Chapter 297

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Abril shouted, trying to get a response, but the figure approaching her remained silent. A moan echoed in her heart, a sensation like lightning striking, ignited by the secret actions hidden in her unconscious. “Wait,” she thought, recalling Kiara’s words-the very thing she feared most. A terrifying wave of dread washed over her, a woman’s moan resonating in the corner of her heart. She felt her brothers at her side, ready to confront whatever fear awaited them. The creature before her was slender, completely naked, and in human form.
Its sharp claws tore through the cave walls, leaving deep gashes in the stone. Abril had faced many monsters, even those larger and more terrifying than this one, but she had never felt fear like this. She knew how to defeat them with ease, yet this creature was different. “They’re not real,” she repeated, trying to convince herself. But as the claws of the creature flew toward her, she instinctively dodged, feeling something hot and wet slide down her cheek. It was blood. “This is not an illusion! This is real!
This creature is real!” Abril’s heart raced as she attempted to attack the creature with her fire, but nothing happened. The creature lunged at her, and she barely tilted her head in time to avoid its claws. They grazed her skull, and a warm trickle of blood ran down her neck. The creature turned to strike again, its claws arcing dangerously close to her head. Abril stumbled backward, her heart pounding in her chest. A harsh voice emerged from the creature’s mouth, chilling her to the bone. “Today you will die in the light.
I will make you pay for all the blood that has been spilled.” A twisted smile spread across the creature’s face, and it seemed to revel in her fear. “I am real because you believe it, and I will prove it to you.” Abril searched for something to fight with, desperate to survive even as uncertainty clouded her mind. She had to win this fight. Just a little further, she thought, her eyes darting around the cave for the golden daggers she knew were nearby. With each step she took, the creature followed, its eyes completely black and filled with malice.
Abril sprinted toward the daggers, her heart racing as she reached them just as the creature’s claws scraped the ground behind her. She snatched them up, rising like lightning. When the creature attacked again, she was ready, deflecting its strike with the daggers. “Why can’t you defeat me?” it taunted, its voice dripping with disdain. Abril gritted her teeth, feeling the weight of its strength. She had no idea how to overcome it. The creature was fast, strong, and its skin was tough.
Then the creature’s words echoed in her mind: “I’m real because you believe it.” This monster was a manifestation of her own fears. If she could change her thoughts, perhaps she could dispel it. She remembered her childhood, the small birds she had once feared, and the way they had flitted around the palace, a constant reminder of her insecurities. With all her strength, she focused on that fear, willing it to disappear. In an instant, the creature vanished, leaving only a faint echo of its presence.
Still clutching the daggers, Abril pressed deeper into the cave, which opened up into a vast expanse filled with scattered treasures and jewelry. But she didn’t look back. “Hello, sister,” a voice called from the shadows, and Abril turned to see Cira emerging, wrapped in dark garments, Lissana cradled in her arms. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon, my capable niece,” Cira said, her voice dripping with mockery. Lissana’s cheeks were wet with tears, but she had stopped crying. A surge of anger overwhelmed Abril, a poison coursing through her veins, igniting a fierce desire for revenge.
She hated her sister more than ever at that moment, realizing how much she had come to despise Cira. Cira had always known how to manipulate her, how to twist the knife deeper. “I told you I would make you suffer, that I would take everything you love. I know you want to keep it all, but I will take it from you.” Cira squeezed Lissana tightly, and the child squirmed, beginning to cry once more.