Episode 5: The Night I Remembered Dying
I knew something was wrong the second I walked into the library.
The air was heavy. Still.
The lights flickered.
And every shadow felt like it was breathing.
Kael was late. I'd come here to meet him, to study—at least pretend to. But he wasn't answering my texts.
I shouldn't have come alone.
But it was too late now.
Because I wasn't alone.
Not anymore.
I felt him before I saw him.
A man, tall, cloaked in black, standing at the end of the aisle between History and Mythology.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Just stared at me.
And then—he smiled.
My legs froze. My throat tightened.
I couldn't breathe.
Because in that moment, I knew—
He wasn't human.
"You've remembered enough," he said. His voice was smooth, too calm. "The stars are waking inside you. And He… is coming."
He. Maerion.
"Who are you?" I managed to ask.
"I am His voice," the man replied. "I've walked through flames to find you, Priestess. You belong to Him."
"No," I whispered. "Not in this life. Not ever."
He stepped forward.
And my ring began to burn.
A golden light pulsed from it—blinding.
The man screamed, staggering back.
And suddenly Kael was there.
He tackled the figure into the bookshelf with enough force to shake the room.
"Run!" he shouted.
We ran.
Out of the library. Into the night. Hearts pounding. Feet burning.
Only when we were halfway across campus did Kael finally stop, breathless.
"That was a Harbinger," he said. "Maerion's servant. They're bound to him. Trained to hunt reincarnated souls."
My hands were shaking. "He knew me. He called me the Priestess."
"You're beginning to shine," Kael said softly. "They can smell it."
"Then what happens when he finds me?" I asked.
Kael didn't answer.
He just looked at me like he was trying not to fall apart.
That night, the dream didn't come softly.
It ripped through me.
I was in the temple.
The sky was on fire.
Kael was bleeding, chained, screaming my name.
And Maerion—his face younger, twisted with rage—was holding the ceremonial blade.
"I warned you," he said. "Love him, and you die."
I looked at Kael. "I'm not afraid."
"You should be," Maerion hissed.
The blade pierced my back.
I fell into Kael's arms, choking on my own blood, whispering:
"Find me again…"
And then—
Darkness.
I woke up gasping, the pain still real in my chest.
And I knew, without doubt:
I had died for love.
And I would die again—unless I remembered everything before Maerion did.
Kael was already at my window.
I didn't say a word.
I just reached for his hand.
And for the first time since this all began…
He held me like he was afraid of losing me all over again.
[To Be Continued…]