Chapter 14: The distortion*

As Sean and Evelyn moved further away, Eliza was left standing in the park, her mind reeling from the betrayal. She had always feared this moment, but the reality of it was harder to bear than she could have ever imagined. Sean was slipping through her fingers, and Evelyn—*Evelyn*—was the one he had chosen.

Eliza barely had time to process her emotions before something strange started happening. The air shifted around them, the temperature dropping, the atmosphere turning thick and heavy. It was as if the very fabric of reality was being stretched, bent, and twisted.

The ground trembled beneath their feet. At first, it was just a slight quiver, but it quickly escalated into a violent shake, forcing the leaves of the trees to flutter and the distant city lights to flicker. A low, unnatural hum vibrated in the air, reverberating through every bone in Eliza's body.

Then came the distortion.

A violent, pulsing wave shot out from the center of the park, rippling the very air like water disturbed by a stone. Eliza felt it deep in her chest, an overwhelming force that felt both alien and ancient. The space around her began to warp, twisting as though the world itself was being unraveled and remade. The trees bent unnaturally, their trunks bowing in ways that defied nature, and the ground beneath them began to crack, as if the earth itself were breaking apart.

Evelyn gasped, clutching Sean's arm as they both looked around, stunned and confused by the rapidly changing landscape. But it wasn't just the park that was affected. The distortion spread, consuming the air itself, warping the sky, and distorting the edges of reality. Buildings in the distance began to shimmer, flickering like mirages.

Eliza stepped forward, trying to steady herself, her heart pounding. She felt a sharp pressure build in her chest, as though the air itself were heavy with meaning, charged with something she could barely comprehend. And then she heard it.

A voice.

It was distant, almost like a whisper carried by the wind, but it was unmistakably clear in the chaos. It felt like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"Eliza." The voice, ancient and powerful, rang out with an ethereal authority. The very air seemed to vibrate with its words. "They were meant to be... Sean and Evelyn are fated to walk this path. The ties between them are woven into the very fabric of existence."

The words struck her like a blow, but before she could process them, something began to happen to Evelyn,the woman at Sean's side—who only moments before had been a mere mortal—now seemed to shimmer with an unnatural light. Her eyes widened in shock and wonder as a pulse of energy surged through her body. It was like electricity, crackling under her skin, and it made the air around her shimmer.

Evelyn's body began to glow faintly, a soft, radiant light that swirled like smoke around her form. It was subtle at first, but then the light grew brighter, more intense. Eliza watched in awe as Evelyn's features seemed to transform before her eyes. Her hair—once dark and unruly—was now lit with streaks of shimmering gold, like veins of light running through the strands. Evelyn gasped, stumbling back as if the energy coursing through her was too much to bear. She raised her hands instinctively, her fingers crackling with the same strange energy that now enveloped her body. It felt like fire and ice all at once, alive with power she couldn't control. Her breath quickened as she tried to steady herself, but her body seemed to hum with this newfound force, each pulse of energy radiating outward, making the ground beneath her tremble.

"What's happening to me?" Evelyn whispered, her voice filled with awe and fear as she looked at Sean, who had stepped back, his own expression a mix of confusion and wonder.

"It's... you're changing," Sean said quietly, his voice filled with an awed reverence as he stepped closer to her, reaching out to touch her arm. The touch was electric, sending a shock through his own body as though their connection had awakened something even deeper. He could feel it too—the strange power that was now inside her, a force beyond anything he had ever imagined. Evelyn's eyes flickered with a light that was both terrifying and beautiful, like the beginning of a storm. She clenched her fists, and the energy within her surged, a violent pulse of raw power that split the air around her. The ground beneath them cracked, and the trees groaned in protest, their branches twisting in unnatural shapes as though reacting to her presence.

"I feel… powerful," Evelyn murmured, her voice tinged with both fear and exhilaration. "What is this?"

"It's the curse. The same one that keeps us immortal, that keeps us bound to this world," Sean explained, his voice growing more urgent as he took her hand. "You're not just a part of my world now. You're connected to me in ways you can't fully understand yet. You're *immortal*—just like me."

As if to prove his words, Evelyn's body pulsed with energy again. She didn't feel human anymore. She felt… *other*, as if something deep within her had awakened—something that had always been lying dormant, waiting for the right moment to emerge. The light around her intensified for a brief moment, and then, with a force that rattled the earth itself, it exploded outward. The shockwave of power sent Eliza stumbling back, the ground beneath her feet splintering as though it could no longer bear the weight of this new, volatile energy. Evelyn was no longer just a mortal woman; she was a force to be reckoned with.

As the glow began to fade, Evelyn stood there, breathing heavily, her eyes still alight with an otherworldly glow. She was no longer the same person who had walked into the park just moments ago. She was *changed*—and now, she shared Sean's curse, his immortality, and whatever new powers the dark forces had bestowed upon her.

But even in the midst of this transformation, Eliza couldn't shake the feeling that something else was happening—something even more dangerous. The voice from the distortion had promised that Sean and Evelyn were fated to be together, but it had also left them with an ominous warning. They were connected now, bound not just by love, but by fate. And that was something no one could easily escape.

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