A Realm Built to Break You
Noctyrrh did not resist openly.
It pressed.
Lumi felt it the moment she woke—the subtle tightening beneath her skin, as if the realm had decided to remember what she was supposed to be. The truth inside her stirred, restless and irritated, no longer content to remain gentle.
At twenty-two, she knew this sensation well.
Correction.
The chamber felt colder than it had the night before. Shadows lingered closer to the bed, stretching thin fingers across the floor, testing her boundaries. When she swung her legs over the edge, a spike of pain flared behind her eyes.
She hissed softly.
The realm was pushing back.
A knock came at the door, sharper than usual.
"Lumi," Blake's voice called. "Are you awake?"
She opened the door to find him already armored—not for ceremony, but for conflict. The sight tightened something in her chest.
"You feel it too," she said.
He nodded. "The night is resisting change. The council's been… busy."
They walked together through the palace halls, where servants moved more quickly than necessary, eyes averted. Whispers skittered along the walls like trapped insects.
The lie was everywhere.
Stability must be restored.
Pain flared sharply.
"They're seeding fear," Lumi murmured, pressing a hand briefly to her temple. "Convincing the realm it needs the curse to survive."
Blake's jaw clenched. "They're using tradition as a weapon."
In the throne chamber, the council waited—but not alone.
Priests of the Veiled Night stood beside them, robes stitched with sigils older than the crown. Their presence sent an immediate, brutal spike of pain through Lumi's skull.
These ones believe.
"They're fanatics," Lumi whispered. "They'll die before they doubt the curse."
One of the priests stepped forward, voice echoing unnaturally. "Truth Bearer," he intoned. "Your existence disrupts the balance. The night recoils from you."
"That's a lie," Lumi said automatically.
The pain was immediate and punishing.
She staggered.
Blake moved instantly, catching her. Shadows surged around them, dark and furious.
"You will not harm her," he said, voice ringing with command.
The priest smiled faintly. "We already have."
Lumi's vision blurred. Through the haze, she felt it—the realm pulling at her magic, trying to force it back into its old, obedient shape. Truth clawed at her throat, desperate to be used as it once had been.
A realm built to break you.
Blake turned to the council, eyes blazing. "You swore loyalty to the crown."
"We swore loyalty to Noctyrrh," an elder replied coolly. "And Noctyrrh does not survive without the curse."
"That is false," Lumi said hoarsely.
The pain nearly drove her to her knees.
Blake roared.
The shadows answered.
The throne chamber darkened violently, pillars groaning as living night surged upward, coiling like a storm unleashed. The priests stumbled back, startled for the first time.
"This realm does not break her," Blake thundered. "It fears her."
The truth inside Lumi flared—not violent, but resolute.
"Yes," she whispered. "It does."
The admission steadied her.
The pressure eased slightly, enough for her to stand on her own. She met the priests' gazes one by one.
"You were taught to believe suffering was sacred," she said. "But suffering is just control wearing a holy mask."
The lie rippled—but did not shatter.
They were not convinced.
Blake understood immediately.
"They're not here to debate," he said quietly. "They're here to mark you."
The truth screamed agreement.
Before anyone could react, one of the priests hurled a shard of black crystal toward Lumi. Blake moved faster than thought, shadows snapping into a shield as the shard shattered against it.
Silence followed—thin and deadly.
Blake's voice dropped to something cold and final. "Get out."
The priests hesitated.
The night did not.
Shadows surged, driving them back step by step until they fled the chamber, robes torn, faces pale with terror.
When the doors slammed shut, the throne room felt hollow.
"They won't stop," Lumi said softly. "They believe the realm was built to break me into usefulness."
Blake turned to her, eyes fierce and unwavering. "Then we will rebuild it."
She looked at him, blood still faintly at the corner of her mouth, and felt the truth settle—quiet, unbreakable.
The realm had been built to destroy her.
But it had never accounted for love standing in defiance of the dark.