Crimson Shadows and Silent Threats

"Natasha!" Leon's voice shook with both urgency and gentleness, each syllable weighed down by her anguish. He could sense it—each beat of her magic pulsed like a living thing, crying out in agony and turmoil. "I sense it. I comprehend. But you cannot destroy yourself here. You will not. Not now. Not in this way."

For a long, suspended beat, she looked beyond him, as though hearing something that he could not. The blood magic that had licked her wrists and throat quivered like a hurt bird, tracing the air in thin, trembling red. It wasn't loud; it was the sort of sound that resided beneath the skin and filled the teeth. Gradually, the light relaxed its hold. The red mist thinned, as smoke at last discovers the final crack in a shutter.

Her legs went out first. Her knees buckled and she slid down to the floor, then eased the rest of herself against him. She shook so violently he could feel it through his chest—small, ragged shocks that testified to a battle fought to the final gasp. The fatigue that descended upon her was a thing of substance: heavy-eyed, plodding, the sort that crushes lungs and blunts fingers. She cried tiny, ragged tears that were metallic to taste; the smell of blood lingered in the air alongside incense which had once brought solace but which now attempted and failed to mask the sharp metal scent.

Leon said no more. He took her up like something breakable and threatening all at once, something blown into the form of a human being. His arms were an island: firm, warm, unyielding. He took her as if he could force her heart back into sync with his. In that quiet he presented no solutions and no solutions—only being. That one small thing made her able to let go of pretending she could stand, allow the long frayed rope of control to unravel.

When her breathing leveled off by a tiny amount, her hand landed on his shirt and held on for all it was worth. Her fingers were numb; her nails sank into the material. She gasped when a cough shook her chest, then allowed herself to slide downward further, a small, defeated sound wedged in her throat. Around her, the room maintained its silence—paper moving in a draft, the murmur of the city at a distance—but within her the tempest continued to rage: mourning like a clenched fist, anger like embers, hopelessness like a creeping bruise.

Then the silence shattered. A low, thoughtful creak issued from the darkened rim of the chamber, a sound that spoke its name aloud. The warmth of their nest was shattered, and something in the air became thin and sharp.

A voice, cruel and deep, filtered through the darkness and ensnared the words with slow relish. "At last… I've murdered the bitch. But I must get rid of her corpse before sunrise."

Time hung suspended. The air had thickened. Leon's hold tightened on Natasha, instinctively shielding her, and lifted his head to a measured, lethal calm.

The door creaked, swinging farther, showing a figure whose arrival seemed to consume the light. Towering, dark, impossible to overlook. Every nerve warned him off, every muscle bracing itself.

"Who… who the devil are you?" Leon growled, his voice low and menacing. There was no fear in it, only the threat of ferocity—a warning that anyone daring to take another step would be tested.

The figure moved into the doorway, and the room contracted around it, thick with a quiet malevolence that tugged at the air. Every movement was calculated, controlled, exuding a confidence so deadly it seemed to have a life of its own. Nova's fingers fluttered at her side, the barest movement revealing the tension wound into her muscles, and Natasha's body shook, pushed back instinctively against Leon's chest as if his heartbeat could hold her firm.

Outside, darkness grew, the dual moons fading as if the world itself shrank away from the intruder. Light danced off something—metal, runes, or maybe it was the aura itself, glowing with an almost alive danger. The air distorted under the pressure of it, a weighty presence that twitched the hair on the backs of their necks, every inhalation strangled with tension.

Leon's hands didn't leave Natasha's shoulders. He embraced her, eyes blazing golden with a soft, unbreakable determination. He had fought against impossible odds before, yes, but this… this was different. Something in the intruder's posture, in the way the darkness clung to them, warned him that every tactic, every shred of power he possessed, would be pushed to its very limits.

The room itself appeared to breathe in, weighted with sorrow, terror, and the secret understanding of what was to unfold. It was already a battlefield, even before any blow could be struck, an unseen war fought in the silence between beats and dark purpose. And in that suspended, charged second, Leon curled his fingers tighter about Natasha's, speaking just barely over her ear, "Stay close. Don't move."

The intruder's arrival was a storm on the horizon—lovely, frightening, and guaranteed to engulf all in its path should they fail. Natasha's tears slowly faded to leave a quivering silence. Her gaze, wide and unflinching, was fixed on the figure standing before them, a cross between fear, anger, and sorrow in its depths. Leon could sense the shiver that coursed through her body as she leaned forward, seeking the tenuous solace his arms held. He gripped her closer, firm and gentle, allowing her to settle against him. It was a silent promise, a lifeline in the tempest, even as his mind cut clear with anticipation of what was to come.

Each shadow on the walls appeared to be living, writhing with malevolence, concealing horrors in the crevices of guttering candlelight. The walls themselves appeared to regard her, murmuring threats that seemed to increase the tension. But in the midst of that stifling tension, Leon's determination hardened, icy and unbreakable. He would not fail. He would defend Natasha, at any price. And he would confront whatever power dared enter this room, meting out justice to the sister whose life had been ruthlessly taken.

The figure took a step forward, slow, calculated, every move ringing with silent authority. Then, slicing through the silence like metal, the voice spoke once more—frosty, clipped, loaded with finality:

"Now… who the hell are you?"

The chamber waited, the air thick and expectant, each heartbeat ticking away the seconds before conflict.