I closed my eyes and let out a shuddering breath. My fingers were numb and cold, my arm aching where the needle pierced the vein. Something clattered onto the pavement, and I looked down to see the needle. It had slipped out of my hand. Nothingness swirled around me, bringing the first sense of peace I'd felt in my short, miserable life. There was no one to miss me, and no one I would miss. There's always someone else to beat or rape. The regulars would move on quickly. I died. Only...wasn't death supposed to be dark? And since when did 'nothingness' have so many gods? Discord: https://discord.gg/PX3xqJdZMY
"Ready?" Bethiv asked, his gaze meeting mine.
We stood before the imposing gates, two hundred soldiers arrayed behind us. Their souls radiated intense mana, so concentrated that it made the air shimmer like heat rising from the ground. I couldn't remember ever seeing so many powerful souls gathered in one place, their combined energy illuminating the courtyard.
They all waited for my command, their faces a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. But I was frozen, my tail stiff and my hands trembling. With a single word, it would all begin—my final battle to save Elise and destroy the Circle. It had taken years to reach this point, years of hardship, tears, and suffering. Was I truly ready to face the man who had orchestrated so much of my pain?
Fable's soft growl reverberated through me, the warmth of his presence a comforting anchor in the storm of my emotions. I was about to face the Circle, but I wasn't alone. Not anymore.