With a soft groan, I turned to my side, curling into myself, seeking comfort in a place that held none.
The room was vast and oppressive in its splendor—its walls were lined with intricate gold leaf carvings that shimmered in the candlelight.The air seemed to pulse, alive with something unseen.
There were no windows.
There was no way to measure day or night.
Only the endless stretch of stone, its grandeur stifling rather than beautiful.
Tapestries of legendary battles and mythical beasts hung like silent sentinels, their embroidered figures almost shifting in the low light, watching.
I tried to rise, but my limbs refused to obey.
Heavy as lead, my body was unresponsive, bound by a fatigue that felt deeper than flesh.
“Easy, Lady Elizabeth.”
The voice rumbled above me.
I turned my gaze toward the source and found him?—
A man who seemed to fill the room.
The deep creases etched into his face betrayed age and experience, but his eyes held a power that defied time.
Something was commanding about him.Something undeniable.
Yet beneath that, there was a peculiar sense of protection.
“Who are you?”My voice came soft, unfamiliar, raw.
“Why am I here?And where’s…?”
The question died on my lips.
His hands pressed me gently back onto the plush divan.
“Shh… rest now.”
The words weren’t just spoken.
They settled over me, sinking into my bones like an enchantment.
“You are safe.I am trying to protect you.”
His voice dipped lower, shifting into something ancient, resonant, otherworldly.
He uttered an incantation—a language not meant for mortal tongues.
“Lost to the void, hear my call.By shadow’s grace, find new life in the vessel before me.Return, and walk among the living.”
His fingers moved with quickly, each stroke dragging hidden forces into being.
Glyphs of power, ancient and unreadable, burned into my skin.
Something stirred beneath my consciousness.
Something was pulling me back.
