Chapter 23 Chapter twenty Three

Chapter 23 Chapter twenty Three
The pull hit me before I could breathe like something inside me had been yanked forward, and my body reacted before my mind could catch up, my foot sliding a step forward toward them before i forced it to stop.

“No…” I said my voice was strained and uneven, but the pull didn’t stop; it tightened, deeper this time.

“Lyra!”

Valerius’s hand locked around mine instantly, his grip firm, trying to pull me in place as my balance faltered, and for a second it worked…I felt that connection, but it wasn’t enough.

Because whatever was pulling me was stronger.

“I’m not moving,” I said quickly, even as my voice shook and my body betrayed me with another slight shift forward. “I’m not…”

“They’re not forcing you,” Aeris cut in sharply, her voice tighter than I had ever heard it, her eyes locked on me with a focus that made my stomach drop in worry. “They’re calling you.”

“That’s not better!” I snapped, panic slipping through despite everything.

“No,” she said, her expression hardening. “It’s worse.”

The three figures stepped closer in perfect sync, their movements smooth and their forms stabilizing more with every step.

I could feel it the way my power responded to them… it wasn’t fighting or resisting, instead it was aligning,

My breath broke.

“They’re inside my head,” I whispered, my voice barely holding together as the pressure built. “I can feel them.”

“Then shut them out,” Valerius said firmly, stepping closer behind me, his other hand softly rubbing against my shoulder warmly while grounding me in a way that should have helped more than it did. “Focus on me.”

And I tried, I really did.

I held onto his voice, concentrating on the weight of his hand, but it slipped, because the pull wasn’t just external anymore but internal.

Suddenly, the first figure lifted its hand, and everything inside me reacted as my power surged forward, reaching out and responding in a way that made my stomach twist violently, as realization hit me.

“No… no, that’s not me,” I muttered, shaking my head as if that alone could stop it. “That’s not…”

“It is you,” Aeris said, her voice cutting cleanly through my panic. “That’s the problem.”

I snapped my gaze to her.

“Then fix it!” I demanded, desperation breaking through. “You said we cut the connection…so do it!”

But she didn’t move; it was a moment of hesitation, and that single second terrified me more than anything else.

“I can’t do it alone,” she said finally, her voice quieter now, but heavier.

The pull tightened again, stronger this time, dragging at me from the inside, and I gasped as my knees threatened to give out, my grip tightening painfully around Valerius’s hand.

“Then what do you need?” he demanded sharply.

Aeris’s gaze stayed on me.

“Her.”

My chest tightened, “What?”

“She has to do it,” Aeris clarified, her voice steady but urgent now. “I can guide it, I can hold the line, but she’s the one connected. She’s the one they’re reaching for.”

“I don’t even understand what I’m doing!” I shot back, panic rising higher now, sharper, harder to control. “How am I supposed to cut something I can’t even see?!”

“Feel it,” she said immediately.

“I am feeling it, that’s the problem!”

“Then stop fighting that part of it,” she snapped, stepping closer, her eyes locking onto mine in a way that forced me to focus, whether I wanted to or not. “You keep trying to push it away, to reject it, and that’s exactly what’s letting them pull harder.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“It doesn’t have to,” she said sharply. “It just has to work.”

The figures moved closer again, too close this time, as the air between us grew suffocating, and breathing felt like an effort.

“They’re almost within range,” Valerius said, his voice low and tense, then his body shifted slightly in front of me protectively.

“Whatever you’re going to do…do it now,” he loudly says in an alert

My heart pounded hard against my ribs, my thoughts racing fast as fear pressed on me from every direction, feeling suffocating and overwhelming.

And beneath this, I still felt the pull.

“Lyra,” Aeris said, quiet but sharp. “Look at them.” She instructs.

“I don’t want to.” I refused to shake my head in disagreement.

“Do it.” She says firmly

“I said I don’t…”

“Look at them!” The command snapped through me, and before I could stop myself, I did.

I looked straight at them, at the way they moved and the way their forms shifted, but didn’t break.

The way they watched me, and for a second I felt it, somewhat like… recognition.

My breath hitched.

“That’s why,” I whispered, the realization slipping through, and Aeris seemed to notice as her gaze instantly sharpened at me

“What?” She asked.

“They feel… familiar,” I said softly as I stared wide-eyed at her, even the word felt wrong, but it was true, unfortunately

“Yes,” Aeris said softly. “Now stay there.” She orders again.

The pull shifted clearly

“Don’t fight it,” she continued. “Understand it.” She explains

“How?!” I asked, confused.

“Because it’s already part of you!” She says softly as she stares at me, seeming too calm.

