A Whisper in the Dark
"The moon does not weep for the night,
Nor the stars mourn their fall.
Light bends, breaks, and fades,
Yet shadows—shadows remain all."
—The Oath of the Forsaken
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The flames around Tara settled, leaving only a faint trace of embers in the air. The moment of choice had passed. She had stepped beyond the threshold of hesitation—there was no turning back.
The chains of her past had shattered.
The fire of her rebellion had died.
Now, she was reborn.
Shree Yan looked down at her kneeling form, his red eyes gleaming. He did not offer words of praise, nor did he acknowledge her sacrifice. He simply accepted her.
That alone was enough.
"Rise," he commanded.
Tara obeyed.
Her movements were slower, heavier—as if she was learning how to walk again in this new existence.
The old Tara had lived in the light.
This Tara belonged to the abyss.
The moment she stood, something shifted within the void.
A gust of wind.
A tremor in the air.
And then—a voice.
"You have given yourself away… and in return, you shall be remade."
It was neither male nor female, neither cruel nor kind. It was a presence that had lingered in the depths of the world for an eternity, waiting for those who dared to abandon all that they were.
Shree Yan did not move, but his expression sharpened.
The Abyss had accepted her.
Tara felt it, too.
Something unseen coiled around her—a mark, a presence, a power.
The flames at her fingertips turned from black to something deeper, something beyond color.
She had not just sworn her loyalty to Shree Yan.
She had been claimed by the same darkness that had shaped him.
A slow smile spread across Shree Yan's lips.
"Welcome back," he said softly.
Tara met his gaze.
And for the first time, she did not feel like she was standing before a king.
She was standing beside him.