The Song of the Shadows

Kaelen stood still, watching Seraphina.

The woman hadn't moved from her spot, her ice-blue eyes fixed on him, the smile on her lips an unsettling enigma.

The air between them vibrated with a strange tension, almost electric.

The voices in Kaelen's mind had quieted to a murmur, as if they were watching, expectant.

Never before had he encountered someone who saw him like this—not with fear, but with such intense curiosity, almost a complicity.

---

—"Lost soul, you say?"—Kaelen replied, his voice a low growl, accustomed to the silence of fleeing and the whispers of his own mind—"We all are in Grisel."

Seraphina let out a laugh, a sound as musical as it was off-key.

She stepped closer, her movements fluid, like a dancing Shadow.

The scent of metal and something sweet, almost like incense, floated around her.

—"Oh, not all. Most are just blind. You... you've seen it, haven't you? The true color of night."

---

She stopped a couple of meters from Kaelen, her eyes scrutinizing him.

There wasn't a trace of fear in her, only deep fascination.

Kaelen felt a pang, a recognition.

She wasn't afraid because, in some way, she was just as broken.

—

—"The Valley of the Sereno"—Kaelen said.

The words came out of his mouth without him thinking them.

It was the first time he shared something so intimate with a stranger, especially with someone like her.

---

A shadow crossed Seraphina's face, but it wasn't sadness.

It was something darker—a comprehension.

—"Ah, an old tale. Innocence turned to ashes.

I've heard of places like that. Worlds you think are safe until the veil tears."

She moved to circle him, her eyes never leaving his.

—"And now the song of the shadows calls to you, huh?

I can hear it in your eyes. That beautiful violet tainted with darkness."

---

The mention of the "song of the shadows" hit him.

Did she hear it too?

Or did she simply see the madness Kaelen felt growing inside him?

The doubt cut through him, but he didn't flinch.

—

—"What do you want?"—Kaelen asked, his hand moving instinctively to the axe, though he had no intention of using it on her.

It was a reflection of his new nature, a silent threat.

---

Seraphina smiled again, her lips forming a perfect curve.

—"Oh, my dear Kaelen. I want nothing... that you don't want to give me."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, almost a lullaby.

—"And I can give you so much. Knowledge. Protection.

A place in this world that the blind cannot see."

She leaned a bit toward him, and Kaelen could feel the strange energy that emanated from her, a mix of magnetism and danger.

—"A place where your 'song of the shadows' can be a symphony, not just torment."

---

Seraphina's offer resonated with the voices in Kaelen's mind.

"Power. Guidance. She understands."

His cold logic activated. There was no trust, but there could be a transaction—a mutual benefit.

She seemed capable of standing on her own and seemed to understand something of the darkness that besieged him.

—

—"Why are you helping me?"—Kaelen questioned, his voice cold as steel—"People don't do anything for nothing."

---

Seraphina laughed, a clear and crystalline laugh that suddenly turned sour with a discordant note.

—"Wise words, soul of amethyst. No one does. Neither do I."

"You see, Kaelen, I get bored. This world is full of scared sheep and predictable wolves.

But you... you are a wolf dancing with the ghost of a lamb. That's interesting."

She straightened, her eyes shining with disturbing intensity.

—"Besides, your darkness... resonates with mine.

My own love song is not for the weak.

And I think you might be the most beautiful melody of all."

---

The mention of "love" in that context was strange, almost nauseating,

but the way she said it, with that mixture of yearning and a touch of madness, intrigued Kaelen.

He had loved, had lost.

She seemed to love in a way that distorted reality.

—

—"And what exactly are you offering?"—Kaelen got to the point, ignoring the strange fascination.

---

Seraphina spun on her heels, as if dancing, and pointed with her dagger toward the market crowd.

—"Grisel is a web of lies and hidden knives."

"The human factions hate each other more than the Oni."

"The guilds fight for power. The rich rot in their towers while the poor bleed in the alleys."

"And worst of all, the predators, the true ones, are already here.

Inside the walls."

She turned back to him, her smile faded, leaving an expression of cold cunning.

—"I offer you eyes to see them. Hands to kill them.

And a place where you will not be alone, even if you're beyond sanity."

---

Seraphina's words struck deep in Kaelen.

She was right. Grisel was a different battlefield—more subtle, but just as deadly.

And loneliness, though he had grown used to it, was a heavy burden—especially with the voices.

—

—"What do you want in return?"—Kaelen asked again, no longer as a question, but as a demand.

---

Seraphina tilted her head slightly, her eyes glowing.

—"Your company, my dear. Your... loyalty.

And the pleasure of watching your darkness bloom."

She extended a hand, her fingers thin and pale, almost translucent.

—

—"A deal, soul of amethyst.

A pact of convenience.

Or madness. As you prefer."

---

Kaelen looked at the outstretched hand.

There was no warmth in it, no promise of friendship—just an offer of a dangerous pact.

The voices in his mind—the pragmatic part—urged him:

"Take it. You need a guide here. Another predator."

His heart—the part that still remembered Lígia—felt a shiver at the darkness reflected in Seraphina's eyes.

But that part was fading.

—

He didn't shake it. He simply nodded.

—"A deal"—he said, his voice almost a whisper, but firm.

There was no handshake, no empty words.

Only a cold understanding.

---

Seraphina's smile widened, this time with a hint of triumph.

—"Excellent. The city awaits you, Kaelen.

And I shall be your... guide. Your muse.

Your companion in this beautiful descent."

She turned away, her dark hair moving like a shadow.

—

—"Now, come. There's a place you'll like.

A place where people like us can find... work."

---

As Seraphina walked away, Kaelen followed, his hand axe hanging at his side.

Seraphina's presence was like a poison, a strange drug that silenced the voices of guilt and amplified the song of the shadows.

He didn't trust her—not entirely.

But for the first time in a long time, he wasn't alone.

He was walking alongside someone who didn't fear his madness, but embraced it—and even seemed to revel in it.

And in Grisel, Kaelen knew that might be the only way to survive.

The descent continued, and now, he had a companion in the abyss.

---