Chapter XXXVIII

"Run," a voice echoed—a voice that seemed to emerge from the very walls themselves. "Run, little mortal. But know this: You cannot flee what is bound to you."

I stumbled forward, my pulse drowning out reason. The darkness clung to me, seeping into my bones. My mind fractured, memories of sunlight and laughter fading. How had I come to this cursed place? What had drawn me here? 

"The shadow itself call you hear, damn it" my conscience mocked at me.

The walls whispered secrets—the castle's tragic history, the souls lost within its confines. I glimpsed faces—anguished, hollow-eyed—etched into the stones. They were the castle's victims, and now, perhaps, I was one of them.

My breath hitched as the corridor narrowed, the walls pressing against me. The entity was close, desperation fueled my steps. I burst through a rotting door, stumbling into a moonlit courtyard.

But even here, the darkness clung. Shadows danced across the cracked flagstones, and I realized I was not alone. Figures moved, spectral and silent. They reached for me, their fingers grazing my skin. Were they the castle's guardians or its tormentors?

I ran, my lungs burning, the moon my only witness. The castle's laughter followed—a mirthless, echoing sound. It knew my fate, and I was powerless to defy it.

As I fled, I glimpsed a reflection—a face in the moonlit fountain. My own, but twisted, eyes hollow. Had the castle claimed me already? Or was this merely a prelude to the horrors awaiting?

I stumbled into the forest, branches clawing at my skin. The darkness pursued, relentless. And as I ran, I wondered—had escaped possible, or had I become one with the haunted walls, a prisoner of eternity?

The forest swallowed me whole, its ancient trees like gnarled sentinels. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting elongated shadows on the forest floor. But it was not the darkness that chilled my bones—it was the presence that followed.

A black panther, sleek and sinuous, trailed me. Its eyes burned like twin coals, unblinking. Each step I took, it matched, its padded paws soundless on the fallen leaves. The air thickened with its menace, and I dared not look back.

Its growls were primal, reverberating through the night. They echoed the castle's laughter, a symphony of malevolence. The panther's breath—hot and fetid—skimmed my neck, and I shivered. How had it found me? What hunger drove it?

I stumbled, my legs threatening to give way. The panther hissed, a sound that scraped against my sanity. Its fur brushed my skin, coarse and alive. I could feel its hunger—the primal urge to consume, to rend flesh from bone.

"Why?" I whispered; my voice swallowed by the forest. "What do you want?"

No answer—only the panther's relentless pursuit. It was no ordinary beast; it was a harbinger of doom. Had the castle birthed it, or had it always lurked in the shadows, waiting for a lost soul like mine?

I ran, branches tearing at my clothes, blood mingling with sweat. The panther matched my pace effortlessly, its eyes never leaving me. I glimpsed its fangs—razor-sharp, dripping with hunger. Would it devour me whole, or would it prolong my torment?

The forest twisted, its paths shifting like the castle's corridors. I stumbled into a moonlit clearing; my breaths ragged. The panther circled, its growls a symphony of doom. I pressed my back against a tree, my heart a frantic rhythm.

As the panther lunged, I closed my eyes, surrendering to the darkness. Perhaps eternity awaited—a prisoner of both castle and beast. Or perhaps oblivion would claim me, sparing me from this cursed existence.

The forest held its breath as Oxyvi closed her eyes, her breaths ragged. The panther's eyes bore into her state, unyielding. But then, an unexpected twist—the mark on her hand, once dormant, blazed to life in a bright green hue. She glanced down, bewildered, unaware of its significance.

The panther halted; its growls silenced. It circled Oxyvi, its feline instincts warring with newfound caution. The mark pulsed, its energy seeping into her veins. What was it? A curse? A blessing? She had no answers, only the sensation of power humming beneath her skin.

And then, the haunting shadow—a figure she hadn't noticed until now—stepped into the moonlight, his hood concealing most of his features. Shadows clung to him, as if they were woven into the fabric of his cloak. Oxyvi's breath caught; she had stumbled upon something far more sinister than she could have imagined. His eyes glinted with malice. He was no ordinary man; he was a creature of the shadows, a master of forbidden knowledge.

"You've awakened it," he hissed, his voice a serpent's whisper. 

Oxyvi's heart raced. She had stumbled into something far greater than haunted walls and hungry panthers. The mark—it connected her to secrets, to forces she couldn't comprehend. But why? And did he always there and following me?

Oxyvi's mind whirled. She had no choice but to play this deadly game. The panther crouched; its eyes fixed on her. Was it protector or executioner? She couldn't tell.

"Who are you?" she whispered; her voice barely audible. The shadow eyes glinted—a pale green that seemed to pierce her very soul.

"I am Kier, the one and only." he said, his voice like the rustling of leaves.

Oxyvi's shock deepened. Kier—the name resonated through legends, whispered by those who dared delve into forbidden texts. He was no mere mortal; he was a bridge between realms. He is the one who was in my dreams always sneaking that Nyx.

"Kier?" Oxyvi managed to ask. "How?" 

Kier smirk was chilling behind the darkness, and I can sense it, although I couldn't see his face properly. "You invoked the mark—It binds you to me, and to my desires." He pulled out the sharp knife and his gloved hand tested the sharpness against his gloved fingers. And then his deadpan eyes hold mine. 

"You're mine now," he declared, stepping closer, ready to throw that very knife in my direction.

Before he could finish, the panther lunged. And then she saw why he did —a knife poised for her heart. But the panther was faster, its fangs sinking into Kier's arm.

He howled, the blade falling from his grasp. Oxyvi stumbled back, her mind racing. The panther—her unlikely protector—had thwarted Kier deadly intent.

"You are fucking bitch!" Kier spat, blood staining his cloak. Kier grasped the neck of the panther and shoved him aside.

The panther growled; its eyes fixed on me. In mean time Oxyvi reached for the fallen knife, its blade cold against her palm.

The panther's growl intensified. Kai laughter echoed—a mirthless sound. "Then plunge the blade, mortal. Seal your fate."

I hesitated. The knife trembled in my hand. The panther watched, its eyes knowing. And as i raised the blade, I wondered—was this defiance or surrender?

"Tell me," I demanded, my voice trembling. "What is this mark? —"

Kier lunged forward and grab my throat and pinned me against the tree, he grabbed the same hand in which i carried the knife and charged it at my face. His eyes never left mine and he tilted his head, and I got lost in his eyes, and his eyes turned darker in shade as if inspecting something in my eyes.