Blind Legacy of Time

Arden crouched on the forest floor, breathing heavily as he glanced at Theron. Before him stood the creature wreathed in puppet strings, its amber eyes glowing ominously each string wrapped in blood-red flames, entwining the trees and snapping their branches. Karlin's authoritative voice still echoed in his ears: "The strings… will not let you go, Arden." Arden's blind eye throbbed, clouding his mind with fury. Theron gripped his sword tightly, shouting, "Arden, get ready! This thing…"

Before Theron could finish, the creature vanished and reappeared behind him, striking his temple with a single punch. Theron collapsed, unconscious. Stunned, Arden barely registered the movement as the creature raised its strings into the air. Each one coiled like a snake, lunging toward him. Arden leaped back reflexively, but the strings were too fast one snagged his leg, wrapping tightly around it. The flames seared his skin, the pain spreading like embers, but the creature's wild aura swelled his fear, overshadowing the agony. Arden's heart raced with helplessness this entity felt like a nightmare forged from Karlin's rage.

Arden's blind eye ignited with a burning sensation deeper than the fear, it was a curse unto itself. His right eye saw the pale world, while his blind eye revealed the creature's wild red aura, as if communicating with him. He paused, holding his breath then summoned his strength. Shaping his blood-red flames into a blade, he slashed the string on his leg in one swift motion. The fire reduced it to ash, but the creature didn't hesitate. It teleported beside him its speed sent a shockwave through Arden's mind. This being seemed to defy time itself. Arden stared into its amber eyes, resignation settling in as if accepting his fate.

The creature wasted no time, coiling its strings to decapitate him. The threads slithered toward his neck, but Arden, as if anticipating it, redirected his flames, severing the creature's arm. The creature shrieked, its cry echoing through the forest like a wild storm. It retreated, creating distance this was his chance in the preordained battle. He molded his flames into a cage, trapping the creature inside. Panting, he locked eyes with it and asked, "Karlin?"

The creature turned, its expression stunned tears streamed from its amber eyes. In a trembling voice, it answered, "Yes." Arden felt a wave of relief, "It's really you…" he said, his voice laced with shock and sorrow. "Why toy with me instead of killing me?"

Suddenly, the creature's demeanor shifted its tears vanished. With a single motion, it shattered the fiery cage, reshaping its strings into a net that ensnared Arden. This time, he was trapped. The creature paused, its voice softening with tenderness. "I can't fight myself, Arden… my beautiful heir," it said, its tone fragile. "When you feel me within, find me here. I won't let you go, but I don't want to hurt you." Then, with a burst of light, it vanished the strings dispersed with the wind, and the amber eyes faded into the forest's darkness.

Arden fell to his knees, staring at the ground, breathless. He turned to the unconscious Theron beside him the preordained battle was over. Gasping, "She loves me…" he murmured, reaching for his eye patch and slowly lifting it. His blind eye glowed with a blood-red light. Covering it with his hand, he said, "You live within me always, Karlin," his voice steady and resolute. "I'll rip the bones of those who did this to you with my own hands!" he roared. A bloodthirsty aura emanated from his blind eye, thickening the air until it felt suffocating. Theron's unconscious breaths grew faint under the pressure, though still audible.

Arden hoisted Theron onto his back the old man's weight pressed heavily on him. Chuckling, he said, "You're pretty heavy, old man!" his voice tinged with relief. Hearing Theron's strained breaths, he quickened his pace the village healers could save him. The forest's silence was filled with Karlin's final words: "When you feel me within…" Arden pondered them was it a trap, or a sign of her true bond with him? His mind was a storm of confusion, his heart ablaze with vengeance. He pressed forward, Theron's fading breaths guiding him. The forest path crackled with snapping branches, the wind rustling leaves each step deepened Arden's sense of Karlin within him, a mix of strength and burden. As the village lights glimmered in the distance, Theron's breathing steadied slightly, a flicker of hope piercing the darkness.

A whisper rose from the forest depths the wind carried the sound of strings, and Karlin's soft voice echoed: "I'll be waiting for you, Arden…"