The Price of Immortality

Elysiel sat on the throne of Elandor's castle, but the power she once felt as a burden now seemed more than that—it was an invisible chain, binding her to the dark fate she had chosen by Seraphis' side. The mark on her arm, still pulsing with strange energy, was a constant reminder of her bond with him. Each day, Elysiel felt her body changing, as if she were transforming from the inside out, and the sensation was disturbing.

She couldn't ignore the fact that something fundamental within her was shifting. The reflection in the mirror was no longer that of a fairy full of life and light. Her eyes were growing darker, and her wings, once luminous, were now tinged with shades of gray and black, as if the very darkness surrounding her had infiltrated her essence. Immortality, the gift Seraphis had offered her, was beginning to show its true cost.

— What's happening to me? — she whispered to herself in a moment of solitude in the empty hall.

The demon was absent, occupied with his affairs in the underworld, leaving Elysiel alone to deal with the growing changes in her body and mind. As much as he promised that together they would be invincible, there was something about the transformation that terrified her. It wasn't just the power—it was what she was becoming.

Her footsteps echoed down the stone corridors as she walked toward Elandor's library. The ancient knowledge of the fairies was stored there, in books that had been forgotten for generations. She needed answers, something that could tell her what was happening to her and if there was any way to stop this change before it was too late.

Opening the great wooden doors of the library, Elysiel was overtaken by the familiarity of the place. Shelves full of ancient manuscripts, scrolls, and heavy tomes were covered in dust, as if time had forgotten this place. She ran her fingers over the spines of the books, searching for something that spoke of immortality or what happened to fairies who gave themselves to the forces of darkness.

Finally, she found an ancient volume, "Secrets of the Night: The Fall of Dark Fairies." The title made her heart race. She carefully pulled it from the shelf and began flipping through it, her hands trembling slightly. As she read the yellowed pages, a dark story emerged: there was a time when some fairies, desperate for power or to protect their realms, turned to darkness. Fairies who had embraced the night, shadow, and the demons of the underworld, believing they could control these forces.

But what Elysiel read on the following pages made her blood run cold.

"The fairies who embrace darkness do not only lose their light; they lose their humanity. Their hearts become as cold as the shadows that surround them, and over time, they cease to be fairies. They transform into something different, soulless creatures, immortal and powerful, but incapable of feeling compassion, love, or any trace of humanity."

Elysiel felt a wave of panic course through her body. She was becoming one of these creatures. The mark on her arm was the first sign, but she could feel the change within her, deeper and more dangerous. Each day, the world around her seemed to grow more distant, and even her emotions were beginning to fade. She recalled recent moments when she looked at her advisors or even at Arabella, and all she felt was indifference. What would happen when she lost all her humanity?

She closed the book with a snap, her mind spinning with the revelation. Seraphis knew this. He had told her that their power would be immense, but he hadn't told her the full cost. Perhaps he wanted her to become like him, an eternal, ruthless creature without remorse. But Elysiel still clung to something inside her, a small spark of whom she had been before joining him. Could this transformation be stopped?

She continued reading frantically, searching for any clue, any solution. After several pages of grim accounts of fairies who had fallen into the grasp of darkness, she found something. A solution—but a terrible one.

"To break the bond with darkness, the heart of the source of power must be destroyed. The fairy who joins with a being of shadows can only free themselves by destroying the one who gave them the power. In the case of pacts with demons, the only way to undo the bond is to kill the demon, and with them, all the power that was shared."

Elysiel stepped away from the book, her body trembling. The only way to free herself from the pact would be to destroy Seraphis. He, who had saved her, made her stronger, protected her when Elandor was on the brink of destruction. But now, the truth was clear. If she didn't destroy him, she would be consumed by darkness. If she stayed with him, she would lose her humanity forever, transforming into something she would no longer recognize.

But could she do it? Could she kill Seraphis, the being with whom she had shared her soul, her body, and with whom she still felt a deep connection, no matter how disturbing? Even with all his coldness and power, there were moments of tenderness between them, moments when she saw something more in him. Something that was part of her, that drew her in ways she couldn't explain.

The decision weighing on her was unbearable. If she did nothing, Elandor and she herself would be consumed by shadows. But if she chose the other path, she would have to destroy the one being who truly understood her.

Elysiel closed her eyes, pressing her fingers against her temples as her mind tried to process the enormity of the choice before her. Seraphis wouldn't let her go easily, and she didn't know if she had the strength to do what needed to be done.

When she opened her eyes again, a decision was slowly forming in her heart, still shrouded in uncertainty, but inevitable. She knew that time was running out. Each day, her humanity faded a little more, and the only thing left to do was face this truth.

The price of immortality was far too high.