𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐦 & 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐦

Chapter 16

It was back.
The green room.

The same room that caged her mentally inside itself, the same room that haunted her for almost the whole of her life.

Every assumption she made about that room was proven wrong in this moment of deep agony.

Forever. For ever, she thought this room was all because of the locket-

Oh. The locket.

She doesn't have it yet.

She thought this room surfaced because of the locket, but right now, she wasn't wearing it at all. No sign of that locket was anywhere near her, yet the room was here.

Around her mind. Around her thoughts. Around her whole being.

It brought nothing but despair.

The last time the room appeared was two years ago, and its appearance resulted in the loss of two years.

It has appeared again, and she doesn't know how long this will cost now.

It was then when the figure pulled the dagger out of her stomach in a rapid, cruel way. The figure pushed her back.

Erum stumbled, her knees buckling completely this time. Her back hit the cold pavement, the impact jolting through her entire spine like lightning. A choked cry escaped her lips - raw, involuntary - as more blood spilled from her stomach, warm and endless.

Above her, the stars shine faintly. As faint as her heartbeat right now. Her ears rang, her breaths came short, sharp, and shallow.

And still - the green room was there.

It didn't need walls this time.
It was the air.
It was the silence.
It was her mind, caging her again.

But not like before.

This time, she knew.
This time, she felt everything.

And that made it worse.

Her trembling hands weakly grasped the pavement, smearing it with blood. Her mouth opened, lips trembling, but no words escaped.

The figure stood over her - towering, calm. Unbothered.

They looked down at her broken body, tilting their head slightly.

"You're still breathing," the figure muttered as if surprised. As if disappointed.

Then - they knelt.

Erum couldn't move. Couldn't fight. Her body had given up. Her soul hadn't.

The figure leaned closer to her ear again, their breath cold and cruel.

"But not for long."

They raised the dagger as if preparing for the final strike -
And then...

Stopped.

With a dark glint in the hidden eyes, they turned the blade in their hand and tossed it - not at her - but beside her. It clattered against the pavement, a mocking sound.

As if saying: Here. Sit with your pain. Hold it. Name it.

The figure stood and backed away, boots silent against the ground. No hurry. No fear.

They melted into the darkness like they were the darkness.

And then - the shadowy figure was gone.

But the pain?

It stayed.

Erum gasped, her hand hovering over the torn flesh, blood seeping endlessly through her fingers. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and she could feel herself slipping. The weight of her eyelids. The fading of the stars.