Inferno's legacy (On Hold)

Chapter 28

Little sparks became the most dangerous flames, it wasn't tended to properly. Everyone overlooked it, undermining it's ability to consume them all. And when it had enough, it did just that.

Eretria trudged through the endless dunes, her skin parched and cracked. How long had it been since she ended up here? Time lost all meaning in this forsaken place. She stumbled, fell, and gazed up at the merciless sun. Then she rolled on her side, giving up all hope of leaving this place, again.

As she closed her eyes, a whisper caressed her mind. "Acceptance makes it easier."

She opened her eyes to find a woman standing before her, her raven hair billowing like a dark cloud. Eretria's heart raced as she stared at the piercing eyes, a shade akin to hers, the angular face, the full lips curved into a knowing smile. Why did it feel so familiar? Why did she look so familiar? She didn't know this woman, but those eyes, those eyes she knew.

"Who are you?" she whispered, her voice barely audible, as she brought herself up. The last thing she wanted was being powerless in front of a mysterious woman.

Her eyes gleamed with a knowing light. "I am you, Eretria. Your past, your present, your future. We are one."

Eretria's mind reeled, reality and illusion blurring. She couldn't distinguish truth from illusion anymore. Her illusions had grown over the past time she was here. She and seen all sorts of horrible things, but a woman saying gibberish wasn't one of them. "Yennefer?"

Yennefer reached out a hand, her touch like a spark of electricity, a smile on her lips."You are lost, Eretria. But I will show you the way. You hold within you a power beyond your wildest dreams. Embrace it, harness it, and you shall be unstoppable."

Eretria's eyes locked onto Yennefer's, and she felt a surge of energy course through her veins. As she embraced her power, she felt a darkness stirring within her, a malevolent force that threatened to consume her.

Yennefer's smile grew wider, her eyes gleaming with an otherworldly intensity. "Yes, Eretria. Embrace it. Let your power consume you, body and soul."

As Yennefer spoke, her form began to distort, visions swirled before her eyes, seeming so real. Once a lively an peaceful town, burnt to the ground, their cries of agony still piercing the air.

"I was like you once," Yennefer's voice was laced with a mad fervor, floating through the maze of her vision, "Afraid of my own power, afraid of what it could do. But I embraced it, and it made me stronger. It made me a goddess."

A touch from Yennefer on her pendant was like a waking call to the darkness buried inside of her. With it came an agonizing pain, like chains, snaking around her frame, bringing her down to her knees. It grew stronger, tempting her with promises of limitless power and yet, the tightening of those chains left her gasping for air.

"Embrace your true nature, Eretria," Yennefer's voice whispered in her mind. "Let your power burn bright, and nothing will ever be able to stop you."

"Make...it...stop." She managed to say in a strangled voice.

"I don't control the power in you. You do." Yennefer said, kneeling beside her as she stroked her hair. "And that power has been caged for too long. It's time to let go."

Her words were followed with a shrill cry from Eretria, her eyes glowing and sparks of flames danced on her skin, neither burning nor hurting her. It felt like a part of her. The rush of power was maddening, instantly blinding her.

She saw red. She saw rage. She saw hate. For a long time, these weren't her emotions. But now, now, she was one with them. One with her darkness. They belonged to her, and she to them.