Chapter 67 Chapter 67

Chapter 67 Chapter 67

Yulia

The thing that was watching me did not move. It didn’t need to. When I turned and saw it clearly, something in my chest felt tight. 

This feeling had nothing to do with being scared. It had everything to do with knowing what was going on. Not of what it was, but of what it was doing.

The thing had been there the entire time. Not just now. Not just since the forest changed. It had been watching me from the beginning, waiting for me, guiding me and adjusting everything I saw so that I would walk exactly where it wanted me to.

"You are not real" I said, but my voice wasn’t as steady or bold like it was before.

The creature tilted its head a little. Its smile got wider, wide enough to destroy any bit of doubt of it being human.

It wasn’t, It was not even trying to pretend to be human. Its shape was still there, but there was something about it that wasn’t settled. It was like it could change into something else at any moment.

"Neither is this" it said.

I felt it that time, not as something distant, but as something directly connected to me. The trees, the ground, the air, it all responded to that voice like it belonged to it. Like it was part of it.

My breathing slowed down, not because I was calm. Because I was thinking… this whole thing was a mistake.

"You felt it" the creature said, taking a step closer to me. "The moment you reached for it. The moment it answered you."

The feeling in my chest started to stir softer than before, but deeper. It was like something had settled into place, instead of fighting against me.

"That does not mean you control it" I said.

The creature smiled again. "No" it said. "It means you opened the door."

These words much harder than they should have. For a second everything was very clear. The ritual, the creatures, the way they did not attack me right away. None of it was random. It was all leading to this. To me.

"You are the one directing them" I said.

The creature did not answer immediately. It just watched me like it was deciding how much to show me. "Not alone" it said finally.

This was worse. My heart started to race but I made myself not move. Running had not worked before. Fighting without thinking would not work either. 

If this thing was controlling the illusion then doing what it expected would only make it stronger.

So I stayed where I was. "You want something" I said.

The creatures face did not change. The air around us shifted a little. "I already have it" it said.

That was when I moved. Not back. Not away. Forward. The distance between us got smaller before the creature could react. 

My hand came up as I reached for it again just like I had done with the others. This time I did not hesitate. I pushed through the surface of whatever it was, forcing that connection open again.

The reaction was immediate. The world around us cracked. Not completely, but enough that I saw it. The illusion was tearing at the edges. 

Something darker was underneath it. Something real. The feeling inside me surged in response, stronger rather than sharper. It was like it recognized what I was doing.

The creatures smile slipped. For the first time, it reacted. "Be careful" it said, its voice a little lower. "You do not know what you are touching."

"I know enough" I said through my teeth.

The feeling inside me spiked harder. For a second I thought it would break. That whatever barrier was between this and the real world would snap completely. I would be out again. I could feel it there just within reach.

Then everything stopped. Too suddenly. The feeling vanished. The crack sealed.. The creature in front of me relaxed.

That was when I understood. My hand was still on it. The connection was still open.. Nothing was breaking. Nothing was changing. Because this was not the surface anymore. This was deeper.

"You almost had it" it said softly.

My stomach dropped. I pulled back immediately. It was too late. The forest around me shifted again, smoother this time… more controlled. 

The cracks I had forced open now closed like they had never been there. The illusion settled back into place stronger than before.

"You thought that was the way" it continued. "It was not."

My breathing picked up, now sharper, harder to control. "No" I said, shaking my head a little. "I broke through before. I know I did."

The creature watched me for a second then laughed. A quiet sound. It carried through everything. "That was not the way out" it said. "That was just another layer."

These words hit me harder than anything. For a moment I could not move. I could not think past that realization repeating in my head. 

The clearing, Luci, the others. The way everything had snapped back cleanly. None of it had been real. I had not escaped. I had gone deeper.

My chest felt tight as the weight of it settled in. Underneath that, something else reacted. Not fear. Not panic. Anger.

"You are feeding on this" I said.

That made it pause. Not long. Just enough. "On me."

Its smile returned, slower this time. "On what's inside you" it corrected.

The feeling in my chest pulsed again, stronger and reacting to that statement like it was being acknowledged.

I clenched my fists. "You aren’t getting anything" I said.

"You already gave it" it replied.

The forest got a little darker and the the shadows were stretching a bit further than before. "You reached for it" it continued. "You opened it.. Now it knows how to answer."

Something shifted behind me. This time I did not turn. I felt it instead. Multiple presences, closer than before surrounding me again but not attacking. 

They were waiting like earlier. This time I understood why. They were not hunting me. They were holding me here.

The realization snapped into place so clearly it almost made me laugh. "You are stalling" I said.

That made it still. "Whatever you are doing" I continued, forcing my voice to steady "you need time."

Its face did not change,. Something in the air did. That was enough.

Before it could respond I moved again. Not toward it this time. I turned inward focusing on the feeling in my chest, the way I had on the training grounds the when I first reached for it.

If this thing was feeding on it then it meant one thing. The connection went both ways.

The feeling responded immediately, stronger than before, it was rising now that I was not hesitating. It was not gentle this time. 

It pushed back, heavy and sharp like it had been waiting for me to stop holding it back.

"Stop!" the creature said.

I did not. The feeling surged. The forest cracked again, this time the illusion straining under it as something real pushed through. I felt it clearly now, not the thing in front of me but beyond it past it. Something outside. Someone.

"Yulia."

The voice cut through everything. Real. Not part of the illusion.

My focus snapped toward it instinctively. That single break in concentration was enough. The feeling faltered. The creature moved. Its hand closed around my wrist before I could react, cold and tight pulling me back into place as the cracks sealed again.

"Too late " it said.

Panic hit me properly this time. "Luci!" I shouted.

The name tore out of me without thinking. This time I did not try to control anything. The feeling inside me surged violently, uncontrolled, forcing its way as I pulled against the thing holding me.

For a second nothing happened. Then something grabbed me from the side. Warm. Real.

The world snapped. The forest shattered completely this time, not cracking but breaking apart like it had never been solid to begin with. The feeling vanished as fast as I was ripped away along with everything else as reality forced its way back in.

I stumbled forward, my vision blurring for a second before it cleared. Luci was in front of me. His grip on my arm was tight, almost bruising. His hand at my shoulder holding me steady as his eyes locked onto mine.

"Look at me" he said, his voice sharp.

I did. My breathing was uneven my body still reacting to something that was not there anymore. This time I knew the difference. This was real.

Around us the forest had returned to normal. The others were tense, weapons drawn, the ground around me marked where I had been standing completely still.

"You are out of that place now" Rhys said to me.

I swallowed hard. Made myself nod at Rhys.

Even as I was nodding I felt something in my chest move again.

The feeling was not gone.

It was not quiet.

It was stronger now.

As I looked past Rhys for a moment, towards the trees that were deeper, in the forest I felt it again.

I felt like something was watching me.

It was closer than it was before.

This time it was not smiling at me anymore.

It was just waiting for something to happen.