Kingdom of Shadows

Chapter twenty

"Only those who care about you

can hear you when you're quiet."

Raelyn

The darkness is absolute. There is not a single drop of light penetrating this black realm. It is as if the darkness were a palpable, dense, and suffocating substance, invading your senses and emptying your mind of any thought.

I see no one. I hear nothing. No voice, no sound, just the deafening silence of a boundless void. Just me, suspended in an infinite vastness, lost in this abyss that seems endless. It's as if I have fallen out of the world and now wander through an inconceivable dimension.

A merciless night engulfs my body. It is a night that knows no mercy, and offers no solace. The darkness clings to my skin, envelops me, and seeps into every pore, like a living, ruthless entity claiming its prey.

I don't know where I am. I have no landmarks, no direction. I try to orient myself, but everything is the same. The darkness surrounds me from all sides, without any hint of movement or change. It is total confusion, a loss of self in a sea of nothingness.

"Child." The same voice. The voice I grew up with, the voice I was always happy to hear. The voice that makes me feel wanted and fulfilled.

Suddenly, the path in front of me seems to light up and I see her. She is surrounded by tall trees, and behind her, the vast sea and its tumultuous waves can be seen. They seem to crash against the shore with fury, but her presence brings a calmness to this wild landscape.

She looks exhausted as if she hasn't slept for nights on end. The fatigue is visible in her sunken eyes, and her shoulders are slumped as if the weight of the world has settled on them. Despite her state, she radiates a warmth and light that pierce through the darkness in which I was engulfed.

My heart tightens so much. I miss her so bad. The feeling is overwhelming, like a wave of emotions that envelops and surrounds me. I feel a deep desire to embrace her, to tell her how much I've missed her and how much she means to me. Her presence brings a glimmer of hope in this ocean of darkness.

She moved with difficulty over the mounds of earth, her feet sinking slightly into the soft soil with each step. Her gaze searched around, scanning the surroundings as if she were looking for a lost object or a person. The sun was slowly setting, casting long golden shadows over the green field, and the breeze gently moved her hair.

At one point, seemingly tired from searching, her body suddenly stops. She closes her eyes, and a deep silence falls over everything around her. Her lips move slightly, and from that profound silence, my name is heard, spoken with a tenderness and intensity that makes my heart stop for a moment. The way she pronounces my name, like a whisper from the depths of her soul, makes me freeze. A wave of emotions engulfs me, and the air around me seems to vibrate with each syllable she utters.

※

Ezekiel stands with his arms crossed, his gaze lost in the distance, pondering what I've shown him. His mind is burdened with questions and unease. My mother is here. She's at the border, according to what he said. But what is she doing here? How does she know I'm here?

I try to organize my thoughts, but everything seems so confusing. My mother's presence in this place, so unexpected and mysterious, turns all my plans upside down. Ezekiel, silent and focused, seems to weigh every piece of information, trying to make sense of all this chaos. Does he know more than he's saying? Why would my mother come all the way here, to the Kingdom of Shadows, such a distant and dangerous place? Perhaps soon, all these questions will find their answers, but until then, uncertainty and worry gnaw at me from the inside.