Is that to be my fate, too?
“Perhaps,” the Scarlet Lady answers, though I have not spoken anything aloud.
“You… You can read my mind?” I gulp down.
She nods. “I can see everything. The spoken and unspoken. And I can see what plagues your mind.”
“Is it true then? Am I truly cursed?”
“That is for you to figure out,” she replies. “The key to destruction is within you. How you use it… It will depend on you.”
“What key?”
“You read parts of that book, though you were not supposed to,” she adds, her voice amused. “You saw what became of Urteos. All he wanted was power. He chased it until he lost sight of everything else.”
“He went mad,” I whisper.
“He did. Your kind is an abomination, Nykander. Itischaos itself. Some manage to regulate it. Others give in. And the stronger you are, the more destructive that chaos becomes, and the harder it is to control.”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I start cultivating,” I say quietly.
It is widely known that the higher a Tartareian’s level is, the harder it becomes to control their chaotic core. The Sons of Tenebreis are at the peak, but as strong as they are, they are also unpredictable. They also need more and more energy to keep themselves in check—moresouls. One of the many reasons why the War Department monitored them so closely.
“What if youdon’tstart cultivating?”
“Huh?” I turn toward her, my eyes wide.
“You’re scared you might fulfill the prophecy of your birth. There is onlyonesolution. Don’t cultivate. Stop everything. Go live however long you have left with your mortal sweetheart. Do that and you’ll never worry about becoming like Urteos.”
“But—”
“It’s really simple,” she says in a light voice.
“I will die…”
“Everyone dies at one point. You might die, that is true. But so will your mortal sweetheart. This way, you can be with her until the end of both your lives. Isn’t that quite romantic?”
“No!” I answer immediately. “That’s too little time, too?—”
“Too little? Mortalsonlyhave that time, and they manage quite fine.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I?—”
“So you will watch your sweetheart die?”
“She will live. With me. We’re both going to live. I will find a way,” I state resolutely. “I don’t believe I should be satisfied with the bare minimum. Wecanhave more—we can have everything!”
A burst of laughter erupts from her.
“And that is your issue, Nykander. You want everything, but what are you willing to sacrifice?”
“…”
“Everything, too?” She asks, her voice dropping a notch.
“Everything but her,” I whisper. “I will sacrifice everything but her.”
“But if it comes a time where the sacrifice requiredisher?”
