CHAPTER 54: VENGEANCE IN MEMORY

The storm over the scorched horizon had begun to settle, its thunderous echoes dissolving into the brooding winds that whispered through the ruined valleys. Far from the chaos of Ghost Village, in the shrouded cliffs of Elvareth Hollow deep in the Swarm Province, a lone figure stood atop a jagged stone, her cloak tattered, face stained with blood and shadow.

Coris Bendly.

The name once revered by the Ghost Force. A name once etched in loyalty and fire. Now, it lingered like ash, whispered by the winds that carried betrayal at heart.

Coris stood still, her breathing ragged, her lips trembling as she gazed at the distant peaks veiled in smoke and mist. Her body still pulsed with the reverberating power of the Orb of Reverence she had absorbed only hours earlier—the stolen relic of ancient gods that had nearly torn her apart from within.

But the pain of the orb’s merging was nothing compared to the storm that brewed inside her heart.

She fell to her knees.

For the first time in weeks, she allowed herself to feel.

"I should never have met him," she whispered. Her voice cracked like dry stone.

Shingan. The name sent chills through her spine. The ghost of a man she once thought she loved. No, more than loved. Worshipped.

A Terex. Handsome, noble-looking, silver-haired with violet eyes that seemed to see through every soul. His voice had been velvet over razors, his smile both tender and toxic. She had been foolish then. Young. Hungry for purpose and validation.

She stared into the dirt, eyes glazing over as her mind wandered back—back to when they first met.

Memory: Fove years ago.

Elkaris Fortress. A gathering of warriors from various bloodlines and worlds. Among them, the Ghost Forces. She had been a Captain then. Respected. Unwavering. But curious.

The Ghost Force were trying to make a treaty with the Terex then. The had discovered that if they did not survive, the Stolks might as well wipe them off the surface of earth. Coris Bendly had been sent to the Swarm Province to get to the Terex who manned the passage of the Swarm Province.

The deal was simple. The Terex will allow them easy entrance when they were on the flee. And in turn the Ghost Force will supply them with the blood of the Stolks when they killed. Ghe Terex were known to be very blood addictive like the tales of vampires.

It was here that she met him. Shingan.

He had walked through the halls like a god pretending to be a man. Her first glance at him had stolen her breath. Not because of his beauty—but because of the way he looked at her. As if he knew her. As if he owned her.

"Captain Coris," he had said with a grin that melted stone. "You wear that armor, but your heart still bleeds beneath it." As Terexes were gifted, they could read minds of people easily.

She hadn’t known what to say. His gaze was intimidating yet soft. He eyes sparkled with purity which she never knew was betrayal.

Shingan promised her more than love—he promised her purpose. A throne beside him. A new world where Lady Fares would be no more. Where Coris would reign.

"But I am her shadow," Coris had said.

Shingan had held her hand. "You were born for more."

She had wanted to speak again but his lips grazed over her lips on a soft kiss.

That was the first moment she betrayed Lady Fares. Not in action. But in soul. She had agreed to dethrone her own mistress. She had succumbed to his wishes. Her very first step to betrayal. Now betrayal was all that loomed around her.

Coris let the memory bleed through her. She clawed at the rock beside her, fingers trembling with rage.

"I believed in him. I thought... I thought he wanted me. But it was power. It was always power. He wanted to destroy us all."

Tears burned down her cheeks.

"He told me to kill her," she whispered. "He said if I loved him, I would do it. That Lady Fares was weak. That she stood in the way of a greater world."

And she had believed him. Damn!! Fuck!!She had plotted against the woman who raised her from nothing. Against the friend who had trusted her more than her own blood.

She punched the ground, shadow magic flaring from her fist.

"I KILLED MYSELF FOR HIM!" she screamed. The cliffs echoed her cry like a cruel mockery.

The Orb pulsed within her, as if acknowledging her anguish.

"But I won’t run anymore," she muttered. "Shingan... you deceived me. Used me. Now, you’ll learn what I’ve become."

Coris rose slowly, the light in her eyes shifting. The trembling soldier had died. What remained was forged of pain, betrayal—and vengeance.

And the power of Reverence now danced at her fingertips.

"Hello."

She turned at the sound of wind shifting.

From the shadows beyond the gorge, a familiar silhouette began to form. A wraith-like figure cloaked in shimmering silver—Shingan.

Coris’s breath caught. She hadn’t expected to see him again. Not so soon.

But it was no hallucination.

He stood there, same face, same haunting smirk.

"Coris," he said, as if nothing had changed. "You still cry over me?"

She didn’t answer. Her fists clenched.

"I gave you a future," he continued. "And you chose shame."

Her eyes burned. "You lied to me. You never loved me."

Shingan tilted his head. "Love is the illusion of fools. I gave you power. And you squandered it."

"Enough!" she roared, shadows flaring from her shoulders. "You broke me, Shingan. But I rebuilt myself. And now... I’ll finish what you started."

She raised her arms.

The Orb of Reverence flared—truly awakened.

Her power ignited like a midnight sun.

Shingan smiled faintly, then faded into shadow.

"A test, then," he whispered. "Prove you’re worthy."

Coris stood alone again.

The sky cracked with distant thunder. She breathed slowly, letting the pain fuel her resolve.

"I will atone," she said to herself. "And when the time comes... even Shingan will kneel."

She turned and disappeared into the cliffs, into the unknown. She was only but hallucinating but then there was a similar feeling she had. One that dreaded her.

But the war had only just begun. She would become the one would be pleaded to.