𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽'𝓼 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷

Chapter-37

*•.¸♡ AUTHOR'S POV ♡¸.•* 

Diego's heart slammed against his ribcage, each beat sharp and relentless, echoing like a drum of impending doom. His muscles coiled with tension, his fists clenching and unclenching as if barely containing the storm brewing within him. 

His eyes—dark, cold, and piercing—darted across the shadows that stretched and twisted along the palace walls, devouring every corner of the grand estate.

The King Estate... in darkness? It was unthinkable.

The palace was a fortress of power, its blazing lights a testament to its dominion. Yet now, an unnatural void blanketed it, suffocating the familiar glow with eerie finality. This wasn't a mere power outage. It was a message. A threat.

"Myra!" The name tore from his throat, raw and desperate, slicing through the oppressive silence. But the void devoured his cry, leaving behind an echo that mocked him. His pulse thundered in his ears, his mind a chaos of fury and fear, but one thought blazed through the haze—he had to find her. Protect her.

His boots struck the stone floors with urgency as he sprinted through the dim corridors, the sound ricocheting off the walls like a haunting metronome.

The air around him seemed thicker, pressing against him with every step, but he pushed forward. His breath came in ragged bursts, his chest heaving as his eyes scanned every flickering shadow, every unmoving silhouette.

Fear twisted in his gut, an emotion he despised and rarely felt. But for her—for Myra—it consumed him. His voice, hoarse from shouting her name, filled the emptiness again, even as the stone walls absorbed his plea. 

Yet the weight of his dread and fury pushed him forward, each step driven by a single, desperate purpose: find her before it's too late.

The east wing was eerily desolate, a hollow shell of what it should have been. The grand halls, once alive with the soft murmur of servants and the steady presence of guards, now stretched endlessly, silent and lifeless. Diego's footsteps echoed against the cold stone, a lonely rhythm that did little to quell the storm of unease churning inside him.

"Myra!" he called again, his voice a raw plea that was swallowed by the oppressive silence. Panic clawed at his chest, each unanswered shout tightening the vice around his lungs.

He pushed forward, his movements quick and deliberate, but the suffocating stillness clung to him like a second skin. Finally, he charged into the south wing, his breath hitching as he was met with the same thick, smothering darkness. It wrapped around him, distorting his sense of direction, and every attempt to pierce the shadows with his gaze only deepened his frustration.

The air felt heavier here, charged with an unnatural stillness. His jaw clenched as he strained to make out even the faintest silhouette, but the world around him seemed devoid of life as if the very palace had been abandoned to its fate.

"What the hell is going on?" he growled, his voice trembling with fury and confusion. His mind echoed with Xendar's earlier warning, the spectral lion's voice resonating as clearly as if it were beside him: "Palace hasn't been attacked. Then what the hell are all these shadows?"

Diego's breathing quickened, a ragged edge of fear creeping into his controlled exterior. "Myra!" he shouted once more, his voice cracking as he descended the grand staircase two at a time. Each step groaned beneath his weight, the wooden creaks cutting through the silence like whispers of impending doom.

Just as Diego's foot hit the last step, the world shifted. The oppressive shadows retreated, and in an instant, the palace blazed with light. The sudden brightness stung his eyes, forcing him to blink as the familiar grandeur of the estate was restored.