Chapter 66 Chapter 66

Chapter 66 Chapter 66


Yulia

The moment I touched it everything changed. But it wasn’t just the creature that stopped moving in my hand. The whole forest seemed to pause, like something was holding its breath. 

The shadows that were moving around us froze, their shapes flickering slightly like they did not know what to do.

I could feel it clearly now. Not just the thing in my hand. All of them. They were connected. This realization didn’t scare me like something I was just finding out. It felt natural, like something I was remembering.

"Yulia" Luci said, his voice low but tense. "Let it go." I didn’t answer immediately. I was still looking at the creature in my hand. It did not feel solid. It wasn’t disappearing either. It was like holding smoke that had decided to stay

"It’s not fighting me" I said quietly. Rhys stepped closer, careful and alert. "That doesn’t  mean that it won’t eventually  he said. "I know " I replied. I wasn’t scared.

Something else was happening inside me. 

The same feeling I had earlier when I reached for that power inside me. It was responding, slowly and carefully like it was waiting for me. The creature moved slightly in my hand reminding me that it wasn’t totally harmless.

The others reacted, moving slightly. They did not attack. "They’re linked." I said, looking up. "When this one stopped, they all did." Luci’s face darkened as he looked around. He had already noticed.

"That is not a good thing" he said. "No" I agreed". It means something. "Before either of them could respond the feeling in my chest changed again. It was stronger, spreading from where I held the creature, moving up my arm and settling deeper inside me.”

My breath caught, a little bit, but I did not let go. "Yulia" Luci warned. "I’m fine " I said quickly, even though I was not entirely sure that was true. Because this did not feel dangerous. It felt right.

The creature moved again. This time I felt something beyond it. Not just its presence.  

Something behind it, further out deeper in the forest. My head turned slightly without me meaning to.

"There is something else” I said slowly. Rhys frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. "These aren’t the ones leading this… whatever this is" I continued. "They are being directed."

The air changed immediately. Lucis eyes narrowed. "By what?" he asked. I did not have an answer.. I had a direction. My eyes focused deeper into the trees past where the creatures had appeared.

"There is something further in" I said. The moment the words left my mouth the creature in my hand reacted. Not violently,. Enough to confirm it.. Then without warning, it disappeared completely.

The others followed instantly. The shadows pulled back into the trees, retreating fast and vanishing into the darkness. Silence settled over us.

"They are gone " one of the warriors said quietly. "No" I replied, still staring ahead. "They aren’t gone." 

Luci looked at me. "What?" he asked. 

"They pulled back " I said. "There is a difference."

Rhys exhaled slowly. “That’s new.”

I didn’t respond. My attention was still fixed forward, on that same point in the forest where the connection hadn’t disappeared.

“They weren’t trying to kill me,” I said after a moment.

Luci’s expression hardened. “They attacked you.”

“They tested me,” I corrected.

That didn’t sit well with him. I could see it immediately.

“They wanted to see if I could respond,” I continued. “And now they know.”

Rhys crossed his arms slightly. “That’s not comforting.”

“No,” I said quietly. “It’s not.”

Luci stepped closer, his voice lowering. “We’re not going deeper.”

I looked at him. “We have to.” 

“No,” he said immediately. “We’ve seen enough.”

“We’ve seen the surface,” I replied. “That’s not the same thing.”

His jaw tightened. “It’s enough to know it’s dangerous.”

“It’s enough to know it’s connected to me,” I said.

That only made his stance firmer.

“That’s exactly why you’re not going further.”

“And if it keeps coming here?” I asked. “If it doesn’t stop?”

He didn’t answer right away.

Rhys spoke instead. “If there’s something controlling them, then that’s what matters.”

Luci didn’t look at him. “Understanding it doesn’t mean walking into it blindly.”

“We don’t have the option of ignoring it either,” Rhys said.

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay steady. “I can still feel it,” I said. “It hasn’t gone away.”

That was the truth.

The connection was faint now, but it was still there.

Waiting.

Luci studied me for a long moment before finally looking back toward the forest.

“We move carefully,” he said at last. “No one breaks formation.”

It wasn’t full agreement.

But it was enough. We started forward again. This time, the forest didn’t resist us. No shadows.

For a moment, it almost felt like we had passed through whatever it was.

Like we had broken out of it.

Rhys let out a quiet breath behind me. “Too quiet.” I nodded slightly. Something about it felt wrong.

Not tense or dangerous.

Just… off.

I slowed slightly, my eyes moving across the trees.

Everything looked normal but my chest tightened.

“Luci…” I started.

I didn’t get a response, I turned and my breath caught.

They weren’t there.

Not Luci, not Rhys, not the warriors.

Just me, standing alone.

The forest stretched endlessly in every direction, silent and empty like nothing had ever been there.

My pulse spiked.

“No…” I whispered.

A voice answered immediately. Right behind me. “You almost noticed.”

I froze. Slowly, I turned. This time, there was no illusion trying to look familiar.

No softened face.

No disguise. Just something watching me, and smiling.