in her lap.
I settled next to her, watching her every move and following every change in her expression. Valaine wasn’t the type to openly discuss her emotions, so sometimes it was better to just pay attention to her body language.
“This only serves to keep your darkness in check,” Phantom said, sitting on the ground in front of Valaine. Morning stood behind her, placing her hands on Valaine’s shoulders. “We’re both here, so don’t worry about it.”
“But what is it, exactly?” I asked. “She completely blacked out yesterday, unable to control it. It felt like pure despair and hopelessness.”
“It’s similar to what Night and Morning endured while trapped,” Phantom replied. “It’s a symptom of the Unending’s awakening. She’s struggling, she’s in a lot of pain, and we’ve got to keep pressing forward until we figure out how to set her free.”
“I’m afraid it will only get worse,” Morning added as Valaine tilted her head back to look at her. “None of this is your fault, dear sister. If we stop now, you’ll just perpetuate your suffering. If we push it further, it will hurt more before it gets better.”
Valaine bit her lower lip. “I guess it’s better to dig deeper until we let it all out, right?”
“It carries its own risks, but the three of us will make sure you don’t hurt anyone,” Phantom said, glancing at Morning and me.
“Okay…” Valaine murmured, leaning on my shoulder.
Morning and Phantom proceeded with the remembrance spell, their lips moving as they whispered the ancient words. I held Valaine’s hand, keeping constant physical contact as the night began to gather around us. I felt its cold embrace as the image of Valaine became blurry. Moments later, I lacked a form, floating around in black ink.
“Follow my voice,” Phantom said, resonating deep within me.
“I’m here,” Valaine replied.
“Good. Go deeper this time. You remembered your past life, but you need to dig beneath that. Your instincts should guide you now. Things that felt strange before should come as second nature. Wherever you feel the pull, don’t fight it,” Phantom advised.
We lingered in the nothingness for a while as Valaine sought the right thread to pull. After some time, one particular line began to shimmer golden. I could almost feel Valaine’s hand reaching out to touch it. I certainly sensed the coldness washing over me as we were drawn into a moving image.
The darkness dissolved, and we found ourselves in another past life. This time, we were stuck in the body of an Aeternae woman. She cried as two Darklings dragged her through a narrow corridor with damp stone walls. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it until I recognized the iron doors on both sides, their frames etched with death magic runes. We were in the basement of the imperial palace.
“Please, don’t… I am not who you think I am,” the woman sobbed, and I experienced all her pain. It blazed through me like wildfire. My eyes stung. My heart was in tatters. I had trusted these people. I had joined the Darklings to protect my people, but I had never thought they would turn against me like this.
“Shut up,” one of the Darklings spat.
A door opened ahead, and orange light spilled into the dark hallway, revealing crevices and ghoulish scratches across the hall. I heard creatures wailing and sobbing all around me—Reapers trapped and forced to consume souls, gradually turning into Knight Ghouls. Nethissis had mentioned this title before… She’d picked it up from Petra and her cohorts.
Everything I had done for the Darklings had felt right. I’d even captured a Reaper for them to turn. Yet here I was, dragged through the obscurity of the basement toward my own death. None of this was fair…
I was brought into a room and tossed onto the floor as though I were nothing more than a rag doll. The Darklings stayed back, slamming the door shut while I struggled to lift my gaze and meet the one who would kill me. I was ready to fight with everything I had, but my body felt weak. They had done something to me. I couldn’t resist.
Finally, I raised my head and saw him. Inwardly, I immediately recognized him, and my stomach churned. “Corbin…”
He was only a boy, no older than Moore was when he’d joined the Darklings. Much like the Visentis boy, Corbin carried himself with a lot of dignity and poise for his young age. The black leather cloak hung around his shoulders, and the Darkling thread wrapped