The sky over the border between Solvane and Nyxterra had darkened. Clouds rolled like the crashing of two worlds, and the wind carried whispers not of this realm.
Kalea Virein stood at the courtyard of an abandoned temple, a sacred site now turned secret meeting ground. Cracked pillars rose around her like the bones of forgotten titans. Shadows cloaked her body, dressed in her dark violet-black robe. Her glowing violet eyes stared eastward, emotionless.
She knew Eiran would come.
---
Far away, crossing the mossy path to the temple, Eiran Velcroft walked with steady steps. He brought only a small group of guards, but this meeting would be his alone.
He still held the dark blue ribbon.
He had thought of discarding it many times.
But something stopped him.
Maybe it was hope.
Maybe a fragment of Angeline still lived.
---
Inside the temple, Kalea was not alone. Elsera stood beside her, calm despite the oppressive aura surrounding them. Behind them, five of Kalea’s most loyal shadows waited—part spectral, part physical.
“Elsera,” Kalea whispered, “do you think he comes for love?”
Elsera shook her head. “There is no love without scars, Your Majesty.”
Kalea chuckled darkly. “Exactly. And scars are the only truth I’ve learned to embrace.”
---
Eiran arrived.
His footsteps echoed as he entered the courtyard. His guards waited outside. He would face this alone.
Kalea watched him from a distance. Her violet eyes glimmered, her face unreadable. But within, something stirred—an echo of something soft, now dulled by time.
“Angeline,” Eiran called, half pleading.
Only a cold smile answered.
“I don’t know that name,” Kalea replied.
---
They stood before one another, the world holding its breath. As they spoke, every word carved a new thread in the weave of fate.
Eiran broke the silence. “Will you end everything with destruction?”
“I want them to feel the pain they refuse to admit,” Kalea said calmly. “I want them to understand that not every smile means happiness.”
“And you?” Eiran asked gently. “Can you still feel happiness?”
Kalea hesitated.
“I’m not searching for it anymore.”
---
Suddenly, a rumble echoed from the north. The ground trembled. Solvane’s army had discovered Eiran’s location and was advancing.
“If they strike me on this ground,” Kalea said, raising her hand, “I won’t retreat.”
Eiran rushed to her side. “I’ll stop them.”
“Why?” Kalea asked, eyes narrowing.
“Because you’re not my enemy.”
For a moment, surprise flickered in her eyes. But she suppressed it. She had become the Queen of Sorrow for too long to believe such words.
Still, she didn’t order Elsera to kill him.
---
Battle seemed inevitable.
Solvane’s soldiers charged in, unaware their knight was inside enemy territory. Kalea, unwilling to reveal her full power, summoned shadow beasts from beneath the earth.
Darkness rose and held the soldiers at bay, just long enough for Eiran to step forward.
“Stop!” he shouted. “This meeting was by my command! I asked for the Queen!”
The soldiers hesitated. Their loyalty torn between fear and orders.
---
Once the battle threat passed, Kalea and Eiran returned inside. They sat on the old altar, silence between them.
“Do you hate me?” Eiran asked at last.
Kalea stared at him.
“I hate the past. And unfortunately... you’re part of it.”
Eiran exhaled. “Then let me be part of your future. Even if I must atone for all of it.”
Kalea looked away. For the first time since she became ruler of the dark realm, her heart wavered.
---
Outside, night fell. Inside, candlelight flickered softly.
Eiran placed the ribbon on the altar.
“This... was yours.”
Kalea looked at it. Her hand moved slowly, picking it up. She closed her eyes.
Then she laughed.
Softly.
Bitterly.
But real.
---
“Leave, Eiran,” she said. “You’ve disturbed me enough.”
Eiran stood. “I’ll return. And I won’t bring a sword.”
Kalea smiled.
Not coldly.
But with pain.
And in that moment, the world knew that perhaps... just perhaps... the Queen of Sorrow had not yet fully succumbed to darkness.
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