The shadows recoiled.
Not far.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough for Elena to feel it.
For the first time since this began—
the entity hesitated.
Her chest rose and fell sharply as she stared at her own hand, still faintly glowing from where the shadow had touched it.
Burned it.
No—
burned from it.
"What… did you just say?" Elena whispered, her voice tight.
The entity did not answer immediately.
It circled.
Not physically—
but through the air, through the darkness, through the cracks in the walls and the bond itself. A presence shifting, studying her now.
Not Leon.
Her.
"You carry it…" the voice echoed again, lower now, less certain.
Leon coughed weakly behind the wall of shadows, his body still half-consumed.
"Elena…" he rasped. "Don't—engage it—"
"I don't think I have a choice," she muttered.
Her pulse was still racing—but something else moved beneath it now.
Something deeper.
Hotter.
Alive.
The mark on her neck pulsed again—stronger this time.
The entity hissed sharply.
"That mark…"
Elena's eyes narrowed. "What about it?"
Silence.
Then—
"It should not exist."
A chill slid down her spine.
"What does that mean?"
The shadows flickered violently, as if struggling with something—like speaking to her wasn't part of its original intention.
Like she wasn't supposed to matter.
Leon forced himself up slightly, groaning as the shadows tightened again around his torso.
"Elena—don't listen—whatever it says—it twists truth—"
"I know," she said quickly.
But her eyes never left the darkness.
"Answer me," she demanded.
The entity pulsed once more.
Then, slowly—
"You were meant to die."
The words hit like a physical blow.
Elena's breath caught.
Leon's head snapped up.
"No," he growled weakly. "Don't—"
"Your blood was meant to end the cycle."
Elena's heart pounded violently.
"What cycle?"
But the entity didn't answer directly.
Instead—
It surged.
Not at her—
At Leon.
The shadows tightened, dragging him deeper.
Leon screamed this time—a raw, broken sound that tore straight through her chest.
"Elena—!"
She moved instantly.
"No!"
She grabbed his arm again, this time bracing herself before pulling.
The moment her skin touched his—
The bond ignited.
A violent surge of energy exploded between them—far stronger than before. It shot through her veins like fire, burning, overwhelming.
And suddenly—
She saw.
Not clearly.
Not fully.
But enough.
A flash—
A different time.
A different night.
Blood on her hands.
Leon—standing in front of her—stronger, colder, untouched by weakness.
And her voice—
"If you take my blood, you will never be free of me."
The vision shattered.
Elena gasped, stumbling but not letting go.
Leon froze.
His eyes locked onto hers—wide, shaken.
"You… saw that too?" he whispered.
She nodded, breathless. "Yes…"
The entity shrieked.
Furious.
The shadows lashed out again—
But this time—
They didn't land cleanly.
The moment they touched Elena, they faltered.
Like something inside her was pushing back.
The entity recoiled violently.
"Impossible…"
Elena's fear twisted into something else.
Something stronger.
"You said I was supposed to die," she said slowly, tightening her grip on Leon.
Her voice steadied.
"Looks like you were wrong."
The mark on her neck flared.
The bond surged again.
And Leon—
For the first time since the attack—
Pulled back on his own.
Just slightly.
But enough.
The entity roared.
Because now—
It wasn't just pulling Leon anymore.
It was fighting both of them.