But I would not be destroyed.
For Elizabeth.For Solaris.For all that I had lost and all that remained to be saved.
The pain might erode my body, but my spirit was an impervious citadel, an unshaken fortress built upon rebellion.And from that indomitable will, I found the strength to whisper her name through bloodied lips.
“Elizabeth.”
My vision swam, the chamber walls closing in, suffocating.But then—her face.Emerging through the haze of agony, soft eyes, quiet strength, the only oasis in this desert of torment.
I clung to that image, forged myself into something unbreakable.
The heavy door groaned open.
A shadow loomed.
Mathias.
He stepped forward, surveying his work with twisted satisfaction.“Look at you, Amir.All broken.All powerless.”
His voice dripped with disdain, the words slithering into the cold air like a death sentence.
I lifted my head, tasting blood and insolence.
“You’re wrong.”
With grim determination, I gathered the crimson pooling in my mouth and spat it at his feet—blood, teeth, and the last remnants of anything he thought he had taken from me.
“I may be chained, Mathias, but that won’t stop me.I will destroy your society.I will tear down everything you’ve built.”
Thunderous laughter.
Mocking.Deafening.
“Bold words for a man in chains,” he taunted.“You don’t understand, do you?You’re already finished.”
I let out a slow, ragged exhale, a bloody grin carving across my battered face.
“Is that what you think?”
Pain laced every word, but I savored it—a reminder that I was still here, still breathing, still fighting.
I studied him through swollen eyes, drinking in his arrogance, his belief that he had already won.
Then, I shattered it.
“I see the bigger picture, Mathias.”I let the words settle and sink into his carefully curated certainty.“I know you’re working with Salvatore.I know everything.You want to reclaim Solaris and rule it with darkness.”
And for the first time—his mask cracked.
It was there, a flicker of uncertainty.
His breath hitched—a subtle shift.
His voice was no longer dripping with absolute confidence.“You have your memories from Solaris?”
“I do.”
Each word was a battle, yet I forced them past the rawness in my throat.“You thought it was Balthazar who destroyed your School of Darkness.But it was me.I’ve been one step ahead of you this whole time, and I will continue to tear down every single one of your Timehunter societies.”
