Paradoxical Convergence (Book 1)

Chapter 11: Shadows of the Past

The fog was thick—denser than usual. It clung to everything, swallowing the courtyard in an impenetrable mist. Aria could barely see beyond a few feet ahead, but she didn't need to. The rhythmic sound of her own breathing and the low growls of the aswangs told her everything she needed to know.

They were close.

Too close.

Her sword-cane felt solid and cold in her grip, the weight of it familiar and comforting. At her side, Maria hovered, her glowing brass lamp casting flickering light that cut through the swirling fog. The dim glow made the world seem unreal, like a distorted reflection in some ancient, haunted mirror. But this was no reflection. This was reality, and the creatures she was facing were more real than the shadows that haunted her thoughts.

The aswangs, three of them, moved in a slow, predatory circle, their elongated limbs twitching, eyes gleaming with an unnatural hunger. Their bodies were twisted and contorted, more animal than human, and their movements were jerky, disjointed—like puppets being manipulated by unseen hands.

Aria's pulse quickened, though her face remained calm. She had fought aswangs before, but something about these felt different. They were stronger than the usual breed. More aggressive. More... hungry.

And they're delaying me.

A flicker of anxiety, rare and unwelcome, surged through her. Cecile was out there, chasing the Batibat through the fog, and here she was, wasting time fighting these creatures. Time she couldn't afford to lose.

Aria swallowed hard, her grip tightening on her sword-cane.

I can't lose him too.

"Maria," Aria whispered, her voice barely audible above the fog. "Let's finish this."

Maria didn't respond—she never did. But the air around her seemed to shimmer with the spirit's energy, a subtle acknowledgment of the command. In the next instant, the spirit moved, gliding forward through the mist with eerie grace. Her brass lamp swung low, its glow intensifying, casting long shadows across the cobblestones. The first aswang lunged, claws extended, but Maria was faster. Her itak flashed in a swift arc, slicing clean through the creature's midsection. The sickening sound of flesh and bone being torn apart echoed through the mist.

The aswang screeched, stumbling backward, black blood spilling onto the ground, sizzling as it met the earth. The smell of rot filled the air, acrid and overwhelming, but Aria didn't flinch. She couldn't afford to. Not now.

The second aswang, undeterred by its companion's fate, lunged for Aria, its jaws snapping open, razor-sharp teeth bared. But Aria was ready. She twisted her body just as the creature reached her, narrowly avoiding its claws. Her sword-cane sliced upward, finding purchase in the creature's shoulder. She drove the blade deep, pinning the aswang to the stone wall behind it. The creature howled, thrashing wildly, but Aria held her grip, her face a mask of cold precision.

But even as she fought, her thoughts weren't entirely in the present. They were with Cecile.

Her chest tightened.

I can't let it happen again. Not this time.

The third aswang charged at Maria, its movements quick and desperate. But Maria was a specter of death. Her ethereal form twisted, avoiding the creature's attack with ease. The itak swung again, cleanly severing the aswang's head from its body. The creature collapsed in a heap, its head rolling across the cobblestones, eyes still wide in a frozen snarl.

Aria yanked her blade free from the second aswang's corpse, black blood dripping down the length of the cane. She stood still for a moment, catching her breath, her mind already racing ahead to what lay beyond the fog.