The Mad Ҡìղց

Summoning Thornheart

Mother, are you sure about this? Ayana asked, her voice trembling with doubt.

Mrs. Lan's gaze softened, but her resolve was firm. "Yes. My son is heartbroken, and I can't bear to see him like that."

Wanji would not be happy if he found out. Ayana's fingers trembled as she stared at her jade bracelet.

"No one has to know," Mrs. Lan hissed, her eyes like daggers. "This stays between us."

Ayana hesitated, heart pounding. Her voice cracked, "What if someone finds out?"

"They won't."

Ayana's hands trembled as the glow intensified, the room filling with a faint hum that seemed to vibrate through the walls. The air grew thick, and heavy with energy as the ancient chants rolled off her tongue like whispers from another world. Shadows flickered wildly on the walls, cast by an unseen flame. Mrs. Lan clutched her shawl tighter around her shoulders, her breath hitching with every syllable.

"Careful," Mrs. Lan murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She was torn between fear and hope, watching her daughter weave magic older than the stars.

Ayana's eyes snapped open, now glowing a soft, eerie gold. The sigil drawn in chalk on the floor flared to life, its intricate lines igniting with a crimson light. The summoning was nearly complete.

A sudden gust of wind tore through the room, though every window was closed. From the center of the sigil, a form began to take shape, a towering figure with obsidian hands and molten eyes. Draegan Thornheart stood before them, his presence commanding and dangerous.

"You summon me, Ayana. What is it you desire?" Draegan's lips curved into a knowing smirk.

Mrs. Lan stepped forward, her hands trembling but her resolve firm. "My son, Wanji, suffers a grief I cannot mend. I need your power to take his pain away."

Draegan's lips curled into a dangerous smirk. "Every boon has its price. Are you prepared to pay it?"

Mrs. Lan hesitated, then whispered, "Anything."

"Tell me," Ayana demanded, her voice firm despite the fear that crept into her heart.

The crimson-eyed being leaned closer, its form shifting like smoke. "The curse isn't meant to be broken, it's a tether, binding their souls together. If undone, one will perish while the other lives."

Ayana stepped back, her voice trembling. "That can't be true. There must be another way."

Draegan's grin widened. "There always is, little sorceress. But the price will not be yours to bear. Are you prepared to lose yourself, or will you let your brother choose his fate?"

"What is it?" Mrs Lan asked, her voice low and husky.

The dark figure stepped closer, his presence filling the room like a storm cloud. Crimson eyes flickered toward Ayana, then settled on her mother. "You meddle in forces beyond you, Mrs. Lan. The curse was woven with threads of destiny, not mere vengeance."

Mrs. Lan's voice wavered but held steady. "My son does not deserve this pain. If destiny wove it, then it can be undone."

Draegan chuckled darkly, his laughter reverberating. "Ah, the desperation of a mother. But the threads I weave bind not just flesh and soul, but time itself. Undoing them could unravel more than you intend."

Ayana's voice faltered, but her resolve remained. "There must be a way. What price would you accept to undo it?"

Draegan's gaze bore into hers, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "The price, Ayana, is steep. A life for a life. You choose who pays it."