Page 73 of Favored By the Stars

"You don't get to decide who I am! I'm worth more than what I can leave behind. I am worthy just by being me!" I shouted fiercely as I pushed harder against the encroaching darkness.

In that moment, everything coalesced, the shadows, the whispers of doubt, all converged into one brilliant flash that tore through the oppressive gloom surrounding me. With a last surge of energy, I unleashed all my magic in one concentrated blast aimed directly at the heart of my shadow self.

The creature howled in agony as it disintegrated into wisps of darkness that faded into nothingness. A deafening silence enveloped me in its wake, a quiet that felt both liberating and terrifying.

As its presence vanished completely, so too did the suffocating weight pressing down on my heart. But even amidst this victory, a gnawing ache lingered deep within me, an echo of what could have been but would never be.

ChapterTwenty-Six

Senara

The oppressive darkness lifted, leaving me breathless in its wake. I took a moment to steady myself, the pulse of magic still thrumming through my veins. The air tingled as it brushed against my skin, almost as though it was charged, alive with the remnants of our battle against the shadow that had taunted me. I could hear Thorn's labored breathing nearby and caught sight of Wyn, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and relief.

"Senara," Thorn said, his voice low and steady as he stepped closer. "You did it. You faced it down."

"I couldn't let it win," I replied, shaking off the remnants of doubt that still lingered at the edges of my mind. "We need to keep moving."

"Is anyone hurt?" Volker asked.

I looked around, feeling slightly guilty that I hadn't thought of the question.

"Nothing a stiff drink won't cure," Van mumbled back.

Thorn grunted an agreement, and Wyn just shook her head.

"Thanks, Volker, but I'm fine." Physically I was, but I also knew that the shadow's words would haunt me for a long time to come.

Together, we shuffled our way out of the room. In my mind, I imagined each step putting another barrier between us and the negative feelings and thoughts the shadows had tried to instill in us. Each step felt like a victory, a declaration that I would not let fear hold me back again.

The corridor ahead beckoned with an eerie glow. We followed its soft light until we reached an archway framed by intricate carvings, symbols I didn't fully understand but felt deeply resonant within me. As we crossed beneath the arch, a warm breeze washed over us, swirling with hints of starlight and moonlight alike.

"Look!" Wyn exclaimed, pointing ahead.

In the center of the next chamber lay a luminous altar, a pedestal rising from the ground like a beacon in the night. Atop it rested the Veilshard Pendant, radiating powerful celestial energy that pulsed with an almost sentient rhythm. The light danced around it as if celebrating our arrival.

Hesitantly, I stepped closer, captivated by its beauty, though also terrified that some monstrosity would guard this, just like the mirror had been.

The pendant shimmered in shades of silver and gold, weaving patterns reminiscent of constellations and celestial bodies. It called to me in a way I couldn't quite articulate; there was an ancient magic woven into its very essence, a promise from gods long forgotten.

"Can you feel that?" Thorn whispered beside me.

"Yes," I breathed out slowly, extending my hand toward it. My fingers tingled with anticipation as I brushed against its cool surface. The energy coursing through me surged to meet the pendant's power, harmonizing into something profound, an echo of my duality as Eclipse Child.

"It feels alive," Wyn added, her voice barely above a whisper as she gazed at it in awe.

I reached for the Veilshard Pendant, drawn by its pulsing energy. The moment my fingers closed around it, my Moon Mark flared with searing heat. Magic surged through my veins like wildfire, a blinding rush that knocked the breath from my lungs.

"Senara!" someone called, but their voice sounded distant, underwater.

My vision fractured into a thousand shards. Darkness swept over me, not the comforting darkness of night, but something ancient and hungry. I saw lands withering under a shadow that blotted out sun and moon alike. The Void Dragon Empress rose before me. Again. This time though, her form was shifting between dragon and woman, between darkness and nothingness.

"You are already mine," she whispered, her voice like ice cracking. "Look."

I glimpsed myself standing at her side, my Moon Mark corrupted with tendrils of void-black. The once golden light that had mingled with the silver was completely gone and replaced with veins of black ichor that stretched out over my skin from the mark, making me look exactly like the monster she had made me.

She pointed and my corrupted self ran forward, but she didn't see me standing there. Instead of fighting as I had expected, I watched as armies fell before us, most of which was at my hand. The courts burned. Fae blood coated my shadow's face and Thorn's body lay broken at my feet.

With each breath I took, the visions sped up, crashing through me, too fast, too much. The boundaries between realms tearing like paper. Stars blinking out one by one. My power growing, twisting, and feeding on the void rather than moon or sun until the moon and sun were nothing but withered husks that eventually fell from the sky onto the broken land below.

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