Chapter 108: Chapter 108

“Sara...''

Eren whispered, breathed, yelled, or maybe just said the name in his head, he had no idea, everything around him stopped, the time stopped, the noises stopped, the movements stopped, his brain stopped, he even doubted that for a second his heart stopped, he was still standing but he couldn’t feel his legs, he didn't know whether to believe his eyes or not, she was right there, the why of his sleepless nights, the tormentor of his heart and mind, standing in the same corridor, in the same world, different then the last time he saw her, her long silver hair was short and inky black, almost as black as his, she looked slightly taller, her body was more mature and feminine, her scars were as vivid as they were the night she got them, she was wrapped in dark clothes, she wasn't a fan of the color before which was strange, she always loved the lively colors of nature, he didn't care though, none of these things mattered to him, no matter how she looked she was always the most beautiful girl in his eyes, the one he loved so dearly even when he thought she was dead.

She wasn't dead, she was alive, she was alive and breathing, standing only few meters away, Eren felt his mind go numb, his throat went numb as well, he was afraid, afraid this was but another illusion and he would soon wake up to nothingness, it happened to him many times, where he would see her in his dreams, but the moment he tries to touch her she would fade away and he would wake up to a new episode of bitterness, he was afraid this was but another dream, and she was but another dream, it felt so real though, the smell was so real, the...Pain was so real??

Eren wondered why was he feeling so much pain in his chest as he took few slow steps toward his beloved, but the piercing pain only intensified while Sara was stretching her arm toward him? Why? Did she want him to take it? Eren hoped but he knew that was not the case, not with that look on her face, full of nothing but pure hatred, and it was focused on him, did she hate him that much?

The thought pained Eren but not more than the piercing pain in his chest, looking down, he noticed his skin was being pierced, with his new powers, his healing was extraordinarily fast, it took his wounds less than a blink of an eye to close, his skin was more resistant than steel but still, it was pierced with something, and the second the wound closed it was being pierced again, How? Eren asked himself, ripping his eyes off the gorgeous hateful pair that was staring at him to focus on his wound, he noticed it at last, it was invisible to the eye but not to his eyes, he could see the sharp broken blade like…thing that was stabbing him, it was disconnected, like a sequence of one blade after another, all emerging from his beloved' palm...

Eren was stupefied for a second, trying to unwrap the whole situation, to reason it, Sara was alive, she was there, standing not far away, with her palm facing him and her arm stretched toward him, her eyes dripping with hate and an invisible blade coming out of her palm to stab him, she was trying to kill him, not that he blamed her, he deserved it, he deserved more actually, for all the pain he made her go through, for all the lies, for all the pain, for everything...

''Sara...Please...'' Eren whispered to her, not that he couldn't stop her assault, he was more than capable to do so, especially with the way her invisible blade acted, it was made of raw energy, and it kept on breaking then reforming which meant two things, The first was that Sara didn't really know how to fully use and control her powers, if she did then even with Ayartma’s energy he wouldn’t be able to survive it, the second was the fact that Sara used the energy in it pure form, instead of using it on a transformed form, such as fire or air or water, it was probably due to her lack of knowledge about her powers, the energy in its purest form was the most lethal and that explained why it hurt so much, but at the same time, it exhausted the wielder easily, and drained their life force, with that thought in mind, Eren snapped his widened eyes at Sara who was struggling to keep the flow of the energy steady to slay the beast who destroyed her life, he didn't care if she killed him, but he was not going to let her kill herself while trying to.

*****

There he stood in his black armor, his black hair slightly taller and uncombed, the messy black strands falling on his forehead like threads of silk, his body a little bulkier that before, his eyes, deeply red and demonic, stared at her in disbelief, his perfect face expressing surprise, and his lips whispering her name.

Sara started at him for a moment, to those eyes, to the way he looked at her, to all the emotions that were written there, surprise, disbelief, relief, happiness, guilt, and...love…

Love? Love? How dare he use the same lie on her again, Sara felt all her bottled emotions breaking loose, all her anger at the monster who destroyed her life, who burned her heart, who broke her beyond repair, everything came back to her, the numbness she was feeling suddenly lifted, her eyes burned, her heart burned, and her skin burned, a familiar burn, , focusing it on her palm, she directed it toward him, and allowed her energy to shoot the demon in front of her restlessly, not knowing how it all happened, and not caring how much it hurt her.

