Alythion woke up that morning feeling a new surge of energy coursing through his body. The pain he had endured had vanished, yet he felt an unfamiliar heaviness in his chest. As he sat on the edge of the bed, sunlight streamed through the window, casting warmth across the room, but he didn't feel that warmth within himself. Taking a deep breath, he rose cautiously and made his way toward the large mirror in the corner of the room.
Standing before it, he slowly turned his head and gazed at his reflection. All his wounds had disappeared—there was no trace of them on his skin, as if they had never existed. However, he quickly noticed something unsettling… the scar. The scar in the center of his chest was still there, unchanged, not even slightly healed, despite all the efforts of the healers and the advanced magic they had used. His hands trembled as he traced it with his fingers, trying to grasp why it remained. Yet something deep inside him whispered that it wasn't just a scar… it was something far more mysterious.
Questions began flooding his mind. Why hasn't it disappeared? Does it have something to do with my battle against Nephilim? Or is it a cursed spell that struck me while I was unconscious? His doubts grew, and darker thoughts began to take shape in his mind. He knew that the healing magic his healers had used was among the most powerful—so how could this scar withstand it?
Then suddenly, he recalled a moment that hadn't seemed strange at the time, but now he realized its significance. It was when he was in the bath with his wife, Miralin—a seemingly ordinary moment until his head was suddenly wracked with pain. The pain had been sharp, like a dagger plunging into his skull. Back then, he hadn't understood what was happening to him, but now, he was beginning to realize that it hadn't been an ordinary headache… it was something much deeper.
As he was lost in thought, a sudden pain surged through his head! It wasn't ordinary pain—it was as if a burning blade was piercing his skull, making him stagger backward. He tried to steady himself against a nearby table, but his legs failed him, and he collapsed onto the ground with force, a scream tearing from his throat against his will. It felt as if his entire world was being turned upside down, a vortex of darkness swallowing him whole. Then came the voice…
That chilling, deep, and echoing voice. A voice not of this world.
"Your end will be like this, Alythion… your end will be like this, Alythion… your end will be like this…"
The voice resonated in his mind, as if carving those words into his very soul. It wasn't just a threat—it felt like a terrifying prophecy, an unchangeable fate.
Alythion screamed, trying to resist the voice, but he couldn't. He was on the verge of losing consciousness when he felt hands gripping his shoulders. They were warm, gentle, and he could barely make out Miralin's voice calling his name in desperation.
"Alythion! What's happening to you?!"
But he couldn't answer. He couldn't even breathe properly.
Healers knelt beside him in a rush—one began chanting healing spells while another ordered rare medicinal herbs to be brought immediately. Yet despite everything, the pain in his head persisted, and the voice continued to echo inside him, as if something deep within refused to leave.
In the last moments before he lost consciousness, he saw his daughter, Elora, running into the room, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried, "Father! No, Father!" Behind her, Kaylor stood frozen with fear, powerless to do anything.
But Miralin quickly moved to them, holding them close and ordering them to leave the room, while the healers desperately continued their attempts to keep Alythion alive.
Then, everything faded. He was swallowed by a deep darkness—no sound, no movement, just an endless void.
When Alythion finally woke from his coma, his body felt as though it had endured a violent storm. But more importantly, his head still pulsed with a faint pain, a mere shadow of what it had been before he lost consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see the room filled with healers or his family, but to his surprise, Miralin was the only one sitting beside him.
Tears were still silently streaming down her face, and her red, swollen eyes made it clear that she hadn't stopped crying since he collapsed. She looked at him with deep concern, as if fearing he might break again at any moment.
Alythion tried to move, but an unusual weakness overtook his body. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Miralin and asked in a weak but steady voice,
"What happened?"
Miralin quickly wiped her tears away, but she couldn't hide the tension in her eyes. Her voice trembled as she answered,
"You suddenly collapsed… we didn't know what was happening to you… The healers said an immense magical pressure had struck your body, but they couldn't understand its source… You were screaming, writhing in pain as if suffering something unbearable…"
Her voice faltered briefly before she continued, this time even weaker, "I thought I was going to lose you, Alythion…"
Alythion looked at her in silence for a moment, feeling the weight of her words. But he needed to process what had happened to him. After a moment, he spoke softly, trying to gather his thoughts.
"I remember looking at my old scar… the one that never healed, despite all the healing attempts…"
Mirelen gently placed her hand on his chest, right where the scar was, as if trying to feel it, to understand its secret just as he did. But he continued speaking in a low voice:
"When I saw it... my head started hurting... It was a strange headache, unlike any pain I had ever felt before. Then..."
He paused for a moment, as if recalling the scene in his memory, then continued in a more serious tone:
"I remembered that flash that passed through me when I was with you in the bath… I hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, but… now, it's different… It felt like it was the key to this pain…"
Mirelen looked at him with growing concern, but she did not interrupt him. He continued, his tone more tense:
"Then suddenly… without any warning… my head started hurting intensely… a pain beyond description… I felt as if something was trying to pierce through my skull from the inside, as if it was tearing me apart from the inside out… The pain was unbearable… but worse than the pain…"
He looked directly into her eyes, as if the words he was about to say carried a weight heavier than he could bear alone. Then, in a quiet but grimly serious voice, he said:
"I heard a voice… a voice not of this world… It echoed in my head over and over again… It told me: 'This will be your end, Alethion…'"
Mirelen's eyes widened in horror, and she squeezed his hand tightly, as if trying to offer him some reassurance. But she couldn't hide the trembling that overtook her.
"Alethion… what does this mean? Who was speaking to you?"
Alethion closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then reopened them and said in a quiet yet firm voice:
"That is what we need to find out…"
Mirelen looked at Alethion, her eyes filled with worry. Then, she gently placed her hand on his forehead and spoke in a soft voice:
"You should rest for a while, Alethion… You've been through a lot today, and your body and mind need rest above all else. We will continue this conversation tomorrow when you feel better."
He knew she was right, but he felt that his mind wouldn't allow him to rest easily. Still, he didn't want to add to her worries, so he gave her a warm smile and reached out to hold her hand gently.
He looked at her with his deep eyes and said in a soft, affectionate voice:
"I know you're worried, but nothing in this world can take away my happiness as long as you're by my side… You are the light that dispels the darkness around me, Mirelen. How could I lose myself in this mystery as long as I have you?"
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and despite her concern, a small smile formed on her lips. She gazed at him with love, then leaned in and kissed his forehead gently before whispering:
"Sleep well, my love…"
Then she turned and left the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
But Alethion did not sleep immediately. He lay there, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, while his mind swirled with endless questions. His scar… the excruciating headache… that voice… everything pointed to something far greater than just an unhealed wound.
Then suddenly, Mirelen's words from earlier echoed in his mind…
"A massive magical pressure struck your body…"
His thoughts halted on that sentence, as if it was the key to a puzzle he had yet to solve. A massive magical pressure… Where had it come from? What could have caused something like this?
And suddenly, as if struck by a flash of realization…
The book…
The image of that black magic book that Velaria had found in the palace library appeared vividly in his mind. He remembered how Velaria had been uneasy about it, how she had warned them that the energy emanating from it was unnatural… unfamiliar.
A massive magical pressure… A strange ancient book… and a scar that refused to heal despite the strongest treatments… Could there be a connection between them?
Alethion clenched his fist tightly, feeling a growing determination inside him. "I will look into this… but not now. When I regain my strength, I will find out what that book is… and what it has to do with what is happening to me."
And with that final thought, he closed his eyes, allowing his exhausted body to finally surrender to sleep.