CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
KNEES BEFORE THE STORM
The waitress and the security guard knelt trembling on the cold floor, their heads bowed low before Linah and Mako. Fear clung to them like a second skin. Tears streamed freely down the waitress's face, her body shaking as though the weight of what had happened was finally crashing down on her.
"Please… forgive us," she sobbed. "We didn't know what we were doing. Something took over us. Something dark."
The security guard pressed his forehead to the ground. "We beg you. Have mercy on us. If the manager finds out, we'll lose everything. Our jobs… our freedom. We could even be arrested."
Only hours ago, confusion clouded their minds. Now clarity had returned—painful, sharp, and merciless. The presence that had invaded their bodies was gone, leaving behind shame, fear, and the horrifying memory of actions they could not fully explain. They knew the truth now: they had been used.
Linah stood silently, one hand resting protectively on her belly. Her heart ached—not with anger, but with understanding. She could see it in their eyes. These were not evil people. They were victims.
Mako's face was unreadable, but his eyes burned with awareness. He had seen this kind of darkness before.
Possession always left destruction in its wake, no matter how brief.
"Stand up," Mako said calmly.
They hesitated, then slowly rose to their feet.
"What happened here was not your will," Mako continued. "You were tools in a battle you didn't even know existed."
The waitress gasped softly. "So… we weren't dreaming?"
"No," Mako replied. "You were attacked, just like we were."
Relief mixed with terror washed over them. If this was real, then the danger was far greater than losing their jobs.
Linah stepped forward gently. "You are safe now," she said. "Go. Live your lives. Forget this place."
The waitress looked up, stunned. "You're… letting us go?"
Mako nodded. "Yes. I won't punish you for crimes you did not choose to commit."
But deep inside, Mako made a calculated decision. He knew his enemy well. This wasn't the end—it was bait. The evil ruler wanted chaos, wanted to turn humans against him, to surround him with enemies and suspicion. Mako refused to give him that victory.
As the waitress and the security guard hurried away, gratitude pouring from their lips, Linah turned to her husband, worry shadowing her eyes.
"It's not over, is it?" she asked quietly.
Mako wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "No. He's only changing his tactics."
Far beyond the human world, fury shook the dark throne.
The evil ruler roared, his voice cracking the stone walls of his chamber. Shadows writhed violently around him as his rage exploded unchecked. The charms had failed—again. His carefully laid plans shattered one by one, all because of them.
"USELESS!" he thundered.
Tonde and Lyold were dragged forward by unseen forces, their knees slamming hard against the ground. Fear gripped them tightly. They had witnessed his wrath before, but this—this was different.
"You failed me," the evil ruler snarled. "And now, I will not tolerate another failure."
"We tried," Lyold said, his voice shaking. "The charms were strong, but—"
"SilENCE!" the ruler roared. "The human world resists magic now. The child resists it."
At the mention of the unborn child, his expression darkened further. Fear flickered briefly in his eyes—fear he would never admit aloud.
That child was a threat. A prophecy in flesh and blood.
"The only option left," he continued coldly, "is physical confrontation."
Tonde's head snapped up. "You can't mean—"
"I do," the ruler said.
"You will go to the human world. You will fight Mako as humans."
Lyold recoiled. "That's suicide! We'll be powerless there. No charms. No shadows. No protection."
"And yet," the ruler said with a cruel smile, "I remain here."
The truth settled heavily between them. He was afraid. Afraid of the very child he sought to destroy. Afraid to face Mako while that unborn power lingered nearby.
"We refuse," Tonde said, summoning what little courage he had left. "Send us there and we die."
The ruler rose slowly from his throne. Darkness coiled around his body like living chains.
"If you refuse," he said softly, "I will erase your land. Your people. Your bloodlines."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Lyold closed his eyes. He knew the ruler was not bluffing.
"…We will go," he said at last.
Tonde clenched his fists, despair burning in his chest. "We will go."
The evil ruler smiled—cold, victorious, and cruel.
"Good," he said. "Then prepare yourselves. The human world awaits."
But even as he laughed, unease stirred deep within him. Because no matter how much he tried to deny it, one truth haunted his thoughts:
Time was running out.
And when Linah's child was born, even kings of darkness would kneel.
END OF CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE