He ran to Eliora. She was fading now, her body no longer obeying her.
"I saw it all," she whispered. "I'm not who you think I am. I was sent to love you, Edwin. To distract you. But… I loved you back. That wasn't the plan."
"By who?"
"By her. By Lilith. I'm her shadow. But I chose you."
Tears fell from his eyes. But they were black. Ink. Corrupted blood.
The manor cracked. The sky outside turned into a swirling vortex of screaming souls.
Lilith stood above the staircase, arms wide, her form now unhidden: horns, wings made of silence, a mouth within her stomach whispering backwards words.
"You broke the ritual, Edwin," she said, "and in doing so… you fulfilled it."
He looked at the circle of blood in the basement. It had his name inscribed inside.
"The chosen is the gate. The gate is the heir. The heir must bleed willingly."
He understood.
He was not meant to sacrifice someone.
He was meant to sacrifice himself.