⚔️ Chapter 8 — The Forbidden Name

🩸 Scene: Ceremony Hall (Destroyed) — 7:30 PM
The hall was in ruins.
—Shattered tables  —Broken glass  —Spilled food  —Voices in shock  —Wounded people  —Scarlett, lying on the ground, unable to stand  —And in front of her… a mysterious figure, standing tall with one foot pressed firmly against Scarlett’s chest, laughing like a villain torn from a nightmare
The scene felt frozen in time.  Smoke drifted among the wreckage.  The candlelight flickered as if unsure whether to keep burning.  Everyone was petrified…  Everyone except Alfred, Susy, and a few uninjured guards.
They launched into action on instinct.  Their faces bore cold, deadly determination.
Susy wielded two hidden daggers, one in each hand, always tucked beneath her dress at the inner thighs.  Alfred gripped two swords he had taken from fallen guards after the explosion.
Neirox, despite his strength, stood frozen.  Not out of weakness… but pure shock.
—Young Neirox, don’t worry. We’ll handle this —said Alfred, charging toward the attacker.
Several guards began to recover, surrounding the stranger in tactical formation.
But then…
—Don’t come any closer! This is my fight! —Scarlett shouted, her voice burning with restrained fury.
Everyone stopped in their tracks.
Still on the ground, Scarlett clenched her teeth.  With force, she grabbed the attacker’s foot.
—Step aside! —she roared.
With a brutal push, she hurled the stranger upward.  The woman flipped through the air with acrobatic grace, landing elegantly on her feet.
—Points for that —she said, clapping slowly—. So you still want to dance…
Scarlett rose to her feet.  She gripped her sword.  Her body radiated a reddish-yellow aura, like living fire.
—Did you think a few sparkles would hurt me? All you did… was make me angry.
She charged at the stranger.  Each sword strike burst like flames.  Her speed left trails of destruction on the floor, the walls, even the air itself.
People screamed.  They ran for the exits.  Those who remained were Alfred, Susy, Neirox, and the guards who hadn’t been gravely wounded.
—Much better. Now it looks like you actually want to finish me off, little princess —the stranger said, smiling with delight.
Their swords clashed with force and speed, in a dance of steel choreographed by the gods of battle.  Sparks flew.  The sound echoed like thunder between lightning strikes.
Scarlett landed a blow on the stranger’s arm, shattering the bracelet she wore.
The stranger staggered back.  Her arm bled.  She let it fall limp.
—Finally free of that stupid dwarf… Thank you, girl, for setting me loose.
Scarlett stared at her, intrigued.
—Free? What are you talking about? Wasn’t that bracelet meant to hide your essence from the magic barrier?
The stranger twirled her rapier with the hand she could still use.  She smiled.
—You don’t know?  That means I still have time.
—Time for what? What am I supposed to know? —Scarlett asked, still on guard.
The people around watched tensely, keeping their distance.
—That lying dwarf tricked us all —the stranger said—. Here’s a tip: trust no one.  And by the way… let’s end this fight here.
She sheathed her rapier.
Scarlett felt mocked.  She charged forward in fury.
But the stranger, without drawing her blade, performed sword arts without a sword.  She stepped in front of Scarlett, ran one hand along the blade to the hilt, disarmed her with elegance, and with her wounded arm, grabbed Scarlett’s.
She pivoted on one foot, turning her back to Scarlett.  With a fluid motion, she hurled her through the air.
Scarlett landed flat on her back.
Everyone stood stunned by such a display of technique and strength.
—Calm down, brat. Right now, I’m not your enemy.  Let’s call a truce —she said, extending her hand.
Scarlett, still confused, slapped the stranger’s palm away, rejecting the offer.  She couldn’t get up.
—Is that a no? —asked the stranger.
The guards surrounded her.  Alfred and Susy joined the circle.
The stranger unclasped the brooch holding her rapier.  She picked it up and tossed it at Susy’s feet.
Then she raised her hands in surrender...
Neirox, coming to his senses, stepped into the center of the circle.  The guards were surprised.
—Young master! —they exclaimed.
—Neirox, don’t go near her. She’s dangerous —said Susy.
Alfred lowered his swords.  He simply watched.
—His Majesty, the little prince makes his entrance —the stranger said sarcastically.
