"Wow, that was quite a show," Adyr remarked, eyes glinting with interest. "Especially the final act—really captured the soul of it. Can't find that kind of drama in theaters these days."
The devouring process hadn't exactly been to his taste. It was too messy, lacking elegance. Still, he had to admit—the ending landed well.
Like a seasoned critic, he offered a few mental notes before reeling his focus back to the matter at hand.
Now, he had two clear objectives.
First, he needed to rescue Vesha before she died. This wasn't out of sentiment, gratitude, or some misplaced sense of heroism. His interest in her survival was purely practical—Vesha had answers he needed, and more importantly, she held status in this world, particularly within the Velari Kingdom. With her influence, Adyr could carve out a new path for himself once they escaped this cave.
The second objective was to capture the Dawn Raven. He didn't know exactly how rare or valuable it was, but the fact that Vesha and her guards had risked their lives just to find it told him enough—things like this didn't appear often.
Standing in the way of both goals were two major obstacles.
The first was time. He had already spent half an hour tracking the skeletons and nearly another twenty minutes observing the ritual. If he didn't act within the remaining two hours or so, chances were high that by his next login, Vesha would no longer be human, but another skeleton in the horde.
Besides, Adyr had never been one for brute-force heroics. He preferred something more calculated. More precise. Not the brawler on the front lines—but the blade in the dark.
After a few more minutes of calculating and planning, Adyr finally settled on the tactic he would use.
"Now," he muttered with a faint smile, " time to write the main character's entrance." His scene was about to begin.
—
I'm dying.
As Vesha lay there, the thought rose in her mind with the same brutal weight as the pain crushing her chest.
Each passing second drained more warmth from her body. She fought to stay conscious, forcing her eyes open, searching for anything, any thread of hope to pull her from this nightmare.
But all she saw was horror.
One of her loyal guards had just been devoured, only to rise again as a mindless skeleton. That was it—the final blow. The last crack in her hope.
I'm dying.
The thought settled into her soul like an undeniable truth. There was nothing left but acceptance. She closed her eyes.
And then, she saw light in the darkness. A silhouette.
Tall. Towering. Taller than anyone she had ever seen in the entire kingdom.
His face was cold, unreadable… yet the mask couldn't fully hide the warmth beneath.
''Adyr.''
At death's edge, Vesha whispered the name instinctively. In the void, she saw him—not as he was, but as the hero of her fading mind. Striding into the darkness like a knight from legend.
A faint smile touched her pale lips, unaware she was dreaming.
Why not?
He was a practitioner—one not shaped by fate, but forged to walk his own path. The kind whose very presence brought peace to kingdoms and dread to their enemies.
And if he was the one who chose to save her, then who in their right mind would dare stand against him?
Now she could see it all clearly. The two of them, hand in hand, walking out of this cold cave. Returning to the kingdom.
She could see her father, standing tall in his favorite uniform, her mother beside him, adorned in her brightest jewels, both waiting at the city square. The cheering crowd. The jealous stares of her spiteful cousins.
Even the king was there in person, with the queen by his side, bearing witness to the grand event.
And there he was—tall, steady, revered by all—standing beside her, hand in hand.
Then, with perfect clarity, she heard the voice of the High Priest, smiling as he spoke, "Under the watch of God Astraeus, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Then she turned to him—it was time. The moment of the kiss. She blushed as their eyes met, her heart fluttering.
He parted his lips and spoke. "Are you okay?"
She smiled, touched by his concern. "Yes, I am. I'm so happy."
As she tiptoed and moved closer for the kiss, eyes softly closing, his voice cut through—clearer, firmer. "Hey, open your eyes. Are you okay?"
"I said I'm okay, can you stop asking?" She whispered, a hint of frustration in her tone. She closed her eyes again, tiptoeing forward to seal the kiss that would mark their union.
But this time, she felt hands gripping her shoulders, shaking her. "I said, open your eyes. You're not dead yet."
At last, she truly returned to herself—back to reality. Adyr was crouched in front of her, studying her with a strange look. "Wow," he said with a faint smile. "For a second there, I thought you were really gone."
Though her body felt numb, cold as someone standing at death's door, Vesha's cheeks burned with embarrassment. She averted her eyes at first, then lifted her head again and asked in a shaky voice, "A-Are you here to save me?"
But before he could answer, her awareness caught up with her surroundings.
The circle of skeletons remained frozen in place, still locked in their eerie poses. One of her guards lay unconscious beside her—or more likely, dead. And the Devil Raven—the thing that would haunt her nightmares—still perched where it had been, calm and indifferent.
She turned back to Adyr.
He didn't look like a savior from her fantasies. Not like a hero descending from the light. He looked just like her—another prisoner. Another offering.
As Adyr saw the questioning, anxious look in her eyes, he spoke calmly. "Yes, I'm here to get you out. And don't worry—I've got a plan."
He tore a few long strips from her dress and quickly pressed them against the wound on her chest, wrapping them tightly to slow the bleeding.
"All I need from you is to lie down and play dead. The Dawn Raven only feeds on life energy, and the skeletons don't offer lifeless bodies as sacrifices," Adyr said quickly.
It was the conclusion he'd reached after observing the previous ritual and taking the description into account.
"But don't actually die, just pretend. Keep your mind awake." Given how much blood she'd already lost, he felt it necessary to add that part.