Sara was seeing red, she was seeing herself being used, being lied at, being tortured, being humiliated, being broken, she allowed the energy to shoot and shoot no matter how much it hurt her, she just wanted that bastard of a demon dead, but he wasn't dying, instead he took one step toward her, then another, then a third, and in a blink of an eye he was out of her range and in front of her.

Eren took her palm in his grip, his other hand catching her free one that tried to strike his before turning her around, immobilizing her, begging her to stop, acting all worried about her but she didn't give a fuck about it, she wanted him dead so she allowed her passive ability to kick in and absorb his life force, only that it was too dark, too heavy, Sara struggled to take it but it was way too painful, more painful than anything she ever felt, the dark energy acted like shreds of glass that were piercing her skin and proceed inside her.

''Sara please, you are going to hurt yourself...'' Eren said out of breath, her assaults were nowhere near being merciful, he felt his very soul being shredded and taken out of him, not to mention the wound kept on burning even when it was already closed, the skin healed but the insides didn't, she was going for his life, she wanted him dead, he thought to himself with agony, but refused to let go of her even when she fought and thrusted in his hold.

In his hold, in his arms, alive, Eren closed his eyes, ignoring the pain for a second as he tightened his grip on her, pressing her back to his chest, releasing his shadows to embrace them both in a warm darkness, she was alive in his arms, even if she was trying to kill him.

''My Lord, are you lost?'' Sara's eyes widened when she heard Nara's voice, this was not the time, not the time for her to show up at all, and while she was taken by surprise, the shadows’ lord engulfed her fully in his shadows, tying her up, hiding her among them and from the curious eyes.

''This is not the way to the restrooms, My Lord...'' Nara spoke sweetly, Eren turned to her with his expressionless face, making sure to keep Sara hidden in his shadow, she was struggling like a wild cat but her former assault hurt and drained her, not that it was easy for him as well but he had years before her to learn how to control his powers.

''This is actually the way to the private chambers; I came here to call for my advisor'' Nara tried to explain herself which was weird to both Eren and the trapped Sara, as no one asked her to, this was her castle and yet she was the one providing excuses.

''Your advisor?'' In an attempt to not look rude, Eren asked the sister of his friend, the wrong sister, him thought while softening his expressions.

''Yes, the one who came up with the war strategy, my brother told you may want to meet her.''

''Her?!'' Eren asked, already having an idea of whom the redheaded princess was talking about.

''How about I tell you everything while I show you the way, My lord?'' Nara offered with a sweet smile, a soft voice and blushing cheeks, Eren knew this meant no good, especially with the raging sight of the girl trapped in his shadows.

''I appreciate the offer, Your Highness, but unfortunately, there are some urgent matters I need to take care of immediately, would you mind to inform the king that I would be back this evening to discuss the matters we still have on hand?'' Eren managed to give Nara a sweet smile accompanied with his sweet request to send her away, the redheaded princess didn't move though as she kept on staring at him with her blush intensifying and her heartbeats growing louder, loud enough for the two to hear.

''But My Lord, How about...''

''Please, your Highness, it is quite urgent…'' Eren didn't mean to sound rude to the 'over' polite princess, he just had a more pressing matter at hand, literally, judging by Sara's expressions, she was furious, and even though his darkness wrapped her tightly like a second skin, he was struggling to keep it that way, her energy was pushing all through in an attempt to break free, it was powerful and chaotic, something purely driven by rage.

''Oh, Okay, My Lord, Can you manage to find your way by yourself or do you want me to send someone to help you?'' Nara sounded sad and slightly hurt by Eren's direct rejection, the blush on her cheeks intensified, showing how embarrassed she felt, only that he didn’t care.

''No need, Your Highness, Thank you so much for your kindness'' Eren gave Nara a sweet smile in hopes of making the situation less embarrassing for her, the princess took his words kindly before bowing and heading back to the dining room, totally forgetting the excuse she used to come after the shadows’ lord in the first place.

Once the redheaded princess was out of sight, Eren pulled Sara into the room with the open door, it smelled like her, Eren noticed, it had to be her room, not being able to hold the raging girl anymore, he set her free from his shadow trap, she landed only a step away from him, her eyes still shooting daggers at him, but that was all she could do, Eren noticed she was panting, her knees were also shaking from the amount of energy she tried to release, she was just catching a breath to strike again though.

''Sara listen...''

''Don't you dare go near her...''