The past never stays buried.
It waits.
Patient.
Until the right moment to return.
"You're going to talk."
Max's voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
The tone said everything.
Celine stood in the center of the apartment.
All eyes on her.
Rick seated, still shaken.
Elena beside him.
Silent.
Daniel…
gone.
And that weighed more than anything else.
"I will," Celine said at last.
But it didn't sound like relief.
It sounded… inevitable.
"Then talk," Max replied.
Silence.
Long.
And then—
"I'm not just someone who knows about this."
She took a breath.
"I'm part of it."
The air froze.
"What does that mean?" Max asked.
"I'm a witch."
The word landed heavy.
Real.
No room for doubt.
Rick let out a short laugh.
"Of course… why not?"
But no one joined him.
Because now…
everything was starting to make sense.
And that was worse.
"A long time ago…" Celine continued, "I was part of a circle."
"A cult?" Elena asked.
"No."
A pause.
"Something older."
Her gaze drifted.
As if she were looking into another time.
"We believed we could control forces we didn't understand."
"Did you?" Max asked.
She looked at him.
"No."
Silence.
"We found something."
Something that should never have been found.
The name caught in her throat for a second.
Then—
"Malachor."
The air seemed to sink.
"He wasn't like the others," she continued. "He wasn't just a practitioner."
"Then what was he?" Rick asked.
Celine hesitated.
And that was new.
"A vessel."
Silence.
"For what?"
She didn't answer.
But her eyes did.
And everyone felt it.
"And you worked with him," Max said.
Not a question.
A fact.
"Yes."
The answer came low.
But clear.
"And you didn't think that was worth mentioning?" Rick shot back, his voice sharp.
"I tried to stop what he was doing."
"And you failed," Max finished.
She didn't deny it.
"And your family…" she began.
Max stepped forward.
"Don't talk about them."
Silence.
Heavy.
"Were you there?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
But that…
was answer enough.
The world tilted.
"You were there…" Max repeated.
His voice now lower.
More dangerous.
"I tried to stop it—"
"BUT YOU DIDN'T!"
The shout exploded.
Rick tensed.
Elena too.
"You let that happen!"
"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!"
"IT WAS!"
The air felt like it might shatter.
"I didn't have a choice."
The words came out.
Weak.
But real.
"There's always a choice," Rick said.
"Not when you've already gone too far."
Silence.
And that…
was worse.
"Then why are you here?" Elena asked.
"Because I know what he's trying to finish."
"And what is that?"
Celine looked at Max.
But didn't answer.
"Say it," he said.
But before she could—
The air shifted.
Again.
Cold.
Heavy.
Familiar.
"He's here…" Elena whispered.
The presence emerged.
Stronger than before.
More stable.
Closer.
"You keep trying to understand…"
The voice echoed.
Through the entire space.
"But you're already too late."
Malachor.
There.
Watching.
Always watching.
Max didn't step back.
But he didn't move forward either.
"Then finish it," he said.
A strange sound came from the entity.
Something like… amusement.
"You are not ready."
"Then make me ready."
Silence.
Then—
The form leaned.
As if focusing only on him.
"Do you want the truth?"
The air froze.
"I do."
A pause.
Then—
"That night…"
The voice grew closer.
Clearer.
"It wasn't a mistake."
Max froze.
"I know."
"No."
A pause.
"It was a test."
The world stopped.
"A test for what?"
Silence.
Then—
"To see if you would survive."
His heart slammed in his chest.
"Survive what?"
The answer came slowly.
Heavy.
Final.
"Yourself."
Everything fell silent.
Max didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't react.
Because something inside him…
recognized it.
"You feel it… don't you?"
Malachor's voice now sounded inside his head.
"The visions…"
"The dreams…"
"The change…"
Max's breathing grew uneven.
"You are not just a man."
Silence.
"You never were."
"That's a lie…" Max murmured.
"No."
A pause.
"And when the time comes…"
You will understand."
The presence began to fade.
"And when you do…"
One last pause.
"You'll walk away from them."
The air returned.
But nothing there…
was normal.
Max stood still.
Frozen.
Eyes distant.
"Max…" Rick called.
No response.
"Max," Elena said.
Nothing.
Then—
He stepped back.
"I need air."
And left.
Without looking back.
"He's not coming back the same," Celine said.
Low.
Almost a whisper.
Rick looked at her.
"And whose fault is that?"
She didn't answer.
Because this time…
there was no answer.
Outside…
Max walked without direction.
His mind collapsing.
The words echoing.
"You are not just a man."
He stopped.
Breathing hard.
"Then what am I?"
Silence.
Then—
The voice.
Lower.
Deeper.
"Something that was never meant to exist."
Max closed his eyes.
And for the first time…
he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.