𝓓𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓮

𝑹𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏

𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑
‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ ⭑

A cold fog clung to the ground, swirling like a ghost, its tendrils brushing against my skin. Every step I took felt muted, as though the world itself was holding its breath. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched, as if the shadows themselves were waiting to swallow me whole.

I didn't need to see her to know Nyx was there. The air shifted, thickened with her presence-unseen, but overwhelming. The very space around me seemed to bend, as if it were bowing to her will.

"You are forbidden," Nyx's voice cut through the silence, low and commanding. "Forbidden to go to Camp Half-Blood."

The words hit harder than I expected, the air pressing in on me. The camp-the place where Annabeth, Percy, and the other halfbloods were.
It was where my friends were. It was where I was supposed to be. It was my home, my sanctuary. Or at least, it was.

"What? Why?" I snapped, my voice carrying more fire than I felt. "My friends are there. My tree. You can't take that from me."

The darkness thickened around us, the fog swirling with the force of her power. I could feel her gaze-cold, calculating-bearing down on me from all directions. "I do not need to stop you," she replied, her voice unnervingly calm. "I will simply ensure that you never go again."

My stomach twisted. "Why? Why would you do that? What do you gain by keeping me away from them?"

Her laughter trickled through the fog, soft and unsettling, like she was mocking me. "It is irrelevant," she said, her voice syrup-sweet. "Power is power. Do you want it, champion, or not?"

The offer dangled in the air between us, and my pulse quickened. But what was she really offering? "What's the cost?" I demanded, voice shaking despite myself.

Nyx's eyes gleamed, distant and unreadable. "Nothing you haven't already lost."

I inhaled sharply, her words cutting deeper than I wanted them to. She was right. I'd already lost so much-Thalia, Nico, Lysander, pieces of myself. What would one more loss be?

I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't.

The fog began to shift, swirling faster, until a figure materialized in front of me-A child of Nyx. One of them.

This was part of the deal. Nyx had said I would be tested. She wasn't about to let me leave this place without proving myself.

Without a word, the figure lunged at me, and I barely had time to react. I raised my arm to block, but their strike was faster than I anticipated. Pain exploded in my side, the force of the blow sending me stumbling back.

I couldn't let myself fall here-not in front of Nyx, but my opponent, a warrior of shadow and flame, was relentless. My breath came in ragged gasps as I struggled to keep up.