Damaine's world turned much colder and darker than it already was as he was being dragged away. The murmurs of the villagers and the clanking of chains faded into a haunting silence. Bound in iron cuffs and burdened by accusations, he was forced into a place where hardly anyone comes out of alive. Inside the shrine's ancient stone corridors as fire torches casted shadows on the walls. Every step echoed with murmurs of prayers and curses, merging into an indecipherable jumble of words.
In the solitude of his confinement, Damaine's deep violet eyes which were once fierce and defiant was now filled with a mix of despair and… something that looked like a glimmer of hope. He remembered Dragolina's pleading eyes as she watched him being taken away. That memory was his only solace. As he was forced deeper into the shrine, he murmured to himself, "I will find a way out. I cannot let this be my end." His words were swallowed by the oppressive silence.
One of the guards leaned close and hissed, "Keep quiet." Damaine met his gaze, defiance flaring for just a moment. "I never did any wrong," he whispered, voice trembling yet resolute. The guard sneered, "Your words mean nothing here."
Outside, at the edge of the shrine, Dragolina stood shrouded in despair. Her heart pounded as she watched them carry Damaine away. Overwhelmed by fear and anger, she approached a frightened villager. "What are they saying about him?" she demanded.
The villager replied in a shaky tone, "They say he is the cause of our nightmares, a monster born from the woods." Dragolina's eyes flashed with displeasure. "I know him. There is more to him than people understand. He is no monster. He can't be. I will uncover the truth."
Back inside the shrine, the Chief Priest's voice echoed through the stone halls. "Damaine, by the decree of the elders, you must answer for your sins at the shrine." Damaine's lips moved, but no sound could come of him. There was no use in saying anything at that point.
In his cell, Damaine closed his eyes, trying to summon the dormant power that stirred within him, a power born of the very shadows that now held him captive. "I will not let them win," he murmured under his breath, his voice barely audible. His inner turmoil clashed with the harsh reality of his situation, and for the first time, he allowed himself to consider embracing his darkness as it might be the only way he can survive.
Away from that was Dragolina whose resolve hardened. "I must save him," she said to herself, voice trembling with both fear and determination. She recalled the moment she last saw him, the look of resignation in his eyes as he was taken away. "Damaine, I won't let them destroy you."
As the night deepened, a faint voice from Damaine's cell broke the silence. "Dragolina... if you can hear me, trust in the light within you. Do not let the darkness claim us both." It was a whisper, laced with both pain and hope, that seemed to close the distance between them even as they were not in a close physical proximity.
In that quiet, desperate moment, both knew that the echoes in the shadows were not merely the voices of the damned. They were the prophecies of a fate that could either redeem or doom them. This was the start of a karma, one that neither of them was truly prepared for, yet one which they both could not avoid.