The chamber was silent.
Stella stood frozen, her breath shallow, staring at the lifeless body dangling from the chains. The power in her veins still pulsed hot, intoxicating, unstoppable.
Her first kill.
She had imagined this moment differently. She had thought revenge would taste sweeter. That taking a life would feel like justice.
But as the last echoes of the man's final breath faded, something inside her shifted.
She felt stronger.
She felt darker.
She felt… hungry for more.
Behind her, Helene's voice was smooth, approving.
"You hesitated."
Stella turned sharply. Helene was watching her with an amused expression, her silver eyes glinting in the dim torchlight.
"But you still did it," she continued. "That is what matters."
Stella clenched her fists. "I thought it would feel different."
"Ah," Helene chuckled. "You thought killing would ease the ache in your chest? "That your vengeance would begin with a single life?" She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "No, child. This was just the first drop of blood. There will be many more before your thirst is quenched."
Stella's throat tightened.
A part of her wanted to deny it to say she wasn't bloodthirsty, that she had only done what was necessary.
But another part of her, the one that had reached for the shadows, had struck the fatal blow without hesitation, knew the truth.
She had crossed a line.
And there was no turning back.
The Path to Power
Helene led Stella deeper into the labyrinth beneath the ruins, past walls etched with ancient symbols and tunnels whispering with unseen voices.
"There are three trials in total," Helene explained as they walked. The first was a test of your will. To see if you have the strength to take a life.
Stella didn't respond. Her hands still ached from the kill, but it wasn't the pain she felt it was something more dangerous.
It was power.
"The second trial," Helene continued, "will test your control. "Power without discipline is a blade without a handle that will cut you as easily as your enemies."
Stella glanced at her, determined. "And the third?"
Helene stopped at the entrance of another dark chamber. A stone door, covered in blood-red carvings, loomed before them.
"The final trial," Helene mumbled, "will decide if you are worthy of vengeance… or if you will be consumed by it."
The torches along the walls flickered, their flames unnaturally still.
Stella's pulse quickened.
"What's behind this door?" she asked.
Helene smiled, a slow, dangerous thing.
"Your past."
Then, without warning, she pushed Stella inside.
The door slammed shut behind her.
Darkness swallowed Stella whole.
The air was thick and heavy with whispers, curling around her like unseen hands. She knew this place. Not by sight, but by feeling. The sharp, biting cold that seeped into her bones. The scent of damp stone, old wood, and something faintly metallic.
Blood.
Then, a voice. Soft. Loving. Familiar.
"Stella?"
Her heart skipped.
She knew that voice.
It had been years since she'd last heard it, but she would recognize it everywhere. Even in death.
It was her mother.
Her breath caught in her throat. "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "This isn't real."
A dim, flickering light illuminated the space. The shadows peeled back just enough to reveal a small wooden cottage, a place she hadn't seen since she was a child.
And standing in the doorway, just beyond the glow of candlelight…
It was her mother.
Stella's knees nearly buckled.
Her mother stood exactly as she remembered her long chestnut hair cascading down her back, warm green eyes, a gentle smile. Her dress was the same blue fabric she had worn the night before…
Before she died.
Stella's fists clenched. This was a trick.
"You're not real," she said, forcing steel into her voice. "You're dead."
Her mother tilted her head, sadness flickering across her features. "Does that mean you shouldn't listen to me?
Stella gulped hard.
This wasn't real. It couldn't be.
And yet…
There she was.
Stella's feet moved before her mind could stop them. One step. Then another.
The warmth of the candlelight bathed her skin. The scent of her mother's favorite tea drifted through the air.
It felt so real.
"Come inside," her mother urged softly.
Stella hesitated.
Every instinct screamed at her to turn back. This was part of the trial. A test. Helene had warned her, the second trial was about control.
But the little girl inside her, the one who had lost everything, ached to believe.
Against her better judgment, she stepped through the door.
The Lie That Felt Like Truth
The inside of the cottage was exactly as she remembered it. The wooden table with a chipped edge. The woven rug by the fireplace. The old bookshelf her mother used to read from every night.
For a moment, Stella forgot the shadows. The pain. The power surging inside her veins.
She was just a daughter again.
Her mother set a steaming cup of tea in front of her. "Drink, my love. You must be exhausted.
Stella stared at the cup.
If this was an illusion, it was a damn good one.
She reached out, hesitated, then wrapped her fingers around the warm ceramic.
She didn't drink. Not yet.
Her mother sat across from her, studying her carefully.
"You've grown into a strong young woman."
Stella gulped. "You're not real," she repeated, but the words were weaker this time.
Her mother's expression didn't change. "I know you're hurting, Stella. I know what Zina did. And I know what you've done to survive."
Stella flinched.
The man she killed. The way the darkness inside her had welcomed it.
Her mother leaned forward, lowering her voice,
"You don't have to keep going down this path, my love. You don't have to become a monster."
The words struck something deep inside her. Something raw.
"You don't understand," Stella whispered. If I don't fight, she'll win. She'll destroy everything. I have to stop her."
Her mother reached across the table, gently taking her hands.
Her touch was warm. Too warm. Too real.
"My sweet girl," she murmured. "Vengeance is a poison." If you drink too much of it…"
Her mother's fingers tightened around hers.
"You will become what you hate."
Who Can Relate:
-What is Helene's end goal? Is she truly preparing Stella for revenge or something else?