Lara POV (Final)
I'm waiting for Micah in an abandoned temple on a mountain, sitting on a rock, gazing at the full moon above.
What a journey this has been.
Fate is a cruel bitch.
I've learned that much. Thanks to Raul, I've seen a side of the world I never knew existed.
Soon, I'll join the academy, but the adventure I've lived through before that isn't something you can just describe.
I was listening to a poem Raul recited through my phone. I recorded his voice. The poem felt like it was written for Micah.
It was as if it were crafted just for him. I got lost in it.
Then I heard a voice behind me: "Why did you call me here? You were supposed to fulfill my wish." It was Micah.
I turned around, and he was standing in the open clearing, with the darkness of the night, the earth beneath, and the rustle of leaves.
I stood up, faced Micah, pulled a flower from my pocket, took his hand, and placed it in his palm.
Micah pulled his hand back and examined the flower: "How do I know you didn't just buy this from a market in Sylvarion?"
I sighed: "Micah, I got this from Alice. Look closely."
Micah's eyes widened: "ALICE?! She's gone… how… how did you do this?!" he shouted, inspecting the flower.
"Alice was tired of living, half-dead, half-alive. I gave her peace…" I said.
Micah bowed his head: "Alice… I caused you such terrible pain. If only I'd known what would happen."
He smelled the flower, but then clutched his chest: "Ahhh, it's like there's molten iron in my heart, AHHHH!"
Then applause echoed from the air. It was Raul.
He descended slowly, as if walking down invisible stairs: "Sorry to keep you waiting," Raul said, landing gently beside me.
"How are you feeling now, Micah? Lighter-hearted? Or less troubled?" Raul's smile faded, his face serious.
"Raul von Vance, what do you want?" Micah stood in front of him.
Raul clasped his hands: "What do I want? Your soul…"
In the midst of all this, I forgot how to even speak: "Did you forget our deal? 'You can take my soul on the moon,'" Micah said, his voice laced with anger.
"Yes, your three wishes are complete, and at the end of our deal, we'd stand together on the moon," they said in unison.
Then Raul stepped back slowly: "Well, what do you know…" he said, waving his hand, and the earth on the ground swirled rapidly into the air.
A moon paint appeared on the ground: "No, we had a deal! The moon is up there, THERE!" Micah pointed at the moon above, then kept looking at the ground.
A paper appeared in Raul's hand: "I gave you what you wished for, here on the moon, our contract you fulfill." The paper slowly burned.
"NO! YOU CHEATED!" Micah stumbled backward.
Raul walked toward him: "I never cheat," he said, but I was living the fear of my life because of this.
Micah tripped and fell. Raul grabbed his shoulder.
"STOP, DON'T DO IT, RAUL!" Damn it, I can't just watch this. I have to intervene.
Raul and Micah turned to me: "Do you remember what I did to the last bald guy who pissed me off?" Raul said, still holding Micah.
Micah struggled but was completely powerless: "It doesn't matter. You're better than this," I said.
But Micah, held in Raul's hand, began to burn. He gripped Raul tightly. I tried to pull Micah away from Raul, but it didn't work.
No, the Micah in front of me slowly aged, his skin burned, then his muscles, and a dark energy was drawn toward Raul.
In the end, only a skeleton remained. Raul took the skull, turned around, and looked right at me: "Now speak," he said calmly.
"How could you do something like this? Yes, Micah was a bastard, but he had a family, people he cared about."
Raul turned his head: "He killed everyone he loved."
Then he started whistling and slowly walked back the way he came.
His laugh rings like dawn on a meadow in May, He lures you with honeyed words, bright as the day.
Each dream that you breathe, he swears he'll make true, Crowns you with rubies and rivers of blue.
But debts have their season, and seasons must turn, He'll stride through the dark when the last embers burn.
No mercy, no laughter—just iron and flame, To flay every promise and brand you with shame.
Raul vanished into the air. I collapsed to my knees.
What did I just witness
(Friends, I think I cooked something good. In this Micah arc, I believe I showcased Raul's intelligence, Lara's reaction to Raul as a normal human, and she saw the dark side of the world. I'm not great at thinking up mind games or things like that, but I did my best. What I ask from you is to leave a comment on the novel and write a review, because 23 chapters isn't a small feat.)