The ruins groaned as the last remnants of the Hollow Ones faded into the wind. A cold silence settled in their wake, heavy and unnatural. Rene barely had time to process what had happened—what Adrian and Adriel had become.
The twins stood motionless, their eyes still glowing—one silver, one black. Their power had settled, but the air around them still felt warped, wrong, as if reality itself hadn't fully recovered from the force they had unleashed.
Lucien was the first to break the silence.
"What the hell was that?" His voice was sharp, edged with something rare—concern.
Nyra stared at the twins, gripping the hilt of her blade as if she wasn't sure whether she needed to fight or defend. Even Kieran had gone quiet, his usual smirk replaced by something unreadable.
Adrian and Adriel remained still.
Then, slowly, Adrian flexed his fingers, watching the faint shimmer of his power dissipate. His gaze lifted to meet Lucien's, cold and steady.
"I don't know," he said simply.
Adriel exhaled softly. "But it's ours."
Rene felt a shiver run down her spine.
Not from fear.
But from recognition.
She had seen this before—this balance between silver light and darkness. This unnatural stillness.
It was impossible.
Yet it had happened.
She looked down at Rena, who had remained silent through it all. The baby's silver eyes met hers, calm and unwavering.
"They finally woke up," Rena murmured, so softly only Rene could hear.
Rene's grip on her tightened. "What do you mean?"
Rena didn't answer.
But she didn't have to.
Because someone else spoke.
"It was inevitable."
The voice came from above.
They all turned sharply, weapons at the ready—
And from the highest point of the ruins, a figure stepped forward.
Draped in dark robes, their face hidden beneath a silver mask, they stood like a ghost against the crumbling stone. Their presence was wrong, like they were both there and not there at the same time.
Lucien cursed under his breath. "You again."
Again?
Rene's eyes narrowed. "Who is that?"
The figure tilted their head slightly, as if amused.
"I have been many things," they said. Their voice was neither male nor female—just an echo, ancient and weightless. "But for you, I am only the Watcher."
The air thickened.
Rene felt something cold settle in her stomach.
She had heard that name before.
In whispers. In forgotten nightmares.
The Watcher sees all.
Adrian and Adriel tensed beside her. For the first time, their control wavered.
They knew who this was.
And they hated them.
"What do you want?" Adrian's voice was sharp, clipped.
The Watcher stepped forward, their movement effortless, almost inhuman.
"To tell you the truth."
Silence.
Then—
Rena, still nestled in Rene's arms, blinked up at the figure.
"You mean their truth."
The Watcher inclined their head. "Yes."
Rene's pulse pounded in her ears.
She had known—felt—for a long time that Adrian and Adriel's origins were shrouded in something unnatural. That their power was unlike any other.
But what she hadn't known—
Was that there was someone else pulling the strings.
Adrian's hands clenched at his sides. His power flickered, unstable. "We don't need anything from you."
The Watcher sighed. "And yet, you are already beginning to remember, aren't you?"
Adriel inhaled sharply.
Rene turned to him—and saw it.
The flicker of something buried behind his eyes.
A memory.
Something lost.
Something stolen.
Adrian squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard.
"No," he muttered. "No, this isn't real."
The Watcher stepped closer, their voice quiet.
"You were never meant to exist."
The ruins shook.
Adriel's eyes flew open, wider than ever. "Stop."
But the memories had already started to surface.
And the truth—
Could no longer be ignored.
To Be Continued…