And The Shadows May Follow

Mariah felt a shiver run through her as Caedes' forehead pressed against hers, his presence was a grounding force amidst the turmoil of her feelings. His words, spoken with such conviction, they steadied her, and kept her as centered as she could possibly be. She wanted to believe him, to cling to the certainty in his voice and let it chase away the shadows of doubt that plagued her. But the fear still lingered, an insidious whisper in the back of her mind that she could not quite silence.

She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, letting the salty tang of the sea air fill her lungs. "I want to believe that," she murmured, her voice barely audible above the crashing waves. "But how can I trust my own mind when it shows me such horrors? When the line between dream and reality blurs until I can no longer tell where one ends and the other begins?" Mariah opened her eyes, meeting Caedes' gaze with a desperate intensity. "I feel like I'm unraveling, and I don't know how to stop it. These … nightmares. They're a violation of everything I am. Everything that I have become." She shook her head, frustration flaring as tears threatened to spill. “I’ve always been strong.” Strong-minded, rather. She had struggled with physical weakness the entirety of her existence. But at least she had always had her mind … and now even it betrayed her.

As the warmth of Caedes seeped into her troubled thoughts, Mariah struggled to fend off the encroaching darkness. “The crystals don’t exist. They can’t.” she whispered, almost to herself. “What if it’s all just a sick manifestation of something buried deep within me?” Her thoughts spiraled further into the abyss, haunted by remnants of what Moros had done.

A heavy silence enveloped them, broken only by the rhythmic crashing of waves against the rocky shore. “A trial run?” The phrase hung in the air, light and fragile, as if it might shatter at any moment. Mariah searched Caedes' face for understanding, for a sign that this was more than just a fleeting gesture of hope. “What do you have in mind?”

"Mariah Mendacium"