The whisper didn't fade.
It spread.
Like frost crawling over glass.
Like blood soaking into white cloth.
"...leahkear…"
The tower trembled.
The trees bent away.
The girl staggered back as the air thickened like syrup. Her hands shook.
"That's not his voice," she whispered. "Not anymore."
She took a step toward the tower.
Then froze.
Because something was stepping out.
The boy—if he could still be called that—emerged from the dark mouth of the tower.
But his eyes weren't his.
They glowed.
Not gold. Not red.
Something older. A color without a name.
His mouth moved, but no breath came out.
Only silence.
And then—
"What… is your name?" he asked her.
The girl stiffened.
He had never asked that before.
No one did.
Not in this cursed world, where names were weapons and truth had sharp edges.
"Why do you care?" she said.
The boy tilted his head.
"No reason."
"But I must know."
"Because I think I'm hungry."
The girl's stomach dropped.
This wasn't him.
This was the name.
Raekhael.
It had unfolded itself, like a blade pulled from a sheath.
She had seen this before.
Long ago.
The last time she saw her father speak a forbidden name—
Right before he was erased.
Not killed. Not slain.
Just… unmade.
"Snap out of it!" she shouted. "You're not a god!"
But he didn't blink.
He floated above the ground now, toes brushing air.
The earth cracked under him. Not from weight—but pressure.
Reality didn't want to hold him anymore.
He raised a hand.
Her name tickled the edge of his lips.
He didn't even know it.
But the Name inside him did.
And it wanted to eat.
"Say it," the voice inside him growled.
"Speak her name. Taste it. Bind it. Rule it."
"You are the tower now. You are the god."
But then—
Something flickered.
A memory.
Of her smile.
Of when she bandaged his hand after the fall.
Of when she told him she hated names, but still called him "boy" like it mattered.
His fingers twitched.
The name shattered in his throat like broken glass.
The light in his eyes dimmed.
He dropped to his knees.
And screamed.
The girl ran to him.
Wrapped her arms around him, even as his skin burned like coals.
"I'm here," she said. "I'm here. Don't let it win."
He sobbed.
"I heard it. It was me. But it wasn't. It kept saying I was always him. That I'd always been Raekhael."
She pulled back.
"Listen to me."
"You are not your name."
"You're the boy who took a cursed god's breath and still chose to bleed."
"You're you."
The tower groaned behind them.
The runes began to fade.
The names crumbled like ash.
Something was breaking.
Or leaving.
The boy stood, slowly.
His voice was hoarse.
"I didn't say her name."
"I almost did."
The girl nodded.
"But you didn't."
He looked at his hands.
"I think the name's inside me now. Deeper."
"Like it's hiding."
She nodded again.
"It knows you're not ready yet."
He swallowed hard.
"Will I ever be?"
She didn't answer.
Because in the distance—
A horn blew.
Sharp. Metallic.
And from the shadows of the trees, red lights appeared.
The Hunters had come.
TO BE CONTINUED…