BEFORE DESTINY (Special – Part 2)
The night continued wrapping the camp in its heavy cloak of darkness. The flames of the campfire crackled with a life of their own, casting long shadows over the stones and nearby trees. An owl hooted in the distance, the only witness to that almost sacred stillness.
Karion murmured something in his sleep, turning to the side and hugging his improvised "pillow" made of stones.
Kyrahna, still on watch, cast a glance toward Caelithra and Zyrion. She smiled faintly, seeing how both of them shared a silence that said more than any words could.
The wind drifted softly between the trees, brushing against their faces like a whisper from ancient times.
Zyrion lay beside the fire, propped on one elbow. His eyes, tired yet alert, searched for the stars through the gaps in the branches.
"Did you ever think…" he began, his voice rough with fatigue, "…what it would be like to live in a world without wars, without fragments, without gods fighting each other?"
Caelithra, sitting cross-legged, glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"That sounds like a luxury I've never known," she replied, her voice soft, almost carried away by the wind.
Zyrion smiled with melancholy.
"Me neither. But sometimes, on nights like this… I let myself dream about it."
Caelithra turned slightly toward him. The firelight illuminated half her face, leaving the other half swallowed in shadow.
"And what do you see in that dream?" she asked, her tone gentler than usual.
Zyrion closed his eyes for a moment, letting the words flow like a calm stream.
"I see open fields. I see children playing without fear. Villages where people sing in the afternoons. I see… peace. Something so simple it feels impossible."
Caelithra lowered her gaze to her hands resting on her lap.
"Do you think we'll ever achieve that, Zyrion?" she asked. And this time, her voice trembled—just slightly.
Zyrion looked directly at her.
"I think that if we stop believing in it, we're already lost."
She blinked slowly, taking in his words as if storing a promise deep within her heart.
A few minutes passed in silence. The fire crackled, sending sparks swirling upward like tiny falling stars.
Suddenly, a cracking sound from the forest put them on alert. Kyrahna stiffened, grabbing her sword without hesitation.
Zyrion sat up, straining his ears.
"What was that?" he asked quietly.
Kyrahna stood, scanning the darkness.
"Probably just a deer… or Karion snoring too loud and causing a landslide."
Zyrion let out a muffled laugh, and Caelithra smiled faintly.
Karion, half asleep, muttered:
"I don't snore… I sing ancient melodies for the forest spirits…"
They all suppressed a laugh.
The sound didn't repeat, and slowly, the tension faded.
Kyrahna sat back down, her sword resting once more on her legs.
Caelithra lay back on her cloak, gazing up at the star-filled sky.
Zyrion lay down too, folding his hands beneath his head.
The atmosphere turned almost magical, a perfect calm they rarely experienced in their travels.
A cold breeze carried the scent of nearby wildflowers.
The stars seemed brighter that night, as if the universe itself wanted to remind them that beauty still existed, even in uncertain times.
After a long stretch of silence, Caelithra—believing everyone was asleep—whispered in a very soft voice:
"Zyrion…"
He barely opened one eye, listening.
"If you ever… if you ever lose yourself in the darkness… find me."
Her voice trembled slightly, as if afraid the words would break if she spoke louder.
"I'll find you," she continued, "no matter where you are."
Zyrion didn't respond. Not because he didn't want to. But because, in that moment, those words were too precious to disturb.
Caelithra closed her eyes, hugging herself as if protecting a secret.
Zyrion, from where he lay, silently promised himself that no matter what happened, he would remember that night.
He would remember that promise.He would remember the echo of those words… when the time came that he needed them most.
The night went on. The breeze whispered, the fire pulsed, and the stars guarded the secret of that unspoken promise.
A night that would change their hearts forever.
A night that, without knowing it, sealed a destiny impossible to escape.
The fire dwindled slowly, and the night began to embrace them with a sharper cold.
Kyrahna had fallen silent, watching the sparks die one by one, and Caelithra—still looking at the starry sky—broke the quiet.
"Do you think a future where we can be happy really exists?" she asked, her voice rough with exhaustion.
