Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia
Rayne's POV
"My Liege."
The voice sliced through the silence the moment I pushed the doors open. Bellion stood waiting-head bowed, still as stone, brimming with quiet expectation.
A warm hand brushed against mine.
I squeezed Ahri's fingers-just enough to say I've got this-then stepped forward.
"I still don't agree with your master's choice," I said, flat.
He didn't flinch. Not even a flicker of shadow.
"I'm not the kind to let fate write my ending."
A breath.
"But."
I stopped just before him.
"Whatever Ashborn saw in me-it changes nothing."
"My goal is the same."
A pause.
"Kill the demon lord."
His posture didn't shift, but I could feel his eyes on me. Measuring. Waiting.
So I asked-plain and direct.
"If I turn my back in battle... will you be there? Or will you hesitate because I'm not Ashborn?"
The silence that followed wasn't heavy.
It was careful. Intentional.
Then-he smiled.
Barely.
A faint, fleeting curve of his mouth.
It caught me off guard.
He never smiles.
Without a word, the marshal dropped to one knee-deliberate. Grounded.
"I followed Ashborn because I believed in what he stood for," he said.
"When the end drew near, he no longer spoke of legacy. Or vengeance. Only of what would come next."
A pause.
"He told us to wait. And to serve."
He lifted his gaze.
"Not someone like him."
"Someone new."
A beat-longer this time. His tone never changed, but something unspoken passed behind his eyes.
"Perhaps... someone meant to walk a different path."
Thump.
Something shifted in him. Quiet. Final.
"You are not him, My Liege."
"And I no longer believe you were meant to be."
Thump.
"You'll have my sword. In battle. In ruin. In storm."
"Wherever you lead, I will be there."
I held his gaze. Let the silence settle. Let his vow root itself in the stillness.
Then:
"... How big is his army?"
"Vast," he replied, without pause.
My jaw tightened.
"Vast compared to what?"
Grim understanding passed between us.
YOU ARE READING
Your Shadow Is My Light
Fiksi PenggemarRayne, a girl born into tragedy, is haunted by a traumatic past, burdened by the memories of killing her father and witnessing her mother's death. Bullied and isolated, she often struggles with self-doubt, thinking that she's better off dead than al...
