Chapter 16 - "The Price of Power"
The night over Hollowfen was quiet, but not peaceful.
The air still smelled faintly of ash — the ghosts of demon fire lingering like a bruise across the land.
Inside the great hall of the rebuilt estate, a single lantern flickered.
Behind iron bars reinforced with silver, Gus slept in restless silence. One eye dark and corrupted, the other pale and human.
The soft hum of protective wards pulsed in the air.
Outside, beneath the silver moonlight, X stood on the terrace with Zak. The two men were silent for a long time, watching the horizon where the forest met the sky.
Zak broke the silence first.
"You ever regret it?"
X's golden eyes didn't move from the moon.
"Regret what?"
"Being what you are," Zak said quietly. "Half this. Half that. Never really belonging anywhere."
A low, amused sound left X's throat. It wasn't quite laughter.
"I was born Hybrid," he replied. "There's nothing to regret. I never had another life to miss."
Zak nodded slowly, gaze distant.
"Right. Guess I forget that sometimes."
The wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it faint echoes of Hollowfen's rebirth — the murmurs of villagers, the clang of reforged walls.
X turned his head slightly, studying Zak.
"You still think about that day, don't you?"
Zak's jaw tightened.
"Every damn night."
Flashback — Years Ago
The memory came unbidden — burning behind Zak's eyes.
Before the fangs, before the strength, he had been human.
A man desperate to protect a dying family in a dying town.
He remembered running through the square, voice breaking.
"Someone! Please! My son— he's dying!"
And then him.
The tall stranger with eyes like molten gold — calm even as chaos surrounded him.
"Show me," X had said.
Before Zak could answer, a roar split the air.
From the tree line burst a creature out of nightmare — fanged, winged, twisted by hunger. A rogue Hybrid named Ronan.
"X!" Ronan's voice was a snarl. "I found you at last!"
The two collided with thunderous force, their blows shaking the ground.
Zak had tried to drag his son away — but Ronan struck without hesitation, his claws piercing Zak's chest.
"HYBRIDS BRING RUIN!" the monster roared.
X's wings tore open in rage, slamming Ronan through a stone wall. Dust filled the air.
Zak fell to his knees, coughing blood. His voice trembled, but his eyes burned with a father's fire.
"Please… bite me. Let me protect them. Let me fight back."
X stared at him, silent — weighing the price.
Then, wordlessly, he did what mercy demanded.
He sank his fangs into Zak's neck.
And when the scream ended, a new Hybrid opened his eyes — reborn in moonlight.
Present Day
Zak blinked, the memory fading.
X's expression hadn't changed. He still watched the stars.
"You've done more than repay your debt, old friend."
Zak smiled faintly.
"Doesn't feel that way."
Before X could respond, a violent crash split the night.
The sound came from the lower hall — the prison chamber.
Both men vanished in a blur of speed.
When they reached the chamber, Blue was already there — frozen, staring in horror.
Inside the cage, Gus convulsed, eyes wild with black light.
His veins glowed with corruption, shadows crawling from his skin like living smoke.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Gus screamed, clutching at his skull.
Blue took a trembling step forward.
"Gus, it's okay… You're safe now—"
"Safe?" Gus laughed, the sound broken and sharp. "SAFE? They're still here! Whispering— crawling inside me! They won't stop!"
His body twisted, the corrupted magic surging like wildfire.
Blue's voice cracked.
"You don't mean this… You're my friend—"
Gus's gaze snapped to him, filled with fury and grief.
"Friend? You think I want this? I should have killed you all when I had the chance!"
Zak stepped in front of Blue, blade half-drawn.
X's tone dropped to a command.
"Enough."
For a moment, silence. Then the air itself seemed to shudder — power bleeding from Gus's aura.
He screamed once more, then collapsed, unconscious.
The silver wards flared and sealed.
Blue's chest heaved as he stared at his fallen friend.
"He's… getting worse."
X studied Gus's trembling form, eyes unreadable.
"The witches' magic is still inside him. It's feeding on his guilt."
Zak frowned.
"Can it be undone?"
"Maybe," X said. "But not without a price."
He turned toward the door, his shadow stretching across the walls.
Outside, the moon had turned crimson — a warning, ancient and cold.
X's voice was low, heavy with certainty.
"The witches aren't finished."
— The Watching Eyes
Deep in the forest beyond Hollowfen, a single candle burned.
The flame flickered against black robes and pale faces — the Crimson Court.
A woman stood among them, cloaked in red silk, a silver crown gleaming on her brow.
Her eyes — identical to Selene's — glowed with quiet, murderous amusement.
"So," she whispered, "my twin still lives."
She smiled, sharp and cold.
"And she's raised quite the boy."
Behind her, another figure bowed low.
"Shall we proceed, my Queen?"
"Not yet," she said, looking toward Hollowfen's glowing horizon.
"Let him grow stronger. The bloodline of Nebula must ripen… before we take it for ourselves."
The candle flame went out.