Kyrahna gave her a sideways glance, her dark eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"I don't know," she replied, picking up a small twig and drawing invisible lines on the ground. "But if we don't fight for it, then it definitely won't."
Caelithra hugged her knees, her small frame looking even more fragile beneath her cloak.
"Sometimes it feels like everything we do is just delaying the inevitable," she murmured.
Kyrahna let out a dry chuckle.
"Then we'd better be very stubborn, don't you think?"
They shared a look, and for a second, exchanged one of those smiles only women who have survived too many battles can understand—fragile, bitter, yet full of silent strength.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, Karion and Zyrion had wandered off from the group, sitting beside a fallen tree.
Karion played with a twig between his fingers, tossing it up and catching it without looking.
"You know what I miss the most?" he suddenly asked with a crooked grin.
Zyrion raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Karion laughed.
"That cheap wine from the tavern in the last village. It was horrible… but damn it, I miss the taste."
Zyrion chuckled, leaning his head against the trunk.
"I'd give anything for a mug of that right now," he admitted, closing his eyes.
Karion tossed the twig again.
"And I also miss not having to worry about whether I'll still be breathing tomorrow," he added, his voice dropping.
Zyrion opened his eyes, looking at him in silence.He knew that behind every joke, every silly comment, Karion hid wounds he never showed.
"You know what I miss?" Zyrion said suddenly, almost a whisper.
Karion looked at him, curious.
"I miss not feeling like a burden to everyone."
A heavy silence settled.
Karion let the twig fall, resting his hands behind his head.
"Zyrion… you're many things. Hardheaded, stubborn, too noble for your own good… but never a burden."
Zyrion lowered his gaze, a shadow crossing his features.
"Thanks," he murmured.Though deep down, he wasn't sure he believed it.
The night continued. One by one, the group drifted into uneasy sleep.
But Zyrion couldn't.
The weight in his chest was unbearable, like an invisible claw squeezing until he could barely breathe.
He stood silently, pulling his cloak over his shoulders.He walked past Caelithra, who was half asleep—her eyelids heavy, but not fully closed.
She opened her eyes just in time to see Zyrion's figure vanishing between the trees.
Her brow furrowed, concern shaking her fully awake.
She sat up, pulled on her cloak, and followed him quietly.
Zyrion moved like a ghost through the shadows, until he reached a clearing where a massive stone stood alone, like a forgotten monument.
He stopped before it.
Caelithra hid among the trees, watching.
She saw him kneel.
Saw him place his bare hands on the rough surface of the rock.
And then, she saw something that turned her blood to ice.
Zyrion clenched his fists and began striking the stone—over and over.
Each blow was an eruption of pain, of buried rage.Blood began to drip from his knuckles, smearing the stone red.
Caelithra stepped back, horrified.
"What in the world are you doing, Zyrion…?" she whispered to herself.
Without thinking, she ran toward him.
"Zyrion!" she shouted.
He stopped instantly, breathing hard.His broken hands trembled, his eyes burned with desperation and fury.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice shattered.
Caelithra knelt beside him, taking his hands in hers with gentle care.
"What are you doing?" she repeated, her eyes filled with anguish.
Zyrion gritted his teeth, looking away.
"I needed… to feel something real," he murmured.
Caelithra touched his bloodied hands softly.
"This isn't the way, Zyrion," she whispered.
He let out a bitter laugh.
"And what is the way then? Cry until I'm empty? Scream at the sky like a madman? Nothing changes! Nothing changes, Caelithra!"
She said nothing.
Zyrion closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, tears burned at the edges of his lashes.
"Please… don't tell anyone," he whispered desperately. "I don't want the others to see me… like this."
Caelithra swallowed hard, her throat tight.
"I promise," she said. "It'll be our secret."
Without thinking, Zyrion pulled her close.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her against his bloodstained body, as if afraid the world would devour him if he let go.
Caelithra froze for only a second, then rested her head against his chest, feeling his heart pounding wildly.
The silence of the night enveloped them, and for a moment, only the two of them existed.
Wounded.
Broken.
But together.
The stars, high and silent, were the only witnesses to that promise sealed in blood and tears.
TO BE CONTINUED…