Marked By Darkness

Chapter 104- Burning Alive

The room felt alive with chaos, the air thick with a malevolent energy that made it hard to breathe.
Hina's fury had erupted, her ghostly form no longer shimmering but blazing like a dark flame. Her eyes burned with hatred, and the walls trembled as if echoing her wrath.

Father Daniel stood firm, his hands clasping his crucifix tightly, murmuring prayers in a steady rhythm, but his words seemed to dissolve into the suffocating darkness around them. Hina's power surged, silencing his efforts as her sinister laugh filled the room.

Ruhi's heart pounded in her chest. "Hina, please stop!" she cried out, stepping forward despite the icy tendrils of fear wrapping around her. Her voice wavered but didn't break. "This isn't who you are. You don't need to do this."

Hina turned to Ruhi, her expression twisted with pain and rage. "You don't understand anything, Ruhi!" she screamed, her voice echoing unnaturally. "I've suffered alone for so long. If I can't have peace, why should you?"

Suddenly, a gust of wind knocked everyone off balance. Objects flew across the room, and a suffocating chill enveloped them. Ruhan moved quickly, grabbing Ruhi's arm to pull her back, his grip firm yet trembling. "Stay behind me," he said, his voice a mix of fear and determination.

But Ruhi shook her head, her eyes locked on Hina. "No, Ruhan. This is between her and me."

Before anyone could react, Hina lunged forward, her ghostly form splitting the air with an ear-piercing shriek. A blast of dark energy erupted toward Ruhan, but Ruhi threw herself in its path. The impact sent her crashing to the ground, her body limp and lifeless.

"Ruhi!" Ruhan's voice tore through the chaos, raw and desperate. He dropped to his knees beside her, his hands trembling as he cradled her. Father Daniel shouted prayers louder, but Hina's energy was too overwhelming. She hovered above, triumphant and heartbroken at the same time.

Ruhi's vision blurred as the world faded around her. The cold crept into her bones, and she felt herself slipping away. Then, everything went silent. She found herself standing at the edge of a vast void, a soft light flickering in the distance.

Her voice trembled as she whispered into the void, "Are you happy now, Hina? You got what you wanted."

A faint figure appeared-Hina, not as a vengeful spirit, but as a young girl of 15, her face soft with regret. "I never wanted this," Hina said quietly, her voice no longer filled with anger. "I just wanted someone to see me. To love me. To understand me."

Ruhi's voice broke as she replied, "And I always did, Hina. I just wish you had seen me, too." Ruhi's tears streamed down her face. "You've always misunderstood me, Hina. You made me alone. You took everyone away. You made me weak."

Hina's expression softened, a sad smile spreading across her face. "And yet, you're not weak, Ruhi. You never were. You're the rain to my storm. Together, we're unstoppable, but apart, we destroy ourselves."

Ruhi shook her head, her voice trembling. "You don't understand. I'm tired of being the rain. I'm tired of all of this." Her breath hitched as she wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to shield herself from an invisible storm. "I keep running, searching for peace, but no matter where I go... I can't escape it. I can't escape any of it." Her words hung in the air, heavy with exhaustion, with longing, with the weight of a battle she never asked to fight.

Hina stepped closer. "Then stop running from it. Own it, Ruhi."

A sharp sound broke the tension-a voice calling from beyond the veil.
"Ruhi!" It was Ruhan. His voice, strained and desperate, echoed as though carried through endless corridors of shadow. Hina said, her voice softer now, "Aiden is waiting for you. He's always been waiting. And no matter what I do, I can't take you away because the Adamsons won't let me. And Aiden... he won't let go of your hand."