Life of a Light

Chap 60- Rift:

Veyra (dark energy coiling, eyes sharp):
"You think your cold light can pierce the shadows I command?"

Etzia (calm, almost detached):
"Shadow is absence. Light defines reality."

(She moves with fluid grace, her pale blue Numen energy forming a blade of shimmering ice. She strikes—precise, cutting.)

Veyra (blocking with swirling shadow tendrils):
"Reality bends to will. Watch."

(She lashes out, tendrils whipping like serpents. Etzia sidesteps, ice blade slicing through one tendril and freezing it midair.)

Etzia (steady):
"Emotions cloud judgment. Detachment grants clarity."

Veyra (snarling):
"Your detachment is weakness, hiding fear."

Etzia (without pause):
"I do not feel fear. Only purpose."

(Suddenly, Veyra summons a wave of shadows, engulfing the room. Etzia's form flickers but she remains unmoved—her blue aura pulsing stronger.)

Veyra (voice echoing):
"You cannot escape the darkness inside."

VVeyra (arms crossed, voice cold):

"What are you doing here, Etzia? Come to tear down more of my work?"

Etzia (flat, emotionless):
"I'm here because you kidnapped one of my friends."

Veyra (raising an eyebrow):
"And that justifies barging into our facility?"

Etzia (tone sharpening slightly):
"I didn't come for revenge. I came for answers. And now I know—my friend isn't the only one trapped here."

Veyra (voice low):
"You don't understand what we're doing."

Etzia (unfazed):
"No. I understand exactly. That's why I'm not leaving until I find the rest."

Veyra (taking a slow step forward, shadows coiling faintly around her fingers):
"You think you're still some kind of hero? dragging back to their homes."  

Etzia (flatly, eyes unblinking):
"I'm not here to be a hero. I'm here to bring them home."

Veyra (tone tightening):
"They are home. Here, they're safe. Controlled. Useful."

Etzia (a flicker of cold fury in her voice):
"They were stolen. Modified. Used. That's not safety. That's imprisonment.

Veyra (voice rising, defensive):
"You think you know everything, don't you? 

Etzia (quietly):
"And know what the best for them."

(A beat of silence. The air grows heavy. The lights overhead flicker. Something unseen rumbles deep in the facility.)

Suddenly—

from the shadows at the far end of the corridor—a figure walks forward. Calm. Composed. Familiar.

Etzia (staggered whisper):
"Amaru...?"

(He steps into view—eyes glowing faint dark pulsing with corrupted Numen energy. His expression is blank. Cold.)

Etzia (frozen, voice breaking just slightly):
"He was supposed to be safe.