The sky above Black Hollow filled with dark clouds, thick and heavy like smoke. Rain hadn't come, but the air was electric—charged, expectant, trembling with something unseen.
Elena stood alone in the clearing behind the old temmmpel ruins, wind tugging at her hair, the remnants of a forgotten ritual circle glowing faintly beneath her boots. The memory of Dorian's voice echoed in her mind like a pulse: "Your blood calls to mine, Elena. That's why it's always been you."
Behind her, the silence shattered. Footsteps. Swift. Angry.
"Miles," she murmured without turning.
He stopped a few feet behind her. "You shouldn't be here alone."
"I'm not." Her voice was quiet but steady.
And then the wind shifted—and Dorian appeared. Not from behind a tree, not through any visible path, but from the shadows themselves, as if the darkness had birthed him. His presence hit like a wave—still, composed, but terrifying in its quiet magnitude.
Miles stiffened. "You follow her like a curse."
Dorian didn't look at him. His gaze remained fixed on Elena. "She called to me."
"I didn't," Elena whispered, eyes wide.
He smiled faintly. "Not with words. But your blood remembers me."
Miles stepped forward. "She doesn't belong to you."
"I never said she did," Dorian replied coolly. "But you and I both know she's not yours, either."
Power crackled between them—Miles's storm-like aura clashing with Dorian's suffocating stillness. Miles's eyes flashed a bright blue, the magic beneath his skin glowing like lightning. "You think you're stronger than me?"
Dorian finally turned his head. "I know I am."
In an instant, Miles lunged, arm outstretched, power surging around him. The sky roared. Trees bent backward from the force of his strike—
—but Dorian didn't move.
He simply blinked.
And the world stilled.
Miles froze mid-motion, suspended in the air like a figure trapped in glass. His limbs trembled as he struggled against the unseen force.
"What—what are you doing to me?" Miles hissed.
Dorian stepped forward slowly, the air around him rippling. "You think power is rage. Noise. Volume. It's not." He looked over his shoulder at Elena. "It's knowing when not to strike. It's knowing who you'd burn the world for—and who you wouldn't."
Miles dropped to his knees as Dorian released him.
Elena stood frozen. "Dorian…"
"I won't hurt him," Dorian said gently. "Not unless he forces my hand."
Miles gasped, rising slowly, eyes wide and full of fury. "He's manipulating you," he said to her. "Can't you see? That bond you feel—he made it. Twisted fate."
Elena took a shaky breath. "No, Miles. It's older than that. Older than this life."
She turned to Dorian then, stepping toward him, past the broken pieces of magic and conflict.
"I saw it," she said, voice trembling. "In the dreams. In the memories. We were together before. Again and again. Always torn apart. But always… always finding each other."
Dorian reached for her hand, gently curling his fingers around hers. His touch was cold at first, then warmed, like the spark of flame from deep coals.
"I remember you too," he said. "Every version of you. Every death. Every promise. And I swore… I would never lose you again."
Behind them, Miles watched with a wounded stare. He didn't speak. Couldn't.
Elena turned to face him. "I'm sorry, Miles. I love you, but not the way you want me to. You've always protected me… but this—" She looked at Dorian. "—this is something else. Something I can't explain."
Dorian's arm wrapped protectively around her waist. "I never asked you to choose. But I'll always be here when you do."
The wind picked up again, but this time it wasn't wild or violent. It was calm—like the breath of something ancient being exhaled in peace.
Dorian raised his eyes to the horizon. "There are others, Elena. Watching. Waiting. Your blood awakened more than just me. They'll come for you."
"Let them," she said. "I'm not running anymore."
And when she leaned into him, Dorian—this dark, dangerous creature who had waited centuries—held her like she was something sacred. Something human that he'd never thought he could touch.
The Hollow Man had found his light.
And she had chosen the darkness she knew would never hurt her.