Chapter-42 Shadows of the Past

When Daemon and Aaliyah emerged from the underground bunker, the moon hung high in the night sky, casting a ghostly glow over the forest. Daemon sensed a deepening foreboding in the air.

Daemon narrowed eyes as his muscles started tensing. 'There is definitely something out there,' he thought, scanning his surroundings.

Without warning, the silence was shattered by a low, rumbling growl from the heart of the forest. The ground began to quake, and from the darkened soil, vines as thick as a man's arm burst forth, writhing and twisting like serpents awakened from slumber.

"What's happening now?" Aaliyah muttered under her breath.

As if in response to her question, a figure stepped out from the shadows, their body covered in midnight green lines, their eyes glowing a piercing emerald that cut through the darkness. The vines responded to their presence, forming an impenetrable armor around them, pulsing with a life of their own.

With a slow, deliberate motion, the figure raised both hands, and the vines surged forward, not just as mere plants but as conduits of an unknown phenomenon. They intertwined above, forming a massive, intricate web that crackled with green energy, casting an eerie luminescence over the forest.

Aaliyah eyes widen in shock as she took a step back. "Ethan, you're alive… but," she shouted, her voice trembling.

Another complication.

"Something went wrong. That Thorne did something to him," Daemon muttered.

Ethan's voice, low and growling, broke through the tension. "Ever since she died, I can't escape it," he said, extending his hand to let the vines wrap around it. "Her death has haunted me every day." 

"Ethan, what's going on? What do you mean?" Aaliyah asked. 'He's changed' she thought.. Whatever happened to him, it's consumed him.

Ethan's eyes locked onto Daemon. "I always wanted revenge, but the person who caused her death was no longer alive… until I saw them with my very eyes." His eyes blazed with a dangerous intensity, and his posture straightened, exuding a menacing presence. ;'He knew Gina.' he thought. He could have protected her, but he didn't.

'Revenge, death, eyes,' Daemon thought.

Survival demands understanding, Yet understanding often reveals truths best left veiled.

"Ethan, whatever you're going through, I'm sure we can fix it. Maybe that Thorne infected you and now you're hallucinating," Aaliyah said.

"No!" Ethan shouted, his voice spreading wide and loud, shaking the trees. "I'm not hallucinating. I'm glad to have this power. Listen, Aaliyah, I'm sorry to bring you into this, but it must be done." His face contorted with a mix of regret and resolve, his hands trembling slightly as he gestured toward her.

At the same time, before anyone could react, a Verdant Stranglehold erupted from the ground, wrapping around Aaliyah and pulling her into the air. Panic set in as she started slashing at the stranglehold, struggling to break free.

Aaliyah looked at Ethan, trying to break free. "Ethan, why are you doing this? I'm sure we can—" she pleaded, her voice weakening as she struggled against the vines.

Daemon squinted his eyes at Ethan. "You stranglehold her, what about me?" he asked, his voice icy. He shifted his weight, ready to spring into action.

I swore I would find them, he reminded himself, his grip tightening on the pulsing vines. I swore Gina's death would not go unpunished. Ethan's eyes glowed with vengeance. "I want to kill you myself," he said his lips curling into a sneer.

"Oh, you seem very confident," Daemon replied, his tone mocking. He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes never leaving Ethan's.

"I saw you struggle against Thorne. What should I fear?" Ethan retorted, his stance widening as he prepared to attack.

Daemon raised his hand, summoning his leech. "Well, show me how confident you are," he said, his eyes cold. 'While he does have their power, it's all fake,' he thought, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

As Daemon and Ethan prepared to clash, Aaliyah's mind drifted into a flashback, to the last day she saw her sister Nadira.

In a small, dimly-lit kitchen of a modest cottage, tension filled the air. Aaliyah and Nadira, who looked exactly like Aaliyah but with a different style—one covered and conservative, the other more outgoing—sat at a worn wooden table. A single lantern cast flickering shadows on their faces.

Nadira leaned forward, her eyes pleading. "Aaliyah, we can't stay here any longer. This village… it's suffocating. There's nothing for us here."

Aaliyah, nervously twisting her hands, replied, "I know it's hard, Nadira, but leaving isn't the answer. Where would we go? What would we do?" She thought, 'I'm no longer how I used to be. I did everything in the past to escape. I wasn't scared, but now we've changed. I'm scared while Nadira is not.'

Nadira's voice rose with urgency. "Anywhere but here! We can find work in the city, start fresh. We're young, Aaliyah. We have our whole lives ahead of us."

