The circle held them in oppressive blackness, the air trembling with its quiet demand, as though the void itself had teeth. Leira's fingers hovered in the empty space between them, brushing at nothing, craving contact, craving clarity, but finding only distance and silence. Her chest heaved, each inhale sharp, metallic, tasting of dust and energy, the weight of the circle pressing her down, constricting her ribcage as if the world itself were squeezing the life from her.
Cassian's breathing echoed against the void, ragged and uneven, shaking with pain and fear. He raised a trembling hand toward her, fingers straining to cross the space that seemed to stretch infinitely. The circle pulsed subtly, sensing their hesitation, nudging them forward, demanding truth.
Leira swallowed, her tongue thick with unspoken words, heart hammering like a drum in her chest. She could feel it, the expectation, the hunger of the magic surrounding them. It wasn't just demanding honesty; it was pulling at the raw edges of their hearts, touching the places they barely allowed themselves to acknowledge.
Finally, she drew a breath, trembling but steadying her voice.
"You want more?" She yelled at the void, at nothing. "Fine… I have tried to convince myself that who you are now is who you've been… just this version of you… but deep down, I don't really believe that. Every time we met in the past, even in the lives I barely remember…it seemed to be you. Always you. The easiest thing I ever did was fall for you. The hardest thing I've ever done is pretend I didn't. I can't let myself love you however I feel… not fully… honestly, not at all… because if I do, I might never survive the consequences."
The circle shivered. Dust swirled violently at their feet, kicked into the air by invisible forces. Tendrils of white light pulsed outward from the runes, slithering across the ground, brushing against her ankles like icy fingers. Leira's knees buckled slightly beneath her, but she held herself upright, every muscle straining. The whispers returned, louder now, not just around her ears but inside her skull: anger… fear… love… restraint. They were naming her emotions, dissecting her soul.
Cassian's head snapped up, eyes wide with awe, pain, and vulnerability. He hadn't heard what she said with his ears, but somewhere in his soul. The red light around him pulsed in sympathy, claws of energy pressing inward like molten metal. His lips parted, voice low and raw: "Leira…"
His voice came then, raw and ragged, cutting through the hum of energy.
"Leira… they weren't always in control of me," he confessed, the words breaking like splintering wood.
"It was me."
His throat worked, the truth shaking out of him. "The real me is the one who kept finding you every time. They couldn't track you, I led them to you. Not because I wanted to… never because I wanted to. But with every life, my heart longed to find you, to make things right."
The circle pulsed, reacting to the truth.
"But every time I found you," he whispered, lowering his head, "every time we drew close and you let me in… that was really me. Every first laugh, every quiet moment, every time we fell in love… that was me."
His breath hitched. "And every time I found you, they took control the moment you were most vulnerable. They used my love for you as a weapon. They turned me into the thing that hurt you."
His fingers curled against the glowing floor, the guilt eating through him.
"But the part of me that loved you? That kept finding you? That was always real. Every time."
The circle reacted violently, shaking the black void around them with a thunderous vibration. The columns of red and white light surged, pressing against their hearts, their chests, their very souls. Dust and ash whipped in chaotic eddies, burning nostrils and throat, tasting metallic and thick with ancient power. Every nerve ending screamed, every bone vibrated, and yet neither moved away.
Leira's pulse thrummed painfully in her ears, matching the pounding rhythm of the circle itself. Every vibration in the stone floor crawled up her knees and spine, rattling her breath. Her chest tightened as the pressure built again, thick as molten air. She gritted her teeth, shaking, forcing herself past the choking heat toward the next confession.
"Why won't you just let us go."
She yelled it at the darkness, her voice cracking against the invisible walls. "I have nothing more to confess."
The void answered with a low, bone deep vibration that rolled through her body and buckled her legs. Her knees hit the ground hard as the force pressed down on her skull and ribs, a warning. A promise.
Do not lie.
Her breath shuddered. She hesitated, only for a moment, then the pressure grew sharper, needling her skin. Finally, she gave in.
"Alright fine… until this life, I don't think anyone else ever compared to you. Not in any of them. And I hated that. I hated how easily you could undo me with just a look. I hated how much of me you already owned before I even realized it. And I still do."
The circle reacted instantly.
A sudden surge of wind blasted through the void, hot and cold at once, smelling of ash, iron, and something older, something hungry. The force sent her hair whipping across her face as the ground trembled under their feet. The circle's runes pulsed violently, their glow flashing like a heartbeat spiraling out of control.
