”

  Lily let out a slow breath, staring out at the river, her eyes tracing the relentless current. “I want

  to believe that sometimes,” she admitted. “I’d like to think there’s something out there, someone

  who’s been watching all this and… maybe, just maybe, has a reason for it all. But then I think…

  maybe it’s just like fire. Maybe all of this is just life, burning on, indifferent to us and everything

  we care about.”

  Elias reached out then, his hand finding hers, strong and grounding. “Maybe it is,” he said, his

  voice quiet, steady. “But I think if we’re here, we’ve got to try to give each other what we hope

  is out there. Some warmth, some kind of meaning… something to hang on to, even when

  everything else falls apart.”

  Lily looked at him, really looked at him, her heart swelling with a strange, aching gratitude.

  “Maybe that’s all we can do,” she whispered, squeezing his hand. “Maybe just being here,

  together, is enough.”

  They sat by the red river, hand in hand, listening to the silent current carrying its endless secrets

  away into the darkening night. And for a brief, fleeting moment, they felt like maybe they

  weren’t alone in this vast, indifferent world.

  As Elias stood and walked to the river’s edge, his gaze fell into the crimson current, meeting his

  own reflection. The water distorted his face, casting a hollow look into his eyes, as if he were

  seeing through himself, through the weight of every choice and every loss he’d endured. His jaw

  slackened, his eyes widened, and he simply… stopped. Just stood there, staring, his chest rising

  and falling in shallow breaths.

  “Elias?” Lily called, watching him with a tentative smile, thinking he’d return her look. But he

  didn’t. He just kept staring, his shoulders drooping, his face pale under the dim light.

  “Elias!” She took a step closer, her voice growing urgent. His hands were trembling slightly, his

  whole body rigid, as if trapped in the sight of something only he could see in that red river’s

  depths.

  Lily’s heart began to race. She gripped his shoulder, shaking him, her fingers digging in as she

  searched his face. “Elias, what is it? Look at me! Come on, snap out of it!”

  But he didn’t respond. His gaze remained locked on his reflection, his pupils dark and endless.

  She could feel the weight in his silence, the silent sorrow seeping from him, pulling him deeper

  and deeper into something she couldn’t see.

  “Elias, please!” She was nearly shouting now, her voice desperate, rising over the murmur of the

  river. She could see the misery in his eyes, the haunted look, as if every sorrow he’d buried over

  the years had surfaced, drowning him in an invisible tide.

  In a frantic motion, she threw her arms around him, pulling him away from the riverbank. But his

  body was limp, his feet dragging as if they were bound to the earth. It was as though his very

  soul was tethered to the river, ensnared by something far stronger than her grasp.

  With a surge of determination, Lily grasped his face between her hands, forcing him to look at

  her. “Elias, please, come back. It’s me, Lily. You’re here, with me. Whatever you’re seeing…

  it’s not real.” Her voice softened, the fierce urgency fading into something tender, a pleading

  whisper. “Please. I can’t lose you too.”

  Her words seemed to stir something in him, the faintest flicker of life in his empty gaze. His eyes

  shifted ever so slightly, as if searching for something familiar, for a memory that hadn’t yet

  faded.

  “It’s okay,” she murmured, running her hand down his cheek, grounding him, as she held her

  own grief at bay. “Whatever you saw… whatever you think you lost, I’m right here.”

  Finally, his gaze broke from the river, his eyes meeting hers, and she saw the storm of sorrow in

  them, raw and unguarded. Slowly, he blinked, his breath coming in a shudder, as if he’d been

  holding it for hours.

  “Lily…” His voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. He collapsed into her arms, his weight

  heavy, his grip tight as he clung to her, as if she were the only thing keeping him from slipping

  away entirely.

  Elias’s skin was clammy beneath her touch, his face damp with sweat as he stared unblinking

  into the river. Lily’s heart pounded, panic rising as she watched his chest heave with shallow,

  frantic breaths. Whatever hold the river had on him, it was tightening, pulling him deeper into a

  silent torment that seemed endless.

  “Elias,” she murmured, her voice soft yet insistent. She tightened her grip on his face, forcing

  him to look at her. But his eyes remained unfocused, trapped in whatever dark place the river had

  dragged him into.

  Desperation sparked an idea. She leaned closer, pressing her lips to his with a gentleness that

  masked her own trembling. The warmth of her kiss seemed to seep through him, a lifeline

  grounding him in the present, pulling him back from whatever abyss had ensnared his mind.

  Slowly, his breath began to calm, each inhale growing steadier, his body sagging slightly under

  her touch. His eyes softened, the terror in them fading, and his eyelids began to droop as if

  finally free from an unseen weight.

  “Come back to me,” she whispered, her hands still framing his face, her thumb brushing against

  his cheek.

  With one last shaky breath, Elias’s eyes fluttered closed, and he fell limp, slipping into a

  peaceful sleep. Lily caught him, her arms steadying his weight as she took a moment to let out a

  sigh of relief. He was safe.

  Carefully, she hoisted him over her shoulder, staggering slightly under his weight, but her

  resolve was unbreakable. Step by step, she carried him away from the riverbank, determined to

  put as much distance between them and the cursed water as possible.

  As she moved, she felt the last traces of the river’s eerie pull begin to fade, replaced by a

  growing silence. It was just her and Elias now, moving forward together. She’d keep him safe,

  no matter what lay ahead.

  Lily set up camp and a fire for the night ahead. Lily’s hands moved softly through Elias’s hair,

  her fingers tracing soothing patterns as she watched the flickering light of the campfire play

  across his face. His breathing had steadied, but the lines of worry etched into his features hadn’t

  softened. He looked haunted, even in sleep.

  She swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that prickled at the corners of her eyes. “I didn’t say

  I love you back,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to disturb his rest.

  “You can’t die yet. Not when I haven’t said it.” Her voice wavered, and she pressed her hand to

  her mouth, taking a shaky breath.

  Elias had been her rock, her constant, the one who’d believed in her when no one else had.

  Through every impossible challenge, he had stood by her side, ready to face anything this world

  threw at them. Yet, somehow, she’d always kept that final truth—her love for him—locked

  away, waiting for a moment that never seemed to come.

  She looked down at his face, studying the familiar angles, the smudges of dirt that the river’s

  curse had left behind. “I don’t know where this journey’s taking us, or if I’ll ever see home

  again,” she whispered, her voice catching. “But you’re here, and that’s what matters. I love you,

  Elias. I’m sorry I never told you before.”

  The fire crackled softly, casting warmth around them as if offering its silent blessing. She

  continued to stroke his hair, cradling him close, afraid to let go even for a second. For the first

  time in what felt like an eternity, the world felt still, suspended in a moment of quiet between

  them, and she held on, hoping against hope that he’d wake up and hear her words.

  For now, she’d keep watch, fighting off whatever darkness dared come near, until he opened his

  eyes and she could finally say it aloud.