Neirox stood before her.  He looked into her eyes, confused.
—Damiras?
The stranger froze.  Everyone around fell silent.
Alfred frowned.
—Damiras? Young Neirox, where did you get that name?  That sounds like one of the ancient elders… but it was Damiros, not Damiras.  And I was told he was a man…
The stranger interrupted.  Her sarcastic tone vanished.  She now spoke seriously.
—I don’t know where you got that name, little prince…
She turned to Alfred with a piercing glare.
—And for your information, Mr. Four Eyes… I’m a woman.
Then she looked back at Neirox.
—Answer me, prince.  Who told you my name?
Neirox looked dazed.  His eyes were distant, as if trying to recall something buried deep.
—Tenebrom…
As he spoke the name, the world shattered.
Color drained from the air.  Everything turned gray.  Time froze.
Everyone was motionless.  Only Neirox could move.
—Hey… what’s wrong with you all? Answer me! Why aren’t you moving?
A beam of light floated in from the entrance, rushing toward him.  As it approached, Neirox saw the silhouette of a woman bathed in light.  The glow was too intense to make out her face.
As she passed by, he heard a soft whisper, like time itself carrying the words:
> “Don’t let that woman die again… or you’ll regret it before you even realize.”
The light sighed…  And vanished without a trace.
Time resumed.  Everyone in the hall began to move again.
—Neirox, what’s wrong? What are you looking for? —asked Susy, seeing him glance around.
—No… it’s nothing —Neirox replied.
Damiras, impatient, crossed her arms.
—So you were saying that my idiot brother supposedly told you my name.  What do you mean by that?  Because as far as I know… he died over a thousand years ago.
—Explain yourself. Quickly. Time is running out.
Neirox began to speak:
—When the shards of glass started falling… I saw them slow down.  And when my sister was falling mid-air… time stopped.
—I saw an endless war —he continued, his voice trembling but steady—.  A battle between beings that weren’t human… nor beasts… nor gods.  They were something else.  Something that shouldn’t exist.
Damiras watched him closely.  Her eyes no longer mocked —they showed surprise and fear.
—I saw my sister… but it wasn’t her.  She had black wings.  Her face was hidden behind a shattered mask.  And in her hands… she held a sword that wept blood.
—I saw you, Damiras…  But not like now.  You were younger.  More powerful.  And you were… crying.
Damiras stepped back.  Her lips parted, but no words came.
—And then… I saw him.
Everyone in the hall felt a chill.  The air grew heavy.  The flames of the chandeliers flickered out for a moment.
—Tenebrom —Neirox whispered—.  He stood atop a mountain of corpses.  His shadow covered the sky.  And his voice…  His voice spoke directly to my soul.
> “Time is breaking.  > The cycle repeats.  > The name has been spoken.  > And now… nothing can stop what’s coming.”
Damiras dropped to her knees.  Her face turned pale.  Her hands trembled.
—No… it can’t be…  That name was sealed.  It was forbidden!
Alfred and Susy approached Neirox, concerned.
—What does all this mean? —asked Alfred.
Damiras looked up.  Her eyes shimmered with restrained tears.
—It means the world…  Is about to remember what it was never meant to know.
Scarlett, still on the ground, slowly sat up.
—What is Tenebrom? —she asked, her voice weak.
Damiras stood.  Her silhouette seemed darker, heavier.
—Tenebrom… is not a who.  It’s a when.  It’s a moment.  It’s the end of everything we know.
Neirox closed his eyes.  One last image flashed in his mind.
An infinite tower.  A clock with no hands.  And a voice that said:
> “When the last name is spoken…  > Time will stop protecting them.”

As everyone listened intently to Neirox’s words, the air seemed to freeze.  Damiras, still standing, began to stagger.  A dark stream of blood slid from the corner of her lips.  Her eyes widened in surprise… and then in pain.
A chill swept through the hall.
Scarlett was the first to notice the shift.
—Damiras… —she whispered.
But it was already too late.
A sword had pierced through her chest.  Its blade shimmered with an unfamiliar essence—one that didn’t seem to belong to this world.
Everyone stood frozen.  Time felt as if it had stopped for a second time.
And then…  All eyes turned toward the figure standing behind her.
The attacker’s shadow slowly came into view.  And what they saw…  Was not what they expected.