Alina: Light & Shadows

Chapter 23

Kael and I found ourselves once again before the Shadow King and Seline, alive and well, knowing that this was the decisive battle.

Everything had been prepared, orchestrated from the very beginning to bring me here, in front of them.

Seline, with her mischievous smile, seemed already convinced of victory.

And my father, the Shadow King, watched in silence, but his eyes betrayed something deeper.

"You've arrived at the point you needed to be, Alina," said the Shadow King, his voice low and authoritative. "Now, your light must be sacrificed. It is the only way to bring balance between the worlds."

I felt trapped, their gazes fixed on me like blades.

"Why should I give up my light?" I asked, trying to buy time, trying to understand what I could do.

Seline stepped forward, her voice syrupy and deceptive.

"You don’t understand, Alina? Your light is a threat to all of us. It’s too strong, too pure. If it isn’t broken, we will never be able to unite shadows with light."

It was a lie, I knew.

But I was beginning to sense that my light wasn’t just a threat to them... maybe it was also an anchor. Something that bound them, limited them. I remembered my father's words: "Your light is what prevents my power from consuming me."

Why hadn’t I thought of this before?

My father didn’t want to destroy my light... he wanted to use it, break it so that he could maintain his balance.

Kael, always by my side, murmured, "Alina, don’t listen to them. This isn’t about balance; it’s about power. They’re trying to make you give up what makes you strong."

"This is where you’re wrong, Kael... this is about balance too!"

I realized in that moment that I had to play my card.

I wouldn’t give up my light, but I would use their own manipulation against them.

"Very well," I said, trying to remain calm.

"If this is what you want, I have no choice; I will do it."

Seline smiled, but the Shadow King remained still, watching me intently.

I approached him, searching for that bond I knew connected us.

And as I pretended to focus on my inner light, I summoned a force even deeper, something I had never explored before: the connection with the shadow.

In an instant, I felt the darkness seep inside me, but I didn’t reject it.

I accepted it, fusing it with my light. And in that moment, I understood the true power of being the daughter of two worlds.

I was the pillar, I was the balance of the two worlds!

The air grew heavy as the two powers intertwined within me.

I wasn’t giving up my light; I was transforming it.

My father’s face suddenly changed, realizing what I was doing.

"No!" he shouted, reaching out toward me, but it was too late. With my newfound power, I felt the darkness surrounding him and his true nature.

"You... were cast out from the Realm because you wanted to use the power of the shadow to subjugate everything. You were betrayed by them because they saw your thirst for power," I said, overwhelmed by my own awareness.