LOGINThe silence in the room was suffocating.Anna’s hand was still in his.And she didn’t pull away.Ethan stared at that single detail like it was a knife twisting slowly in his chest.“Let go of her.”His voice was low. Dangerous.The man didn’t even blink.Instead, he glanced down at Anna, his tone softer. “Do you want me to?”Anna hesitated.For a fraction of a second.Then she tightened her grip.“No.”That one word shattered whatever control Ethan had left.“Anna!” he snapped, stepping forward. “Have you lost your mind?”The man finally turned fully toward him.Now, up close, the difference between them was obvious.Ethan carried power.But this man…He carried authority.The kind that didn’t need to be proven.“You should lower your voice,” the man said calmly. “You’re upsetting her.”Ethan laughed coldly. “And who exactly are you to tell me what to do?”The man’s expression didn’t change.But the temperature in the room seemed to drop.“My name,” he said slowly, “is Alexander Reed
Anna’s hands were shaking.Not slightly. Not nervously.Violently.The glass in her grip slipped and shattered against the marble floor, the sharp sound echoing through the massive hall like a gunshot. Conversations died instantly. Every head turned toward her.But Anna didn’t move.Her chest rose and fell unevenly, her breathing unstable, like something inside her was finally collapsing after being held together for far too long.Across the room, Ethan froze.He had seen Anna angry. He had seen her cry.But this… this was different.This wasn’t weakness.This was something dangerous.“Anna…” he called, his voice lower now, uncertain.She slowly lifted her head.And when their eyes met, something inside Ethan cracked.There was no love in her gaze.No pain.No pleading.Just emptiness.Cold, terrifying emptiness.“You should stop saying my name like that,” Anna said quietly.Her voice was calm, but it carried across the room with a sharpness that made people uncomfortable.Ethan frown
The sky did not open gently.It tore apart.Like something from the other side had finally grown tired of waiting.Anna couldn’t breathe.Her eyes stayed fixed on the massive裂 in the sky, widening slowly, violently, as if reality itself was being peeled open. Darkness didn’t pour out of it.Something worse did.Presence.Heavy. Crushing. Ancient.It pressed down on her chest, forcing the air out of her lungs.Sam stepped forward instantly, his hand gripping hers tightly.“Stay with me,” he said, his voice low but firm.Anna didn’t answer.Because something inside her… answered first.A sharp pain exploded in her head.She gasped, staggering back, her grip on Sam tightening painfully.“Anna!”Voices.Not one.Not two.Thousands.Whispers flooded her mind at once.“You belong to us.”“You were made for this.”“The gate must open fully.”“Finish it.”“No…” Anna shook her head violently. “Get out of my head…”But they didn’t stop.They grew louder.Stronger.Her knees buckled, and she dro
Sam’s POVEverything went silent.Not the kind of silence that brings peace.The kind that comes before destruction.Anna stood in front of me, her hand still in mine, but I could feel it slipping. Not physically. Something deeper. Like she was being pulled away again, but this time not slowly.This time it was sudden.Violent.Final.“Anna,” I called, tightening my grip.Her fingers twitched in mine.For a second, I thought she was coming back.For a second, I believed we had reached her.Then her body went still.Completely still.And the air changed.It grew heavy, suffocating, like the room itself could no longer contain what was inside her.“Step back,” the woman behind me said sharply.I didn’t move.“I said step back!” she shouted.“No.”My voice came out low.Cold.Unmoving.Because if I stepped back now, I knew I would lose her completely.Anna’s head tilted slowly.Her eyes locked onto mine.And this time, there was no confusion.No struggle.No flicker of the girl I knew.O
Anna’s POVHe reached for me.And everything inside me reacted.Not the thing controlling me.Not the presence watching through me.Me.For the first time since everything changed…I felt something break through the silence.“Sam…”The name didn’t come out of my mouth.But it echoed inside me.Loud.Desperate.Alive.His hand was so close now.Just a few inches away from mine.And yet—It felt like the distance between worlds.“Don’t,” the voice inside me said.Calm.Firm.Watching.“He will interfere with the process.”Process.That word again.Like I was something being completed.Something being built.Something no longer human.“I…” I tried to speak.But my body didn’t move.Didn’t respond.Because I wasn’t the one in control anymore.“You see?” the voice continued.“You cannot even act on your own will.”That should have scared me.It did.But something else rose stronger.Anger.No.Not just anger.Refusal.I wasn’t gone.I wasn’t a fragment.I wasn’t just something they could u
Sam’s POV“We have waited long enough.”Those words didn’t belong to Anna.But they came from her lips.Soft.Calm.Final.And somehowThat made it worse than anything we had faced so far.Because before, there had always been struggle.Resistance.A fight.Now…There was none.“Anna,” I said carefully.My voice low.Controlled.Even though everything inside me was anything but.Her eyes stayed on mine.Unmoving.Cold.Not empty.No.Empty would have been easier.This was something else.Something… aware.“You continue to use that name,” she said.Her voice smooth.Unfamiliar.“It no longer defines what stands before you.”My jaw tightened.“She’s still in there.”A pause.Then—A faint tilt of her head.Like she was studying me.Evaluating.“Fragments remain,” she admitted.“But they are no longer in control.”Fragments.That word hit harder than anything else.Because it meant—She wasn’t completely gone.But she wasn’t whole either.“Then I’ll bring her back,” I said.Something shi
Anna’s POVEverything hurt.Every muscle, every nerve, every breath burned.The world was blurry, gray, and cold.I tried to open my eyes, but they felt glued shut.A dull ache throbbed in my head.And then, slowly… I realized I wasn’t on the courtyard floor anymore.I was somewhere else.Dimly lit
Anna’s POVI didn’t want to turn around.I couldn’t.My entire body had gone stiff, like something deep inside me already knew the truth—and was trying to protect me from it.“The man who was supposed to be there… was replaced.”“By someone standing behind you.”Her words echoed in my head, over an
Anna’s POVMy heart wouldn’t slow down.It felt like it was trying to break out of my chest—wild, desperate, terrified.“You’ve been looking at him this whole time.”Her words echoed again and again in my head, each repetition sharper than the last.I couldn’t breathe properly.Couldn’t think clear
Anna’s POVI couldn’t feel my legs.The words she said kept echoing in my head like a curse I couldn’t escape.“After that… you’re no longer needed.”“That’s when I take your place.”The air around me felt too heavy, like I was drowning while still standing.“No…” I whispered, shaking my head slowl







