Page 70 of Favored By the Stars

"How quaint," she sneered. "Unity can be shattered just as easily as glass."

"No." My voice hardened like steel. "I won't allow it."

As shadows pressed tighter around me, something shifted within, I felt energy coursing through my veins like wildfire igniting every nerve ending. In that instant of clarity, it dawned on me: our bond was forged not just from light but from confronting darkness together.

With newfound determination coursing through me, I prepared to fight back, not just for myself or even for Senara, but for all we stood for against the encroaching void. I would not let the Empress corrupt me.

ChapterTwenty-Five

Senara

As we approached the Temple of Shadows, a chill seeped into my bones. Thorn moved cautiously beside me, his eyes scanning the shifting structure. He had been restless all night, as though he was fighting in his dreams as well as in reality, and I made a mental note to talk to him about it later, once we had the pendant.

Now was not the time for distractions though, especially since the walls themselves seemed to pulse and breathe, an eerie reflection of our apprehensions.

Volker stepped forward first, his gaze intent on the flickering darkness. "This place feels alive," he said. "We must tread carefully."

As we ventured deeper, shapes twisted in the gloom, familiar yet distorted. My heart raced as a shadow guardian emerged, taking form from the very darkness that surrounded us. It mirrored me with unnerving accuracy; every curve and line of my figure warped into something grotesque.

"Senara," it hissed, my voice laced with malice. "You think you can escape your destiny?"

I clenched my fists, drawing on the power within me. "You're not me!" I shouted defiantly.

Wyn gasped as her own shadow manifested beside me, a version with hollow eyes and a wicked grin. "Embrace your fears," it taunted, its voice dripping with disdain.

"Get away from her!" Thorn charged at the shadow, which turned into mist as he slashed at it. He stumbled back as it rematerialized right in front of him. Except this time, instead of appearing as my best friend, it had morphed into a creature of claws and fangs.

Volker rushed to his side, brandishing a dagger forged from light which caused the creature to back up, merging into the shadows that ringed the room once more. "We need to break their hold!"

The shadows shifted again; more guardians swirled around us, each one echoing our insecurities and doubts. A darker version of Thorn stepped forth, clad in jagged armor that glimmered with cruelty.

"Do you truly believe you can protect her?" it sneered. "Your failures will consume you both. If you must be with her, then control her, make her obey you and, in turn, the Void Dragon Empress."

Thorn's jaw tightened as he faced his own dark reflection. "I won't let you dictate who I am! She is her own person, not mine to control."

Together, we stood against our shadows, united by the strength forged in our trials. I summoned my magic, the Crescent Diadem glowed at my brow as light clashed against darkness.

"Focus!" I called out to them as they battled their inner demons. "Thorn and I went through something like this before in Moonweaver's Grove. Sometimes you don't have to fight, you have to embrace what they are trying to tell you."

"Foolish girl. I will wipe your sorry existence from this world and replace you becoming the perfect vessel and I'll make your friends watch. You can try to embrace me all you want, but all you'll find are the tips of my blades."

The moon blades shimmered to life in her hands, and a surge of jealousy ran through me. Why could she summon them and I couldn't? I knew they weren't the real ones, but it was poking at an open wound within my soul.

With no further warning, all the dark versions of ourselves attacked. Each spell cast and every strike made against these twisted reflections seemed to damage them, and I felt a flicker of hope igniting within me. But doubt still lingered like an unwelcome guest at the edge of my mind, what if we couldn't overcome this? What if these manifestations held truths we weren't ready to face?

The shadows writhed around us, shifting and morphing into familiar shapes that chilled my heart. Wyn's dark version emerged once more, its voice a sinister whisper that cut through the air like a blade.

"Wyn," it taunted, its eyes glinting with malice. "You know the truth deep down. That magic of yours? It's already poisoning you. Just give in to it. Embrace what you truly are, a dark mage."

Wyn trembled, her hands shaking as she faced her shadow self. "No! I won't listen to you!" Her voice wavered, but she stood firm.

The dark Wyn grinned, a smile that twisted her features into something unrecognizable. "You think you're strong enough to resist? You're only delaying the inevitable. The corruption is part of you now, just like your fear of losing control."

As Wyn launched an attack against her dark self, Volker's shadow stepped forward, radiating a cold intensity that froze my breath in my throat. "You see?" it said, its tone dripping with disdain. "She will never love you the way you want her to. She sees you as nothing more than a means to an end. She's a dark mage!"

"Shut up!" Volker shouted back, his fists clenched at his sides. "That's not true! She cares about me, just as I do about her. Love doesn't matter."

The dark Volker laughed harshly, its voice echoing around us like thunder in a storm. "Of course, love and caring don't matter, not when all you see is power! You think you can overcome this? You're just a fleeting thought in her mind, a mere distraction from her greater purpose."

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