" Is she sleeping? "
The Dark Lord stood at the periphery of the bubble that kept Mira enclosed.
It was his first time laying his eyes on his treasure, his own flesh and blood.
It would be untrue to say that Caleb never loved Kiara.
In fact he loved her so much he was on the verge of abandoning his mission and thinking about a mundane future with her. She had him wrapped around her fingers.
Had it not been for the Dark Forces, reclaiming his heart, he would never have achieved the heights of greatness where he presently resided.The weak insignificant Caleb inside him was long dead and gone.
Or so he thought.
Nobody knew that he was there.
Nobody needed to know.
He needed to stay away from her, until the right moment, to avoid any kind of contamination before the ritual.
However, something inside him didn't let him sleep.
" She is so close. She is finally here! "
The voice inside his head spoke when no one was around. " Come on, now. One look. Just a glance. You have been inside her head so many times. But you don't even know what she looks like. Does she look like you? Or does she have her face? "
The Dark Lord dropped his blood wine.
He pressed his ears in a failed attempt to stop those voices but they kept coming back, louder each time.
" Ok fine! Just one glance... " He told himself before getting off his pedestal and teleporting to her location.
Mira floated like a balloon as she slept like a baby. But her back was turned in his direction. He did not dare to move.
He stood there, watching her as it filled some unknown void inside.
He lost track of time. He didn't know how long he had been just standing there and staring.
Suddenly Mira stirred in her sleep and she finally turned, facing his direction.
Caleb gasped.
" She looks exactly like me! " The voice inside his head leaped out with ecstasy.
Her eyes, nose, brows and lips were exactly identical to her father.
" Shut it! " Another voice snapped at him and his joy evaporated. Embarrassment swept all over him.
What was he doing?
Of course she would look like him. He used The Dark Covenant while impregnating her mother. Of course she would be created in his image.
The Dark Lord quickly came back to his throne.
He poured himself a jug full of blood wine and he quickly gulped it down.
There was a strange sense of weakness sweeping all over him.
He should not have risked his health so carelessly
He was already feeling vulnerable. Could it be that he already contracted some contamination?
( start of flashback)
"Are you sure about what you said? " Caleb asked Kiara as the pink sky behind them turned to a shade of lavender.
" About living and dying together? Of course I am! Do you have any doubts? " Kiara looked innocent as her eye matched the backdrop, tangled in Caleb's embrace.
" Should we put that to the test? " His eyes danced mischievously, to which Kiara confidently responded.
" I am ready when you are Caleb. You mean the world to me. There is nothing before or after you. You are my start and you are my ending. "
Caleb tickled her as she giggled, losing her serious composure. She rolled all over the velvety grass as Caleb played with her.
But then she suddenly sat up .
" I have a million reasons for being with you. Caleb, you never told me why you chose me over all those women. You could have taken any one from those reputed tribes. Why me? "
( end of flashback)
" Because your body was the perfect vessel to nurture the darkness, Kiara! Those women from those tribes were full of vanity and they were fragile. I would never find another warrior like you even if I searched the length and breadth of the universe. You are something different.
So yes, my naive Kiara. I would look for you all over again if I had to and I would do the things I did to you all over again, because nobody else would be able to carry and nurture my child, like you did.
It had nothing to do with love. "
The Dark Lord talked with the shadows on the wall as something crushed his non-existent soul.
Caleb always aimed high. He was always ambitious.
But it was true that he always admired Kiara, ever since he laid his eyes on her.
Long before he trampled upon the dark vortex and was sucked inside the core of the darkness.
But that story is for another day.
He was beyond the boundaries set by mortal beings.
He was elevated to such ranks which the earthlings call divine.
He was the Dark Lord, the one who was going to reign over the multiverse.
" My Lord! "
One of his minions arrived with some grave news.
" What is it? "
The Dark Lord asked.
" We detected several movements against us. They are planning to attack from different fronts. "
The Dark Lord burst out in a horrendous laughter, scaring the minion furthermore.
"Different fronts you say. Let them try. "
The minion stammered and then managed to look up.
"My Lord. Would it not be better to get done with the ritual? Our numbers are not that strong at the moment. If they attack, we might lose more soldiers. "
He made a terrible mistake.
The Dark Lord smiled at him and called him closer.
He stood up and walked up to him.
" Afraid to die, are we? " He punctured his veins with his claws and pulled his head towards him and whispered in his ears,
" But she didn't hesitate even for a minute before plunging down the lane that led to sure death for what she believed in. "
He twisted his head and the body vanished into shadows.
" That's the difference between her and anyone else. She is passionate about what her heart believes in. If you cannot give me your heart, what use is your body to me? "
His laughter echoed through the darkness as the shadows joined him in his howl.