"Would you look at that," the White murmured, his voice smooth, almost amused. "Our little one, putting up a fight."
The Black laughed.
"Ha! As if he can do something against us."
My grip tightened around my sword, but I didn't move.
I knew what would happen if I did.
They weren't threatened. Not by me. Not by anything.
The Black-eyed Twin tilted his head slightly, his irritation fading into something more apathetic. "Knock it off, child. You are no use to us."
Then, a slight smirk.
"But we do want your power."
I said nothing.
"A shame, Eindva's dead," he continued, almost mocking. "We should've taken you before any of you did it first."
My eyes narrowed.
"Why do you want my power?"
I knew I couldn't fight them. Not now. Not yet.
But if I could get something—anything—from them, I would.
Even the smallest piece of information could be useful.
The White-eyed Twin let out a slow, quiet hum, as if indulging me.
"You are just a mortal. We are Gods."
His pale fingers gestured vaguely toward me.
"Let's just say we can kill more than you will ever think of—even in your lifetime."
Then, a wider smirk.
"Look at you. With all of your kills. With all of the souls you have collected."
He took a slow step forward.
"You are quite strong, even for a human."
The words crawled under my skin.
But the Black-eyed Twin had already lost interest.
He lifted his hand, and in one careless motion, he threw the small black box to the ground.
The moment it hit—
It expanded.
Not shattered.
Not cracked.
Expanded.
A ripple of warped space, stretching outward—until what stood before me was no longer a box, but a tiny black cell.
And inside—
Naestra.
She was alive. Barely.
I could see it in her eyes—weak, unfocused, drained.
She looked powerless.
The Black-eyed Twin sneered.
"But first—"
His fingers curled into a fist.
"We are going to kill her."
My body moved on instinct.
No hesitation. No thought.
Just movement.
I lunged straight for the Black-eyed Twin, my blade raised, my veins burning, Astrid's rage coiling inside me like fire.
He was distracted.
Still grinning at Naestra, his focus elsewhere.
This was my chance.
I swung.
And then—
Something hit me.
I didn't see it. Didn't feel it coming.
But the force of it slammed into my chest, knocking the breath from my lungs, sending me crashing onto the solid black ground.
I gasped. My limbs twitched, but wouldn't move.
I tried to rise—but couldn't.
And above me, they kept speaking.
As if I wasn't even here.
"Hey, what should we use to kill her?" The Black-eyed Twin asked, almost bored.
"You going to use her power, or me?"
The White-eyed Twin barely glanced at him.
"It matters not," he murmured. "We both can open portals anyway. Her power simply amplifies them."
The Black-eyed Twin shrugged.
"Alright, then. I'll kill her."
I forced myself up.
My vision swam, my limbs trembled, but I saw it.
The Black-eyed Twin stepped forward, reaching for the tiny black cell.
It opened.
Naestra barely reacted.
Too weak. Too drained.
She lifted her head just slightly—
And then—
Her body jerked.
A sound. A wet, horrible sound.
And I saw it.
His hands tearing her head from her shoulders.
Like it was nothing.
Like she was nothing.
Blood splattered against the void.
Her body slumped, lifeless, crumpling into the dark floor beneath her.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to move.
I wanted to kill them.
I wanted to do something.
But I couldn't.
Naestra was dead.
And I couldn't understand it.
Just a few weeks ago—she was untouchable.
She danced between attacks like they weren't even there.
Even Sieg himself admitted it.
"I've never landed a hit on her," he had told me once. "Not even once. If she doesn't want you to touch her, you won't. Not now, not ever."
And he meant it.
So what happened?
What changed?
When she returned to camp, she was bleeding.
Bleeding.
Naestra didn't get hit.
She didn't get hurt.
So why?
How?
And now—
She was dead.
Her blood still fresh on the blackened ground, her severed head discarded like trash at the Black-eyed Twin's feet.
Was this the difference?
Between us and them?
Between mortals and gods?
Were they simply too strong?
So far beyond us that our minds couldn't even comprehend their power?
I didn't know.
I just knew I couldn't stop them.
And I hated it.