His grip tightened, the shadows no longer just binding her, but seeking to consume, to merge her with their abyss. His eyes flickered—grief entwined with hunger, love twisted into something darker.
"Nunna… you are the only light I have left," he whispered, voice trembling with plea. "If you reject me, I will vanish forever. But if you accept me… I will remain, with you, always."
Her heart pounded painfully, torn between the urge to embrace him and the terror of what he had become.
Suddenly, the whispers rose as one—hundreds of voices, weeping, raging—
"Release him… he is no longer yours."
She gasped, her body trembling as hazy forms emerged from the darkness—countless spirits watching, their cries chilling the air until her breath turned white.
He turned, fury flashing in his gaze. The shadows erupted from him, sweeping across the temple and scattering the spirits into nothing. Yet the last echo clung to her ears—
"This love is a chain… choose him, and you shall be lost as well."
Silence followed, heavy and suffocating. His hand never released hers. Slowly, his other hand rose, brushing her cheek with trembling tenderness. His eyes glistened with pain.
"Choose me, Nunna… even if the world itself turns against us."