The Entity Chosen.

Chapter 9

With each passing trial, the survivors found themselves pulling back from her, their smiles more hesitant, their glances quicker, until she was left on the edge of the group, watching from the shadows as they forged onward, their trust in her eroded, their camaraderie slipping away. And as she watched, the Entity filled her with dark whispers, feeding off her isolation, savoring every flicker of doubt and despair that crept through her.

At last, when she was truly alone, her mind numb and her spirit broken, the Entity whispered a final promise, its voice a dark, honeyed purr. "This is your fate, Liri. To be my creature, my instrument. In time, you will not even remember what it was to be free.."

And as she sat in silence, her gaze empty, the Entity's presence filled her completely, binding her soul to the darkness. She knew, in the hollow void of her mind, that there would be no escape, no redemption. She was bound to the Entity forever, a creature of despair, a vessel of suffering — and in the shadows, her friends were powerless to save her.

As Liriyal settled into the circle around the campfire, the flickering light cast eerie shadows across her vacant expression. The survivors exchanged glances, the air thick with unspoken tension. They had barely escaped the last trial, each of them shaken and exhausted, but now, sitting across from them, was a friend who had been acting like their worst nightmare.

Meg broke the silence first, her voice a mixture of confusion and worry. "Liriyal... back there in the trial, what was going on with you? You were... you were coming after us. Like... like one of them." Her voice wavered, and she searched Liriyal's face for an answer, but Liriyal's expression remained eerily calm, as if the question barely registered.

Claudette leaned forward, her eyes filled with concern and a touch of fear. "We thought you'd... lost control or something. You were... different, Liriyal. You didn't even respond when we called out to you." Her gaze flicked to the others, seeking validation. "It was like you couldn't hear us. Like you were... possessed."

Liriyal felt the Entity's presence thrumming within her, pressing down on her thoughts, guiding her words before she could even process them. She wanted to respond, to explain, but the Entity's dark influence twisted her voice into a cold, emotionless tone. "I was... following orders," she said simply, the words feeling hollow on her tongue. "I saw each of you, and I... wanted to attack."

The blunt admission sent a ripple of discomfort through the group. Feng's expression shifted from confusion to something darker, a trace of anger flashing in her eyes. "Orders? Whose orders, Liriyal?" She stared at her friend, her hands clenched. "You mean to tell us you're not in control anymore?"

Liriyal hesitated, feeling the Entity's grip tighten within her, urging her to feed their fear, to sow seeds of doubt. It whispered promises of what it could do to them, how it could use her to turn against them again, to erode their trust. She felt her lips moving, forming words that weren't entirely her own.

"There's... something inside me," she said, her voice faintly tinged with desperation, struggling against the Entity's influence. "It took over during the trial. I couldn't stop it... I couldn't control what I was doing."

Dwight's face paled, and he leaned back, his gaze wary as he regarded her. "So... what are you saying? That you're like... one of them now?" His voice was cautious, edged with suspicion. "Are we supposed to be... afraid of you?"

A pang of hurt shot through Liriyal, but the Entity seized on it, magnifying her pain, twisting it into something darker. It pushed her to respond in a way that would isolate her further, to make them question her loyalty, her place among them.

"Maybe you should be," she said, her voice cold and flat, the words feeling foreign as they slipped from her mouth. "I'm not... the same as I was before. I don't think I ever will be again." The Entity urged her to hold their gaze, to let the uncertainty and fear fester.

Meg's face crumpled, confusion and sorrow mingling in her expression. "But... Liriyal, you're our friend. We're supposed to be in this together, no matter what. We're supposed to fight for each other, protect each other."

The Entity forced her to smile, a faint, hollow gesture that held no warmth, no familiarity. "Maybe you don't understand," she murmured, her voice distant. "I'm not just fighting for survival anymore.."

The group exchanged uneasy glances, the bond between them fraying as uncertainty took hold. Feng shook her head slowly, her expression lined with frustration and sadness. "I don't know if I can trust you, Liriyal," she admitted, her voice tight. "After what happened... I mean, you were one of us, and then suddenly, you were like... like one of the killers."

The words cut deep, and the Entity savored the sting of isolation that filled her. It whispered through her mind, feeding off her despair, pressing her to distance herself even more, to abandon her connection to them entirely.

But somewhere within, a faint spark of her own will flickered. She wanted to reach out, to bridge the chasm the Entity was forcing between her and her friends, but the Entity tightened its hold, letting her feel the cold weight of loneliness that was quickly becoming her only companion.

Claudette, her voice hesitant, broke the silence. "Liriyal... if there's still part of you left, part of the person we know, you have to fight this. Whatever it is inside you, we can help. But you can't just... give up."

The Entity sneered in her mind, finding amusement in the naïveté of the survivors. It urged her to respond, to drive the final wedge between her and her friends, to let them feel the futility of their hope.

"You can't help me," Liriyal said, her tone laced with finality. "I don't even know if I want you to try. Maybe... maybe this is what I was meant for." The words settled like stones in the silence, pushing the others further away, leaving her trapped in a void of her own making.

But as she saw the disappointment and fear in their faces, her own heart twisted painfully, her fractured will fighting to break free, to scream that she didn't mean it, that she was still here, buried beneath the Entity's crushing weight. Delighted by her suffering, relishing in her isolation.

One by one, the survivors turned away, murmuring quietly among themselves, casting her looks that spoke of distrust and uncertainty. And as they drifted into their own conversations, she felt the chill of the Entity's presence grow, a suffocating blanket of despair that assured her that she was, indeed, alone.

The Entity's voice, a whisper in her mind, pulsed with satisfaction. "Now you see, Liriyal. They will never understand you, never accept you. But I am always here, always waiting. They fear you now, as they should. Soon, you will realize that I am all you need."

As she sat in silence, watching the others froma distance, her heartheavy with the knowledge that the Entity's hold was only growing stronger — andwith it, her fate as its obedient host became more certain.

Just in case, anyone gets confused its referring to trials I didnt write cause I am Lazy :'D