>>Aelin
My sword was still poised over his chest, the tip just above where I could end it.
He looked at me for a long moment, then chuckled faintly, a dry, broken sound. "You know… no matter how strong your mind is… no matter how solid your convictions are…" He coughed hard, grimacing. "…you lose yourself eventually."
His gaze wasn't on me anymore—it was somewhere else entirely. Distant. Heavy.
"I've seen it happen too many times," he murmured. "People I thought were unshakable… people who swore they'd never give in." His eyes narrowed faintly as if replaying ghosts. "The Abyss doesn't always take you in one blow—it eats you piece by piece. You don't even notice it's gone until you reach for it and realize there's nothing left."
