The shadows lunged for her.
Not testing.
Not hesitating.
Not holding back.
They came fast—like blades forged from darkness, cutting through the air with a force that made the chamber scream around them.
But Elena didn't move back.
She stepped forward.
Something inside her had shifted the moment the entity chose her as its target. The fear was still there—sharp, alive—but it no longer controlled her.
Now it fueled her.
"Come on," she whispered, lifting her hand.
The bond ignited.
It wasn't just a pulse anymore.
It was a current—running through her veins, connecting her to Leon in a way that felt almost overwhelming. She could feel him beside her—not just physically, but internally—his strength, his weakness, his restraint… and something darker lurking beneath it.
The first shadow struck.
Elena met it head-on.
Her palm flared with energy as it collided with the tendril. The impact sent a shockwave through her arm, pain shooting up to her shoulder—but she held firm.
The shadow cracked.
Then shattered.
The entity recoiled instantly, a sharp, furious hiss filling the chamber.
"You learn too quickly."
Elena's lips pressed into a thin line.
"Maybe you're just too slow."
Another attack.
Three tendrils this time—faster, sharper, aimed at her chest, her throat, her legs.
Leon moved before she could.
He intercepted one—grabbing it with a snarl as it burned into his hand. His other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her just enough to dodge the second.
"Elena—focus!" he snapped.
"I am!" she shot back.
The third tendril came straight for her neck—
She reacted instinctively.
Her hand shot up—
But this time—
She didn't just block.
She pushed.
Hard.
The energy surged out of her—not like a shield, but like a strike.
It slammed into the shadow mid-air—
And tore straight through it.
The tendril didn't just break.
It disintegrated.
Gone.
The chamber went still for half a heartbeat.
Even Leon paused.
"…That's new," he muttered.
Elena blinked, just as surprised as he was.
"I didn't mean to do that."
"Doesn't matter," he said quickly. "Do it again."
The entity roared.
The sound shook the walls, the floor, the very air between them. The shadows lashed out violently now, no longer precise—just furious, chaotic, relentless.
It was losing control.
Good.
Elena squared her shoulders.
"Stay behind me this time," she said.
Leon shot her a look.
"Not happening."
She didn't argue.
There wasn't time.
The next wave came harder.
Stronger.
The shadows didn't split into tendrils this time.
They surged as one mass—like a tidal wave of darkness crashing toward them.
Elena's breath caught.
"That's new," she muttered.
"Yeah," Leon said dryly. "I noticed."
"Any ideas?"
"Don't let it hit you."
"Great plan."
The wave was seconds away.
Elena didn't think.
She felt.
The bond pulsed again—stronger now, louder, almost like it was guiding her.
Not just power.
Direction.
She grabbed Leon's hand.
"Trust me."
"I already do."
The words hit harder than they should have.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Just truth.
She turned back to the incoming darkness.
And stepped forward.
Together.
The moment the shadows collided with them—
She released everything.
The bond exploded outward.
Light—raw, blinding, violent—burst from their joined hands, slamming into the wave of darkness with a force that shook the entire chamber.
The impact was deafening.
For a moment—
Everything disappeared.
No shadows.
No walls.
No sound.
Just—
Power.
Then—
The darkness shattered.
Not fully.
But enough.
The massive wave split apart, fragments of shadow scattering and dissolving into the air like smoke ripped apart by wind.
Elena staggered, breath knocked out of her lungs.
Leon caught her before she hit the ground.
"Easy," he murmured.
"I'm fine," she said automatically—though her legs trembled.
"That was not 'fine.'"
She almost laughed.
"Yeah… I felt that."
The chamber settled again.
But the entity—
Was still there.
Weaker.
But far from gone.
The remaining shadows pulled back, retreating toward the cracked wall, gathering themselves, reforming.
Watching.
Waiting.
Elena straightened slowly.
Her chest still rose and fell too fast, her hand still tingled from the energy she'd released—but she didn't back down.
Not now.
Not after that.
"It's not done," Leon said quietly.
"I know."
The shadows pulsed again.
Smaller now.
Tighter.
More controlled.
Which somehow felt worse.
Because it meant one thing—
It was thinking again.
"You fight like her."
The words slid through the air—quieter now, but sharper.
Elena's brows furrowed.
"…Her?"
Leon stiffened beside her.
"Don't answer it," he said immediately.
But Elena didn't look away.
"Who?"
The shadows shifted.
And for the first time—
There was something else in its voice.
Not just anger.
Not just hunger.
But something darker.
Something knowing.
"The one who chose him… and doomed you both."
Leon's grip on her arm tightened.
"Elena—ignore it."
But it was too late.
Because something in her chest—
Twisted.
Like the words had struck something buried deep inside her.
Something waiting to be remembered.
The entity had changed tactics.
And now—
It wasn't just attacking their bodies.
It was coming for their past.