The Reaper's Wicked Obsession

The dark figure stepped into the light.

It was Kraven, or at least another part of him. He had dark hair, but no eyes—only round, hollow sockets with dark liquid streaming down his cheeks like tears.

"You," Kraven said as familiarity found him. "My thirst in the flesh."

"What will it be? Greet Daudi or finally give in?" He closed the distance between them and crouched.

It was like staring at a mirror, but two opposite sides of the same coin.

"There’s only one way you’ll come out of this alive and save her." He tipped his head to the side. "The only way to save our mate."

"How unnatural coming from you, given your unending desire to take her life." Kraven grabbed his neck in the blink of an eye and pressed harder, determined to crush.

"I should kill you right now and rid myself of you. I don’t need you to save her. I can save her myself."

He pressed harder, cracks could be heard as black lines formed around his neck.

The entity chuckled low at first, then it rose, contorting into a full-blown cackle that echoed around the space.

"You don’t get it, do you? You can’t get rid of me. I’m the blood that flows through your veins. The whisper in your every thought, the voice you try so hard to silence. I’m you—the real you. What you have been pretending to be all this time? That’s the illusion."

Kraven slowly released him. Silence found both of them. He had fought, he had controlled, he had done everything for hundreds of winters, yet nothing could ever sate this being inside him.

It was a part of him he couldn’t erase—The true part of him.

A breathless chuckle was released from Kraven. "You’re right. I’m the illusion," he confessed, burdened by his true fate.

He may have fought all those winters to keep this in check, but it was all for this moment when he would finally give in.

This was never about a battle of sanity or insanity. It had been a game he had played with himself. And now? There was no use in playing further.

It was time to be the end—For her sake.

"I don’t need my sanity anymore," Kraven declared. "Take it, take it all. Reduce me to a mindless beast as long as I’ve her in my arms again."

The entity tipped his head to the side. "It will cost you everything, there will be no end to the hunger."

"I have nothing except her." He leaned closer. "This game is over." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

His thirst dissolved into dark weaves, followed by a thousand ravens, forcing its way into Kraven’s mouth.

~♧~

Suddenly, the entire place trembled from an unseen force, and then a shift happened, like an earthquake, causing everything to be unbalanced.

"What’s happening?" Aric demanded.

The walls cracked, and the sheer force caused debris to fall.

Isadora clenched her fists tightly, using that action to somehow still her unsettled nerves.

She used the chaos as the opportunity she needed. She bashed her elbow right into the Serpent’s face and bit the arm of the other, who wailed from the pain.

She slipped away and ran.

"Don’t let her get away!" Aric yelled, trying to keep his body balanced from the tremors.

Isadora’s body was forced to the side as the floor tipped. She had a feeling this wasn’t just a random earthquake.

But whatever it was, chaos was needed.

She thrust off the wall and ran back to the corridor leading to where Kraven was; however, in an instant, she fell to the ground when the floor broke apart.

She held on tightly as the floor sank with a convulsive force, for a minute it felt as if she would fall to her death, but she held on as best as she could as hell unleashed.

"Isadora!"

The sound of her name made her turn. Her eyes searched amidst the tremors pointlessly until they settled on a hole in the ground.

She carefully crawled to it, thrown to the side multiple times, even so, she fought her way through until she gripped the edge and pushed her body to look below. "Marek, Logi?"

"You’re alright," Marek said in relief.

’This was their doing?’ she thought and moved her gaze to Logi.

Blood dribbled from his nose as his weave slipped in all directions.

"Take cover! The entire tower will come apart!" Marek warned.

"I can’t! Kraven’s—" She was cut off when Aric seized her hair and yanked her away.

"Don’t think you can escape me, Isadora!"

She growled, taking out her dagger and gripping the weapon tightly until it felt like her flesh would merge with the blade, but she didn’t care. It was the only way to yield it without it falling out of her hand.

Isadora stabbed him right in the thigh.

Aric yelped, and Isadora kicked him, prompting his body to collide with the ground. He tumbled to a corner but got his balance, seething at them.

"Stop them!" He barked his orders as a swamp of Serpents came like a plague.

Isadora turned, and her eyes widened at the coming threat.

Despite being knocked down by debris, crushed, and falling to their deaths, the force of Aric’s Huntsmen was a menacing force.

They crawled like insects, ran like cheetahs, leaped like leopards, and raged like senseless beasts.

Aric laughed, spreading his arms, and discharged his entire control, even as his eyes felt like they would fall off, even as they bled, he summoned them all.

Isadora panicked as fear gripped her. She turned and tried to crawl to her dagger on the ground.

"Do something, Logi!" Marek shouted, climbing to the top to aid Isadora.

"I’m trying!" Logi clamored as he tried to assimilate more aura, but his body strained and his hands shook, the weaves connected to his fingers almost snapping.

Isadora rasped, the sound of her breath lost to her as well as other sounds.

Just when the Serpents were a mere inch away from them, a pulsing of dark weaves swept through like a sea wave.