Aaliyah shook her head. "It's not that simple. The city is dangerous. We don't know anyone there. What if something happens to us?" She thought, 'I knew I should have listened to her previous attempts, but it was too late.'

Nadira clenched her fists. "Something's already happened to me, Aaliyah. Staying here is killing me every day." Her voice cracked, and she looked away, her shoulders shaking slightly.

Aaliyah's eyes widened. "What do you mean? What happened?" she said as she reached out to touch Nadira's arm.

Nadira took a deep breath, looking away. "I can't keep pretending everything's fine. You remember the night of the harvest festival?"

Aaliyah nodded slowly. "Yes, you didn't come home until dawn. I thought you were with friends."

Nadira's voice broke as she looked down. "I wasn't. I... something happened that night, something I can't just forget. I see him every day, Aaliyah. And every time, it feels like I'm drowning all over again." she said with her shoulders slumped, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Nadira, what are you saying?" Aaliyah asked, her voice trembling.

Nadira's voice trembled. "I can't talk about it. Not yet. But please, believe me. I need to leave this place. It's the only way I can breathe again."

Aaliyah reached out to hold Nadira's hand. "I'm so sorry, Nadira. I wish I could help if you don't tell me. But running away… I'm scared. What if we can't make it?"

At the time, Aaliyah didn't know that Nadira had been raped by multiple elders of the village. Nadira couldn't speak about it because she knew they'd kill her, and even their parents wouldn't have believed her because of the village's dark secrets. She wanted no part of it.

Nadira squeezed Aaliyah's hand. "We have each other. That's enough. Please, Aaliyah. We have to try. For me."

Aaliyah took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Okay. We'll go. Together."

Nadira hugged Aaliyah tightly. "Thank you. We'll find a way. I promise."

The next day, when Aaliyah woke up, Nadira was nowhere to be found in the house. She assumed Nadira had gone to see her friends, so she went looking for her, but Nadira wasn't there either. Panic set in, but Aaliyah kept searching, asking around until she was exhausted and passed out. She still hadn't found her and was terrified of what could have happened.

The following day, still tired from her search, Aaliyah heard screams about a kidnapping. She thought back to something Nadira had hinted at, which made her believe Nadira might have been taken.

Determined to find her sister, Aaliyah confronted the kidnappers the next day. She didn't know who they were or how dangerous they were. Instead of getting any information, she was almost kidnapped herself. An unknown man attacked the kidnappers, and though he was mortally wounded, he fought back and killed them, saving her. That man was Daemon. From then on, she swore to find her sister, now knowing what had really happened to Nadira.

Outside of Aaliyah's mind, Daemon had already defeated Ethan with barely any damage. His leech was aimed at Ethan's neck, who was kneeling on the ground. All the vines had disappeared, drained of life, as was Ethan.

"Now, Ethan, properly explain to me why are you doing this," Daemon demanded.

Ethan, breathing heavily, glared at Daemon. "You're really asking me this, Mortis, or should I call you Daemon?"

Years ago, after seeing Daemon's face plastered across billboards and news stations worldwide, Ethan couldn't forget the crimes he had committed, seeing him at the auction every very image reignited memories long buried, pushing him toward a singular purpose, revenge. Confronting Daemon face-to-face, solidified Ethan resolve. He knew he had to act so in an offering to divulge crucial information to the blood bankers about the vampire's mission in exchange for the death of a Chain Enforcer, Ethan bargained for his chance at vengeance.

Daemon's eyes narrowed. 'How does he know my real name? I've always felt something was off about him. There's a deeper reason,' he thought, feeling a knot of unease in his stomach. "Daemon? Who is that?" he asked aloud, masking his inner confusion with a facade of indifference.

Looking back, he realized...that Ethan did ask if he meet him from somewhere...but still he wont easily reveal himself.

"Don't play dumb with me... You caused my sister's death," Ethan shouted, his voice breaking with pain and anger.

For a moment, the forest seemed to grow still, the silence pressing in on them. Daemon's mind raced back, searching through the faces and names of his past. "Okay, hypothetically, I'm this Daemon. Explain to me what he did to you," he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Not to me, to my sister," Ethan spat. He took a deep breath, his hands trembling. "You didn't know me, but my sister Gina was your artist colleague. She had a crush on you. After seeing your arrest, she believed you were innocent and being framed because she knew who did it. On her way to find the truth and expose it, she went too deep, and it caused her death."

"Gina?" Daemon whispered, his heart skipping a beat. The name hit him like a punch to the gut, memories flooding back of the last day he ever saw Gina.