Tendrils of white light erupted from the markings, wrapping around her legs, snaking up her spine with a deliberate slowness, pressing, guiding, demanding more. The magic tightened around her ribcage like hands clasping her breath.
On the opposite side, Cassian shook so hard the red light around him flickered, turning jagged with strain. He forced his legs to hold, the muscles in his thighs trembling as his knees threatened to collapse. Every pulse of the circle made him groan under his breath, the sound torn from raw endurance.
He swallowed, voice shredded and hoarse, trembling with a vulnerability he could no longer hide.
"I am constantly split between finding you… and loving you enough to let you go. Because every time I see you, I see the shadow general… that cold, wicked and vile creature that only yearns for chaos… and I just can't stand the thought of you seeing him again as well."
His breathing hitched, chest heaving as the red tendrils wrapped higher, pressing into his shoulders, his jaw, his temples, dragging the truth out of him.
"But at the same time, I can't stay away from you… even knowing everything that I do…"
His voice broke.
"And I believed that that's what makes me the real monster."
The confession trembled in the space between them, vibrating through the circle like a key turning in a lock.
Then, suddenly, the circle exploded. The force threw them backward, but instead of pain, it was as if all the weight had been released for a fraction of a second. Light flared like a storm of stars, blinding and incandescent, twisting into a tornado of red and white that rose above the scorched earth. Their bodies trembled violently, but the pain receded into a buzzing, electric tingle that left them stunned and gasping.
When the light collapsed, the circle no longer constricted their chests. It hummed quietly, almost peacefully now, the final whispers fading: acknowledgment… understanding… temporary release. They lay on the scorched ground, heaving, skin glistening with sweat, hair matted, eyes wide and raw from exposure.
Cassian pressed himself upright, leaning heavily on one arm, his chest still sore from the beams. His fingers brushed against Leira's hand, tentative, as if testing whether she would retreat.
"You're alive," he said, voice low, hoarse, vulnerable. "We… we're alive."
Leira's lips trembled. "We are… what…" Her voice barely carried over the wind of settling dust. She forced herself to her knees, brushing ash from her clothes, eyes scanning the runes that had subsided but still glowed faintly.
Cassian pushed himself to his feet fully, extending a hand toward the fractured stones scattered across the circle's floor.
"The relics," he said, voice steadying, tone carrying command but not force. "Pick them. Any that feel like they belong to you. Whatever you choose, we carry it with us. It'll become part of you… it will become your weapon as you hold a piece of darkness as well."
Leira hesitated, looking at the cracked stones that shimmered with faint traces of the circle's power. Some vibrated softly under her touch, thrumming in tune with her heartbeat. Others felt alien, distant, heavy with past energy she couldn't yet comprehend. Carefully, she knelt and placed her hands on the nearest relic, feeling warmth bloom through her fingers as a pulse of light responded in kind.
Cassian bent beside her, selecting one of his own. Their hands brushed over the stones, electricity tingling at the contact, and for the first time since the circle had trapped them, their proximity didn't threaten annihilation. The energy hummed around them, not angry or constricting, but steady, a quiet acknowledgment of truth given and received.
Leira's eyes flickered in his direction. Her voice was soft, cautious. "I… don't… I don't know if I can ever forgive fully… and I don't think I can be with you ever again."
Cassian shook his head slowly, lips pressed tight. "I know that, I completely understand… and you don't have to worry yourself about that at all. Let us just focus on making sure that you can survive this… that'll be enough for me."
A gentle, almost imperceptible vibration pulsed through the stones, and the faint glow around the circle's remnants faded. The air no longer pressed, no longer burned. They were free, standing on scorched earth, battered and raw, but alive. The relics hummed faintly, tethered to them, and for the first time in centuries, there was… potential.
The wind brushed through the scorched clearing, carrying the last echoes of the circle's whisper: acknowledgment, but not forgiveness. Recognition, but not reconciliation. The lessons were earned, but the journey continued.
Leira's hands trembled as she gathered the relics that resonated with her, energy settling beneath her palms. Each one pulsed like a heartbeat, a memory of truth confessed, pain endured, love restrained, and strength reclaimed. Cassian did the same, his eyes never leaving hers, each choice a silent promise that they were not alone, not broken beyond repair, and not destined to repeat the past.
Together, they stood amidst the quiet remnants of the circle, relics in hand, scars deep but unyielding, shadows of confessions lingering like smoke in the air. The path ahead was uncertain, but they had survived the first crucible. They had spoken truth. And in doing so, they had gained the freedom to choose again.