The words hit sharply, and for a moment, I just stood there breathing unevenly, staring at them as everything in me shifted.

It all made sense now.

I swallowed hard, as my grip was loosening slightly while I used everything in me to focus; this time, it had not just pushed them away.

A thin, sharp thread stretched between us, and I gasped, then said in a whisper, “I see it.”

Aeris stepped closer immediately, “Good. Don’t lose it.”

Valerius’s grip didn’t loosen either; if anything, it tightened. “Lyra, be careful, “ he called out, worried

“I don’t have a choice,” I murmured sadly.

Then the figures stopped moving, all three of them, their attention sharpening, making my skin crawl in fear.

“They know,” Valerius said under his breath.

“Of course they do,” Aeris replied. “She’s inside the connection now.”

The thread pulsed twice now, pulling. Clenching my jaw, I forced myself to hold steady, forcing my power to respond now wildly but carefully, the way Aeros had shown me before.

Her words repeating in my head, match it, don’t fight or force it, but instead match it.

The thread steadied, and for a second, it worked.

“Yes,” Aeris said softly. “That’s it. No…cut it.” She instructs

My heart skipped a beat, “How?” I asked, completely confused.

“Sever it at the source.” She explains.

“That doesn’t help!” I said sharply, worry still holding me down.

“It’s not supposed to be easy!” She says sharply.

The thread pulsed again, harder this time, and pain shot through my chest as the connection tightened, resisting and pushing back.

“They’re not letting go,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Then make them,” Aeris snapped.

“I don’t know how!” I yelled back.

The first figure stepped forward again; it was closer than before… Close enough that I could see the way its form flickered and shifted.

My eyes widened in shock, and for a split second, it looked at me, enough to make something inside me collapse.

“No…” I whispered, my voice barely there.

Valerius stiffened behind me, “Lyra, don’t look…”

“I have to,” I said, even though my chest felt like it was caving in.

The figure tilted its head, and it smiled.

“You are already coming,” it suddenly said.

The words hit harder than anything else. Because they didn’t feel like a threat, they felt like a truth, and my control instantly cracked.

The thread surged violently, the pull snapping tighter and dragging at me so hard my body jerked forward despite Valerius’s hold, my power flaring wildly as panic flooded back in full force.

“Lyra!” he shouted.

“I’m trying!” I gasped, but I could feel it slipping, the connection strengthening instead of breaking, and I also felt myself being pulled further in

“This isn’t working,” Valerius snapped, his voice sharp with urgency. “We need to pull her out now!” He yells in urgency.

“No!” Aeris shot back immediately. “If we break it now, it’ll tear her with it!” She snaps.

“Then what do we do?!”

Aeris didn’t answer right away, and that worried me because she always had an answer, but this time she hesitated, and the pull tightened again.

My knees buckled slightly, my breath seizing as the pressure overwhelmed everything else, and then my vision began to blur.

“Aeris,” I whispered, my voice shaking now, barely holding together. “I can’t…” I cried out, my heart beating hard against my ribs.

Her gaze snapped back to me, and whatever she saw changed her; her expression hardened and became decisive.

“Then we don’t cut it,” she says.

Valerius froze, “What?” He says in disbelief

My heart dropped, “What do you mean… we don’t cut it?” I asked, fear creeping back in.

Aeris stepped closer and then locked eyes with me.

“If you can’t sever the connection,” she said quietly, her voice steady in a way that made my pulse spike

“Then you take control of it.” She finishes her brow in a frown.

“What?” Valerius demanded.

“That’s not..”

“It’s the only option,” she cut in sharply.

My breathing slowed for a second. Take control of something I didn’t understand and was already pulling me apart?

“That could destroy her,” Valerius said, his voice lower now and more dangerous.

“It will if she doesn’t try,” Aeris replied.

The thread pulsed harder again, and this time it suddenly opened.

My vision flickered for just a moment, and i saw something standing at the far end simply waiting.

My breath seized completely.

“There’s more,” I whispered, fear flooding my every word, and Aeris stilled

“What did you see?” She asked.

I shook my head slightly, my chest tightening as the image burned into my mind.

“I don’t think…” I swallowed hard. “I don’t think they’re the ones hunting me.”

There was a moment's pause as Valerius’s grip tightened as he spoke, “Then what is?” he questioned.

The thread pulsed again, and this time, it answered.

My voice trembled as the words left me, “Something worse is coming.”

Aeris didn’t look away, but her expression changed slightly, and that told me enough. Because for the first time since this started…She looked like she wasn’t sure we could stop it.

Then the pull tightened again, and I barely managed to whisper

“What happens… if I don’t take control?”